Brandon
any/all
5.0
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Identity
About Brandon
AKA AJ Black on the interwebs! I've been a gamer for years, and tabletops were just a natural evolution of that. My first memory of playing was a Star Wars adventure with my brother and uncle, and I've been hooked ever since. It was only a matter of time until I got the itch to host games, and the catalyst for it was my partner, who'd never played tables before but was interested. I gathered a group of friends around us, and I never looked back. 14 games, 6 years, and a lot of lessons later, here we are. I am still growing, and I'll be the first to admit that, but my focus is on ensuring my players have a great time to forget about life's problems for a few hours. I specialize in Star Wars games, but have branched out recently into a few different things, including the new Marvel game that released last year, and Dr. Who. When you play with me, you get a DM who's just as excited for every session as (hopefully) their players are! You also get someone who's laid back and follows the rule of cool more often than not. I play my games almost exclusively through Discord, mostly afternoons/evenings, and we use theatre of the mind, though if the situation calls for it I will discuss other options. The only thing I ask is that if we set up a time to meet, please keep me appraised of what's going on. I understand that sometimes life happens, and I will work with you, but I can't do anything if I don't know about it. Let me know ASAP if you need to drop or skip a session, and I will accommodate you to the best of my ability.
At a glance
1 year on StartPlaying
226 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Rule of Cool, Inclusive
Average response time: 17 hours
Response rate: 100%
Featured Prompts
I became a GM because
Simple. I absolutely love this forum that allows you to tell whatever story you want with very few limitations. And nothing is ever boring- even if the story (module) is the "same", the choices your various groups make couldn't be more different. It's always something new, and exciting.
People are always surprised when I tell them
Fun, random fact- I used to be a pro wrestler (yes, like WWE or AEW). I retired shortly after I had my first child, but i'm still heavily involved. And the game fact- I grew up on pretty much every game that wasn't D&D. I'm aware of it, of course, and I've played the system- but it wasn't my first.
When I'm not running games I'm...
Roleplaying in other forums- whether text on Discord, playing games like World of Warcraft (FOR THE HORDE!), Mass Effect, Midnight Suns, etc...or just writing and planning for the next round of games. Now for the non-"game" answers- I love listening to music and I love spending time with my family.
How Brandon runs games
My style is definitely "sandbox"- there's a lot of roleplay, some combat, but mostly just player driven stories. My players decide what happens, even if that means throwing the adventure out the window in favor of a new one. I'm a theatre of the mind player, so there's a lot of description (or GIFs), and I don't force people to do all the icky math- there's a lot of common sense stylings and less number crunching. No carry limits, no rations keeping, no ammo packs...just as long as you don't try to do something crazy (an average human smashing through a brick wall, or that same human carrying 500 broadswords) and keep to what's reasonably possible. I'm doing my best when it comes to voice acting, but I've been told they all sound the same eventually, so there's that.
Featured Prompts
I once ran a session...
Where my wife rolled a Natural 20 to steal a disco ball from a shopkeeper while they were being chased out of town, full force. And I decided to take a shot at the ball itself instead of firing at the party, just to flavor things...Nat 1. The disco ball still remains with my wife's character today
My games focus on...
Adventure and chaos. I'm the most sandbox-y, laid-back person that I can be...unless serious issues arise. That's why I'm very insistent on session 0 and laying down the rules so everyone knows what's going on. But during the session itself? You guys can go at your pace, and I'll follow
When it comes to voices
I do my absolute best, but I've been told that without question all of my voices blend together after a while. The effort is there, and I'm slowly getting better at the execution, but I'm by no means a professional voice actor.
Brandon's ideal table
I try and include everyone at my tables, but I'm specifically looking for: - Those that are open to doing things off the beaten path (there's a lot of sandbox/homebrew stuff) - Those that aren't here for just the combat. We focus on all aspects of things- the exploration, the roleplay, the combat...it's all the different parts of a varied story - Those that aren't stuck on the rules- again, see homebrew.
Featured Prompts
I am for a vibe that's...
Chill and laid-back. I've run 4 hour "meet-and-greet" sessions before. I move at the pace my players want to, so if you wanna spend the whole night making friends in a new town, go for it! If you wanna spend the whole night shopping, go for it! Whatever you want to do (as long as it's reasonable)
I think metagaming...
Puts you in a box and limits creativity, as well as ruins the fun and immersion for anyone else at the table. Yes, we will discuss certain things above the table, but it will not affect the in-character story
My table is not the place for...
Rules Lawyers, PVP, Metagaming, etc. We're here to have fun and do things a little differently than other places may do so
Brandon's Preferences
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