Andre

he/him

Timezone

America/los Angeles

Language

English

About Andre

As a kid, I always found joy in daydreaming and creating immersive stories, fantasizing about going on adventures with the characters from my favorite shows. When I was introduced to Vampire: The Masquerade 2e back in high school, I was instantly hooked by its lore, drama, and even the janky mechanics. Since then, I've loved exploring systems and have even ventured into a bit of homebrew game design when I couldn’t find a system that fit my needs. I’ve been doing this for over 25 years now and am still discovering new things and exciting ways to GM. To this day, it feels like I’m only just beginning to uncover everything this hobby has to offer.

At a glance

1 year on StartPlaying

Featured Prompts

I became a GM because

I never outgrew playing make-believe as a child. I think there is a lot of value in building & sharing stories.

My 3 systems I'd bring to a desert island would be

Star Wars: Saga Edition - The sheer amount of creativity in this allows for immense re-playability & customization. Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game - The mechanics really bring the characters to life & adds so much personality. Overclocked: Cyberpunk RPG- My personal pet-project & baby.

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

Working on my own homebrew content. I also enjoy studying the structure of storytelling & absorbing large amounts of media that connect to games I'm currently running or plan to run in the future.

How Andre runs games

*I believe in assuming PC competence. I'm not going to penalize a player for forgetting something their character would know. *I believe dice rolls should only happen when the outcome is interesting, and whenever possible, the risks and rewards should be clear before committing to an action. *I would rather use an easier encounter that can be lost than a more epic one where failure isn’t actually possible. *My NPC supporting cast have proper motivations that guide their behavior. The giant spider is trying to eat you not just because it’s a monster, but because it’s hungry. Feed it, and it may leave you alone. *I enjoy my Big Bads chewing the scenery, and I want combat to be just as much a part of the drama. That said, I do lean more heavily toward the action side of things.

Featured Prompts

I deal with rules issues by...

On the spot adjudication followed by a discussion with the table after the session.

My games focus on...

Character choices. How you interreact with the world is important. I pride myself on having the world respond in a believable manner to the decisions the players make.

Rules are...

The language of the world. As such they're important. However, much like language it can evolve & change to better suit the needs of the group.

Andre's ideal table

My ideal table is a group of players that work well together & are interested in each others enjoyment. I take my game world seriously, from the grimdark to the fluffy comedies, & I invite my players to do the same.

Featured Prompts

I love it when a player

grabs command of a scene & runs with it. It's fun watching them chew the scenery. I do my best work when I'm responding to a player acting bold, brash, or confrontational. There is a balancing act to this, of course. Everyone needs their time in the spotlight.

I think metagaming...

is mostly not an issue. I want my players to strategize. Not debate what their PC would or wouldn't do & force themselves to make foolish choices to avoid metagaming. If I don't want you pulling out fire to fight the troll, I simply won't tell you you're fighting one. When you know, your PC knows.

I think min/maxing...

has a bad reputation. I only consider it a problem when it clashes with the feel/fiction of the game, or if it turns the PC into more of a gimmick than a character. However if you're playing a swashbuckler, being great at fencing just makes sense.