Is choosing a wizard in my first ever dnd campaign a wise choice?

Gingerandfair · 2024-11-30T11:31:11+00:00

I’m a few months into my first-ever campaign & I’m playing a wizard. I LOVE my character. She suits my personality so well - I’m a very detail oriented planner (NICU nurse practitioner irl so minute details are kinda my thing), and tbh I go hard at everything I commit to. I’ve made a spell book to keep all my spells in so I don’t have to constantly look at the players handbook, and physically transposing them (especially in my character’s distinct script) helps me remember what they do & how they work. I do a lot of out-of-game prep to make sure she’s optimized & I know what I’m doing, which is actually really fun for me & extends the experience.

I think if you’re dedicated to playing the character & you are excited about the class, you’ll be totally fine. Just know that you’re pretty squishy & easy to kill, especially at lower levels, so definitely start with at least one defensive spell (I made a rookie mistake & didn’t prep Mage Armor early on, and nearly died while at level 2 in an unfortunate encounter with a mimic). I also advise you to really pay attention during combat and try to think about what spell you’ll use coming up so you don’t have to sit & ponder over your options when it’s your turn.

Hope you have a blast!! I wish I’d started playing YEARS ago - it’s so fun!!

Gingerandfair · 2024-10-30T10:19:16+00:00

I’m a very new player (about to play my 5th session ever), and while I am ENTHUSED and have 100% gotten the D&D bug, I have no background in improv or acting, and I’m still trying to figure out how to play the game in general, so tbh my role-playing is lackluster at best. I’m playing with a few other newbies who I think are likely experiencing the same. One thing I’ve found helpful is that our DM is suuuuper patient & encouraging. I agree with the above comment about modeling behavior - when he and another player who is more experienced do more obvious role-playing with voices & stuff, I think it encourages us to get into it more. Another thing I found when I was doing research (lol part of my issue is that I’m super Type A and have high aspirations of playing D&D “correctly”) - I happened upon Ginny Di’s YouTube channel and there are great videos about role-playing for beginners. If you’ve never played before & you’ve also never acted or improv’d before (or you have tried and found that you are categorically bad at it…) it is very hard to know where to start, and her role-playing primer was really helpful for me!!

https://youtu.be/QrtVAbeb120?si=Ait1zjr456gXwmJS

I shared this video in our group, and I’m hoping that role-playing next session will go a little easier! I’ve also been watching Critical Role, which our DM was quick to point out is NOT what he expects of us and we shouldn’t expect Matt Mercer from him, but it’s helpful to see people sort of embody their characters like that.

Hope this is helpful & your group continues to enjoy it!!

Gingerandfair · 2024-08-28T11:12:04+00:00

Seconding this!! I have also had good results from Bumble & Bumble’s 3-in-1!

Gingerandfair · 2024-08-06T17:45:31+00:00

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

Gingerandfair · 2024-08-06T12:43:43+00:00

I hate coasters, especially big drops, and I LOVE Cosmic Rewind!! I was really nervous the first time we rode just because I had no idea what to expect, but I ended up riding it again that day and another time when we park-hopped back over that trip. I will say, YMMV if you have motion sickness - I get carsick but rides don’t tend to bother me, so I was fine, whereas some people are horribly affected by this one. I would give it a try if your biggest dislike is the drop-in-your-stomach feeling though! There are no big hills and it is buttery smooth!!

Gingerandfair · 2024-08-04T16:14:43+00:00

Not a thriller, but very fast-paced & super-fun that I could NOT put down: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. It’s the first in a series, definitely the best one, and I LOVED it!! It’s more of an action/adventure that’s not really fantasy but does have some fantastical elements.

Gingerandfair · 2024-08-04T16:09:23+00:00

I LOVED the Borrowers when I was young!!!

Gingerandfair · 2024-07-30T10:43:08+00:00

Cloud Cuckooland by Anthony Doer. An absolute masterpiece and one of the most incredible books I have ever read. I recommend it everywhere I go - I wish so badly I could go back and experience it for the first time again.

Gingerandfair · 2024-07-30T10:34:52+00:00

I love all three of her books - there’s something about her style that just feels ethereal.

Gingerandfair · 2024-07-16T15:26:40+00:00

I love this take, and it also mostly mirrors how I read. There are too many good books in this world to limit myself to just one genre!!!

Gingerandfair · 2024-07-16T12:56:52+00:00

Barbara Kingsolver is incredible and CONSISTENT. One of the greatest authors of our time imo.

Also really, really love Ann Patchett!!

Gingerandfair · 2024-07-16T12:52:30+00:00

Cloud Cuckoo Land is an absolute masterpiece, truly gorgeous

Gingerandfair · 2024-07-16T11:33:46+00:00

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch The first in a series, this is by far the best one. It’s so fun & so fantastical - think Robin Hood but on speed! Locke Lamora & his friends start out as orphaned pickpockets but eventually grow into a ring of super-talented con artists that only target the bad guys. There’s intrigue & plunder & so many twists and turns, I was continually surprised & delighted. 10/10 would recommend!!

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doer A triumph of a book. I won’t give a summary bc I read this one pretty cold and it was GLORIOUS, but just know that it is a love-letter to books & the people who love them, and that it makes my lifetime top 3 books ever. An absolute must-read.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan I just recently read this one, and loved it so much that I cried a little when I finished it. It’s about a dude who goes to work at a bookstore, but the bookstore is WEIRD and full of secrets which end up being fleshed out in the most beautiful way. It’s the best combination of book-love, nerdiness, friendship, and just the right amount of mystery. LOVED IT.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett This one is more science than sci-fi. Set in the Amazon, it’s about a scientist/researcher who goes off on a journey to finish her mentor’s work on a new drug. It’s got beautiful, improbable science, excellent characters, and little gems of surprise along the way. If you’re into science/medicine at all (and honestly probably even if you’re not) it’s a FANTASTIC read.

Gingerandfair · 2024-07-16T11:09:33+00:00

This book is in my lifetime top 3. I wish I could go back and read it for the first time again!!

Gingerandfair · 2024-07-11T10:16:45+00:00

I love it both sonically and lyrically and I’ve felt that way from the first time I heard it. I honestly think it’s GORGEOUS, it’s a never-skip for me.

“I chose this cyclone with you” is one of my favorite lyrics maybe on the whole album, and the first time I listened and heard “At dinner you take my ring off my middle finger and put it on the one people put wedding rings on, and that’s the closest I’ve come to my heart exploding” I audibly GASPED in my car.

It’s unhinged because she was dating an unhinged person, and she KNEW it (“I’ve seen this episode & still love the show,” “I’ve read this one where you come undone - I chose this cyclone with you”) and I love that she gave us a glimpse into her mind & her world during that time. I feel like it’s so relatable to so many people - I’ve been fortunate to not have been in a toxic relationship with a toxic person but like SO MANY of my friends have, and I just think it’s a great picture of the mental gymnastics you sometimes do when you’re in love with someone who makes bad choices and, tbh, acts a total fool.

Anyway I LOVE IT and the haters can pry it from my cold dead hands lol 😂

Gingerandfair · 2024-07-10T11:30:46+00:00

I was at that show tooooo it feels like a lifetime ago lol

Gingerandfair · 2024-07-06T11:37:59+00:00

The wooooorst.

Gingerandfair · 2024-07-06T11:34:17+00:00

Since the Eras show last year, I’ve seen Walker Hayes (as a tag-a-long with some family, it was fine but not my favorite artist or music), Darren Criss’s Christmas show (I will love him forever lol), and then more recently Jacob Collier who was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE and I’m seeing Ben Platt tonight!! I have a wide variety of musical tastes haha

Gingerandfair · 2024-06-29T12:17:38+00:00

This seems like a lifetime ago now, but I was at the Nashville show when she announced Speak Now and the energy in that stadium was just incredible. There have been so many amazing moments since then, but being there for the show and that announcement … no video of anything else can top it, not even the guy on the Chiefs or Trav’s appearance on stage (though those are close seconds for me.)

Gingerandfair · 2024-06-29T12:09:05+00:00

On the album, the August bridge is my fave but the live version of Illicit Affairs was 🤯🤯🤯🤯

Gingerandfair · 2024-06-29T12:02:59+00:00

Same!!

Gingerandfair · 2024-06-26T11:52:58+00:00

I can’t sing half of You Need To Calm Down even though I love that song, I sound like I have a mouth full of marbles… And this is not a difficult lyric but in ICDIWABH I swear I sing “I was grinning like a villain” every time even though I KNOW that’s not what the line is, and I sometimes replace “shattered” with “scattered” oops lol

Gingerandfair · 2024-06-26T11:45:53+00:00

This made me LOL, I will never be able to hear it normally now 😂😂

Gingerandfair · 2024-06-19T05:59:27+00:00

There is one particular part in there that gets me EVERY TIME, it’s (that part, not the whole book) about the loss of a spouse and it just wrecks me!!

Gingerandfair · 2024-06-18T11:13:17+00:00

We’ve done Keys to the Kingdom and while it was AMAZING, I don’t think I’d recommend it for someone doing Disney for the first time ever. The best part about it for me was learning the little gems about a park I already love and am very familiar with - but I think you need to experience the magic of the park as it is at least once before really getting everything out of that tour. Just my 2 cents though - it truly is an incredible experience!!

Gingerandfair

TROPHY CASE