Anthony Haines
he/him
5.0
(5)
Timezone
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Identity
About Anthony Haines
• DM For ~10 Years! • Voice Actor with a Background in Theater! • Experienced Running Monster Hunts, Mysteries, Spy Games, Dungeon Crawls, and More! Greetings, intrepid adventurer! My name is Anthony, and I've been the forever DM of my friend groups for roughly 10 years now, and in that time, I've learned how to write engaging stories, creating interesting NPCs to roleplay off of, homebrew challenging and interesting monsters/enemies, and most importantly...do silly voices. Lots...and lots...of silly voices. As a teacher and a long-time player and DM, I welcome players of all experience levels! • Newer players, get ready to have a great experience creating characters, learning combat, learning how to roleplay with NPCs, and most importantly, having a great time meeting new people or enjoying D&D 5e with your friends! • Veteran players, be prepared for custom monsters that go WAY beyond the Monster Manual, challenging but fulfilling encounters, interesting storytelling, and stakes like you've never seen before! I run custom campaigns in homebrew settings, the Exandria setting from Critical Role, and the Studio Ghibli-inspired setting of Obojima. Whether it's a short 3-session jaunt or a dedicated story over multiple months, you'll have a blast! I'm well versed in the original 2014 D&D 5e rules, but I do allow custom content and D&D 2024 rules provided I can read through and approve it. I'm just as comfortable on a virtual tabletop or online as I am at a physical table! Join me on Discord, and you'll have a wonderful digital tabletop experience, including (but not limited to): • Interactions with NPCs that sound even more amazing thanks to my handy voice changer! • Music and ambience provided by a discord bot that allows for better immersion! • Access to digital world maps, battle maps, and item and resource cards through a variety of virtual tabletops, including Owlbear, Roll 20, and more! Join me at my physical table and you'll have my very best DMing skills at your disposal, including (but not limited to): • Face-to-face interaction with NPCs that have unique voices, motivations, quests, and resources. • Music and ambience, with dedicated playlists for specific settings, combat encounters, and character moments. • Access to dice, physical battle maps, condition markers, item and resource cards, and props! I run $5 per person Character Creation Sessions (also known as a Session 0), where the players meet with me all at the same time and discuss general rules and expectations. • All players of all walks of life welcome! • I'll walk you through and work with you on character creation regardless if you're a newbie or a veteran! • If you decide during Session 0 that my DM style or game isn't for you, I'll refund you! Session 1 is always $10 per person. Session 2 and onward is $15 per person. Prices are subject to change. Scheduling is done via StartPlayingGames, regardless of whether we play in person or virtually. WARNING: If any player goes against the established rules or violates personal boundaries at the table (or virtually), I will bar them from continuing in my campaigns in order to maintain an open and friendly environment in my games.
At a glance
2 years on StartPlaying
7 games hosted
Highly rated for: Voices, Sets the Mood, Storytelling
Featured Prompts
I became a GM because
...I love writing, creating worlds, and doing silly voices. Lots and LOTS of silly voices!
My favorite shows/movies are
Soul Eater, Redline, John Wick, The Matrix, Black Lagoon, Kill la Kill, Kill Bill, Speed Racer, Critical Role, Legends of Avantris, Initial D, and so much more!
When I'm not running games I'm...
...playing games like The Finals or working on original novel writing.
How Anthony Haines runs games
🎲General Style: I prioritize roleplaying and problem solving first, combat second, and exploration third. These three pillars of play are all vital to my storytelling and your experience, so if you enjoy one or all of these things, I'm your guy! 👍Friendly and Open Table: My table is a safe space for anyone to enjoy playing D&D. Anyone found harassing my players will be removed from my table. All players are welcome. 🎭Roleplaying and RP: Roleplaying is the core of my storytelling. I love doing voices and sound effects, and have many years of experience doing them. From burly barkeeps to sultry spies, you'll interact with the most interesting NPCs you could think of! 💭Problem Solving and Puzzles: Not all problems can be solved with violence, so negotiations, persuasion, deception, careful planning and research can all lead to victory in my games. More than this, I enjoy crafting puzzles and mysteries for my players to solve, so if you enjoy investigations over fisticuffs, I'm the DM for you! ⚔️Combat: I absolutely LOVE combat, whether it's designing custom homebrew monsters or making things as cinematic as possible by describing the effects of battle with vivid imagery and sound effects. I run custom rules that optimize combat, including the "crunchy crits" rule to give Natural 20s extra oomph. If you love slaying monsters and harvesting their scales to make weapons and armor, you'll be right at home in my campaigns, as I'm inspired by games like Monster Hunter and Dauntless. 🌎Exploration and Worldbuilding: I have two homebrewed worlds you can explore, Renova and Yvara, as well as access to the continent of Tal'Dorei in the world of Exandria created by Matt Mercer and Critical Role. If you want to discover secrets, go to unexplored areas, fight new and exotic monsters in strange lands, I'll be your tour guide! 💀Dungeons, Dungeon Crawls, and Challenge Gauntlets: For those of you who want the classic Diablo-style "kill shit, get loot" experience, boy have I got what you need. I make and borrow dungeons from many places, filling them with custom encounters, puzzles, and more! I even have Challenge Gauntlets in some areas of my settings, mini-dungeons for specific rewards that level up along with you! 🛠️Homebrew: I homebrew a lot of stuff, including subclasses, monsters, weapons, magic items, and much more! If you can dream it, we can build it together! 📖Rules: I only have a few rules for you the players: Be kind and courteous to each other, don't hog the spotlight, and most importantly, be on time! We establish our rules and limits as a group during Session 0. If you break them too many times, I'll ask you to leave the group. I use primarily the 2014 rules of D&D 5e, but also love doing house rules and adapting rules and ideas from the 2024 rules. ❓Questions and Concerns: Feel free to message me if you have any questions or concerns about anything above!
Featured Prompts
I prep by
...creating maps, thinking of the soundtrack, writing out detailed plans, then coming up with potential avenues for those plans. As experienced DMs often say: "No plan survives the players".
My favorite trope is...
...Matt Mercer's "How Do You Wanna Do This?". Describing how certain bosses and bad guys get their just comeuppance by the hands of a player is fun, but I give my players the creative freedom to do it themselves before adding to it with sound effects and story details.
When it comes to voices
...I can do a lot of different accents, and come up with specific voices for specific NPCs. I do my part to make sure you're immersed, and can even use voice changers to turn your average Joe into Necrominus, the Demon Lord of the Second Circle of the Nine Hells. I also am the king of sound effects!
Anthony Haines's ideal table
My ideal table has people who are willing to communicate, share the spotlight, and dive headfirst into roleplay. More than this, though, my ideal players are eager to learn and have fun, even if they're more experienced with 5e and its rules. I also like players who aren't afraid to get either very serious or very lighthearted, as my games tend to shift back and forth between slice of life comedy, Mortal Kombat style combat, and Lord of the Rings-level stakes and drama.
Featured Prompts
If you're into ___, you're going to love my table
...Critical Role, Legends of Avantris, Mortal Kombat, Ghibli Movies, Cartoons like Samurai Jack, Action Movies like The Matrix, Kung Fu Movies like Ip Man, Video Games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur's Gate 3, and Anime like My Hero Academia and Soul Eater...
I love it when a player
...gets creative with a weapon, spell, class feature, or their character. It's always amazing to see what avenues players take with their characters, and I will help you unleash your full potential at my table!
I think min/maxing...
...fine for what it is, and I'll never stop you from creating a powerful character. However, there is beauty in creating a character with a low stat or two. After all, characters and real people alike learn their best lessons from failure, not just success.
Anthony Haines's Preferences
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