When I started this site it was with a view to sharing stories with a wider audience, be that through the medium of podcasts where I talk about my TTRPG games, to original writing which has sprung from my homebrew setting of Esthia.
I’m almost a month into the site and I’m having a lot of fun. The design has changed every few days, but I feel like I’m settling in to the rhythm of putting out content and it’s beginning to feel a little more like home. The site is something I’d been planning for a while, but it still feels a little thrown together on very short notice. I also feel like I’ve had to take a crash course in both graphic design, audio engineering, and self-marketing in the last few weeks. It’s fortunate that TTRPG twitter is the kindest, most supportive place on the web – the amount of information and encouragement I’ve received from them is truly phenomenal. For example, I have @Abyssalbrews to that for giving out fantastic advice on how to create web banners and such. I happen to think my current banner is banging, and it’s because of their advice that I was able to make it.
I’d like to admit at this point that, I am 35 and I don’t really know what I want to be when I grow up. Ultimately, I’d like to become an author. That’s the current plan, anyway. That or a professional GM. Or both! Both is good.
When I was about 8 years old I wanted to be a magician. Then a firefighter, a vet, a doctor. The usual. In my teens I grabbed a guitar and wanted to write music, I think it was then I decided I wanted to try and make people feel things. I wanted to provoke an emotional response in people with my work. Since then I’ve tried my hand at song writing and writing fiction on several disparate occasions, but it’s so difficult to find the time with having to lead a normal, lucrative life. This time, I’ve decided to try and make a proper go at it.
Stories have always been special to me growing up, allowing me to escape when the world becomes too difficult to deal with, and providing some wonder and excitement to contrast the mundane. Stories help shape who we are as people. I am often referred to as a very kind and compassionate person, and I think it’s because I wanted to be like the people I read about and saw on TV when I was younger. People who strove to do the right thing purely because it was the right thing. I’m not suggesting we can change the world overnight by exposing people to that kind of content, but stories are a powerful way of conveying lessons and attaching emotion to events.
People’s imaginations are wonderful things, and the thought of trying to do what has been so masterfully done by all the great authors of the past irrespective of genre is a daunting one. Still, if I can reach even just a small audience who happen to enjoy my work, then that will give me contentment.
I think that feeling is what drives me as a GM. Having the ability to take players and pen their stories alongside them. Guiding them through an unfamiliar world and reaching exciting and rewarding conclusions is a great feeling. It can bind people together. Anyone who’s ever craned over a d20 with a group of friends, desperate to see the outcome, and then exploding in either joy or despair knows exactly what I’m talking about. We root for our heroes, and through games like this, I honestly think that we become each other’s heroes in a way.
That’s what I want to inspire in people. The feeling that in our own small way, we can all be heroes to someone even if just for a little while, and that’s enough. I want to write relatable characters that resonate with us on a deep level, that highlight the darkness and light within all of us, if you’ll forgive the tired expression.
To that end, I feel The Binder, for those of you who have been following it (if not, parts 1-3 are available here), is going fairly well. Nial’s journey to discover what happened in his past has so far culminated in the exploitation of a person who was once his friend. Something he has only just come to realise in the story. How he reacts to this speaks to his core values or fairness and justice. Things we can all forget sometimes in the heat of the moment. What I’ve tried to do here is introduce some of the key elements of Esthia through Nial’s eyes. This is predominantly evident in the magic system which, while possibly not evident at the moment, will reveal itself in the coming instalment.
Creation of worlds and elements such as magic systems is quite a challenging thing. I myself suffer with a good degree of imposter syndrome, as I imagine effects many people in both their professional and personal lives. Thinking about it, I need to give my audience the opportunity to accept or reject my work for themselves, rather than making the decision for them and simply not expose my work to the world. In these early days it has been quite nerve wracking to say the least. The statistics page of my website which shows the number of visitors and views I get within a specific space of time has become my most recent obsession. Something I need to keep an eye on, there. However, those who have been kind enough to reach out and discuss what they’ve read have been very positive. Both the podcast and The Binder have received encouraging comments and that has kept me buoyant in the face of producing more work. I am very thankful to both @thepopemichael and @burningstargam3 for their support on Twitter! Incidentally, you should absolutely check out these two creators if you’re at all interested in TTRPGs. They both do amazing work.
Speaking of TTRPGs, I don’t feel like I would have gotten this far were it not for the support of my various groups and the opportunities they have given me to be creative and write stories with them. Producing the podcast has given me an opportunity to relive the adventures I have had with them and honestly it’s been a lot of fun speaking with them after each episode. That being said, it sometimes feels a little simple compared to the actual play podcasts with multiple hosts and guests. There are so many out there and they’re all so good that it honestly leaves me a little intimidated. Still, as long as it remains fun for both me and my group, anyone else who decides to listen and gets some enjoyment out of it is a bonus.
I may branch out into telling the stories of my other groups or answering any questions I get from listeners. I’ve already discussed the idea of a Q&A panel with my players and, although a bit nervous, they all seemed to like the idea!
So I’m going to keep plugging away, writing, painting, and rolling to bring both you and myself some joy. The interactions I’ve had as part of this journey have been really rewarding, and I can’t wait to meet and speak to more of you as this goes on. In the coming weeks and months I want to grow as a writer and as part of a community. For what’s a bard without an audience? I genuinely hope you’re enjoying at least some of the content I am putting out, and I would love to hear from you. For those of you who don’t already follow me on Instagram or twitter, check me out, and subscribe to the site for more updates.
I’ll likely be taking a break from the podcast for at least this week as I am currently finishing my PhD thesis which is due next week (wish me luck)! I’ll be back on it soon and cranking out that sweet, sweet, fantasy content that we all love. Until then, thank you for reading, and I’ll see you soon.
Really Bard Ideas
Really Bard Ideas 
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