Alex Lawler (he/him)
5.0
(5)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
7 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Creativity, Inclusive
Average response time: 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
About me
The world is a strange and multifaceted place, wilder and more complex than we can imagine. Sharing our stories is the only way to make sense of it, and when we gather around to share in a story as closely as we do in an RPG, then we grow to understand the world more deeply in the process. I have been using RPGs to learn more about the people of the world for over 10 years, both playing and running, and I have a lot more to explore, and a lot of ideas of how I could explore it. I specialise in historical real-world games with a supernatural bent, but I have run games ranging from the grim darkness of the far future, to heroic adventures in the worlds of faerie. I want to see, feel, and share, as many human experiences as I can through this wonderful medium, and if I can make it my job, it would be a dream come true. I look forwards to you joining me on the journey. In addition to the games listed, I have other games which are available for custom booking. Check this link and see if any of them interest you, then message me and we can discuss further. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JgmS_N5IWzCJu2w1nB6GZuimFFy4Kw490qnEVqVm1RQ/edit?tab=t.0
GM Style
My main focus as a GM is story and roleplay. I as the GM am here to construct a scenario and have plans for how it will develop satisfyingly, and you as players are here to have your characters influence and be influenced by the events unfolding. I also do not use pre-written modules, though I may take inspiration from them, and while I do use some pre-existing settings I tend to modify them heavily and I only write my own campaigns. I run an inclusive table, I not only seek to provide a safe space for people who need the support, I actively encourage diverse player groups to bring different perspectives to the table. Though I tend to start hands-off, and allow my players as much freedom as possible to approach things as they wish, I encourage players to be detail oriented about their methods and goals, to give suggestions on and ask questions of the scene in front of them. I can then make the scene responsive to your choices, focus most on what matters to you, and tailor each game, scene by scene to the party and the players. I welcome players coming to me with questions and notes about their characters, and I love it when I get to do some character work with my players. If you struggle with fleshing out your character or need to know more about the scenario at hand and how your character might fit into it better, then I am here to help. In a scene, I love to play out different characters with whatever voices I can muster. I give them as much personality as I can, my way of inviting you in to do the same. The first thing I do when planning out a scene, is make sure I have characters there that you can latch on to. My challenges tend to be more based on social, political, or even philosophical manouvering, making difficult decisions and piecing together information over difficult combat. But with the right system, a good, challenging combat scenario is a lot of fun, and feels appropriately climactic. Player Character death is a common bugbear, and I have rules for how I approach it. In short, I do not kill player characters, but I still have serious consequences for reaching the point where you would normally die (0HP for example). I don't like to end stories prematurely, but you may get character development you never wanted. I do have three exceptions to this rule 1: If a player asks me to kill their character, that can be done, though I encourage players to stick with their character until the end of the campaign 2: If the moment of death would be especially resonant for the character and the story, I will ask the player if they are willing to have their character die in that moment, but they retain veto 3: During the big climax of the campaign, when everything is on the line, then all protections go out the window. It is time to do or die. Finally, I have the choices available for different styles of game, either more traditional adventures where you can enjoy yourselves and have a good time without too much consideration of some of the darker elements you interact with. Or more dramatic stories, where we dive into those darker elements of the world and try to grapple with them. These more dramatic games are something I'll require maturity and consideration from players with, and with an eye to respect for the material, I may disallow some behaviours I would otherwise be happy to play with in a typical game. But by taking things more seriously, by chosing to grapple with this unpleasantness, I know it can take you emotionally to places you might not otherwise go. The key word there however, is choice. I have a huge array of different game concepts available, and I like to talk to players and figure out what game best suits the group.
Games played
Game Master Reviews (5)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Storytelling
Creativity
Inclusive
Joshua Blackburn-Hind
A great DM- He's DMed both Call of Cthulhu and Deathwatch for me, and both were very engaging and fleshed out worlds. In CoC he put a lot of time and research in a unique setting which was great fun to explore. I also played Pathfinder with him, and his unique characters are always a highlight.
Lassirrasta
Alex is an excellent GM who has run games for our friendship group for years. With a preference for his own brand of historical settings only made more wierd and supernatural, his games are both entertaining and engaging, with twists and turns and "the real story" of famous historical events being a delight to see unfold. That is not to say Alex sricks to his scripts rigidly however, and he values player expression paramount, creating new story improv seemlessly when players go off script or make an idea that sounds cooler. Alex is great with both experienced and newer players and I'd recommend him to anyone.
Thomas
Alex is a dedicated and skilled GM and it is a genuine pleasure to play with him. I have played multiple campaigns run by him, in a variety of settings and systems, and each one has been fantastic fun. He’s a brilliant storyteller, able to get me invested in both the main story of the campaign and the various side-quests and b-plots of the world, with both feeling as important and worthwhile as each other. His campaigns are very character driven, with a heavy focus on roleplay; both within the party and with the NPC’s. Whilst his combats are good and entertaining, the real drive is the character interactions. One highlight was an entire session where we the party, magical FBI agents, were forced to go to ground in a fast food restaurant, spent the three hour session locked in a heated debate about the situation we were trapped in and how we planned to get out of it with both our lives and morality intact. Alex’s ability to roll with the sort of random chaos players can bring to a session is one of the best I’ve seen. He’s able to readily improvise around our madness, and balances that wildness against the main plot exceedingly well. That same campaign included a rather disastrous attempt at arresting a casino manager, for reasons best left to mystery, whilst another player actually focused on the main mission. And still, things worked out well with both plots. Perhaps one of the best elements of Alex’s skillset as a GM has been his ability to balance a party. In all the campaigns I’ve played with him (six at this moment), nobody has felt the central character, or been overshadowed by another player. Each campaign, we’ve had our own sessions to shine, and special character beats and arcs, and all in all, they’ve felt equal and we shared the spotlight equally. He’s been able, which is probably the most admirable, has been to balance a team of characters who hate each other. Whilst we the players are all friends, he’s been able to keep our heads in the game, and has managed to balance the toxic attitude we have to each other in-character, and has managed a very safe space. In so far as recommendations, Alex runs very roleplay heavy games with tremendous ability, and whilst I personally prefer his more heavy and drama focused games, his adventure games are great fun. I would recommend Alex to anyone who wants a character driven game, whether it’s a space opera or sci-fi, horror, or fantasy. He runs a clean, safe game, where even in the heaviest and grimmest moments, we can still feel happy to play.
Lamaron
For over a decade now, I have played an assortment of RPGs with Alex as my DM. Starting with Fate, moving on to Unknown Armies, Pathfinder and other more niche systems, Alex has been an exemplary games master both online and in person. He has told stories in many formats and environments - from archetypical fantasy to modern day investigative dramas - and in each one he has been inclusive in both the environment created around the table and the ideas that can be incorporated into his narratives. If you want to expand from the typical table top plotlines, and into areas that will let you explore characters and worlds through play in a way only the medium of RPGs allow, Alex is the DM that you should pick.
Mopsey
Alex is very much the storyteller as a GM - I've played in a couple of games he's run and both were original plots in historical settings, complete with era-appropriate music and NPC cameos of real figures, though his original NPCs tend to be more fun to interact with. You can tell he has a number of threads up his sleeve, but not necessarily where those threads will lead. When we've used a system I'm less familiar or comfortable with he's always very patient with explaining mechanics as often as needed. Similarly, he's unfailingly kind when I totally blank on what my character should do, which is frequent in the more narrative-heavy games Alex specialises in.
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