Matt
he/him
5.0
(5)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Matt
My name's Matt. I've been steeped in D&D since the early 80s and have played and run games ever since. I wrote for the blog Critical Hits starting in the late 00's in my weekly column Dire Flailings, and in covering D&D 4th Edition (and the advent of D&D Next, which became 5th Edition), we won the award from ENWorld (an "Ennie") for "Best Blog" in 2011. I'd like to think it was a combination of good journalism, networking, and being incredibly weird. These days I'm starting on writing novels. My first, "Gentle Necromancy", is available on the Amazon and Kindle stores. But enough tooting of my own greathorn. I'm here offering my services as a GM. I mostly play D&D, but I have been known to branch out into another system if it's fun. My games tend to be on the lighthearted and strange side. The world's grimdark enough that I don't need it in my fantasy, and I like to bring that light to others whenever I can. I'm a firm believer in throwing the rulebook out the window if whatever is about to happen is cool enough or if it makes the entire table have more fun. You'll also find that I'm very accepting of all kinds of people. Your race, religion, gender, sexual preference, and basically anything else don't matter one bit to me. What matters is that everyone respects everyone else at the table. My games are a safe space, and I'm not afraid to ask anyone to leave that make them otherwise. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, then please sign up for a game!
At a glance
3 years on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Creativity, Rule of Cool, Knows the Rules
Featured Prompts
I became a GM because
most of my friends moved away in the late 00's and I just couldn't take it anymore. I started up a game with work friends, and spent lots of time making terrible mistakes and having a ton of fun. I was also writing for an RPG blog during this time so I can go back and read about it and cringe. :-D
The three words my players would use to describe me are...
WEIRD - because I always have been, and I always will be. I'd say it's just to get attention but I'm weird when there's nobody around, too. OMG AM I TRYING TO GET MY OWN ATTENTION KIND - the world can be a crappy place, especially these days. I want gaming to be a respite from all that. NOUGAT
When I'm not running games I'm...
playing in other roleplaying games. Or playing videogames. Or doing karate. Or 3D printing. Or writing music. Or writing novels. I guess in another life I'm a software developer/networking/IT type of fellow. But we only speak of that in whispers.
How Matt runs games
I love roleplay. I try to write well-crafted adventures that give players some room to stretch their legs. This doesn't mean I don't enjoy combat. Far from it! I like to make the combat part of the story. Sometimes, I even like to have non-combat events happen during combat (the spy gets away, the bomb-carrying kobold needs to be kept away from the dam, etc.). That being said, if you're looking for 100% by-the-book style combat, I'm probably not what you're looking for. I'd much rather make a quick ruling to keep the game going than stop the game for 20 minutes while people argue over which book says what about grappling. It drives some gamers crazy, and that's OK. I'm very much about "rule of cool" and "rule of fun" being the primary drivers behind my adventures. When you start playing with me, we'll have a "session zero" game where we go over a document called a social contract, which is basically all of us deciding what we're comfortable with. Nobody plays until we all agree. We can revisit it later if needed. If possible, it'll be sent out beforehand and if there are no objections, this part goes fast. Between sessions, you can switch characters or make any changes you need. Just contact me. We'll figure out how it affects the story. If there's issues with another player or something that happened in-game, you can always contact me. We'll work out whatever is needed. Like I said: I want my games to be a fun, safe place to let your imaginations run wild!
Featured Prompts
I deal with rules issues by...
I use a social contract in my groups, so it usually goes like this. 1. I'll make a call, either by the rules, or by some house rule if we can't figure it out quickly or I think it'd be a better story. 2. If there's still a disagreement, we vote on it as a group. We can work it out like grown-ups.
Rules are...
never, ever written in stone in my games. I use the "rule of fun" and "rule of cool" heavily in my games, and I'm not crazy about player characters dying unless there's a compelling in-story reason. Some people don't like this. Those people probably won't like my games, and that's perfectly OK.
When it comes to voices
Most of the time, it goes fine. I love doing voices. That being said - when I'm tired, there's a 75% chance whatever voice I'm trying to make will become Apu Nahasapeemapetilon from the Simpsons or Hank Hill from King of the Hill. Sometimes both. And it's never on purpose.
Matt's ideal table
My games tend to focus mostly on telling a story. If you like to roleplay, you're in the right place. If you're nervous about roleplaying and just want to dip your toes in, you're in the right place. Don't worry. There's still plenty of combat. And I'll preserve most of the rules as written unless we decide not to for story reasons.
Featured Prompts
I am for a vibe that's...
Light-hearted, strange, and irreverent, but not horribly offensive (and we decide what that means for our group in our social contract). I strive to make this a place that's safe so you can let your guard down and have fun.
I think it's a red flag when players...
continually try to push the group boundaries. Some people have a chip on their shoulder when there are rules in place, even if they've been invited to help write them. Some people just didn't pay attention to the rules the first time (or ever). Those people get asked to leave, sadly.
I think metagaming...
is a double-edged sword. Using it can cause a character to act completely out-of-character, which hurts the story. That being said, if it provides someone with an option that would be fun for everybody, and you can figure out a good reason they'd do it, it can make things fun. Use responsibly.
Matt's Preferences
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