James

he/him

Timezone

America/new York

Language

English

About James

Hey, my name is James and I'm a lifelong nerd with over 5 years of ttrpg experience. I started out as a 5e player but have since played Call of Cthulu and Pathfinder 2e as well. I've been GMing my own games for some time, with several one shots and a couple of long term campaigns under my belt. I'm the type of GM who's most happy when my players are having fun. I love it when people walk away from game night and immediately want to share what happened with someone. I consider myself flexible, able to run a difficult meat grinding dungeon as much as I am a chill game with jokes and monster of the week. Everyone's fun and comfort are my utmost priority.

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

Featured Prompts

I became a GM because

it honestly looked fun and I wanted to give our regular GM a break to play. When it comes to stories or other creative ideas, I usually get so many ideas in my head but struggle with execution. TTRPGs being a collaborative story telling medium has greatly helped!

My favorite shows/movies are

Usually anime. For shows I like some of the stereotypical, like DBZ, but also try to dive into niche like The Faraway Paladin. I love Ghibli movies as well. Being in my early 30s, my movie and show taste can be somewhat dated for non-anime.

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

Either catching up on my video game library, hanging out with my family, or prepping for the next game! (I also have a day job but no one wants to hear about that).

How James runs games

My GMing style is player centric. I see myself as working with the players ti tell the story and cheering them on through challenges. I tend to adapt to what the party enjoys most. I enjoy role-playing, even doing impressions in the right game setting. I enjoy planning combats that challenge a party while remaining fun. What I love most is fostering player creativity. Setting up situations and having players find solutions I never considered. I've been told I'm a generous GM, but I see it as fostering fun. However, I need the players to help me with that and often require two things from them: make characters that want to adventure with the party, and make sure your characters are willing to take plot hooks.

Featured Prompts

I deal with rules issues by...

I immediately look at the situation and try to recollect the rules as I know them. I make a ruling in the moment based on what is fun or what will keep the game moving. Later, either on break or between games, I will look up the rule to judge my previous ruling.

Rules are...

Rules are a guide. They offer a path to a balanced game but sometimes stand in the way of fun. Finding the proper balance between rules as written/intended and what is fun at the table is one best found through experience at the table.

When it comes to voices

I love doing voices and will do so to add comedy or distinguish characters. My specialties usually run deeper but I'm always practicing to add more to my toolbelt.

James's ideal table

My ideal table is either chill with casual play or really invested in the world I'm building. I enjoy when players are curious and will follow their suspicions. Its also fun when players come just to chill and have a game where we can all laugh and have a power fantasy.

Featured Prompts

I love it when a player

I love when a plauer solves a puzzle or combat in ways I cannot imagine or plan. Something like when players decide that putting 3 PCs in a trench coat to get past the guards is the good idea and have the rolls to back it up.

I think min/maxing...

Min/maxing and power gaming are best when everyone in the party does it. I've played in games where one PC set the power level of encounters because they min/maxed. It reduced the fun for them, the rest of the players, and the DM. Mild min/maxing is fine but needs to be discussed in session zero.

My table is not the place for...

Erotic or gritty games. Neither are my style and I dont feel i could do such games justice.