Azu the Bard

he/him

5.0

(7)

Timezone

Europe/berlin

Language

English

German

Identity

Neurodivergent

Published Writer

About Azu the Bard

Heya, my name’s Azu, a aspiring real-world bard and storyteller, fueled by creativity and inspiration. I have the constant urge to inspire other people, to laugh, cry and tell stories together. Looking into the players’ sparkling eyes during a session, who then excel and (positively) lose themselves in the narrative, this is the most rewarding part to me. These positive emotions keep me going. Even though I didnt realize it yet, my ttrpg life started more than 20 years ago when I joined the after school theater class where I fell in love with acting and improvisation. A few more years needed to pass before I started playing the first ttrpg in university. At this point in my life, I didnt connect the dots yet how my love for improv and this hobby could be easily combined (naive young me just didnt know better). Even more years of incubation were needed when covid hit and my live would change forever (in a very good way) - I finally started GM-ing. I became the main GM for my online group of friends who were split throughout the world but we had the internet to connect us. We played different systems together like DnD, Cyberpunk Red, Honey Heist, etc. It was a glorious start - the addiction for collaborative storytelling started to take root. Nowadays, Im trying to get more experience with different ttrpg systems - to see what other ways of gamified storytelling are out there and borrow every cool mechanic that can enhance the way I weave a tale.

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: Creativity, Voices, Rule of Cool

Featured Prompts

My favorite books are

The Name of the Wind (Rothfuss) City of Dreaming Books (Moers) The Witcher Saga (Sapkowski) Ready Player One (Cline) One Piece (Oda)

My favorite shows/movies are

Movies: Scott Pilgrim vs the World Back to the Future Lord of the Rings Bladerunner Coraline Shows: Arcane Hazbin Hotel Stargate SG1/Atlantis Scrubs

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

homebrewing for other games, writing stories, exploring character concepts and most of the time loosing myself in all of the above.

How Azu the Bard runs games

I love roleplay and improv, jumping into all different NPC concepts, producing funny voices and telling a tale of such epic proportions that every player's mind is blown away (that is at least my humble aspiration). Players can expect a very open GM-style from me. The rule of cool is an essential part for that. When there is a cool or fun idea of a player that the rules would prohibit or dampen in any way, I will find a way to make it work inside the system and even promote and further the narrative. I see myself as the biggest fan of the players and I love to weave in their backstories or own ideas so that they feel included and seen. Even when I run prewritten adventures, I constantly adjust the narrative to include the players choices or extra worldbuilding ideas - lightly breaking these premade worlds can be loads of fun as well. Challenging my players but not punishing, seeing how they excel as their characters, reach new heights and feel emotions, this is how I as a GM will be rewarded. I am free to explore any story genre though I feel most at home in classic fantasy and scifi. I dont like to run highly mechanical combat simulations. Combat for me is quick and most of all, cinematic. Heroic moments, hard fails and a story that is moving forward even in these combat scenarios, that is how I want to run my games.

Featured Prompts

My games focus on...

emotional engagement, fun and cinematic combat or action scenarios. If and when dramatic character scenes happen, they will have a strong narrative focus and consequences

Rules are...

meant to be broken - like buildings - or peo.... stop it brain. Rules are forming a simple suggested framework. They offer limitations or anchor points to refer to in doubt. But I strongly believe breaking them to make the narrative more enticing is always the way to go!

When it comes to voices

I will not hold back to strain my vocal cords and explore more fun ways of voicing characters!

Azu the Bard's ideal table

My ideal table hosts players who enjoy writing backstories, explore the world and interact with it and who roleplay with other players and NPCs. Players who aim to violently confront or even attack every NPC or enemy they face, wont have a good time at my table (nono to murder hobos). Together, we want to share in the joy of collaborative storytelling while lifting each other up, reaching new heights of roleplaying. Everyone should to feel seen and included. Hatred against other players or comments aimed to belittle will NOT be tolerated.