Patrick

he/him

4.3

(4)

Timezone

America/chicago

Language

English

Identity

Neurodivergent

Game Designer

About Patrick

I've GMed off and on for about a decade. Mostly over Discord and Role 20. I've run systems like Star Trek Adventures, Mothership, Cyber Punk Red, and Patfhinder 1st, and 2nd Edition. I've also been on the other side of the table for D&D 5E and even D&D 3rd edition when I was a tiny little guy. Outside of TTRPG I'm a game developer with a focus on level design. I'm nerdy about spatial relationships, game systems (I compulsively collect TTRPG books, and buy steam games just to analyze their mechanics). In the TTRPG space I like to think about player engagement, choice, and how they come through in a narrative or simulationist game system. Player choice and safety are at the top of my priority list. As such, I view GMing as facilitating the player's story. This is aided by years of customer facing experience. I will admit I'm coming back from a break in GMing so I have some confidence to build and rust to shake off. However, if you're looking for someone who is committed to consistent, quality experiences for your clients then that's me. I have a humble, growth mindset, and I don't let my experience get in the way of communicating or learning. If anything, learning new systems and about people is my drug of choice.

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: Creativity, Inclusive, Teacher

Featured Prompts

I became a GM because

I have a few problems that led me down this dark road, dear reader. 1. A compulsive interest in game systems (which has me buying them.) Sometimes I block kickstarter. 2. I love to create, but I also LOVE the collaborative creative process. It feels like helping, and warm fuzzy.

My favorite books are

Left hand of Darkness by Lequinn The Murder Bot diaries by Wells, Witch king was also great The Vokasagen novels by Louis Bujold are a guilty pleasure The Ancillary Justice series by Anne Lecke Neuromancer is fun Rando History books

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

Being the emotional support human to a cat named Cream, trying to make a video game in Unreal, and manage my varied interest.

How Patrick runs games

I'm a facilitator. You want to play a certain kind of game? I want to hear about your character's short- and long-term goals and design scenarios around them. I am your party's biggest fan in a collaboration piece. I'm flexible, so if it no longer makes sense to ambush your party with a pack of ghouls, well, I'm not married to that pack of ghouls. The conflicts and obstacles I throw your way are there to be fun for you and test your characters in ways the group finds engaging. Again, I'm not married to ghouls. Who keeps saying that? Above all, I want the group to have a consistently good time. That means compassion and understanding player expectations, even as they change through the course of play.

Featured Prompts

My games focus on...

Having a good time.

When it comes to voices

I don't consciously do voices. I'll try to characterize them with words. An NPC says something with a stentorian tone. Or they can be flat, brittle, etc. I'm not an authentically accented *insert ethnographic or cultural group here* and I don't want to disrespect anyone who is or cause harm.

Patrick's ideal table

Empathy is the watch word. You're here with others roleplaying, sharing your stories. You already start out vulnerable. So, the ideal table is cooperative, they listen to each other, stick up for each other including themselves and their boundaries, and assume the best intentions of those around them.