So, things are about to change for me in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. I am going from being a dungeon master to being a player. My work started a number of initiatives around different areas of interest. And people can pick and start one that they want, if they come up with a proposal. It started with things like Gardening, but now there is one for Table Top games. And I didn’t start it, so I don’t need to be the dungeon master.

What Character to Play?

So, even without having played as a player, I was generally the most experienced, or up there player of Dungeons and Dragons. And as a DM (dungeon master) I have created characters for players in one-shots at conventions, things like that. So I know how to build a character. I even got to play a character, once, at a convention when I got into a Dungeons and Dragons game.

So, why talk about all of that? It means that I decided to sit back and let other players pick what they wanted to play. I find fifth edition not that difficult to play any class, from what I’ve seen while teaching. That means that I feel comfortable s a player playing anything.

There was a good variety of characters, no healers. And I decided not to do that, completely. I picked playing a druid. Why, not too many druids in the games I’ve run, so it’d be something different.

Which Druidic Circle?

And I decided, yes, I wanted to have some healing. But I didn’t want to be purely a healing character. That is not interesting, enough, to me. It might be what is best but it is more fun to have a variety of things that I can do. And to have some offensive capabilities.

There are a lot of them that could work out there. And I could lean heavily into the wild shaping aspect of being a druid. But instead I went Circle of Wildfire. This one is interesting because it adds in fire based spells. But it also does have some healing abilities that come with that circle. So I can be a healer in a pinch but will also be mainly offensive.

Backstory?

So what’s my backstory?

My druid loves fire and the idea of renewal by fire. Kind of like some trees have built in ways to protect themselves from fire. Or how certain seeds only grow/come out of their shell when there is fire. So that is my characters mindset. The renewal of nature and habitats by fire (and just loving fire in general).

That means that he isn’t all that accepted by other druids. That isn’t the way that things are done. And even outside of druids, he isn’t all that accepted. A couple of times he has accidentally caught a building on fire. But most of the time it’s been intentional and in a controlled way. But even that is frowned upon generally which disappoints my druid.

Final Thoughts on being a Dungeons and Dragons Player

This is going to be a fun change. I need to actually roll up my character, that will be my plan this weekend. But I’m excited to see what it is like on the other side of the table. What I am going to have to do, versus in my one shot that I played, is to hold back some. When it is one shot, I can be as goofy as I want. I still balance taking over the show, but it’s okay to have that absurdly bad decision to happen.

In a campaign, even a short one, I will need to hold back. And with new players I want to hold back. As they learn what they are doing, it’ll allow me to open up a bit more with getting into it. But I already know that I love Dungeons and Dragons, at least running it, and I did like playing. So I want it to be a good opportunity and fun time for the other players as well.

What was your first Dungeons and Dragons Character?

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