Erika Kathryn
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About Erika Kathryn
When you love storytelling and have a penchant for chaos, all roads (eventually) lead to TTRPG. I came to tabletop roleplay later in life (2023) but my love for crafting stories and roleplaying online started in 2005. When you're plagued with visions and brainworms aplenty, there's nothing I love more than detailing a scene like I'm storyboarding a movie. Yes, we know where the action is leading us, but how are we getting there? Is it with a comedic flair, or a penchant for angst and dramatics? Those are the details I highlight when setting the scene. Offline, I GM for my friends on the weekend and during the week, I lead social skills groups for neurodiverse adolescents (including a bi-weekly D&D night!). When I'm not gaming (Sims4, CitiesSkylines), you're likely to find me doomscrolling on tumblr and organizing my 100+ open tabs on AO3.
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
3 games hosted
Featured Prompts
I got started GMing...
because the adolescents I worked with wanted to learn how to play the game. Now, I couldn't imagine *not* running a teen group. Recreationally, I continued GMing because my friend group needed one!
When I'm not running games I'm...
making art & taking care of my collection of 50+ house plants! If I'm not doing any of those things, I'm likely to be found writing stories.
How Erika Kathryn runs games
I love to follow spontaneity, and doing things 'for the plot'. Often, we roll to succeed; in my games, I frequently run checks to roll to see if an action fails, as the repercussions for failing can lead to hilarity and paint a more precise picture in storytelling. (I do not 'run for fails' in active combat, rather I use this mechanic when story-building or roleplaying on the way to the encounter). I have a personal philosophy that life is hard enough, games should be a place to connect and express joy. While combat will be challenging (especially if the dice are against you) the goal is to enjoy the journey. With that in mind, I can often be convinced to change a mechanic to better suite a situation (i.e., when setting up an attack from a combatant and player says, 'Hey, if she just got shot with thunderwave and she's standing in a puddle of water, would it make sense for her to have disadvantage on her next attack?' It would! And I adjust accordingly).
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My favorite trope is...
heist and hijinks! Chaos and calamity! Do it for the plot! 'Crack treated seriously' is my favorite subgenre or story 'tag'. We do it for the comedic effect, not to put anyone 'through the ringer'.
Rules are...
A necessary outline, but just like in storytelling the outline shouldn't *hinder* the progression of the plot or character development. If something makes logical sense, I roll with it. Rules built the playground and we play in it!
Erika Kathryn's ideal table
I envision my tables as a place to relax and share a few laughs. Even when things fall apart or don't go perfectly in the narrative, it's a good game if we enjoyed the journey together. Players with deep histories to their characters & Players who are still figuring out their character's alignment are invited in equal-measure. We use the story to either challenge (and reinforce) your character's ideals, or to help develop them into something more concrete. Players should expect a 'fast and loose' style of gameplay. Side-quests are fun (even if it's just to go buy new socks) but if they eat up too much time (i.e., more than 20-minutes), I will corral the party and make narrative decisions to push us in the right direction. I assume all combat is 'nonlethal' unless told differently, and assume all characters start a campaign with a potion of healing on hand. I do not keep track of spell ingredients, and I don't expect my players to, either. I do, however, expect spell slots to be monitored and followed.
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I love it when a player
has a vision for how their character interacts with their environment and the other players. Making a choice because it deepens the plot vs. getting 'straight to the point' can often lead to narrative fun and richen the characters--even if it does make a conversation with a NPC take an extra 5-mins.
My table is not the place for...
Players who are only looking to fist punch their way to glory. If we're going to the local tavern to gather intel, launching into a brawl with the first person you see just to pick a fight would be a concern. However, if your character wants to try to gather intel by being *menacing*, let's roll.
Erika Kathryn's Preferences
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