Knight Maxwell
he/him
5.0
(7)
Timezone
Identity
About Knight Maxwell
Hi there, I'm Max! I have a HUGE passion for storytelling, and playing RPGs has allowed me to share it with tons of amazing people! I've been running RPGs since I was 13 years old, and continue to hone my craft and skills to this very day! Creating art, doing silly voices, creating props and hand-writing letters are just a few of the many elements of myself I love to put into my games. I love going that extra mile to make my players' games memorable and most of all: fun! Revealing the fabled monster omens have been pointing to, calling back to an element of my players' backstories, showing the antagonist's true intentions, discovering a new ally to bolster the party. Seeing the joy, terror, and elation in my players as I enhance their stories is a feeling like no other, and I constantly seek to deliver that. Some of my best memories are creating these moments for my friends and family, and I've realized that I'd love to share this passion and excitement with others! I'm well-versed in running 5th edition D&D, and in recent years I've also begun to branch out to other systems that will allow my games to be enhanced that much more. I've found a place in the OSR community, and love to replicate that pure feeling of D&D that's captured in systems like Old School Essentials and Shadowdark. I've even branched into Sci-Fi horror with Mothership as well! I'm constantly taking in influence, concepts, and gameplay mechanics from a wide variety of game systems to enhance my own, and am more than happy to branch out and learn new systems!
At a glance
1 year on StartPlaying
30 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Voices, Teacher
Featured Prompts
I became a GM because
I LOVE writing. Being able to share the worlds I craft with others brings me a joy like no other. I'm always excited to get others invested in my games and to provide them with memorable experiences!
My favorite system of all Time is
Still to be determined! I have been voraciously collecting systems and reading them, though only in practice will I truly find my favorite. Come help me try out new systems and maybe we'll find it together!
When I'm not running games I'm...
Constantly thinking about narrative and games I could be running. If I don't run a game for more than a month I start to go crazy.
How Knight Maxwell runs games
I try to strike a balance of the three pillars (exploration, roleplay, and combat), but over all I try to ensure that my players are engaged and having a fun time! Part of that includes keeping a good pace, putting emphasis on player agency, and trying make sure that each player gets an equal amount of spotlight. I also like to incorporate player backstories and do collaborative worldbuilding whenever able, as allowing my players to have ownership of their own bit of the world helps it feel that much more vibrant and engaging. Doing so allows for great plot hooks and makes the game just as much the players' as it is mine! In service of having a engaging game full of both great heroics and harrowing encounters, I find it paramount to include stakes in my games. Powerful foes, engaging and dynamic combat encounters, a tinge of political intrigue. You have the capacity to be a great hero, and the threat of death is real and present; Foolish actions will bring consequences. My home games/worlds are very flexible, allowing for both narrative-focused games that take player interests and follow a more defined trajectory, and more OSR style sandbox exploration and dungeon crawls with player-facing story set in a unique and novel world, and taking elements and mechanics of both styles to enhance the other. I strive to ensure my games are as high-quality and inclusive as I can muster, and I value communication above all else so that I can ensure hte best game for everybody involved!
Knight Maxwell's ideal table
My table is always open to both new and experienced players, and I love playing to the strengths and interests of the party. I always try to ensure that everyone gets to do something interesting each session, and that everyone feels engaged. I constantly shift music and ambience to match what's going on in the game, create little tidbits of art or lore for players to share with the rest of the party, and integrate backstory elements to help everyone be as immersed and interested as possible! In short, if you're in my table, I go above and beyond to help make sure your experience is as fun as possible!
Featured Prompts
If you're into ___, you're going to love my table
fightin', character moments, and rad atmosphere
I love it when a player
does something clever or dastardly in roleplay. When they get invested in their character and world. When they overcome the odds and outsmart their foes. When they make tough choices, and when their party members do everything to save them when things go sideways.
My table is not the place for...
...uncommunicative people. I like having open communication with my players about how their experience is. If something makes someone uncomfortable, share it! Similarly, we're all here to have fun, so there's no place for being uncooperative and harming party members (in & out of game) at my table.
Knight Maxwell's Preferences
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Themes