
Tom
he/him
5.0
(5)
Timezone
Language
About Tom
Hi, I’m Tom, or Inq. I’ve been playing and GMing since the late ’90s, when a group of friends and I decided to try D&D for the first time. One of us bought the 3rd Edition Player’s Handbook, another grabbed the Monster Manual, and I picked up the DM’s Guide… which is how I accidentally started running my first game. It was an absolute mess, but we still had a blast and in time I've gotten better. And I’ve been running games ever since. Since then I’ve played and run dozens of systems and I don't know how many campaigns, some of them spanning years. I’ve built homebrew worlds, run games in established settings, and taken groups through published modules. Over time, even though I still feel like an amateur, enough players have convinced me that I might actually be pretty good at this. For me these games we play are about story and fun above everything else. If a rule gets in the way of a great moment, we find a way around it. The best campaigns are the ones where everyone gets to leave their mark and shaping the story, the world, and the adventure.
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
3 games hosted
Highly rated for: Teacher, Creativity, Storytelling
Average response time: 5 hours
Response rate: 100%
Featured Prompts
I got started GMing...
By accident. Three of us decided to try out DnD. One bought the players handbook, one bought the monster manual, I bought the DM guide so I ended up running the game.
How Tom runs games
Variety is the spice of life. I like a good mix of combat, exploration, roleplay, intrigue. And I like it when my plans go wrong, when players come up with something that I have not predicted and upset everything, forcing me to improvise on the spot. I think that the rules are guidelines and, if they get in the way of the story or us having fun then we should bend or break the rules.
Featured Prompts
When it comes to voices
I try, and often fail.
Tom's ideal table
Ideally everyone knows when to take the lead and show their character, and knows when to step back to let someone else take the spotlight.
Featured Prompts
I love it when a player
tricks me, outplays me or surprises me
I think min/maxing...
tends to lead to less fun characters.