Observations of a GM

01/01/2024

2023 was a year of beginnings for me. I started DMing professionally through Start Playing Games. I began learning Paizo's Starfinder roleplaying system. I even launched my first efforts at creating D&D content and providing it through Patreon.

But I have to admit that although I started a lot of things, keeping those efforts rolling was a struggle. Depression, ADD, and health issues made "pushing through" seem insurmountable. And so all of those projects suffered.

As I start 2024, I am taking a hard look at what I really want to accomplish this year. I'm making plans for how to maintain progress without dealing with burnout. I have so many ideas that sometimes it can be overwhelming. Finding that right balance that allows me to keep moving forward without getting bored and losing interest is a constant struggle.

But I can see light ahead. I have some ideas about how to make this work and I am getting reenergized and motivated to see progress made in the things that are most important to me.

Stay tuned in 2024, there's much more to come!

09/14/2023

The latest release for my Isles of Barovia project has gone live on Patreon! In this release I go over some guidelines for rules about creating characters with nautical backgrounds (without requiring everyone to choose Water Vehicle Proficiency). I also cover suggestions on using existing rules like skill checks and skill challenges to address different types of issues while guiding boats on the Barovian Sea.

Check my Patreon page for the new content: https://www.patreon.com/ObservationsofaGM

09/01/2023

I've published the first video for my Isles of Barovia project. It's my first video ever, so it's a bit rough, but the project is on its way!

This is the first video in a series introducing my project, The Isles of Barovia, which relocates the setting for Curse of Strahd to a series of islands in a...

08/28/2023

Isles of Barovia Future Plans

Just an FYI that I have several ideas in the works for future plans for the next bits of content on this project. My goals is to release new content every other week. In no particular order...

Character Building and Sailing Boats - Some suggestions on how to allow your players to create characters that play well in a nautical theme without requiring them to all take Water Vehicle proficiency. Also some additional guidelines on using skill checks and such as part of navigating the ocean world since the RAW leave a LOT to be desired. Patrons will receive several battlemaps for various boats and ships.

Fauna of the Barovian Sea - A rundown of all the creatures I'm adding to Curse of Strahd. This includes copies of WOTC monsters from the System Reference Document (SRD), customized versions of those, and original monsters of my own design. Patrons will receive handout worthy images as well as custom tokens for VTT use.

Arcane Bits and Baubles - Brand new weapons, armor, and other magical items suitable for a nautical adventure. Especially focuses on items that will make it easier to adventure underwater. Patrons will receive handout ready images and documents to provide to your players.

Barovian Castaways - A list of new NPCs as well as some modified stats for those I'm changing up. For example the Abbot will change from being a celestial to a marid (an aquatic djinn). Patrons receive portraits, handouts, and tokens.

Sub-regional details - In the main overview document I list out the individual islands and primary locations. Each will get it's own supplement including brand new areas and adventures for Sahaugin Valley and the Merpeople village. Each of these will include detailed maps and guidance on how to align the Curse of Strahd source materials with the new locations.

Volcanic Ravenloft - A complete rebuild of the Castle Ravenloft dungeon. This will be built into the remains of the volcanic crater. However my goal is that for the most part all of the descriptions of the rooms and the contents will be able to be easily mapped over from the original source material. Patrons will receive more detailed and higher resolution maps for their use.

08/26/2023

The introduction to my Isles of Barovia project is now live on my Patreon site. A free version with all the content is available for free for anyone who is interested. Patrons at the Knight or Baron tier also get enhanced versions as well as some extra goodies like higher resolution maps and graphic files used in the creation of the content.

https://patreon.com/ObservationsofaGM?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

07/18/2023

Hello, and welcome to Observations of a GM. I’m DM Karl and I’ll be your host for the content posted here.

I first started my journey into tabletop roleplaying back in 1978 when my Dad gave me a copy of the original Dungeons and Dragons Basic Set (the one with the blue lithograph cover). At first it was just my Dad, my younger brother, and me playing. Eventually I found some other friends who wanted to play too and I was hooked.

Interestingly enough, I found myself drawn to being the Dungeon Master. I had a blast setting things up for the players to overcome! As you might imagine those early dungeons were pretty simplistic. Little more than “There’s a tavern next to a general store and nearby is a spooky abandoned mine.”

My skills and experience grew though. Staying with the 2nd Edition rules, I ran packaged adventures like Keep at the Borderlands, Against the Giants, and the Dragonlance modules. I also ran custom campaigns set in the Dark Sun world of Athas, the revised Basic Set world of Mystara, and even some homebrew rules for running D&D adventures in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time setting.

Then I fell into the dark times. The story of those years is for another day. The good news is that eventually, I found the online TTRPG communities. I played in a couple of games using Discord or Zoom and Roll20. The idea that I could exercise those old creative muscles without needing to find 5 or 6 players in my local geography was just what I needed!

I’ve been playing and running D&D sessions online now for almost 2 years. As an IT professional with three kids (one in HS and the other two young adults on their own), I don’t have the time for worldbuilding and adventure writing that I used to; so I mostly run pre-built adventures. Lost Mine of Phandelver, Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Curse of Strahd, and Shadow of the Dragon Queen as well as a few one-shots from excellent third party creators like Lunch Break Heroes. Lately I’ve also started to branch out from both Wizards of the Coast and the fantasy realm as I learn Paizo’s Starfinder system.

I’ve even dipped my toe into the water of being a professional DM through Start Playing Games, although I’m working to build that part of my RPG world.

As a GM, my focus is primarily on making sure my players have fun. Although I set challenges for them and play their adversaries, I’m not their enemy. My approach when making judgement calls is mostly to pick the options that will be the most fun without unbalancing the game. I roll my dice privately and tell my players up front that I will fudge rolls from time to time in favor of the fun factor, however I will NOT save them from being dumb. Running away to live to fight another day is a valid tactic in my games.

I’m hoping that through this channel I’ll be able to share some of my experience that I’ve gained over my 40 years in this hobby. Particularly for DMs who may be thinking about running some of the modules I have experience with. Or with some of you who may (like me) be learning the Starfinder system and want to understand what’s different about it from the D&D rules you’re used to.