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Thanks for stopping by! It's my first time DM'ing a DnD campaign and I'm stoked you're here.
You're probably wondering, how are you DM'ing a game with 15+ players? Simple. West Marches! This method allows players to choose their adventure on the dates they are available. Claiming a seat is first come, first serve and players must post in "Expedition Hall" to call for adventurers and share the recaps of their adventures (see our blog). Why all women? The 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragon community on Facebook is 50K members strong and a majority are men. Aside from the popular Geek and Sundry or Critical Role backed shows, a majority of streamed games are comprised of white men. I wanted to create a space for women to learn how to play and create a world together. |
About the DM
I grew up watching the D&D cartoon on Saturday mornings in the 80s but when it came to playing in real life, I didn't think the game was for me. I'm a first generation Filipino American woman who grew up volunteering after school with Key Club or playing tennis. I didn't grow up playing anything more than Scrabble and Monopoly.
Fast forward to 2013 and I meet my boyfriend at the time who had been playing D&D for 30 years. He's the stereotypical D&D player: white male from the Midwest who loves playing video games and Carhartt. By then I was playing tabletop games like Dominion and Five Tribes and I couldn't fathom the idea of Dungeons & Dragons. How could people play a game by talking around a table using only paper and dice? It sounded ridiculous. A year later, we moved to Detroit and he answered a Redditor's post asking for someone to teach him and his friends how to play D&D.
I accompanied him in meeting the Redditors and was surprised to find they were a diverse mix of men and women in their mid-20s. He started leading sessions and mentoring their DM on Monday nights while I was at my regular board game night. I came home early one of those nights and could hear the Redditors laughing. It sounded fun. But how could D&D be fun?
I crept upstairs and peered in. I could see a battle map with minis, leaflets of paper, and pencils flying furiously as the DM rolled dice. Groans ensued, and then the occasional hurrah. I pushed my way in and saddled up to next to the DM. "Want to roll my dice?" he asked. I agreed dubiously and rolled an "18." The players groaned. He gleefully nodded, "Ouch." I realized I had done something. The DM proceeded to narrate the damage and I then realized what D&D was. It had seem abstract, but it was simply storytelling.
I rolled a character shortly thereafter -- a bloodhunter named Elektra Vrago that I based on Matt Mercer's build for Vin Diesel. I met Matt Mercer at GenCon 2016 for $2 admission and had him sign my Player's Handbook. I had no idea how big of a deal he would become with Critical Role.
Since then, I've made dozens of characters, like Dania the drunken Green Fairy of Wickshire, ran the mega Detroit West Marches for 50 players, and currently play three characters in two campaigns.
I grew up watching the D&D cartoon on Saturday mornings in the 80s but when it came to playing in real life, I didn't think the game was for me. I'm a first generation Filipino American woman who grew up volunteering after school with Key Club or playing tennis. I didn't grow up playing anything more than Scrabble and Monopoly.
Fast forward to 2013 and I meet my boyfriend at the time who had been playing D&D for 30 years. He's the stereotypical D&D player: white male from the Midwest who loves playing video games and Carhartt. By then I was playing tabletop games like Dominion and Five Tribes and I couldn't fathom the idea of Dungeons & Dragons. How could people play a game by talking around a table using only paper and dice? It sounded ridiculous. A year later, we moved to Detroit and he answered a Redditor's post asking for someone to teach him and his friends how to play D&D.
I accompanied him in meeting the Redditors and was surprised to find they were a diverse mix of men and women in their mid-20s. He started leading sessions and mentoring their DM on Monday nights while I was at my regular board game night. I came home early one of those nights and could hear the Redditors laughing. It sounded fun. But how could D&D be fun?
I crept upstairs and peered in. I could see a battle map with minis, leaflets of paper, and pencils flying furiously as the DM rolled dice. Groans ensued, and then the occasional hurrah. I pushed my way in and saddled up to next to the DM. "Want to roll my dice?" he asked. I agreed dubiously and rolled an "18." The players groaned. He gleefully nodded, "Ouch." I realized I had done something. The DM proceeded to narrate the damage and I then realized what D&D was. It had seem abstract, but it was simply storytelling.
I rolled a character shortly thereafter -- a bloodhunter named Elektra Vrago that I based on Matt Mercer's build for Vin Diesel. I met Matt Mercer at GenCon 2016 for $2 admission and had him sign my Player's Handbook. I had no idea how big of a deal he would become with Critical Role.
Since then, I've made dozens of characters, like Dania the drunken Green Fairy of Wickshire, ran the mega Detroit West Marches for 50 players, and currently play three characters in two campaigns.
