Ethan
he/him
4.8
(6)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Ethan
Hi, I’m Ethan Karp! By day, I’m a teacher, and by night, I’m either working out or building worlds and running Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. I use the money I earn from DMing to purchase supplies for my classroom and help save for rent. I have been a Dungeon Master for the past two years, and my favorite part of the role is weaving each player’s backstory into the campaign’s main plot. I love creating surprising twists, challenging encounters, emotional moments, and plenty of funny banter. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing the players react when a secret is revealed or when a choice from their past suddenly becomes important. My games encourage creativity, teamwork, and memorable roleplaying. I am also developing a homebrew progression system that replaces traditional ability-score improvements and feats with customizable skill trees, giving players new ways to develop their characters throughout the campaign. Outside of D&D, I’m a huge sports fan—go Dodgers, Lakers, and 49ers! I joined StartPlaying because I wanted a place to promote my campaigns and meet imaginative players. I would love to hear about the character you have always wanted to bring to the table. As a longtime player myself, I know how exciting it is to finally share a character who has been living in your imagination. I can’t wait to meet you, hear your story, and create an unforgettable adventure together!
At a glance
2 years on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Sets the Mood, Creativity, Beginner Friendly
$20 per session
Featured Prompts
I started running games because...
I feel like I have a good story to tell. I love the challenge of combining someones story with my head cannon letting it sink into something beautiful, twisted, or whatever vibe we want to go for.
People are always surprised when I tell them
when I was in college I was a student athlete and partied very hard. I was wild when I was younger now Im more humble and to myself.
When I'm not running games I'm...
Working and grinding in this poor economy that makes me question why I do so much work everyday for so little pay. I also play deadlock, warhammer 3, pokemon tcg, or marvel snap.I am a huge sports fan so ask in person so you know what I like since I'll definately step on some toes loll.
How Ethan runs games
My games blend homebrew with official D&D rules, merging lore from Baldur’s Gate 3, Honor Among Thieves, and traditional Forgotten Realms with my own twists to create a living, breathing world. I encourage characters with rich backstories—be it a forgotten heir, an isekai’d outsider, or a cursed jester—nothing is too wild if it’s meaningful. I love roleplay-heavy stories where emotional arcs, romance, and dramatic choices matter. I love to connect alot of the cultures and races to dnd to real life music and peoples. If the party wants to go off the rails, I’ll guide us there with purpose and excitement. I welcome all alignments and goals. Want to play a redeemed villain, open a tavern, run a guild, or build an empire? I’ll support it. I love creative players who think beyond the character sheet. My campaigns often link across different stories, allowing returning characters and actions to impact the world long-term. I use Foundry VTT for its flexibility—expect custom spells, unique items, and surprises crafted on the fly. Combat can be tactical and number-heavy or wild and cinematic, depending on the tone. I balance deadly encounters with room for heroic or chaotic flair. Above all, I aim to make every session feel personal, dynamic, and unforgettable. If you want a campaign that blends narrative depth with mechanical freedom and wild possibilities, you’ll feel right at home at my table.
Featured Prompts
If my games were Movies they'd be directed by...
David Leitch, Adam McKay, and Taika Waititi. I love chaos but also dark narrtive themes that make characters more than just being black and white. Lets do something creative fun unique and speaks the story you want to live.
I prep by
asking players sometimes clarifying questions. I listen to music that suits character backgrounds. I also think about how this story will go from point a to b then to the end. I weigh what players want in the story vs what I need.
My games focus on...
Personal Story in how your characters actions affect the world. Large Narratives how the various complex ideals of different factions and characters affect you. I also love to be funny, dramatic, sad moments, I am here for a fun time and good story too!