It's Uniquely Yours... Don't be afraid to tell It!

Resist the resistance. Feel the fear and do it anyway.

Since every story has been already told before, you don't need to worry or beat yourself up about making things wholly original.

This is good news.

It frees you from worrying about being truly unique or inspiring. Creating something exciting will become natural if you write what you want to write. 

Your excitement and your passion will show through, and your players will feel that. It takes so much energy and effort to be totally and completely original.

It's better to tell your story in your own way and in your own voice. 

Working in your own voice and your own personal experience is what will make your story original. 

Put your personal touch on it. Make it how you want it. 

Write the story you want to enjoy, run the game you would want to play. 

Create the world you want to play in. If you enjoy it, other people will to!

No one can tell your story exactly like you can. Even if people are running the same pre-made adventure, yours will be told differently with your own flavor and character. 

No one will be able to tell it like you do. Add your own characters, worlds and ideas. 

Add to the adventure, add to the myth with your own personal spirit. 

Create your worlds, create that which draws you to the game. 

Follow your heart and passion that made you want to DM in the first place.

You have your own special voice. There is and always will be room for more stories. Tell yours. 

Tell your story because no one else can say it like you can. 

No one will be able to weave the tapestry of adventure and excitement like you do.

 Your voice is unique. Use it. embrace it. And above all, enjoy it.

Being a DM isn't just about running a game or knowing all the rules. 

Being a good dungeon master is being a story teller, a bard, a narrator, an actor and director. 

You channel your muse tapped into the primal nature of the story and myth that we all feel in our hearts.

Your call to adventure awaits! Answer it.

The War of art By Steven Pressfield

Most of us usually allow “life” to get in the way of our plans and dreams. The War of Art tells us that “life” is actually our resistance trying its best to stop us from what we really want to do.

The ‘war’ that is in the title of the book is the war within yourself, the war against the resistance inside all of us.

Pressfield talks about resistance as an enemy that we have to fight every day. Resistance fights against us in many forms. Resistance is our procrastination, our excuses to put things off until later. Resistance is self-sabotage.

Pressfield says “Resistance’s goal is not to wound or disable. Resistance aims to kill. It’s target is the epicenter of our being: our genius, our soul, the unique and priceless gift we were put on this earth to give and that no one else has but us. Resistance means business. When we fight it, we are in a war to the death.”

This book had a profound effect on me. I learned all the ways that resistance can destroy a good idea or kill dreams so they will never be followed. 

I see now how much resistance I had allowed to come into my life. I see how I constantly let laziness and resistance win out over my passions and dreams.

 Pressfiled wants to help us maintain a mindset that will help us survive, adapt, and win the every-day battle, within ourselves, against our resistance.

The War of Art talks about becoming a professional. In this context, a professional is someone who works everyday to practice and advance their craft, whatever it might be. A professional is humble and hard working.

“The amatuer believes he must overcome his fear; Then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist.”

I learned that one must be very serious and dedicated to their calling in order to get anything done. I found that there is a vast difference between someone with a hobby they work on casually once a month and a serious professional who works on their craft every day.

I admire everything about this book. I have fought with depression and a lack of motivation all of my life, and now I know it is the power of resistance trying to kick my ass everyday. After reading this, I see how strong resistance is, and how much I have let it take over my life.

Pressfield teaches us about invoking your muse. You can call the muse whatever you want, inspiration, creativity, a guardian angel, a calling, or simply passion to work on something.

The muse is what takes over for you, when you continue your work. Whenever you feel like you are “in the zone,” that feeling is the muse helping you out. If you want to invoke the power of your muse, you’ll have to learn what this book has to tell us.

This book is an amazing motivator and an amazing resource to continue coming back to. If you ever feel lazy or unmotivated, The War of Art can help us get back on track. We could all benefit from knowing more about how to fight resistance and follow our dreams.

This is about taking your passion seriously, the reason you get up in the morning. The War of Art can be a serious and feel-good inspiration for taking your dreams seriously. If you feel the call to follow your dreams or advance your craft, this book is for you! 

Combat Tactics For Dungeon Masters.

 By Keith Ammann.

After reading The Monsters Know What They're Doing , I had found what I was missing. This book taught me how to interpret the stats to make the D&D creatures come to life. Now my creatures and boss battles are so much more engaging and dynamic than ever before!

 The Monsters Know What They’re Doing is not a replacement for the D&D monsters manual. You’ll still need the manual and the Players Handbook for game rules. The Monsters Know What They’re Doing focuses on things you won't find in the monsters manual. Keith's focus leans more toward monster's tactics and instincts more than just a block of stats.

 I’ve been DMing for over 15 years now, (started with 3rd edition) and the combat tactics I have learned from this book are greatly appreciated. Most of the information Ammann gives us is pretty new to me. My mind was blown when I first sat down to read The Monsters Know What They're Doing. 

When it comes to monsters, my DM style was completely lazy. I usually ignore most stats, I hate math and numbers, and I never calculate experience points, and I always thought CR was just a guideline.

When preparing, I only ever paid attention to enemy attacks, spells I liked, and special abilities. I rarely thought twice about ability scores, and skills like perception, stealth and the rest. I never thought twice about how goblins actually behave in battle. I just threw them at the players and treated the goblins like low level cannon fodder.

 Boy was I wrong.

Kieth says, “High-strength and high-constitution creatures are brutes that welcome a close-quarters slugfest.” Before now, all I would see is how much damage a monster does.

Ammanns advice gets deeper and more specific. Every section and chapter in the book focuses on a different type of monster; NPCs, undead, dragons, aberrations, constructs, demons and much more. 

I am currently excited to run a vampire in one of my current campaigns. I learned how a vampire would use its spells, and special abilities more tactfully long before a battle even starts. I learned the way it can manipulate other monsters and PCs to its advantage.

I admit that I haven’t read the whole book, I have just skipped around and read about the creatures that I was interested in or was planning on running in an upcoming session.

This Book makes it easy for DM’s to skip around and find the info they need. The organization is great for campaign planning when you don’t have much time.

If you aren’t too familiar with the 5th edition rules, it might get kind of confusing. But I don’t think that would be a problem for most DMs.

I learned and will continue to learn how to run monsters and enemies more effectively than I ever had before. Ammanns’ book is an amazing resource that I will be using for many more years to come. 

A professional dungeon master never stops learning. If you want to improve your encounters, and your game, this book is most definitely for you. I believe every dungeon master could benefit from Keith Ammanns sage advice.

The Monsters Know What They’re Doing is an insightful eye opener that deserves its place on the shelf next to the Dungeon Masters guide. It is essential reading for dungeon masters who want to improve their game.