From Hospital Bed to Broadcast: The Origin of Crit Happens

In November 2024, I entered the hospital for respiratory failure. I stayed there until May 2025. Two months passed where I did not leave a bed. Rehab followed. Learning how to stand, walk, and breathe without assistance became daily work.

Before all of this, Dungeons and Dragons lived on the side of my life. I played one shots. I played at Evercon in Wisconsin. I loved the game, but I had never committed to a long term campaign. I had never sat behind the screen with a story meant to last.

During my hospitalization, time slowed down in a way I had never experienced. I needed something to anchor my days. I started watching actual play shows. I listened to D and D podcasts. At first, it was distraction. Then it became study.

I paid attention to pacing. To how Dungeon Masters handled silence. To how failure was allowed to land instead of being softened. I noticed how tension builds when the world reacts honestly to player choices. I realized I did not only enjoy watching these stories. I wanted to run them.

I had always wanted to start a Dungeons and Dragons podcast. The idea had been there for years. I never knew how to begin, or if I was ready. Recovery gave me something I did not expect. Time to learn without pressure. Space to admit I wanted more from the game than casual play.

After leaving the hospital, that spark turned into momentum. I started writing. I built lore. I designed missions. I ran games. Some sessions were rough. Some were electric. Players surprised me. Dice made decisions I did not plan for. I let those moments stand.

That is where the heart of Crit Happens formed.

The show was not created to be polished or safe. It was built around a simple rule. Choices matter. Consequences stick. The world does not reset because it feels kinder.

Three months after discharge, Crit Happens was born.

It did not start as a brand. It started as a table. Friends. Microphones. Discord. A shared agreement to take the story seriously and still enjoy the chaos when everything goes sideways.

The name fits for a reason. Dice change everything. Plans fail. Critical moments define characters. Sometimes things break. Sometimes they burn. That is not a mistake. That is the point.

Starting a podcast during recovery was not easy. Energy was limited. Learning audio and editing came with frustration. I treated it the same way I treated Dungeon Mastering. Learn by doing. Fix what breaks. Keep going.

Crit Happens exists because creativity became part of recovery. Because building something meaningful helped me remember who I was while I rebuilt my life. Because storytelling gave structure to a period that could have felt empty.

This blog exists for the same reason.

To share the process. To talk honestly about how stories are built. To show that something lasting often starts unfinished, uncertain, and a little rough around the edges.

This is where Crit Happens began.