Sylvan

he/him

4.8

(5)

Timezone

America/chicago

Language

English

Identity

LGBTQ+

Queer

Neurodivergent

No Gen AI

About Sylvan

Saying that my cousin killed me back in 1979 would be rather misleading without admitting that he was my first Dungeon Master and I was playing a 1st-level magic-user. The fact that he put me up against a carrion crawler may have been the official "Cause of Death" but this was the moment my life truly began! That was in late October or early November and I was thirteen. For Christmas that year, my parents gifted me with the D&D Box Set (I remember it being blue, but am not sure which printing or edition it was) plus the "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" rule books that were out at the time. A week later, on New Year's Eve (and New Year's Day), I set-up in my grandparents' basement and ran my first game for my cousins. I was hooked! As time went on, in junior high and high school, I tried every game that I could find ranging from the obscure ("Star Ace" and "Timemaster"), to classics ("Call of Cthulhu", "Top Secret", "Traveler", "Bunnies & Burrows"), and media I.P. games ("Star Wars", "Doctor Who", "Marvel Superheroes", "DC Heroes"), to the emerging and experimental ("Vampire: the Masquerade", "Werewolf: the Apocalypse", "Paranoia"). This expanded my mind and gave me so much to explore! And, yes: if you track my timeline, you should know that the Satanic Panic was in full-swing by the time I went to college with the BADD crusade against D&D blossoming while I was in college. After college, when moving into my first place with college friends, I was given the opportunity to write a game module for Mayfair's re-release of "Chill": the horror TTRPG! It's not my best work but I'm still proud of it. The module "UnDead & Buried" is still out there in some second-hand shops and on Ebay. For something I wrote in 1990/1991, that makes me happy! Life has continued and my love of gaming has never stopped. I've been GMing pretty much since the beginning: for 43 + 3d6 years and counting!

At a glance

5 years on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: World Builder, Inclusive, Storytelling

$20 per session

Featured Prompts

My 3 systems I'd bring to a desert island would be

If I could only have 3 game systems while shipwrecked on a desert island, I would probably pick the most edible. Since my rule books are neither tasty nor very useful for shelter, I'd probably bring 4 and eat one of them as a last resort: Pathfinder (1e) Blood of Heroes SWADE Daggerheart

My favorite books are

While my list is always changing, when I think back my favorite books my list includes: Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings", Robinson's "The Mars Trilogy" and "Galileo's Dream", Lovecraft's "The Dunwich Horror", and Chalker's "Well World Saga".

When I'm not running games I'm...

While not running games, I tend to be cooking, fighting for equity in human rights, catching up on shows like "Helluva Boss" and "Hazbin Hotel", writing fantasy, and hanging out with fellow fans (or "fen", to use the old-speak).

How Sylvan runs games

I love both role-play and combat. Mind you, there are always other ways to resolve conflicts than fighting and I tend to reward those who are creative! I craft elaborate worlds, some of which I've run for decades in many-year campaigns. I've also explored quite a bit of self-insertion role-play (what, back in the 80s, we called "Avatar" games). "Avatar" games are those in which the players play themselves thrust into impossible situations. (Think the more contemporary term "Isekai".) I embrace themes of Politics and Eldritch Horror across all my games and genres as well as making a stand against larger, malevolent forces. But whether by word or sword, I want the players' characters to have an impact that feels -win or lose- important! I mingle this with a bit of a sense of humor and, as "seasoning" often include the surreal and existential in what would otherwise seem to be an ordinary Fantasy or Science Fiction setting. I fully support LGBTQIA+ settings, let my Ancient History degree inform my settings, include perspectives on contemporary Neo-Paganism, and more: providing members of all communities a fun and safe space in which to play!

Featured Prompts

I deal with rules issues by...

Usually, when issues come up in-game about a rule I don't completely remember, it can catch me off-guard and make me falter. But, before going off and flipping through books, I'll usually improvise a ruling and not waste time; I'll check the rules later.

Sylvan's ideal table

The ideal table (and I assume we're talking about the people, not the Hawthorne and Oak carved surface of my dreams) would include people who love role-play and are able to take a hit and work it into their character's journey. Players who work with one another and can pivot to make sure everyone gets time in the spotlight and that everyone's contributions make the emergent tale robust and fun!