+++
title = 'A Beginning'
date = 2024-05-07T10:00:00Z
draft = false
summary="All stories start somewhere."
+++

About fourty years ago I played my first game of Dungeons and Dragons. Soon after I played my first game as the Dungeon Master. From that game onward I was hooked.

Ten years after those first games the group I played in became too separated to make playing practical and none of us felt play by post offered a compeling experience. Consequently the group died out. Life took me on a journey that did not include any role playing.

A few weeks ago my best friend, and one of the players from my old group, contacted me saying he had wandered into a game shop and was reminded of those old D&D sessions, perhaps I was interested in DMing one.

Well, that started something.

I discovered I had missed out on so much in the entervening years. Play online now offers a realistic option for reviving my old passion. Cue a lot a reading the D&D 5e rules, watching YouTube videos, checking out online games, and sampling a few professionally DM'd sessions as a player. I now feel ready to start reviving my DM game.

Now, being me, I never do anything the simple way :wink:.

I always enjoyed world building for my group's adventures and with todays tools that process is so much fun I can't resist. Combine this with my technical background, access to the internet, and a borderline obsession with verisimilitude, and you get this blog and all it entails.

Here are my current plans (briefly).

1. Blog my journey (here).
2. Make [YouTube videos](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbpj4ryAcG1eIVXHuRSDRXw) about my journey.
3. Create the world of Mondarth (see the [Codex](https://codex.mondarth.com/)).
4. Run an assortment of game tables:
    1. Run one shot campaigns (these will be 'donate to support' and aimed at providing a gateway for new players).
    2. Run mini-campaigns (these will be pay-to-play and intended to give players a taste of my DM style without commiting to long campaigns).
    3. Run full campaigns in Mondarth (the will be pay-to-play).
7. Run [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/Mondarth) (free and paid offering access to materials developed along the way, early access to table seats,, etc.).
8. Run [Discord](https://discord.gg/AQyChAQj) (community building and access to games).
