Chris "Chapel" Hughes
he/him
5.0
(10)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Chris "Chapel" Hughes
Hello there! Welcome traveler! Stay a while and listen. I'm Chris, most people online call me Chapel, but that's not why you're here. You want to know about me as a DM! Well, I've been DMing for 15 years now. If this is an old update I started in 2010. I run games usually on a once a week to a bi-weekly basis. I'm fair but I don't coddle my players. If you want someone who is going to always make sure your character is safe it's not me. Traps and monsters will try to kill your characters, but they will also only act on the information that they have. Sometimes things will not be what they seem and the world your characters are in will change and grow with your characters. If your characters finds itself in a fight it can't win there will almost always be a way to talk yourselves out of it unless you've given that creature a significant reason to attack. I will challenge you, you will feel threatened by what your characters face, and no one is safe from the specter of the reaper. However, rocks will not simply fall from the sky and kill everyone. Surviving will reward you, and you will feel like that reward was earned! I look forward to running games for anyone interested.
At a glance
3 years on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Creativity, Inclusive, World Builder
Featured Prompts
The three words my players would use to describe me are...
Surprising, A planner, and Fun
My favorite books are
The Legend of Drizzt series, The Spellmonger series, The Ascendant trilogy, The Stand, The Stormweaver series, Necroscope Series, The Stormlight Chronicles up until Rhythm of War.
I got started GMing...
I started GMing in 2010. I wanted to play D&D but no one else would run a game. I bit the bullet and started running games. I've been running them ever since.
How Chris "Chapel" Hughes runs games
I always have an idea of what is going on in the world and what then end game is. I am somewhat adequate with character voices maybe good but certainly not always accurate in what I'm trying to do. I enjoy combat, traps, poisons, spells, and usually can develop a plan for the reactions of the end game while actions and decisions are being made during sessions. I also enjoy roleplaying, as stated before I try to have the player characters be part of the world they're in and not just feel like visitors slotted into a world they aren't part of or unfamiliar with. To give an example of what I mean I once had a player fall into a pit trap. He asked is he could slow his fall by trying to use something like his weapon or hands to grab the wall. I had him roll a check, which he made, and he was able to keep himself alive by reducing the damage he took in the fall. I will also use characters and events in backstory in my games to make the game more personal for each player's character. I want for pc's to grow through the story I weave for them. Like having a character looking for whom they believe is a dead beat father. Only to find that father and finding out he's been trying to keep pc safe from a villain from that father's past. Or a soldier haunted by his dead comrades and seeking the only one left, the one that killed the others and nearly that soldier too. The conflicted assassin that's working for the bbeg because their family is held hostage all the while making friends with the party and making a choice of what loyalty is more important. My games usually have 3 or more factions with can be worked with, persuaded, or even fought against. My players are free to interact with the story the way they want. However, there are always consequences for their actions. I will always try to keep the group together. The best example I have of this is when a pc joined up with a lich to save his friends after seeing a prank he played on an npc go wrong and that character dying. The player remained and made a new character and had the old character work with the lich and make contact with the pc's on a regular basis.
Featured Prompts
Rules are...
Part of the game. Sometimes they don't make sense but I can work with them to make something cohesive, usually. I will concede if I'm wrong about a rule but I know most of them by heart. I will say that if you try to rules lawyer something that isn't correct, you will only be allowed 3 times.
My games focus on...
Long-term story telling with the npc's reacting naturally to events that happen in the game. Developing plots and recurring enemies are also a recurring theme.
When it comes to voices
I'm okay, I practice often so I think I'm getting better at it.
Chris "Chapel" Hughes's ideal table
Consistent story telling with events happening elsewhere in the campaign as the players have their sessions. Character development, backstory usage, hidden agendas, secret factions, consequences for character actions.
Featured Prompts
My table is not the place for...
Players getting upset about something that happened in the game that didn't effect their characters. Politics, or anything that pertains to the real world. Telling someone how to play their character. Unplanned or surprise pvp.
I think min/maxing...
Is part of playing the game. Just know that if I allow something, then some of your enemies might do those things too.
My perfect party mix is
Is a group of people willing to work together on an off the table. People who can cover each others weaknesses and play into one another's strengths.
Chris "Chapel" Hughes's Preferences
Systems
Game Mechanics