Jonah

he/him

5.0

(5)

Timezone

America/chicago

About Jonah

Hey there! My name is Jonah, and I've been playing Dungeons and Dragons since 2019. I got into it as a way to hang out with friends at first, but quickly grew to appreciate the game for what is was beyond just a way to spend time with friends. I grew attached to the stories we made together, and the escapism it provided me from my every day life. What started as a one-time thing became what is no doubt a life-long hobby for me. After my first few years of playing, I decided to try my hand at DMing in 2023, but I probably didn't take the route most people would. Instead of starting with a one-shot or a module, I dove head-first into a fully homebrew campaign in a custom setting of my creation. It was a blast, but it was also a steep learning curve, and I think that helped me become the DM I am today a little bit faster than I expected. What makes my games unique and stand apart from others, is my emphasis on cause and effect, as well as my attention to detail. I love to make my worlds feel alive by having them react to the players' action and inaction. I really care about making it feel like the world lives and breathes just like a person, and I'm looking for players who appreciate that. Players who want to tell epic stories of growth, fellowship, and adventure together, perhaps even making real life connections along the way. If that sounds like something you're interested in, then let's get started. Let's tell an amazing story together.

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, World Builder

Featured Prompts

I became a GM because

The kind of games I wanted to play in didn't exist, so I made them myself. I had a few philosophical disagreements with how the DMs in my group ran their games, so I decided pretty much on a whim to do it myself. I ended up falling in love with it pretty much right away.

My favorite shows/movies are

The Lord of The Rings trilogy might just be my favorite thing in the universe for so many reasons. I am also a huge Trekkie and a big fan of TV dramas like Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul. I used to be a big Star Wars guy, but I've lost all faith in that franchise.

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

Hanging out with friends and playing them myself. I love to play DnD (and other games) almost as much as I love running them. My big games right now are Phasmophobia, Oblivion Remastered, and Baldur's Gate 3. I also tend to play friendslop games as well from time to time.

How Jonah runs games

I like running games that evoke real human emotion at the table. Be it joy, sadness, dread, or otherwise I want the players to feel as emotionally invested in the world and its characters as possible. I want their connections to an NPC or local kingdom to feel real to them, and for us to tell amazing stories together using that. Beyond that, I try to make my campaigns character focused and story-driven. But the story develops from the characters' choices, their wants and fears, their successes and their failures. I want the players to be in the driver's seats for how everything unfolds around them. Some of my favorite memories of DnD games were not of the battles or the quests the characters went on, but the little moments showing their relationships with each other and their growth. Heartfelt moments in the darkness around the campfire are just as important to me as epic victories against evil villains and dangerous monsters. In terms of everything else, expect challenging combat with personal stakes and dangerous foes. By the end of an adventuring day, characters in my games are usually spent of resources and ready for a much needed break, which I am all too willing to provide. A blend of meaningful storytelling, lots of roleplay focus, and challenging tactical combat is what I like to bring to the table.

Featured Prompts

I once ran a session...

With 11 players. I was still new to DMing at the time and decided to do a big crossover session of my main campaign and the follow up to a one-shot I had recently done. Very much to my surprise it actually went really smoothly and we had a lot of fun. Would not do it again though.

Rules are...

A good guideline for how to do things but are not the end-all be all. I believe that if a rule gets in the way of everyone having fun, it should either be changed or removed entirely. While there are some I'm not willing to bend on there are many that I am.

When it comes to voices

I have a handful of them that I'm pretty good at and alternate between like a Bethesda game that only has 7 different voice actors. On occasion I'll pull out more unique voices for special characters but for the most part I stick to what I know I'm good at.

Jonah's ideal table

I like to run a very fun but focused table. We will laugh and make jokes, and I will even participate in the disruption myself as long as we keep it moving along at a reasonable pace. Players who love to play interesting characters with lots of personal stakes in the world they live in would fit in very well at my table. I love players who immerse themselves and others in the adventure, and go all out with their characters. People who are really into the emotion of DnD would feel at home with me as their dungeon master. I try to keep the vibes at my table as friendly and fun as possible. Sure, I value great roleplay and epic emotional stories a lot. But at the end of the day, we are all here to play a game, and shouldn't be taking things seriously outside of it.

Featured Prompts

I love it when a player

Loses themselves in their character. Seeing players knowingly make terrible choices because it's what their characters would do fills me with so much joy. (As long as they are not harmful to other players' enjoyment of the game)

I think metagaming...

Against the spirit of the game. This is probably the thing I enforce the most in my games. It breaks the immersion of everyone at the table and it makes things less fun in my opinion. You shouldn't have an advantage because you have more experience or knowledge than other players. Embrace the story.

I think min/maxing...

Is over-emphasized and not as fun as the alternative. It's fine if you like it, but it is something I actively discourage in my games. Some of the most fun characters I have ever seen were very suboptimal. I prefer interesting story choices for characters over the most optimal ones.