David

he/him

5.0

(2)

Timezone

America/edmonton

Language

English

Identity

Neurodivergent

Teacher/Educator

About David

I'm a semi-retired literature professor with interests in fantasy and medieval literature, specializing in the earliest King Arthur stories and in Tolkien. I've been DMing since I got the Basic D&D box for Christmas in 1978. Since 5e launched, I've run 12 different campaigns in the community and for friends, the longest for three years through the worst of the pandemic. They're all set in my world of Tylmedlin, where a Rome-like Empire set out to conquer fae realms, and all are now caught in a forever-war. Most recently, I'm running two Daggerheart campaigns set in Tylmedlin, one a public game in Calgary.

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: Inclusive, World Builder, Teacher

Featured Prompts

I got started GMing...

I started as a DM when I got the blue D&D boxed set for Christmas in 1978, and soon gathered a group of high school friends to play AD&D. With D&D5e, I've run 11 different campaigns since 2014, and now two Daggerheart groups since it released.

My 3 systems I'd bring to a desert island would be

Daggerheart, D&D 5e (maybe without the 2024 5.5 books), and Fiasco

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

teaching fantasy literature courses, trying to write a novel, and exploring the woods with our dog Arwen

How David runs games

While combat is a regular feature, my groups definitely have whole sessions where the focus is on roleplay, investigation, and social interaction with a variety of factions. I have a rich world-building environment of clashing groups in a landscape dense with challenges. (I have taught world-building in university courses, and social conflict is important to defining and raising the stakes.) I use the details of the world as a structural frame for collaboration, as players build out the details, choose sides in conflicts, and prioritize threats to confront or curiosities to explore. I'm a gentle person, and probably guilty of going easy on players to support the story they're creating. It's not that character death can't happen, but I prefer if it's story-driven; just last week I had a player choose self-sacrifice to prevent the release of a powerful Fae lord who would have become a long-term problem villain for the group. This makes me reflect on the railroading metaphor: I build out to a wye-junction, and then when players choose a direction I get busy building track and more junctions just ahead of them. I work hard to be inclusive, and practice the improv principles of Say Yes, Embrace Failure, and Inspire your partner(s).

Featured Prompts

I deal with rules issues by...

listening carefully to the player's intention and goals, then applying the rule of cool - with the option to revisit the decision if it becomes a problem.

I prep by

building the skeleton of a world, but then day-dreaming twists and turns based on characters' goals and stories

Rules are...

a great shared guideline, but should not get in the way of an even greater story

David's ideal table

I hope my table is like one of my classrooms - set up for others' success, with me as a facilitator energized by the ideas we're exploring. In game, I try to balance the dramatic and the silly as players develop their characters and our shared story. This works best if we all make space for and listen to each other, stay connected, and support each other's experience. Building a warm, welcoming, and fun space for our stories is golden.