John AKA The Smoking GM

he/him

5.0

(13)

Timezone

America/chicago

Identity

Streamer

Artist

Voice Actor

About John AKA The Smoking GM

I’ve been a player and runner of roleplaying games for over 30 years. I fell in love with the hobby at a young age and have had the bug ever since. I’ve played so many different games over the years that it would almost be comical to list them all. I like to joke and have fun in my games and not be overly serious when it comes to playing. While there is a time and place for everything, and some things can definitely be too much or over the top when it comes to cracking jokes, I mainly focus on the fun of the games and making it an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. I enjoy creating homebrewed narratives and teaching others how to play any given game. I once ran and owned a tabletop game store for a few years in Austin TX and really enjoyed introducing new players from all walks of life to new games, as well as letting veteran players join in as well. We would have fun once a week and break up the constant work that running a game store demands. Plus, it was something I loved and made time to do. Running a store was a busy business after all. I am now freer with my schedule and would love to fill that time with the games I love with the like-minded people I enjoy sharing it with.

At a glance

1 year on StartPlaying

14 games hosted

Highly rated for: Knows the Rules, Teacher, World Builder

Featured Prompts

I got started GMing...

when I was a kid who wanted to play with his older brother, but was rejected for being too young. So, I made a roleplaying game up for me and my friends with regular d6's.

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

HeroQuest, D&D, Everyday Heroes

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

Streaming videogames on Youtube

How John AKA The Smoking GM runs games

I like to give each element a chance to be showcased when playing a RPG, relying on the three pillars of Exploration, Combat and Roleplaying. A good mix of the whole of what makes RPG's so fun in about equal amounts. I also enjoy a good combat style game that has less roleplaying aspects, such as HeroQuest and the like. Just to get into a game and chuck dice with some friends kind of vibes.

John AKA The Smoking GM's ideal table

Fun times, but the game keeps moving. Can be silly at times but laughing is a good thing.

Featured Prompts

If you're into ___, you're going to love my table

fun

I love it when a player

has fun with the roleplaying aspects and knows when to share the spotlight with other who do as well.

I think metagaming...

is fine, for the right games. HeroQuest is fine, saying it's more of a board game and less of a RPG. RPG's on the other hand, well... that's kind of lame to draw a line at some level of disbelief.