Shawn

disorganized yeah yeah uh and and so it it grounded me when you first come especially back then when there isn't a lot of social media a lot of interaction you're like think these people are just right demigods right right you think they're perfect right just they're they're there they know their shit sorry uh they know their stuff

uh they you think they've got it all together and then you realize that they're just like you right they have more experience they have more skill in some cases but they're they're just and so that helped me in that area but also then as social media became more prominent and the anti-wizards of the coast sentiments became magnified by the echo chamber, I also realized that they're not evil.

uh they you think they've got it all together and then you realize that they're just like you right they have more experience they have more skill in some cases but they're they're just and so that helped me in that area but also then as social media became more prominent and the anti-wizards of the coast sentiments became magnified by the echo chamber, I also realized that they're not evil.

Corporations may be evil, but the people that populate it are just trying to do their jobs and they're generally fine folk. And that has been so important for me to keep my sanity. over the course of a 25-year career now. So important.

Corporations may be evil, but the people that populate it are just trying to do their jobs and they're generally fine folk. And that has been so important for me to keep my sanity. over the course of a 25-year career now. So important.

Yeah, and those times of transition are, multiply it by 100, the awkwardness of trying to put together something that's already not perfect to start with, And then all that changed. I worked on two D&D Encounters seasons. The first one was War of Everlasting Darkness, which was a bridge between fourth edition and D&D Next. They knew fourth edition was ending.

Yeah, and those times of transition are, multiply it by 100, the awkwardness of trying to put together something that's already not perfect to start with, And then all that changed. I worked on two D&D Encounters seasons. The first one was War of Everlasting Darkness, which was a bridge between fourth edition and D&D Next. They knew fourth edition was ending.

They hadn't announced it yet, but they knew it was going to end. So they wanted to sort of experiment with the D&D Encounters format, which was a very linear adventure.

They hadn't announced it yet, but they knew it was going to end. So they wanted to sort of experiment with the D&D Encounters format, which was a very linear adventure.

where you play one encounter that evening people level or not people gain stuff or not then the next week they come back and they play the next encounter this was play a chapter of a novel that could take place over months in one session Fourth edition had daily encounters, daily powers and counterpowers, at will powers. So we had to mess around with those.

where you play one encounter that evening people level or not people gain stuff or not then the next week they come back and they play the next encounter this was play a chapter of a novel that could take place over months in one session Fourth edition had daily encounters, daily powers and counterpowers, at will powers. So we had to mess around with those.

And, you know, it was as you would expect. Some people thought it was cool, but for the most part, people were like, why are you breaking something I love? Then the next season, they already moved into D&D Next. They had already released the first version of those rules. So now they wanted an encounter season that could be playable for 4th edition or D&D Next.

And, you know, it was as you would expect. Some people thought it was cool, but for the most part, people were like, why are you breaking something I love? Then the next season, they already moved into D&D Next. They had already released the first version of those rules. So now they wanted an encounter season that could be playable for 4th edition or D&D Next.

And it also broke the D&D Encounters mold by being less linear. They wanted you to start in a town and be able to move in different directions. Well, the whole point of D&D Encounters was, if I don't show up a week, I'll just catch up the following week because it's a linear game. And whoever showed up will throw at a table.

And it also broke the D&D Encounters mold by being less linear. They wanted you to start in a town and be able to move in different directions. Well, the whole point of D&D Encounters was, if I don't show up a week, I'll just catch up the following week because it's a linear game. And whoever showed up will throw at a table.

And we know they played this encounter last week, so they'll play this encounter this week. And this was completely different. in that you could start in the town and you could investigate the moat house first, or you could investigate the temple first, or you could investigate the caves first. So it threw all of that out the window.

And we know they played this encounter last week, so they'll play this encounter this week. And this was completely different. in that you could start in the town and you could investigate the moat house first, or you could investigate the temple first, or you could investigate the caves first. So it threw all of that out the window.

So this was sort of an experiment on top of an experiment on top of yet another experiment And let's see what we can do. And for some people, they said that was the most fun Encounters season we had because the DM had the freedom to move things around, tell a story. And again, for others, it was why are you breaking what we love? How dare you, you monster.

So this was sort of an experiment on top of an experiment on top of yet another experiment And let's see what we can do. And for some people, they said that was the most fun Encounters season we had because the DM had the freedom to move things around, tell a story. And again, for others, it was why are you breaking what we love? How dare you, you monster.

So the flexibility and the form following the function just keeps coming back to bear in these situations.