Ivan

he/him

5.0

(3)

Timezone

America/vancouver

Language

English

Identity

LGBTQ+

Neurodivergent

Artist

Game Designer

No Gen AI

About Ivan

I have been playing D&D since 2005. I started with D&D 3.5e, but have played 4e, 5e, Pathfinder, Cypher System, ICRPG, and many other systems. To this day my preference is good ole' 3.5e. I started DMing not long after I began playing. It was a shaky start, like many, but my views on the game have evolved over the years. I, as a DM, am not here to make the world easy, or equal challenge to your level. I am here to make an interesting world for players to interact with. That means there are places that are too easy, and places that are too hard. My philosophy now, is that D&D is played for fun. This means my primary goal is facilitating a fun environment and game for my players. This doesn't mean there will be no danger or death for characters, on the contrary, that is where a lot of fun happens! My style is a bit old school. I prefer running systems in a sandbox, as opposed to making a hand crafted story. I also practice improv skills regularly to help facilitate this kind of play. This doesn't mean stories wont happen. It's like a pendulum, sandbox until the players zero in on a thread, then tailoring that thread for the players into a tapestry that is their story. When the tapestry is finished, new threads are presented to pick from.

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: Beginner Friendly, World Builder, Creativity

$10 per session

Featured Prompts

My favorite shows/movies are

Annihilation, Alien, and Arrival.

My favorite system of all Time is

D&D 3.5e. It is the first system I started playing. I think it is the sweet spot between crunch and roll play. It unified so many mechanics to a more learnable system. It is the height of D&D for me.

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

Making oil pastel paintings, designing TTRPG products, programming video games, and more! My oil pastel works can be found here: https://www.deviantart.com/arkanisart TTRPG Products here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/35917/ivan-hayward

How Ivan runs games

I love Cosmic Horror, and so my campaigns always contain cults, demons, and beings with unknowable motivations. I hand craft my world, though I take inspiration from many settings and modules. I enjoy subverting expectations, the occasional puzzle, giving meaningful choices to players, and a good dose of roleplay. I like to make somewhat tactical combat, as it is boring when two enemies just stand next to each other missing.

Featured Prompts

My favorite trope is...

Go Mad from the Revelation

I prep by

Familiarizing myself with procedures, improv tools, and improv exercises. I also prep for a session by reviewing any the PCs, pertinent locations, NPCs, monsters, etc.

Rules are...

there to give guidelines and set expectations of what the players can do without asking. The players can always ask to do things above and beyond what the rules would allow, that's what DMs are for.

Ivan's ideal table

At my table, creativity is rewarded. I love when players find unorthodox ways to use mundane items, and clever solutions. Not all situations are solved by combat.

Featured Prompts

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

Lovecraft and cosmic horror

I love it when a player

Brings backstory or develops faction or organizations they'd like their character be in.

My perfect party mix is

I could work with almost any party composition class wise. I love when one player takes a leadership or planning role. Its good to have someone thinking up solutions and putting together clues all the time.