Inferno
he/him
5.0
(2)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Inferno
Hello Everyone! My name is Josh (He/Him), but when it comes to D&D things I tend to go to by Inferno. Please feel free to refer to me by either! My timezone is EST, though I will soon be moving to PST long-term. I've been playing and running D&D games for about the last four years! A lover of both in-depth lore and fierce combat, I've been addicted to the Dungeons and Dragons 2014 system ever since for its amazing storytelling capabilities and endless versatility. I'm also a newer adoptee and fan of more rules-lite systems, especially Daggerheart. I'm committed to providing a challenging and entertaining experience for all who play at my table! I'm always building new homebrew settings. I love running classic High Fantasy games (with a twist of course), though I draw inspiration from dark fantasy. steampunk/high-tech, and occasionally horror settings in writing my stories depending on what inspiration strikes me. I love to have my players actively shape the setting I'm working on, adding NPCs and locations to my framework as their work out their backstories! My players are as much the architects of my worlds as I am.
At a glance
3 years on StartPlaying
9 games hosted
Highly rated for: World Builder, Storytelling, Inclusive
$20 per session
Featured Prompts
I became a GM because
I love building the anvil on which strong stories are forged. I greatly enjoy fleshing out worlds, villains, and stories and watching how my creations and the creations and choices of my players influence each other to create a compelling tale!
My favorite system of all Time is
D&D 2014, a classic. Basic, I know, but years of too much time on my hands and a massive folder of unused characters and world ideas keep me coming back over and over again, both as a player and as a DM!
When I'm not running games I'm...
playing games of Diplomacy, competing in tournament-level Magic the Gathering, singing and participating in local theater, and running and playing games of Survivor.
How Inferno runs games
I believe my primary job is to ensure everyone at the table is enjoying themselves, myself included, and I always strive to make my games equal parts entertaining and challenging. I'm a lover of difficult moments for D&D characters, whether it is a challenging combat encounter or simply an important roleplay situation and the moments that often result from them. On a practical level, I tend to default to RAW (or RAI when RAW is convoluted or incomplete) but am always open to common-sense solutions and creative interpretations in the name of creating the best experience for everyone. I am an optimizer and a wargamer at heart, but my games are open to players of all play styles! I love to include both grindy, tactically difficult combats and wide-ranging opportunities for roleplay and intrigue. When writing and preparing my worlds, I like to try my best to mix the two things I enjoy most about D&D: -Character-focused stories in which my players get to explore and develop their character's backstory and personality. Any campaign at my table will be a trial by fire for your character, even outside of combat: I love throwing varied situations at characters and seeing how they react, helping you shape them along the way, and my hope is that through playing at my table your character continues to develop with each session -Challenging and sometimes highly dangerous combat is always a part of my games. I love the thrill of a good fight, and I love to provide a real challenge in battle to my players. I strive to have each combat provide both interesting tactical options and a difficult, sometimes life-threatening fight that requires more than standing in one place and attacking to come out of victorious. My games may vary from "this will be challenging but be sensible and you'll be fine" to "have at least one backup character. You'll need it." That being said, I'm always adjusting to the power level of my party. Optimization is more than welcome at my table, but is also by no means required. In terms of VTTs, I use both Roll20 and Alchemy depending on what fits the tone of a given campaign better. Alchemy is unmatched when it comes to cinematic beauty, but Roll20 with the Beyond20 extension provides a level of tactical ease to more combat-focused games
Featured Prompts
I prep by
preparing a fleet of flowcharts and notes. That being said, I've played and run enough games to know that more than half of the things I write will never pan out the way I was expecting! I love nothing more than players cracking the problems I put in front of them in ways I could never have imagined
My games focus on...
the fleshing out of a realistic world and its inhabitants. It is always a top priority for me to provide a world with internally consistent logic, antagonists with real motivations and plans, and a world that will react to the players as they exert their influence on it
Rules are...
an important guideline that I try to follow, but not the end all be all of my games. The rules of any system provide the boundaries that keep combat fair and allow me to push the limits of my player's capabilities in a more controlled way that remains fun for all
Inferno's ideal table
All players are welcome at my table, though those with more experience with the system will likely find my style and pace more up their alley! Players who enjoy all the intricacies and the modality of the 5e 2014 combat system will also fit in perfectly at my table, though for players who are more roleplay-focused my games will also present plenty of opportunities for you to thrive! I like to foster a table dynamic where my players will find immense joy in thwarting me together as a team without creating any sort of actual adversarial relationship between the players and myself.
Featured Prompts
I think min/maxing...
is more than welcome at my table! I strive to always find the best balance for my party as a whole and to present characters with a wide variety of situations - some they will crush and some that will force them to adapt
My perfect party mix is
a group that knows how to leverage their combined power as a group, respect each other's time in a spotlight, and works together to lift up each other's PCs as the story progresses
My table is not the place for...
any sore of hateful or discriminatory behavior, nor is it a place for those unwilling to engage in good faith with the story or their fellow players. I ask that all players my table treat each other and all of our time with proper respect
Inferno's Preferences
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