Nate Smulling
he/him
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About Nate Smulling
I've been DMing since I was 12, starting with Call of Cthulhu (a personal favorite!). Since then I branched out into Mythras, D&D 2e and 5e, and a smattering of lesser known systems. I have probably around 1500 hours of experience DMing, though I've also been a player, that's rare. Not because I don't want to, just in general if a game's going to happen I'm the one around who people want to run it. I love roleplaying, I love being an instrument of fun and I love facilitating great shared narrative experiences. I come from a writing background, and am overjoyed to worldbuild and write my own campaigns, but there's also a lot of fun to be had in running published work. Roght now I'm most excited for all the stuff being done with COC 7th edition and Arcdreams version of Delta Green! I've been spwnding weeks with my nose in campaign books! I'm hoping there are some players who'd enhoy that kind of horror.
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Featured Prompts
I became a GM because
I love telling stories and building worlds! There's no better way for someone to experience a story or immerse themselves in a world than having free reign to interact with it as they see fit! Also... I get to play games more if I'm the one running them :)
I got started GMing...
I started gming when I was 12 because I found my Dad's Call of Cthulhu White box. I desperately wanted to play but I couldn't get anyone else to run it! Seeing no recourse, I decided I'd just learn how to do it myself. ever since then it's been total love of the craft.
When I'm not running games I'm...
Writing stories, working on my Masters degree, spending time with friends and enjoying nature!
How Nate Smulling runs games
I'm heavy on communication with players, and that's because I'm all about building cohesive worlds that are very immersive. My games tend to be more serious and dark in tone, though I definitely have run some very fun high fantasy styled campaigns as well. In reference to the darker systems like Delta Green, I try to push the envelope without passing any hard boundaries, so it becomes all about creativity and cooperation. I want to be a narrator to the players adventures, not someone that forces them into anything.
Featured Prompts
My games focus on...
Exploration. I want them to be a place where you can explore yourself, or a character, where you answer the question of what happens in strange situations. It's all about horror, mystery, adventure, and learning about your character and yourself.
Rules are...
A wonderful guideline and indispensable as a whole, but they are still guidelines that can be changed or waved depending on the situation.
When it comes to voices
If you like them, feel free to do them, if you don't, no worries! What I want is for people to do what they can to put themselves most effectively in the strange vistas I've made for them.
Nate Smulling's Preferences
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