Andrew

he/him

4.3

(3)

Timezone

Europe/madrid

Language

Dutch

English

Spanish

Identity

Multi-lingual

About Andrew

I'm a long-time D&D player and DM, and have recently started branching out into other systems. The Cosmere RPG in particular caught my attention as an interesting world to try out. DMing is primarily a hobby, and I have fun when my players have fun. That said, I also believe players have fun when they are challenged: my monsters are scary and know what they are doing. My NPCs have purposes, and the world will advance whether or not the PCs want it to. When I run a module, I heavily adapt it to the way I like to run the game.

At a glance

2 years on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: Teacher, Inclusive, Sets the Mood

Average response time: 3 hours

Response rate: 50%

Featured Prompts

I became a GM because

I enjoy bringing a story to life to explore with players, adapting it together to create an intriguing and living world, filled with mystery, danger and fun.

My favorite books are

Lord of the Rings - the OG. I've read the trilogy, reread it and keep returning to this classic heroes' journey. Mistborn - most of Sanderson's work is fantastic, but there's something particularly magical about Scadrial. All the Discworld novels - there's just no way to choose.

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

working my dayjob as a data scientist. That or I'm out walking my dog on the beach, in the hills or further abroad in the mountains!

How Andrew runs games

I don't really understand the dichotomy of combat and RP. For me it's all RP. Combat tends to be more structured, but it is simply the outcome when the NPCs or the PCs believe that violence is the safest/easiest/funnest way to reach their goals. I play the monsters as having purposes and desires, and they know what they're doing. When I run modules (most of the time), I study the NPCs and make sure their motives and actions are coherent, and will significantly change both storylines and encounters so I think they're more fun.

Featured Prompts

I prep by

setting up the scenario the players will run through, thinking of what my NPCs will do, setting up the maps, gathering the music. That's for a session. For a campaign I'll know the world, the key NPCs and events, and ensure there are interesting hooks to draw the players into an immersive game!

Rules are...

the structure for the game we play. I have house rules, but they exist only after encountering situations where rules as written leave ambiguity or cause a contradiction. I don't always know all the rules, so players are welcome to correct me, but we'll resolve things quickly and keep moving!

When it comes to voices

I can't promise much, except that I try. That said, they're entirely optional for everybody else at the table! You can play in first person or third person, as long as you feel comfortable and have fun with your character!

Andrew's ideal table

Featured Prompts

I love it when a player

outsmarts my NPCs with a clever use of their abilities, or just generally having good ideas.

I think metagaming...

is inevitable but should be avoided. There are too many types of meta information to count. Some are harmless and some are unfun. As a table we'll figure out what is fun and what isn't. I lean toward more immersion and roleplaying, but don't let that stop you!

I think min/maxing...

is fine. I have seen too many "deadly" combats turn out to be walks in the park, and pushovers lead to character deaths to really put much stock in balance. That said, the table needs to be on the same page about it: it's more important that the table wants to play the same style!