Names have been changed to protect the anonymity of the people involved.
Our table is really lucky in that we have 5 members plus our DM, my husband. We also meet every other week and our sessions usually last about 9 to 10 hours. This allows us to have an incredibly immersive game. We have so far completed 2 campaigns/modules. Our adventure started in Barovia with the Curse of Strahd Module. After surviving that horror show we moved on to a home brew that my husband created. It took place on a secluded island far from the mainland. It was an island formed of fae magic. We had to navigate a completely new area and completed that chapter. Right now we are in Waterdeep running through the Dragon Heist Module.
Our table consists of our friend who has been with us since the beginning, Milo. There’s also Criss, Cal, Rick and myself. I am the only female at this table and while we have had another girl come and spectate we haven’t found anyone actually interested in playing which makes me a bit of a sad panda. That said, we have a great array of people and personalities that make the table super fun. We have people of all different ages, beliefs, and backgrounds. We found Criss through the DnD Beyond forums and he ended up inviting Cal. Our friend Milo ended up inviting his co-worker Rick. We also had another member who ended up disappearing about a year ago. We later found out that he had been arrested for sexual assault and was serving like 12 years or something. Just goes to show, you never really know a person. We were lucky nothing ever happened in our home but it still gives me the heebies.
Even though we have had a turbulent time trying to find our permanent members, we now have a table that is strong and well balanced. We try to make it fun and immersive without pushing anything on anyone. There are a couple of us that are really into the role playing aspect with accents and mannerisms and there are those who just like the story and don’t necessarily want to act. We try and make sure no one is pressured to do anything they don’t want to. While there are some of us that have watched and love Critical Role and other streaming shows of the same nature we have reached a nice balance. We have managed to avoid much of the Matt Mercer effect and we don’t have anyone trying to copy a character from one of those streams. Our characters are unique and complex. We all have different motivations and, while they can at times conflict, we try to balance every individual story with the overall story.
We don’t have the perfect table but we do have a lot of great people who want to play and be part of a team. I am so grateful for the people we have and will be extremely sad if they ever leave. The best thing to keep in mind is to communicate with each other, respect each other, and remember that at the end of the day this is just a game and should not be the cause of any issues or anger. Having fun is the main priority here.
The Adventure Begins: Stories from the Wife of a Dungeon Master 