My First Character

When I got into Dungeons & Dragons (and the table top RPG hobby by extension), I'd already decided I wanted to be a GM. Basically I decided to be a forever GM from day one. So being a player the first time was more to form a group and get to see the rules in action than anything else. I can still count the number of characters and campaigns I've played in on one hand!

The first campaign was a largely by the book dungeon delve of Forge of Fury, found in the 5e anthology Tales From the Yawning Portal. The large amount of combat and exploration was helpful in teaching me how 5e combat runs, and giving me experience with a rather classic, abet simple, adventure default goal: clear the dungeon.

However, I think I came into the game with expectations of more roleplay than combat. My inexperience with the system meant my character ended up being a quirky (read insane) and memorable (at least in my mind) fellow, who was atrocious in combat.

I picked the warlock class, because the idea of a fiendish patron destined to return and reap the character's soul in a Faustian bargain struck me as dramatic. My own love (obsession) for books lead me to select the pact of the tome. I imagined a large book with shifting infernal symbols attached to my character by a chain. 

I also decided to roll my stats in the Roll20 Charactermancer we were using. 3d6 for each, arranged however I chose. They turned out pretty crummy. The Charactermancer, or perhaps another online name generator also gifted me my characters name: Kasdal Farseeker. 

Kasdal's Recreated Character Sheet in Foundry VTT

So I decided Kasdal was a tall, thin man, with sunken eyes and a thousand yard stare (read weak and sickly). I made him lawful neutral, but in practice probably played him more towards chaotic evil. Based on the traits of the sage background, I came up with the idea that Kasdal had made his pact seeking greater knowledge about the nature of the universe. His ultimate goal was to achieve perfect knowledge and perhaps then ascend as deific-like creature. Of course his pact had largely driven him insane, and he needed to escape its bonds while using its power to find the hidden knowledge he craved. Sadly we didn't get to explore these possibilities while exploring the Forge of Fury. Instead we had a nasty fight with a Roper, kicked a number of Duergar, and faced off with a Black Dragon in the depths of the caves. The monk who joined our party late in the campaign dropped at least twice and hilariously popped up (with help from the Wildfire druid) to punch the dragon in the face again and again. Kasdal, due to his lack of optimization, hung out in the back and slung largely ineffectual Eldritch Blasts.

While I was often disappointed in my character’s abilities, I think the campaign proved extremely valuable in teaching me how to use a relatively complex spellcaster class. I also learned some tactical combat and valuable GM skills. Plus it was a blast with my group. My favorite part remains our first session in which Kasdal used his Thaumaturgy abilities to create sparks as magical light effects to enhance the druid's performance on her oud for the inn and tavern goers in the town of Blazingdale. It felt like we were really putting on a concert and set my imagination racing, visualizing the scene. We made a ton of money too, in true adventurer fashion. Maybe we could have started a concert tour instead of a dungeon delve and totally derailed the campaign.

What I do know is that those experiences made me love the game, but even more showed me how amazing the hobby is for bringing people together and getting their imaginations going. Getting them to laugh and forget about all the garbage that we have to face the rest of the time in life. I knew even more that I wanted to help make that possible by GMing great games.