SJ
she/they
5.0
(7)
Timezone
Language
About SJ
My introduction to tabletop RPGs began as a teenager when a close friend asked if I wanted to try Dungeons & Dragons. It was my great fortune that this friend was the tremendously talented Brennan Lee Mulligan. Learning to play at the table of such an imaginative and encouraging DM inspired in me a lifelong love of roleplaying games and shaped how I introduce new players to the hobby to this day. I’ve explored a wide range of collaborative storytelling games over the years. I’ve run combat-focused systems (like D&D and Pathfinder) as well as rules-lite storygames (like Monsterhearts, MASKS, and Fiasco). I often borrow small elements from one game system and introduce them to another when I feel it would enhance immersion or help a sequence land more naturally. Regardless of game genre or format, I strive to create tables that are welcoming, collaborative, and safe — spaces where players feel comfortable taking creative risks and fully inhabiting their characters. Outside of RPGs, I’m an animation producer, project manager, history geek, candle maker, and writer. 🏳️🌈 Queer players and queer stories are always explicitly welcome at my table. 🏳️🌈
At a glance
1 year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Storytelling, World Builder, Inclusive
Featured Prompts
My favorite books are
The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
My favorite shows/movies are
The Lord of the Rings, Scream, 300, Camelot (1967), Nightmare on Elm Street, Teen Wolf, Twin Peaks, True Detective
When I'm not running games I'm...
Working, reading, writing, binging history audiobooks, traveling, and making candles.
How SJ runs games
Player decisions, dice rolls, and roleplay drastically shape the story of my games. NPCs and factions respond realistically to player actions, and the world operates with logic that respects both realism and genre expectation. At my table you can expect: - Character-driven stories shaped by PC backstories and player interests - NPCs with depth and moral complexity — how you engage with them drastically impacts the story - Story beats designed to let characters fight for what they desire (without guaranteeing success) - Worlds with gravitas and tone appropriate to genre (indicated on individual game listings) - Support for romance, moral conflict, and darker themes (with respect to the CoC and boundaries of others) - Curated music, art, battlemaps, and occasional animations to reinforce immersion In D&D games specifically, you can also expect: - Challenging, high-stakes tactical combat scaled to your group’s skill level
Featured Prompts
My favorite trope is...
Enemies to Allies / Enemies to Lovers, Unlikely Friends, Redemption Arc
My games focus on...
the growth and change of characters and the worlds they inhabit
Rules are...
what makes role-playing games different from simply role-playing. Rules give us a specific means of pursing character goals that does not guarantee their success.
SJ's ideal table
My ideal table is filled with players that are deeply invested in their characters, the world, and the stories of their fellow PCs. Where the table shares interests and we all understand we are working together to tell a story. Where no one is passively observing a story happening around them, but we still make room to share the spotlight for one another's key moments. Where we all look to create meaningful and exciting moments for ourselves and for the others at the table. I love characters that were crafted by their players to have flawed traits and world beliefs with the express intention of having those beliefs challenged so the character can learn and grow. I love it when PCs have interesting and complex dynamics with one another. Where there's room for the character's relationships grow and change throughout the story. Where conflict can sometimes occur between characters (but not players!) in a way that's fun and we all have faith we will resolve in a way that will be meaningful and exciting for everyone involved. Zero-sum PVP is NOT welcome at my table, but conflict between the characters of two PCs that are enjoying it as a method of character growth absolutely is welcome. It just may take some time to for players to get to know and trust one another before that can happen.
Featured Prompts
If you're into ___, you're going to love my table
Complex characters, politics, and social dynamics -- or worlds that balance gravitas and realism with genre-appropriate whimsey
I think min/maxing...
is a fun and valid part of most game systems to engage in! Just please don't let it come at the expense of the verisimilitude of the world or give it more importance than the integrity and coherence of your character's aesthetic.
My table is not the place for...
- Judging people for what they like or yucking other people's yums - Characters that are intentionally goofy or meta/joke characters (totally fine to like this -- but it's not a fit for vibe of my tables)
SJ's Preferences
Game Mechanics