Alex the Gray

he/him

5.0

(5)

Timezone

America/new York

Language

English

Identity

Game Designer

About Alex the Gray

My name is Alex and I spent the 80's and 90's obsessed with everything from comics books to fantasy board games to amazing Japanese and Western RPGs. I got my start in this hobby with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition, borrowing books from the library and admiring the art and lore years before I ever got an actual group together. I remember snagging the sole copy of the 3rd edition Player's Handbook from my local store the day it came out. 25+ years later I'm still playing D&D (and dabbling in other games) and always find myself drawn back to GMing whenever I'm not actively running a campaign. The best part of the hobby for me is providing an experience for people, giving them a social and creative outlet, and potentially inspiring them to be better players or, hopefully, even run their own games one day. In my spare time I like to design my own settings and homebrew, play videogames, and hang out with my wife and veritable army of cats. I approach the game from the perspective that everyone is taking their time to be present and that time should be respected. As a GM, I put great effort into preparation which includes: employing maps, art/tokens, and carefully selected music, as well as designing fun and balanced encounters. I welcome new and experienced players alike, and do not practice (nor condone) adversarial play. No one should walk away angry or uncomfortable. It's game with the purpose of having fun and I make that my priority.

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: Storytelling, Sets the Mood, Inclusive

Featured Prompts

I got started GMing...

Over 25 years ago. I was living in Greece and met two brothers who were my neighbors. I soon discovered they loved fantasy and sci-fi but had never played a tabletop RPG before. I'd dabbled in AD&D 2E but never truly ran a game, so the three of us wrangled up some books and the rest was history.

My favorite shows/movies are

Avatar TLA, Castlevania, Arcane, Breaking Bad, Parks and Rec, Justified, Hannibal, Andor, Rick & Morty, Always Sunny, Fallout The Matrix, Star Wars, LOTR, The Fifth Element, Blade, The Avengers, The Mummy, Scott Pilgrim, Tombstone, Aliens, The Departed, Predator, Ghostbusters, Cabin in the Woods

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

Gaming, writing, or designing my own TTRPG rules and settings. It's a lot of work but it's very rewarding! Oh, and I'm typically surrounded by cats or serving as a human pillow while doing so.

How Alex the Gray runs games

I like to facilitate all the pillars of roleplaying games whether that be RP, exploration, or combat. I think (in-game) conflict and danger is important to maintain tension and provide a sense of accomplishment. I use various tools like music to set the atmosphere and I do various voices for NPCs, some comical and others serious, that I've been complimented on. I have a tendency to give out cool personalized, thematic feats or magic items based on character milestones. I want my players to feel powerful (or at least be able to survive the nasty baddies!) Lastly, I'm friendly and patient. I understand that few people are masters of the rules or always know the right thing to do. I like to talk things out. Tell me what you want to do and I'll try to help you figure out how to accomplish that.

Featured Prompts

I once ran a session...

Where all my players were magically disguised as different species to go undercover in a crime syndicate. Watching them adopt vastly different voices and behaviors while I threw them into unexpected situations was hilarious for everyone involved. The stakes were high and the laughs were loud.

Rules are...

Important. You have to know rules to understand how to bend and break them. Guidance and structure are important but so are freedom and creativity. There is always a happy medium between "rules as written" and "rule of cool."

When it comes to voices

I love them. Playing RPGs online removes some of the physicality and intimacy from the experience. Voices/accents allow us to inject a bit more personality and be humorous or sultry or intimidating.

Alex the Gray's ideal table

I welcome players of all ages, genders, ethnicities, and orientations. All I ask from my players is that they respect me and each other. Despite the subject matter of some of my campaigns being dark and spooky, "creepy" behavior isn't tolerated. I don't typically included content that is sexual in nature or intended purely for shock value. I rarely even use profanity in my games unless an NPC possesses that specific inclination. Not only can some of these things make people uncomfortable, but they can also just feel out of place and ruin the immersion if used clumsily. Communication is paramount and any potential issues should be resolved through mature discussion. I do my best to be open and approachable. Whether it's about a specific ruling or the way someone is acting at the table, we can always talk about it. I'm a pretty easygoing person but I also believe characters should struggle in-game. Victories mean little without conflict or sacrifice or consequences. It may "feel" heroic to kill a dragon in the first round, but is it really? Was it ever truly a threat to the rest of the world if it went down that easy? Sure, lucky crits do happen, but anticlimactic outcomes should be the exception rather than the norm. I generally like to have a healthy mix of exploration, combat, and RP but this totally depends on the nature of the campaign. I lean more heavily towards tactical/grid-based combat than theater of the mind. Even though I tend to adhere to the rules, I'm always willing to listen to inventive approaches and offer exceptions if they seem justified.

Featured Prompts

I am for a vibe that's...

"Relaxed but dangerous." I tend to get along with my players and enjoy joking around, but I also like to cultivate an atmosphere of tension and uncertainty where threats loom beyond the edge of perception and the characters don't always know who to trust. Ominous music works wonders.

I love it when a player

Builds a character with a great backstory and/or theme. I don't need a 10 page Google doc, but when the details and choices come together to paint a cool picture, it helps me with my job to allow them to realize their vision and affect the world in a meaningful way.

I think min/maxing...

Has its place. I see no issue with someone dumping intelligence for extra strength or dexterity. Just be prepared to wind up in a situation where this deficit will matter. I'd prefer if powerful builds feed into a great theme, but if you want to RP a mighty warrior who drools involuntarily, go ahead