Today we interview @DisasterDM_Evi all about their work as a DM
1. How long have you been involved in the ttrpg community?
Well, I’ve been involved in TTRPG itself for around 17 years, but I’ve only really been in the online TTRPG space since maybe 2020. I wouldn’t even call myself active in the space until mid 2021 really.
2. What is it like being a DM?
Being a DM is a different experience for each person, and for me it changes with most of the groups I run. In general it’s a fun but wildly varying experience, especially factoring in the differences between home and online games. I do a lot of improv and rp for my games, so it’s very engaging and a creative thought process for me.
3. Any advice for new DMs?
My best advice for new DMs is find out what you’re comfortable with, and find out what you want to become comfortable with. You’re a player at the table too, just with different responsibilities. If your players know where you’re trying to improve or change, they can be gentler and possibly even assist. If you know where you’re comfortable, you can start with that and build toward more. The biggest step is communication: be that of what you need, what is happening in game, or what the players need.
4. Can you tell us about @dndisasterstory?
DnDisasterStory is one of those wildly varying experiences for me. I had actually never run a 5e game before that one, as I was a 3.5 DM for years before and primarily at home games, but I wanted to try it out, and had some online contacts enough to gather more players than I’d even meant to pull. We all went in knowing that while I was familiar with the system, I was still learning it, and aware that because of that and my style it would be a Role Play heavy campaign. It was actually only after the first several sessions with the insane hijinks and player chemistry that we even realized what we had as a group. Podcast talks started by the time they’d reached level 2, and we began recording around the level up to 3.
The plot centers around novice adventurers that got talked into signing a contract to adventure on a wild island for a year, during which they’d have the resources of their employer (though they don’t know who it is) as well as magic coins that will bring them back to life should they die in the course of their work. Instead of getting much adventuring done, or really even exploring, most of the time the group is off on a wild scheme or conspiracy- including the supposed murder of one of their own who was just taking a nap in private.
5. Goals for this year?
My goals for myself are mostly to grow in the space so that I can experience gaming, and GMing, with more people. I’ve got a streamed campaign with Bards&Brews that I’ll be DMing for called Into the Fog that seems to be gathering excitement, and I’ll be running other one-shots and improv-shots as time allows. For the podcast, I’d like to get a few more of my followers (on either account) listening, as it’s a hilarious romp that I definitely think more people would enjoy.
6. Where can people support your work?
For the moment you can support my work by listening to the Podcast, DnDisasterStory found on all major podcast platforms and audio streaming services, and tune into the streamed game, Into the Fog, every other Tuesday on the Bards&Brews twitch channel. I may release some actual materials on Itch by years end, but that’s up in the air.
