Alan

he/him

Timezone

America/new York

Language

English

Identity

LGBTQ+

Black

Neurodivergent

Published Writer

Artist

About Alan

I started out DM'ing Tunnels & Trolls with my fellow nerd-in-arms when we were young teenagers. More than 50 years later I finally got him back to a new D&D 5e game that I wanted to run and now wish to share. Between then and now I've run AD&D, D&D, Champions, Doctor Who, and Traveller as well as having plenty of quality time as a player in D&D and Pathfinder. I'm a cast member in the actual play podcast Douglas & Dragons as the wizard Hazarmaveth which was my intro to Pathfinder some 9 years ago.

At a glance

3 years on StartPlaying

Featured Prompts

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

...thinking about running games.

How Alan runs games

I LOVE to fold the origins of PCs into the campaign I'm running. I'll want to have characters' parents, siblings, enemies, friends, acquaintances, rivals, sponsors, patrons, etc be part a very real part the world because I love running games where the Players have co-written the adventure. To that end I'll want to dialog with you individually so we can collaborate the ways to use your PC background as supporting pillars to upcoming adventures. It's always such a blast to watch other players discover their comrades' secrets in real time! So, I'm big on roleplay. It adds substance to combat when, for instance, the players actually care that the rogue is surrounded by goblins because the blood-debt they learned about two nights ago really made the rogue's stand-offish nature suddenly make all the sense in the world. (Speaking of which, I tend to be rules-reliant in combat because I leave the game designing to the experts. They may not be perfect, but I am much less so). I see game mastering as a spectator sport where my biggest job is to set up the game board and then set the creatives loose in it.

Featured Prompts

I prep by

...playing in the sandbox first. Sometimes, for hours.

My games focus on...

...the stories we create together.

Rules are...

... guidelines I need because I'm not smart enough to design a whole game system by myself. That being said, I love "The Rule of Cool." If it would be SO cool for your character to perform an action and it doesn't nuke the guidelines, then it happens!

Alan's ideal table

If you want to tell a communal story, wish your character to have a development arc, enjoy discovering how little details connect to bigger details, and also allow the dice rolls to inform all of us on How This Was Going To Happen™️, you're going to enjoy my table.