Unkown Armies: Other side of life
Broken people trying to fix a broken world in the occult underground in Chicago. Your obsessions lead to magic.
TYPE
SYSTEM
EXPERIENCE
AGE
About the adventure
Unknown Armies is a game about broken people trying to fix a broken world. Are you an Adept, whose power comes from turning your obsession into Magick? Or an Avatar, who lives by one of the Archetypes to the point where the world bends to make way for you? Or are you someone who's trying to claw back their bit of peace. You care about something strongly enough that instead of ignoring it like everyone else, you feel the need to fight back. With all the strange and mysterious things that exist in the world, the hard fact is that it's not some alien entity behind all mask of the world----it's all people. In all their glory and monstrosity.
Meet the Game Master
4 years on StartPlaying
33 games hosted
Highly rated for: Inclusive, Creativity, Storytelling
About me
ImprovGM on Tiktok. I've been doing improv for over 20 years and run workshops at GenCon teaching those skills to gamers. I run a wide variety of games that focus on player run narratives that emphasize characters and emotional stakes. I've had a great time seeing how much people and scenes come alive in the workshops I've run and want to bring that to others.
View Profile →Reviews (9)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Inclusive
Creativity
Storytelling
Mikel is a fantastic GM, and an evocative storyteller. He leaves plenty of room for player agency, and runs a very fun table. He also seems genuinely delighted with characters do something unexpected that takes the game in an unanticipated direction, and rolls with things quickly and easily, and has the ability to keep a session moving along like it needs to without making players feel rushed or railroaded. If you get a chance, play in one of Mikel's games - you'll have a blast.
Mikel is my favorite GM ever. I'm ngl I didn't understand the D100 dice system until he explained it to me for a game of Dusk City Outlaws (which was I believe the first game I ever joined in on!) He has taught and played so many games with our group, Masks, Microscope, City of Mist, Unknown Armies, The King is Dead, Wield, and more! (those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head.) He is a great teacher and a professional improvisor!
Mikel is extraordinary at setting up players for success; he creates situations that are full of momentum and decision points that guarantee every scene will be interesting and your character *will* meaningfully grow and change over the course of it! His experience as an educator and improviser shines through, as he is quick on his feet both as a facilitator and when in-character as an NPC. I always learn something playing with Mikel, new games and new techniques alike.
Mikel's skill and knowledge in theatre and improv help him excel as a GM. I had the opportunity to play with him as a fellow player a few times and as a GM he gave me the opportunity to play Outgunned for the first time. He is great at inclusivity both as a person but also in game he gave all players a spotlight to do some really cool stuff. Wild highly recommend.
I have had the incredible fortune of playing games run by Mikel. His sessions are so engaging, and I always have felt welcome at his table when I have played with him. I would describe him as unflappable with a great ability to make sure everyone in the session is heard and has a great time. I wish I had more time to play games with Mikel and would jump at the opportunity. Additionally, he has a great breadth of experience across a myriad of systems and seem always ready to teach a new game. Truly a 10/10 experience.
Character creation
Creating your character
We'll be creating charcters during the first session. Glancing through the different types of adepts and avatars is a good idea before we make them, though PCs who aren't either of those do have more flexibility in the things they do. This is a game that handles regular people along with the magical very well, since it's not generally high powered magic.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You'll need a webcam and mic. There will be a google drive along with roll20 where we'll keep most information and create any other documents we need. Occasionally, your web browser or google earth is useful because Unknown Armies always seems to gift me with real world things that seem custom made for our game.
What Mikel (ImprovGM) brings to the table
We'll use Roll20 for character sheets and to keep information and notes and I'll bring everything that's needed, included information about character abilities. It'll be mainly theatre of the mind style play.
Homebrew rules
No homebrew rules
Equipment needed to play
Computer
Webcam
Internet
Platforms used
Safety
How Mikel (ImprovGM) creates a safe table
There will be a Lines and Veils document that we use where we can dial our expectations in together. We will also do a Palette, which is where we can decide what are the things we're interested in seeing during the game and what things we're really not that interested in. During character creation, we will create the conspiracy board which will look at the things we, as a group, are interested in delving into. This will allow us to make sure we're all interested, comfortable, and invested in the direction of gameplay. There will also be check ins.