Havster
he/him
5.0
(5)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Havster
Been in RPGs since AD&D (1e)....40+ years..."Experience counts." I've played everything from Aftermath to Villains & Vigilantes (1e), and most games in-between. I spent most of my time with D&D (1e thru 3.5e and jumped over to 5 & 5.5e), Shadowrun (thru 4e), and Hero System (mostly Champions). Had a lot of fun with TOON as well back in the day. I still love a good game of Munchkin or Magic:The Gathering as far as table-top goes these days-- it seems to be all real-life has time for for many of my friends. I spent some time in the early 90s and 00s working with the RPGA, writing modules for LG-- bailed when 4e came out and stuck with 3.5. I've been interested in 5e and, as an old Spelljammer addict, right before it came out for 5e, I jumped in.
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Knows the Rules, World Builder
Featured Prompts
I became a GM because
I fell in love with the game. I was 12 years old and at a summer program. I came home and my parents supported my new hobby. But no one at home knew anything about it. I started running games for my brothers and my friends and never stopped. I love playing, but I love it enough to let others play.
My 3 systems I'd bring to a desert island would be
D&D (of course-- it is the cornerstone) Classic Traveller (the same for sci-fi games) TOON (because it's easy, fun, and only needs a d6 if times on the island get rough)
People are always surprised when I tell them
I'm retired. I don't look old enough to be retired and they think I should be working to do something. I AM doing something: I'm running D&D games! And I'm having a blast doing it.
How Havster runs games
Surprise me. As a DM, that is one of the things I love the most about TTRPGs and it creates the best stories to share as a DM. When the players do something I didn't expect-- when they use an item or a spell in an unexpected way, when they choose to go left when everything told me they were going to go right-- these are some of my favorite moments to GM. In exchange, I offer a deep love of the game and of creating compelling and interesting situations to challenge the characters. I've been running games for 40+ years and have developed a strong ability to lay bread crumbs that lead to gingerbread cottages the players never expect to find...whether the cottage is safe is another story. I seed events and ideas and even items (a black-bladed sword in one campaign) into games that often come back to surprise the players much later. I've run convention games, home games, LGS games, online games, just about every medium I can imagine doing TTRPGs in (and while I haven't run a play-by-post, I've played in a few). I run games that offer challenges to parties. I like to consider the characters I'm running for and design encounters to push them as a group to their limits. Most of my games have been combat-heavy (convention games and my home group being mostly murder-hobos), but I've run and played in more role-playing strong games and enjoy those just as much.
Featured Prompts
If my games were Movies they'd be directed by...
I'd like to say maybe Tarantino, but more likely Monty Python or Guy Ritchie ("Snatch" and "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels"). I like to create cinematic challenging encounters, but--whether its player antics or uncooperative dice-- things seem to always go sideways. It always turns out fun tho
I prep by
session, but am always two sessions+ ahead (more when a campaign starts). I like to check on my characters first and review what they can do, then I plan scenes to move the story forward from wherever we are. Usually, I can predict the next path or the players tell me. Then I create more than I need
My games focus on...
Challenges. Combat challenges are what are most common, but I like skill challenges and want to grow as a GM with social challenges. I like to explore character abilities that give them chances to shine but also that push them to work together when things aren't ideal.
Havster's ideal table
I like to run a sandbox-style of game, even when running a module. I like to give the players the freedom to let their characters do what they want even if it's not in the book that way. Games evolve as the player characters interact with each other and the world; that means no pre-written script can account for everything, and the further the story goes, the more off it gets. But this is what makes it fun! I tend to run combat-heavy adventures, but I'm not sure if this is my preference or my players' (many are the murder-hobo variety). I create interesting NPCs, but feel that I could better use them and look forward to players who want more NPC interaction. I also enjoy creating my own world with player assistance. Want to play a cleric of a god I don't list? No problem! We can make up a new aspect of the pantheon to include your god. Want to play a species from 5e in 5.5e? No problem! We'll figure out any adjustments that need to be made together and plop down a community of your species somewhere near the game start. I'm looking forward to working with players who are more interested in developing back stories and creating more dynamic social encounters, both to selfishly improve my own skills in these areas as a GM and to more selflessly provide the most fun games I can.
Featured Prompts
I love it when a player
Surprises me. Not some build or spell combination, but role-play or item usage or just out-of-the-box thinking. I've been a DM a long time; I've seen too many 1s and 20s to count. It's not the dice that make the game fun. It's what the player characters do that no one at the table expects.
I think min/maxing...
is fine if it's your thing. I went through that stage in 2e, I think, and decided at some point that I prefer my flawed creations to perfected killing machines. I'm not against min/maxed characters; they're only a challenge if other players feel underwhelming. Coaching one or both players can help.