Session 0

Very excited to make the leap into blogging!   

A bit about me: I am a cat father, husband, and lawyer.  Most important for the blog: I am also a dungeon master and avid reader of ttrpg's.  My experience with ttrpg's began with 5th Edition D&D in 2017, where I started as a DM doing a Lost Mines of Phandelver game.  

After running around 120 sessions of 5th edition—I realized the parts of fantasy ttrpg's that I engaged with the most required a lower magic setting.  I really struggled having to handle rampent spellcasting being assumed.  Additionally, my style of DM'ing does not mesh with the "make an insight check" culture associated with 5e.  

My futile attempts of retooling and houseruling 5e caused me to become frustrated with the system.  After being introduced to Knave, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Old School Essentials, and other OSR systems—I fell in love!

Majority of my posts will be about my thoughts as a DM and suggesting tools for players and DM's alike to create a more enjoyable experience for all at the table.  I think there are a lot of different systems brought to the table by a lot of indie/DIY ttrpg authors that more people should experience!

I'll also try and document some session reports here and start a running list of "lessons learned" from the game—very similar to the Chris Perkins sheet of old.  I'll also occasionally review adventures I ran or extensively read.    

Finally, I co-host a 15 minute DnD podcast discussing the weals & woes of being a DM.  If you are looking for a short podcast that attempts get straight to the issue—check us out: https://anchor.fm/zoneofhottruth.   

If you have any suggestions about topics, feel free to contact me on twitter @ItsEricReitz

Hope you enjoy! 

Eric