A Kreggar wanders into a blog

Hi, I’m Craig Kreggar, welcome to my meandering first post. I don’t have some grand goal for this project, or an intention for it to turn into a source of income. That’s not why I’m here.

This blog will be my space to organize my thoughts on various topics, to give myself a structure and goals for some projects. I gave it the title Kreggar Wandering to reflect the nature of this pursuit. I see my hobbies as part of a journey, with my preferences and goals changing over time, and always as a source of internal reflection as I refine my understanding of the things I’m passionate about and the skills required to practice a hobby’s craft.

I never really considered myself a creator or artist, until I recently began practicing the skills of Dungeon Mastering and found a new passion which is inherently creative. I don’t have any real training in the technical qualities, or jargon, of a creative art, but I think I have other skills which will give this blog a voice. As I told my wife when discussing this idea of blogging…I like to think and talk about thinking.

                So, what will this blog be about? Mostly the infinite and broad pursuit of being a better DM (or game master, referee, judge, etc.), as I continue to learn and practice the craft. I’ll share my thoughts on my journey as a new DM, point the way to resources that I have found to be genuinely helpful, and my process for refining the skills I’m focusing on at the moment. I will also use DMing as the lens through which I view hobbyist pursuits, and the struggles we all face with balancing our various passions against the ever-present limitation of time and other obligations. How do we choose which pursuits to prioritize? How do we manage the guilt, or feelings of inadequacy, which can arise when we spend time with our hobbies? Where does the value of one’s labor fit into this dynamic? I don’t mean ‘value’ in a monetary sense, rather as an intrinsic value to our sense of self and well-being.

                I have numerous other passions in addition to TTRPGs and being a better DM for my players, but gaming has always been the space where I spend most of my time. Video games have been my primary hobby for most of my life, and my relationship with this medium has evolved significantly in recent years. Not only in my tastes for certain kinds of games and experiences, but also the time I can devote to engaging with my games since becoming a partner to my wife; and now we are parents of two wonderful kids, which caused the greatest impact on the time I have to engage with the hobbies which enrich my life.

                Add to this my insatiable need for listening to music, both new discoveries and repeated spins of favorites. The persistent pile of books to be read, which has only grown since diving into a gaming hobby built from books. The actual need to spend time exercising. The deluge of interesting looking movies and tv shows I’d like to watch alongside my partner. Hobbies, how do we find the time?

                These are some of the topics prompting me to start this blog, and I’m sure I’ll touch on all of these in time, but first I would like to take on a project which has a potential endpoint. An idea which I’m currently calling “Rich Character Advancement”, because I haven’t come up with a better name yet. I’ll dive into that topic with a follow-up post soon.