This actually happened earlier this week, on Monday to be specific: I ran a session and I was tired and didn’t feel great about how the session ran. I had prepared a lot, but somehow it didn’t come to life.

The next day, I sat down with a fountain pen and a sheet of paper and wrote down 10 things that went well. This exercise helped me a lot. I can now accept that not every session is going to be legendary. That’s totally ok. But when you actually look at it the right way, you’ll notice that there were tons of tiny little things that went right. And I believe focusing on them is an important part of being happy in life.

  1. I did a session!
  2. The players had some fun!
  3. I improvised the lake at Dura’s Tears.
  4. I roleplayed Jarl quite nicely.
  5. The Planetarium was a nice element of wonder.
  6. One of the players came all the way to the office to join the session, even though he had the day off.
  7. The players brought their own snacks. They shared some with me.
  8. The players learned to loot - and found some treasure!
  9. The players might have found a new temporary home base at Chames & Bari’s B&B.
  10. We’re in an ideal position to work on the Ranger’s story and introduce NPCs and locations tied to his backstory.

I did a session. Showing up consistently is how you achieve anything worth achieving.

The players did have fun. I know, because I asked. It’s also easy to tell. I did notice them less excited than in other sessions but hey. Not every session can be the best session ever.

I improvised the lake at Dura’s Tears. A shrine devoted to the God of Death, Shadows, Tears and lost loved ones. The Rogue went off script of course and jumped into a lake in the middle of the Endless Warrens looking for treasure. In a lake made from the tears of the mourning. In hindsight, there is so much I could have done to make that more awesome, but who would have expected that?

I improvised Jarl quite nicely - a swashbuckler with a sad demeanour who came to have a good cry for his lost love at the shrine. My mood actually helped portray a character that is grieving. Of course, since then I’ve decided that Jarl, while sad about losing the love of his life, actually brought her down to the Endless Warrens to sacrifice her in return for power. Let’s see if he shows up again.

The players got to check out the Planetarium, a giant, ancient orrery. They found out about how there’s a planetary alignment about to happen, a conjunction of the spheres and that that puts some time pressure on their quest. I could have been more YES AND about this and let them interact with it more nicely. But still. Exploration pillar: Check.

One of the players came to the office on his free day. This is one of the most important pieces of evidence that the session wasn’t total crap - sure. The player decided before the session to be there. But still: I must be doing something right.

Players brought their own snacks: Snacks are incredibly important for the game. Don’t underestimate the power of ritualised communal eating.

The players learned to loot: I have a ton of magical items they could be finding and except for the Rogue, the players are not quite in the habit of checking for interesting stuff. I can’t just have an NPC walk up to them and give them a bag of gold can I? Wait. I can! And will! Because that’s a freaking great idea!!

The players might have found anew temporary home base at Chames & Bari’s, a B&B in the Endless Warrens used by adventurers looking to delve into the dungeons there. This is me remembering my last vacation in Puglia, Italy. Go, if you ever get the chance!

And finally, the Ranger had mentioned in between sessions, that the Sorcerer, the Cleric and the Rogue all had their backstory woven into the campaign. The Ranger isn’t big on role play and is more interested in tactical combat. Also, I’ve been having a bit of trouble working his backstory into the campagin as… it didn’t have a lot of hooks. But now we’re in his favoured environment. This is where his people are. He’s supposed to be dead so… Some people are in for a surprise when he shows up alive!

I’m excited now for the next session. Will it be legendary? Who cares. All I need to do is show up. The rest we’ll work out at the table.