Josh

he/him

5.0

(8)

Timezone

America/chicago

Language

English

Identity

Podcaster

Neurodivergent

Teacher/Educator

About Josh

One of the biggest mistakes I ever made as a GM was saying "no" when a player asked me if they could play a half-dragon. At the time, I was a young GM and didn't think I could have balanced the game and worried that the other players would think I was favoring the player. I have since learned that a better approach is ask my players what kind of game and characters they want to play and building the game around that. In my free time I like to read the latest X-Men comics, Palladium and Savage Worlds books, and fantasy novels. I really like vampire stories. I'm also a huge astronomy and physics geek currently trying to puzzle my way through special relativity and its ramifications for FTL communication. I am also the host of Ley Lines and Lore, a podcast that's all about Rifts the RPG.

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: Creativity, Sets the Mood, Storytelling

Featured Prompts

My favorite books are

The Hobbit, Ender Saga, The Bible, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Gord the Rogue, A Song of Ice and Fire

My favorite system of all Time is

Rifts

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

reading Palladium and Savage Worlds books and fantasy novels, playing CRPGs, or coaching soccer.

How Josh runs games

I usually have been planning a campaign a year before I actually run it. I draft an outline and select adventures I may want to include as part of the campaign, then add side quests, NPCs, and locations of my own. During the game, I believe in player agency. PCs are the protagonists so NPCs don't hog the limelight. This also means I believe that actions have consequences, both good and bad. When PCs take a dramatic action, it changes the world we all play in. I try to give all of my NPCs a unique voice and personality. I generally only force combat on the players if its something they want to engage in. I enjoy games that are heavy on roleplay, heavy on combat, or a mix of the two.

Featured Prompts

If my games were Movies they'd be directed by...

the love child of Quentin Tarantino and James Gunn.

I prep by

reading source material, inventing NPCs with personalities and backgrounds, designing cool locations for players to visit, and building a tactical combat map or two the players might interact with.

Rules are...

the physics of the game world and provide a predictable sandbox of what the player characters are capable of. Creative applications of the rules are when abilities or powers are used in unusual ways, not by bending the interpretation of abilities.

Josh's ideal table

I provide detailed descriptions of NPCs and roleplay NPC dialogue and behavior. Players initiate action and support each other. Players pay attention to my descriptions and ask for clarification when they don't understand a situation. Players have a back-and-forth with me where they describe what they want to do, I call for a roll or check and describe the results, then players describe their reaction to the results. We all maintain immersion and remain in-character during game time unless needing a time-out. Players and I live with the consequences of their choices and aren't afraid to take actions that move the story forward. Players honestly tell me what they want and act on it. For example, a player who wants a combat-heavy game and builds a combat-heavy character chooses combat options the majority of the time. A player who wants a roleplay-heavy game and builds a roleplay-heavy character and chooses roleplay options the majority of the time. Players build characters cooperatively and play characters cooperatively.

Featured Prompts

I am for a vibe that's...

heavy on roleplay and is story-driven.

I love it when a player

initiates action and challenges one of my NPCs or takes on a difficult situation.

I think metagaming...

is unavoidable in your mind, but doesn't have a place at the gaming table in-character or out-of-character during the game session. It ruins immersion for everyone and is unfair to players who don't share the meta-knowledge.