I have wanted to play tabletop role-playing games ever since I was young. The first time I saw Dungeons & Dragons was during the ’90s on a show called Dexter’s Laboratory. The moment I saw the character roll that 20-sided die, I thought, “Hey! I want to experience that.” Sadly, it’s a very niche activity — even more so here in the Philippines.

As I grew up, I tried searching for a way to play the game, and thankfully the internet already existed. This led me to look online, where I did find a few people who were hosting games. The sad part was that I didn’t have any knowledge about the game — especially when it came to creating a character — so I never got accepted.

Fast forward to 2020. COVID struck, and we were all locked in our homes. I discovered a virtual tabletop platform called TaleSpire, and it brought back that yearning I once had to experience Dungeons & Dragons.

Nowadays, online activities are common. In fact, there are many services now for virtual tabletops. People are busy and no longer have the time to meet up like we used to. I was able to take advantage of this, found someone online who taught me the ropes, and was finally able to join a few games myself.

Then I encountered a new challenge — one I believe most players face: unfinished campaigns. It’s quite common in tabletop games. Sometimes the game master no longer finds it fun, becomes burned out, or simply can’t continue.

That’s when I had the idea to offer my own services as a game master to those who wanted to experience the game — albeit for a small fee, of course.

In late 2024, I decided to do a trial run with Lost Mine of Phandelver using a mish-mash of international players, while also building the 3D maps in TaleSpire (which is very time-consuming, mind you). Then in 2025, I officially ran two campaigns simultaneously: Dragon of Icespire Peak and Lost Mine of Phandelver (with a twist) — and I completed both with happy players.

I have made it a personal goal to recreate as much of the Sword Coast as I can in 3D and to never leave a campaign unfinished, come what may. That has become something of a personal motto for me as a game master.