Xan
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About Xan
My name is Xan! I've been playing D&D since I was six. I started DM-ing about four years ago. My group started playing through The Yawning Portal module, which I set up in a custom, sand-boxy setting for my group, in which we all got to add to the world and history as we played. We played together for about two years, until life took players in other directions. After that, my main outlet for gaming was running a D&D club for 3rd-5th grade students at the school where I was a teacher. We spent half the school year learning the game and the other half training students to be Dungeon Masters. D&D was already my creative outlet, but watching the way kids built their games to run with their friends was inspiring in a whole new way. They always put a piece of themselves in the game, and they each expressed themselves so uniquely as game masters. I learned from them how to be more flexible with my style. I recently quit teaching and started DM-ing part-time for a company called Dungeons and Drafts. I usually run 2-3 games per month publicly. I play test all my adventures privately with a group of friends. These are usually 4 hour games designed with the five-room-dungeon format. I recently had the opportunity to DM with Cleric Games at Galaxy Con in Raleigh. For this, I ran pre-written Adventure League modules. Overall, I would describe my style as immersive and personalized. I prioritize clear settings and making sure players get to play the game *they* want to play!
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Featured Prompts
I became a GM because
I needed a creative outlet to help balance my life in a time of a lot of stress. I also wanted to provide a safe, fun, and consistent space for my friends to play.
When I'm not running games I'm...
spending time with my family, watching shows and movies, reading, writing, knitting/crocheting.
How Xan runs games
I'm always inspired by immersive and intriguing settings. I find that to be a starting point for a great story. I will often drop my players straight into a situation where they have to get to know each other quickly, so even strangers can become a team. This can be a tricky combat, high-stakes role-play, or a surprising encounter that will get creative gears turning. I welcome challenges -- characters who negotiate, push the limits of the system, and bring lots of twists and turns to the planned adventure. A few examples of my favorite DM moments: - A Clue-themed holiday season one-shot: I made custom invitations to a holiday dinner at Santa's mansion. I made characters that aligned with each of those in the game of Clue. The characters had to figure out which one of them killed Santa. -An Easter Egg: A personalized encounter where the party found a mechanical egg that opened into a spinning carousel of colored envelopes. Each envelope included a card from the Deck of Many Things. - The game that started at the end: One of my public games was supposed to require some political role-play at the end. The players decided early on that they wanted to enlist strategic help from the local government, which effectively reversed the flow of the adventure. I loved the challenge and appreciated the players' creativity!
Featured Prompts
When it comes to voices
I try my hardest! Some of my worst fails have become the most consistently entertaining to my players, so I just keep them. Most of the time, I don't do voices, but with practice, I'd like to do more.