About me

Hello and welcome, to Melvin's Oddities! No wait, come back! I'm no charlatan trying to fleece you! Stop that! stop scrolling! Don't you see that price? Tis a bargain! I dare say veritable gift! Have you ever seen a price this fine? Where are you going? Stop that! Gon't look at that reasonably priced wizard down there! Your good friend, Melvin The Odd will set you up right with all the adventure, laughs, and tears you can handle! Why, look over there. You see that quaint little valley nestled between the lowlands and the towering cliffs of the Gauntlet Mountains; Those lush forests and crystal clear flowing streams? Yes, that's the one, Just west of Testle. Note, the picturesque vista from just down the road looking out across the little ivy covered bridge that crosses the brook leading into the village, That. my impatiently scrolling friend, is Finhollow. It may not look like a place to find countless adventures but I can assure you, not all is as it seems. There is history here, deep and dark, glorious and tragic. Or perhaps, uncovering the secrets of old is not your cup of ale? Ah yes, now I see. You are that type. Quite a dark one aren't you? Well, then, let us look over beyond The Gauntlet; far, far beyond, truth be told. So far, we must leave this world for another. No, no you wanted dark! You'll have to come back to learn why The Gauntlet Mountains are called that. Ah, here we are at last! Why are you looking at me like that? Of course we're here! Look, down there. See that dark void in the stars? No, it's not just empty space. That would be Vorphal, the sun of this solar system, and that little shining spot millions of miles away? That would be Laern, the shining mother planet of Laern Mor. Yes, I say, that was well spotted. Yes, that little speck orbiting the the gas giant is Laern Mor! Amazing where life can show up in the endless expanse of the multiverse is it not? Well, unlife at least. Too dark? Okay, well you twisted my arm! Come with me dear reader! if you have gotten this far, I'm fairly sure you're hooked, and we'll have a wealth of adventures! for the right price, of course!

GM Style

I would live to say I am a writer, but I'm not. I would love to say I'm an actor, but I'm not. I would love to say that I know the rules, inside and out, backwards and forwards, but I don't. What I an Is extremely extroverted, I love people, and i love history, and mythology, and the history of all of the above. When I write a world, I try to envion what it would be like to be the fictional creators of that world, what were their hopes and dreams for that world, and what motivated them to create it the way they did. and i try to put as much love care that those creators I have created in my mind would have into the world. When i write a character, i try to start with a single line, that would difine them as a person. Melvin for example, is a crazy historian, endlessly looking to share what he knows, and plenty of things he does not with anyone who will listen. A merchant of lore, sharing the oddities of the multiverse. And this is the same for my random NPCs. You meat a bartender in the dead of night, friendly cordial, if a but rough around the edges. The next morning you are introduced to his Wife, A woman who says the sweetest things to her husband, but somehow manages to scream them at him as if it were an argument. I'll do the same thing with their voices, just to add a bit of character to the two of them. Sorry for your ears, by the way. I'm a firm believer that the most important part of being a GM is to facilitate a players vision of what they want their character to be, to let them make their own choices, while not punishing them for unoptimal gameplay. Please, split the party! I will not think less of you, i will not punish you, I will facilitate that fantasy. and as a GM it is my job to make that fantasy enjoyable for all the players, even if they are not the active player. I want the narrative to feel like someone reading a novel to the players who are not currently active, and for the players to feel they can actively take the role of their characters, jot just view them as stats and feats. If there is combat in my games there is a reason for it, and the reason will always make sense. No random encounters here, If there is a wolf, that wolf maters. If a player starts a fight I did not plan for, there will be real consequences. That guard had a family after all. Finally, and this is the most important thing, I want my players to forget for about four hours that they are sitting in front of a computer, the world outside my games should sort of just meld into the background while the players immerse themselves in a shared story. I i can get away with not making the players roll, I will. The story supersedes mechanics, and for the next few hours, story also should supersede the outside world. Leave your politics, prejudices, fears and insecurities at the door. They have no place here, all people deserve respect, We've all been calling each other a pseudonym we met, so what difference does a pronoun make? I highly recommend Luis L'Amour as an author to any Game Masters and story tellers out there. His books are specifically written to be read out loud to another person. They are western novels, but if you are looking for a modern Oratory master, you can't do much better than him.

Games played