GM Delaney

he/him

5.0

(7)

Timezone

America/chicago

Language

English

Identity

Asian

Neurodivergent

Published Writer

Artist

About GM Delaney

It’s 1994, and I’m sitting with a gang of my older brother’s friends in my parents’ garage around a ping pong table with the net taken down and a seemingly massive grid map laid over it. It’s cold and we have to wear coats. A fluorescent bulb flickers slightly a couple of feet above our heads and casts a harsh light on everything. In hindsight, I know that we didn’t have a ton of miniatures or scenery and it was all just crudely rendered wet-erase marker - but when I remember it, there are pine trees and grassy hills and jagged outcroppings of grey stone. My friends and I are fighting a coven of hags and their ogre minions. I don’t remember how the battle ended. I don’t even remember my character’s name or anything about them. But I remember those people in that room and that feeling of being together with them. I was hooked and I remain hooked on this hobby to this day.

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

3 games hosted

Highly rated for: Knows the Rules, Creativity, Inclusive

Featured Prompts

I got started GMing...

because I was obsessed with the AD&D 2nd edition Monstrous Manual - particularly Tony DiTerlizzi's illustrations in it. I didn't know the rules to the game, but I would memorize monster stats like some kids memorized baseball cards. Learning the game was a means to be able to play as those monsters.

My favorite books are

usually non-fiction or close to it. They are funny and moving and demonstrate a love and mastery of language and storytelling. "No One Is Talking About This" by Patricia Lockwood, "Calypso" by David Sedaris, and "The Anthropocene Reviewed" by John Green.

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

a professional songwriter. I used to tour around the U.S. extensively, but now that I'm settled in with my wife and kids it feels harder to leave home for long stretches. I still tour some, though. I play folk songs somewhere in the realm of The Mountain Goats, Regina Spektor, and John K. Samson.

How GM Delaney runs games

My primary concern is the fun of my players and giving them the opportunity to participate in the kinds of stories they're most interested in. I provide a framework, but the tale is yours to tell. I pride myself on my pacing, humor, and tactics. I love building memorable, recurring NPCs. I am a skilled improviser and it's hard to throw me off my game. There's not much I can't do with just a map, a few proper nouns, and a list of local rumors. I do not and will not utilize A.I. generated materials in my games.

Featured Prompts

I prep by

putting just enough together that I can improv. If I don't have a story in mind, I can't accidentally force it on the players. I know who my NPCs are and what they want. I know where the players can go and what might lurk there. Otherwise, I'm winging it with decades of experience to rely on.

My games focus on...

the players and their fun. I'm an entertainer at heart and I like everyone to be having a good time. I don't like to let things lag or get stale. Additionally, I put a lot of attention towards making player decisions matter. It's your game too and it should feel that way.

Rules are...

cool if they don't become cumbersome or unfun. I love a good rule and I like to understand why the designers made the choices they did. At the same time I am not above simplifying or omitting a rule that gets in the way at the table or doesn't support the fiction well.

GM Delaney's ideal table

I run an inclusive table where all can feel welcome. A place where strangers can become friends. A place where people are free and safe to be silly or experience big emotions. I embrace the crunch of the games I run, but you don't have to be a power gamer to enjoy them. Play what seems cool to you and focus less on a "build" or whatever. I love a dungeon, and monsters are what got me interested in RPGs to begin with, so expect to fight cool and challenging monsters for meaningful reasons in interesting locations. If you want to be the driving force in an imaginative world where your choices truly matter, have a seat at my table.

Featured Prompts

If you're into ___, you're going to love my table

your character legitimately being able to change and shape the world around them with their actions

I love it when a player

buys in to the game's vibe and becomes a fan of the setting and the other characters. When players truly try to create cool or emotional or funny moments with their characters' decisions over just trying to make the "best" choice.

I think min/maxing...

is as valid as any other playstyle as long as the group is having fun. However, if a single min/maxer in a group of 4 or 5 players requires more of the GM's attention / prep than the other players, it can become a problem.