Stef
they/them
4.8
(5)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Stef
Hi! I'm Stef, a GM of about seven years now, and a player for quite a few more than that. My experience with TTRPGs is almost entirely centered on D&D; predominantly 5e, but also a bit of 2e as a player. I've run four full length campaigns that have spanned a year at minimum, as well as a smaller campaign using the starter module of dnd 5e (Dragon of Icespire Peak) at my local gaming store. I deeply enjoy narrative focused gameplay, heavy political and (in character) interpersonal drama, but also the more tactical combat oriented side of the game. Games like the final fantasy franchise, especially 12, 14, and 16, as well as the Soulsborne games, have shaped a lot of my tastes in TTRPGs, and most of my games take a bit of thematic elements from the genre and vibes of these games, though I try to distinguish my own games from them well enough. Dungeons and Dragons has been my gateway drug into writing, worldbuilding, and just immersing myself into the world of being a creative and I adore it for that reason. I have a homebrew world that I've been working on since I started GMing which has been the primary setting of the vast majority of my games for just as long. Outside of D&D, I enjoy video games, creative writing (namely working on OCs, developing my world, and starting numerous novels which I probably will never finish), and uh... thinking about D&D.
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Creativity, World Builder, Sets the Mood
Featured Prompts
I became a GM because
I wanted to play more TTRPGs with my friends, initially. I continued GMing because I found that I enjoyed it more than playing; that framing narratives in gameplay was something I really enjoyed, and getting excited about my player's characters alongside them was a lot of fun.
How Stef runs games
Generally, games I enjoy running involve a lot of focus on an underlying narrative where the players take center stage and are tasked with navigating tense, dangerous scenarios. Roleplay and combat are the primary axis on which I enjoy GMing; the former giving reason to the latter, and the latter giving tension to the former. Generally I tend to tailor combat difficulty to the table's preference, and I would never describe myself as a 'brutal' GM - but I do tend to enjoy combat to have consequences for failure, even if those consequences aren't character death or anything so dramatic. Thematically, I like both low and high fantasy - and especially the gradient players go on from the low levels to being veritable gods as they approach max level. I value a degree of realism, though prefer the verisimilitude of a fantasy world far more than strict adherence to real world logic. Focus on political drama, especially when it comes to large scale concepts like war, trade and intrigue, are especially beloved, but I also enjoy a lot more small scale conflicts that are centered on the characters and unfold out from there. I'm a big fan of having consistent rules that the players agree on and the clarity thereof, but if there's something that isn't working for the group I'm more than fine altering the functionality of something with the rules, and have enough experience to feel confident in doing so.
Featured Prompts
Rules are...
Guides that we play by that should be fun first, and reinforce the verisimilitude of the game world second. I prefer running as close to RAW as possible with newer players, and changing rules outside of sessions so that everyone involved can have a sturdy shared language to play.
Stef's ideal table
Players that are keen to create deep and complex characters that are intertwined with, and occasionally break from, the world of the game, that focus on narrative and gameplay both on equal footing, and engage in healthy communication about the content they want and expect out of a game and any issues they may have.
Featured Prompts
I love it when a player
is excited about their character and wants to share it with others. I love hearing people talk about their OCs, and being able to provide a chance for them to share that excitement through the game.
I think min/maxing...
Can be acceptable, depending on where it comes from in the priorities of character creation. If you want to make the strongest character possible, and that's where you begin the process - that will lead to homogeneous characters. My main concern is that people make unique, interesting characters.
Stef's Preferences
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Game Mechanics