I run two Dungeons and Dragons groups. Before each session, as the Dungeon Master, I have to prepare the adventure. Because one of those groups has been meeting quite regularly, I am pretty constantly in the position of having an item on my list of things to do: Get Ready for DnD!
Preparing for an adventure is a creative activity. I enjoy creativity. But that doesn't mean I am always in the mood to be creative. Sometimes, the idea of putting my thinking cap on and "putting pen to paper" is just daunting. I can get overwhelmed and just move on to something else -- it's not as if I don't have other things to do, after all.
This experience is not limited to Dungeons and Dragons preparation, however. Not even close. Mow the lawn, write a blog, build a Magic: the Gathering deck, go for a run, write a story, do the laundry. I do all of these things from time to time. Sometimes, I just go right at the task, and sometimes, I just don't feel like it.
You know what I mean, right? There are things on your "to do" list which you don't feel motivated to even start, let alone complete. So how do you handle it?
For me, I have several techniques, but one of the most effective methods I have for recurring tasks is a matter of self-awareness. I try to understand what can motivate me, or what can put me in the mood, to get a project started.
It might seem strange to those of you who do not game, but for the task of Dungeons and Dragons preparation, a key inspirational tool is dice.
Dice are used in DnD to determine the success (or failure) of most actions, and the degree of that success (or failure.) And we're not talking your standard 6-sided dice, such as are used in classic board games. Oh sure, the 6-sided die does get used, at times. But there is a whole set of polyhedral shapes which form the basis of a DnD gamer's tools. The single most commonly used type of die in DnD is the 20-sided die. But in any typical adventure, the 20-sided die is used along with 4-, 6-, 8-, 10- and even 12-sided dice.
Seeing these dice, holding them in my hands, rolling them on a table or in a box. All of these actions can get my imagination running. Playing with a couple of dice can remind me of some amazing experiences I've had playing in, or running, this fantasy-based game. And once the imagination is firing, inspiration and motivation are usually not far behind.
So, this weekend, when I was in St. Paul, I stopped in The Source and let myself look at the large rack of beautifully colored dice for sale. And, because I have been resisting buying dice for a while, and because I really need to get motivated to write some material for the party as they spend a month in Deepwater, I just had to buy some new dice.
There they are. The first ones to call to me were those green/yellow beauties on the right. I saw them in a bin, then searched for a boxed set. While searching, I happened across the blue/white combo on the left. And then, there's the red one. Oh, that red one. Yes, it's big. Very big. About the size of a small fist -- say Sarah's fist, or maybe Nora's. I've "needed" a die like that for a while. I want a die I can roll in front of all of the players, so that everyone can see the result.
You see, I have a temptation, as the father of many of these players, to be a little too nice to them. If a particular role of the die might disappoint one of them, or might -- for example -- result in the death of their character, I have a real temptation to "fudge" the result. But, as in real adventuring, if there is no actual risk, the rewards are not as sweet. So, I want a die I can roll and have everyone know that the die roll is not "fixed." This red die fits the bill perfectly.
So now, I am ready. I can start working on the new material for the adventure. I am excited to get to it.
Well, except that I watched a bunch of TV, and wrote this blog, tonight. So the preparation will have to wait for tomorrow.
Unless the muse keeps calling to me. Because, seriously, once the imagination gets awoken, sometimes it just won't go to sleep again. And when the imagination doesn't sleep, neither do I.
A risk worth taking, I say.
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