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THE ORIGIN OF THE GRIFFON’S SADDLEBAG

Wow, you got all the way back here? Neat! Thanks for reading it would be me, barring anything extraordinary happening.
this book: I really hope you enjoyed it. Also, I thought to myself, I could put them all in a book and
So if it wasn’t clear, I’m Griffin. That’s Griffin with an “-in” be an author, which all sounded very exciting as well.
as opposed to the eponymous “-on” spelling used in this You obviously know the rest, to some degree. I learned a
book and everywhere else online. I make magic items every few key takeaways from my first year. I’m sure I’ll learn more
day. And for the first year of doing this, I made them 7 days in the future, but as of now, my main lessons have been:
a week. Nowadays it’s a more manageable 5 days a week, and
it still blows me away that people like you have made this Make work you’re proud of. You’ll always push yourself
future possible for me. to do more if you want to make yourself proud. It doesn’t
I first started making magic items as a creative outlet. matter if you can do it for a living or not: if you finish some-
I’m a trained designer with a knack for illustration, and in thing and feel accomplished, that’s a perfect reason to do it.
the fall of 2018 I was employed as a work-from-home User Making work you’re proud of is also how you can accept
Experience Designer for a consultation company. It wasn’t creative feedback with grace. If you want something to be as
glorious work. The company didn’t match my interests good as it can be—which you do, if it’s something you want
(or moral compass), but it was a job that afforded me the to be proud of—then you’re much more eager to listen to
freedom to spend my time at home with my dog and partner: people when they have differing opinions than you. Humility
two things I really value. is an important trait in any aspect of your life, and this is a
On top of not being glorious work, it was also dreadfully great way to naturally keep yourself in check.
boring and creatively barren. I started making magic items Thank people for their enthusiasm. We live in a society
in the evenings as a way to make art that I was excited about. where it can be frowned upon or seen as immature to show
Making these items used both my designer and illustration excitement about something. That sucks. Let people know
sensibilities, and I loved the feedback (good and bad!) that I that you appreciate that they care. You will make so many
received online from similarly passionate 5e fans. friends and build a better community when you do. Let peo-
After a week of making them, I started to realize how much ple know that they’re seen.
fun I was having and how my creative and emotional health Whatever you do, be consistent. That is, if you’re hoping
were improving as a result of it. My partner suggested that to build an audience. If your end goal is just to make some-
I make an Instagram account for it and make it into a 365 thing for yourself (which is great), then you can keep whatev-
project: that is, making one a day for a year. er schedule makes you the happiest. But if you want to turn a
Now, she knew as well as I did that I had never seen a passion project into something more, make sure that you can
30-day art challenge through. So to suddenly jump into a keep a consistent pace with it.
365-day one sounded pretty out there. Heck, she said I could
probably even start a Patreon campaign for it after 6 months The role playing game community is filled with such kind
if people were interested. Again, pretty wild. people. I am endlessly grateful for the support and kindness
I have a hard time saying no to a good challenge. This that’s been shown to me, and I am so excited that these items
challenge, in particular, was largely a matter of willpower. have made an impact on your—and your characters’—lives.
The only person I could blame for not following through on

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE SUPPORT OTHER CREATORS

You can find more content and reach out online. In general, Countless other talented RPG creators make amazing content
thegriffonssaddlebag.com is the best place to start. Support online. Many of them even have their own Patreons or simi-
through Patreon helps make this content possible for people lar means of supporting them. Your support helps make the
like you, as well as the purchase of physical content like this content you love even better.
book. Thank you!
Web: thegriffonssaddlebag.com These are a few of my personal favorite 5e creators. Don’t let
Patreon: patreon.com/the_griffons_saddlebag me stop you at this list, though!
Instagram: @the_griffons_saddlebag
Twitter: @griffons_saddle Cze and Peku: patreon.com/czepeku
Reddit: /u/griff-mac on /r/thegriffonssaddlebag DMDave: patreon.com/dmdave
Discord: thegriffonssaddlebag.com/discord Paper Forge: patreon.com/paperforge
Email: thegriffonssaddlebag@gmail.com ItsADnDMonsterNow: patreon.com/ItsADnDMonsterNow
Spectre Creations: patreon.com/spectrecreations
Get the cards that correspond to the items in this book at The Deck of Many: thedeckofmany.com
thedeckofmany.com/tgs Mage Hand Press: store.magehandpress.com

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