Ben
he/him
5.0
(9)
Timezone
About Ben
Since my days in middle school, I've had a love for taking a story idea and following it to see where it goes. The long story short is that when I discovered tabletop role playing games several years ago, it quickly became my favourite hobby. Not only could I provide plot threads and say "What if," but I could do so outside of an echo chamber. It's a special experience, moulding a story with others. Aside from that, I've loved strategy for a long time, so providing players with combat encounters that make them think is a strong second love. My ideal story is one that sits at the point where various emotions collide. A combat fought in defense of a town means more when we've seen what peace looks like. A joke told is more fulfilling when it is the hidden sweetness in the spice of drama. My favourite stories are those that don't focus on comedy or the serious, but use them to strengthen each other; much as each player at the table can build on interactions to create a fuller experience.
At a glance
2 years on StartPlaying
29 games hosted
Highly rated for: Voices, Creativity, Knows the Rules
Featured Prompts
I became a GM because
I discovered that my favorite way to tell stories is cooperatively.
My favorite books are
The Bible and Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
When I'm not running games I'm...
Usually spending time with my significant other and/or my furry children.
How Ben runs games
My games are a fairly even mixture of roleplay, combat, and non-combat encounters. Now, that doesn't mean each session will have all elements. I've had sessions that were largely combat, and on the other end I've had a session that was entirely roleplay. Literally no die rolls, just several hours of conversation. My favourite stories are like that, and I feel everything holds more weight when properly juxtaposed. On that note, things do get silly, but they also get serious. Characters may be lost, and that makes victory more special. I do voices for characters (often intentionally or accidentally slipping into characters at my full-time job, much to the amusement of my coworkers). That said, I expect no such thing from my players. They are welcome to enjoy the game in the way they want. If you just want to say "My character says this," that's totally valid. Not everyone has to go crazy with it. I have never run a prewritten adventure. Always homebrew. I have a lot of stories I wish to invite others to help me tell. Also I will note here that I do use AI to generate IMAGES ONLY (I do not use it to help create plotlines or run my game). If this bothers you, my table may not be for you.
Featured Prompts
I deal with rules issues by...
Making an executive decision and coming back to it later... Ideally. Sometimes if an unclear interaction is interesting enough I will discuss with the players on the spot.
Rules are...
Very helpful suggestions, and should be followed in most cases. However sometimes someone wants to suplex a flying creature out of the air (thanks Roscoe) and the rules don't tell us how that should happen in a fun enough way- so we improvise.
When it comes to voices
My players will do as they wish; but I will try to give every character a distinct (and sometimes painful to my throat) voice.
Ben's ideal table
My ideal table is one where everyone is involved. Players are attentive during combat, and helpful to each other; and each player gets chances to speak to NPCs. No one feels put to the side. At my ideal table, the mood is respected. Players are able to make jokes and be relaxed, but don't try to do so during another player's serious moment.
Featured Prompts
If you're into ___, you're going to love my table
Meeting an expansive cast of NPCs, and a game where your decisions have a real impact on the story.
I love it when a player
Makes a roleplay-based decision that isn't "optimal" mechanically; or takes to a roleplay-based quality the game has placed on their character (for example, madness when it's employed).
I think min/maxing...
Is totally fine! Just don't try to make other players play optimally, or put them down for not doing so.
Ben's Preferences
Platforms