The traveling game master

A dungeons and dragons Supplement

[picture of tgm]

Ch 1 Overview

INTRODUCTION

the traveling game merchant first came to Being back in 2015. At the time i was working as a mental health tech at a children’s hospital out in Massachusetts. from time to time a group of kids would come through who would ask me to show them how to play this nerd game they had always wanted to try called Dungeons and dragons. 

DND is a complicated game. Although we had a surplus of time, what we didn’t have much of was materials. dice, paper, and pencils were easy to bring in we really didn't have access to much in the way of toys or props. What we did have was a large surplus of used and broken down board games. I was improving a bunch of village merchants one day and i just thought, what if one of these guys just sold a magical or cursed version of one of these board games. There is real magic in the act of handing your players props, and the moment i handed the group our broken copy of monopoly and told them it was a vessel of great magic the game in their eyes changed. 

The magic Monopoly game became a core part of their adventure, and being able to interact directly with their "mcguffin" in person helped bring the game to life for them. as kids would come and go from our program the game master grew with each iteration of adventurers, and before too long he was one of my most popular NPCs. 

So why do i dress up as this obscure and silly character? I don’t know, maybe there is something horribly sentimental to me about this character. Maybe when asked who i would want to be i couldn't think of anyone else. Maybe I'm just lazy and strapping a bunch of board games to my chest was an easy outfit. Or possibly there is just something fun about literally being a master of fun and games. Who honestly knows...

I would like to give a special thanks to the following individuals. Madison who gave me great perspective and a bitchen scarf, dean who provided me with some solid advice and even more solid crafting space, Amber for her incredible wisdom in the world of cosplay and years of friendship, and Elizabeth who inspired me to do cosplay in the first place. 

I would also like to thank the talented men and women of westwood lodge hospital, metrowest medical center, Norwood hospital, and beth isreal hospital for their dedication to both their crafts and their patience. You are the life blood of your community and we will always owe you for your service to those communities.

Using this supplement

This document is a detailed introduction to the Traveling Game Master as a non player character for dungeons and dragons 5th edition. It is meant as a tool to help a dungeon master introduce board game themed items and quests into their campaign. or as an engine to help spark their own ideas for their game. it is not an officaly liscined by wizards of the coast and as such should have cost you NOTHING to obtain.

Ch 2 The Story

Life and history

born in the ridglands of dulamark, the game master has always had a fancy with games. he was even an adventure for a time, going on wild quests, but those days are far behind him now. he has been a collector of games for a long time now, and his collection has grown quite vast.

because of his jovial and friendly nature he has a habit of making many freinds. almost every Local game store owner has some kind of a a relationship with him, some not always good ones. most taverns welcome him in the same way they would welcome a traveling minstrul or bard. most murchants have heard of him if they havent worked with him in some profesinal way or another. although he has many friends in the world he has little by way of family. he had a son several years ago but he doesnt like to talk about what happend to him. his wife has long since been dead, laid to rest at their family home.

some time ago he came into the possession of an artifact that enabled his travels to go further then a normal portal could. he has been known to pop in and out of multiple dimensions and even timelines. the limits to his ability to travel is only that of your imagination.

how to role play him

The traveling game master is an npc who can be used in almost any 5th edition setting. He is a traveling murchant who specialses in magic items, particularly in games. For many years he has traveled across the endless lands in search of more games to play. he is what some would charitably call a madman, but I see myself see him as something far more simple. he is a humble merchant, a collector, and a magician.

while role playing the TGM it is best to remember that his goals in order are to: collect more games, play more games, and make money so he can colect more games so that he can play more games. if given the option he would rather play a game then sell it to you, and he would rather get his hands on a new game then play an old one. its also worth remembering this is a man who has played many games. more then likely unless the game is magical, he already has the special edition copy of it.

he is not a jerk. he is a respectful and kind person who genuinely likes meeting and talking to new people. he however is not a hero. he will not go out of his way to help or save someone in danger, and will not take cruelty or slights against him. if he is attacked, thinks he is in serious danger, or is honestly just annoyed with the ones he is dealing with, he will do everything in his power to save himself. he usualy escapes by activating a “device“ and teleporting himself somewhere else (usualy to the fai wilds) or by calling for guards or other civil assistance if its available.

the game master can be found and introduced in a variety of locations. I usualy have him first introduced in a town square peddling his wares, but the truth is he can be introduced almost anywhere. he could be in a tavern offering to play games with patrons, walking around a forest or convention talking to paserbys, or at a college or university giving lectures on games and the joy they bring. while the game master may pitch a stand or stall from time to time it is importent to remember that he will never be in a fixed location or at his own brick and morter shop. the Treveling Game master likes to travel to much to ever have a store location of his own, IE the Traveling part of his name.

The traveling game master gets around. if you would like to see what he is up to from time to time visit www.travelingGM.com/events. there you will find a list of current and upcoming events that the game master will be attending or hosting. feel free to take what you’d like for inspiration.

Ch 3 stats

Game master charecter stats

Store inventory

Magic Item descriptions

Ch 4: quest

Ch 5: quest

Ch 6: quest