I recently read Stephen King’s On Writing, a cross between a memoir and a writing guide. Even though King is a fiction writer, I was surprised to find that there’s a good deal of writing advice that applies to the writing I do as a consultant, explaining complex concepts to clients. I’ve also been working […]

Prestidigitation is a low-level spell in Dungeons & Dragons that allows the caster to perform a subset of minor effects, such as lighting a single candle or cleaning a square foot of a piece of clothing. It’s a spell that most magic-casting classes can learn, but it has few benefits in battle. One of my […]

Things don’t always go the way you expect them to go. Sometimes, you have to improvise. You roll with new information and new events as they unfold. Dungeons & Dragons actively invites uncertainty with the randomized dice-based system. Because of this, I know that it’s impossible to plan everything. Instead, I have to rely on […]

Dungeons & Dragons is a game that is almost entirely based in oral storytelling. From my players explaining what they want to do in a battle to my role as the Dungeon Master (DM) describing the nefarious villain, words are the foundation of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. That’s why communication is key. We need […]

A few weeks ago, I was involved in a D&D game where my players had just infiltrated the temple of a cult that they were investigating. They knew their disguises might not fool every cultist they passed, and everyone felt tense. Huddled together and sneaking along the passageways, they found a door and tentatively opened […]

Solid decision-making is a valuable skill in any context, but it’s an area where I’ve really grown since I started leading my D&D friends on adventures that require a consensus on a course of direction.

In my free time, I like to play Dungeons and Dragons with a group of friends. It’s a fun way to keep in contact with friends who don’t live near me. It gives us a space to create our own adventures. It’s great for de-stressing, exercising our creative energies, and just having fun together. But […]