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Darkness Gathers... Join me for adventure in Middle Earth!
The road goes ever on and on... A journey with small beginnings leads to adventure as darkness stirs across the land. A time for heroes!
$25.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Monday - 9:00 AM UTC
Session Duration / 2.5–3 hours
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
First session free! Beginners welcome. If you've ever wanted to experience the rich, beautifully crafted world of J.R.R. Tolkien from the inside, now is your chance. From character creation to the final battle, together we will experience the glories of Middle Earth as elves, men, dwarves and hobbits stand against the growing darkness. Set in the time between "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings," Sauron is gathering his power, unbeknownst to the people of the West. But vigilant heroes are needed, even if they don't realise they're heroic... yet. We will start in the north west, the part of Middle Earth that contains Eriador and The Shire. But who knows where the adventure will end? In the lightless caverns of Moria or the glittering woodland of Lothlorien, all is possible in such a beautiful and fascinating world.
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Theater of the Mind
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(16)
2 years on StartPlaying
52 games hosted
Highly rated for: Voices, Creativity, Storytelling
Average response time: 2 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
Welcome to my page, adventurer… I’m Josh, also known as Faz and The Thespian Gamesmaster. 🎭 actor 🔮 improviser 🎤 voice over artist, 🧑🏫 acting teacher ♾️ autistic 🐶 dog owner 🏳️🌈LGBTQIA+ & BIPOC Friendly and, most importantly, 📖🧝♀️🐉👻🧛📖 Gamesmaster. I’ve been playing roleplaying games for many decades now, and gamesmastering them for almost that long. I have hosted long running campaigns in every Dungeons and Dragons edition since Advanced, The World of Darkness, Deadlands, Call of Cthulhu and 7th Sea – as well as running one shots and shorter adventures in numerous other systems. At the moment I’m also interested in running Daggerheart, as it leans so well into the collaborative storytelling space where I’m happiest and think I have the most to offer my players. I bring a sense of fun to my games, and want to include everyone in the wonder and joy of creating a world and adventuring together, discovering epic and comic highlights. As an actor, I’ve worked at the Royal National Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe, as well as London’s West End, among many other fine theatres. My voice over credits include numerous plays on BBC Radio 4, various audiobooks and you can hear me on such films as The Prince of Persia, John Carter and A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey. I’ve taught improvisation at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Drama Studio London, and am currently the improvisational acting teacher on the Musical Theatre course at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In improvisation, I’ve appeared in almost all of the London 50 hour improv marathons, I’ve worked with The Showstoppers and am a founding member of the award-winning School of Night. In my picture I'm playing the late great Gary Gygax, at the 2026 London Improvathon. "Having played in many 50 Hour London Improvathons with Josh, I can personally vouch for his improvisational and narrative skills! Any players at his table will be in more than capable hands." - Mark Meer, (male) Captain Shepard from Mass Effect, genius improviser and DM.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
We will make characters together and build our fellowship in the free first session.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
We'll be using Foundry and Discord, so accounts on those will be necessary.
What Josh brings to the table
I offer collaboration as we shape our campaign together. I'll be led by the players, shaping our play by what the group is most interested in, while following the story of the campaign. I'm a professional actor and voice over artist, and I promise well rounded and differently accented NPCs and dramatic situations. I don't envisage the game being too combat heavy, but what there is will be intense. I embrace the rule of cool - and with so many jawdroppingly cool moments in J.R.R. Tolkien's books, that only seems fitting for this game.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Josh creates a safe table
We will be discussing Lines and Veils in the session zero, and drawing up a document from that. I'll be checking in with players after sessions. We'll use the X card.
Content warnings
Safety tools used