Lex
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About Lex
It all started with a red cardboard box, a gift for my 13th birthday. I failed my first saving throw, got charmed by a chaotic magic-user, and my fate was sealed. A few months later, I was sketching knights and wizards in the margins of my homework, reading the Dragonlance Chronicles during lunch, and planning fantastic adventures for my friends. My role-playing career started with Dungeons & Dragons, and I still love epic high fantasy, but I quickly found so many other worlds to explore ... the gritty near-future nightmare of Cyberpunk, the sweeping space opera of Star Frontiers, the gothic horror of Vampire: the Masquerade, the boundless possibilities of Mage: the Ascension ... and through it all, I found my passion for sharing great stories with interesting and imaginative people. Decades later, that passion has only grown. I've run scores of campaigns and chronicles, made lifelong friends, written new systems, tested the experimental, tuned the tried and true.
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Featured Prompts
My favorite system of all Time is
My favorite system (and setting) of all time is Ars Magica, the little-known precursor to Mage: the Ascension, about the early days of the Order of Hermes in the Mythic Age. It started my obsession with magic systems, political intrigue, and gritty Dark Ages chronicles. Creo Ignem!
When I'm not running games I'm...
When I'm not running games (or prepping for an upcoming game), I'm usually working in the yard. Tending chickens, planting or digging up taters (po-tay-toes!), or doing yard work to keep things flowing and growing.
How Lex runs games
Variety, they say, is the spice of life. My favorite games, whether running or playing, are the ones that include a mix of mystery, intrigue, combat, action, and a dose of horror. I love to craft a deeply immersive role-playing scenario, where the characters are interacting with NPCs who they may or may not trust, and who may or may not be plotting against them. Navigating the intrigues of a royal court or a vampire coven ... investigating a murder or disappearance ... planning and executing a high-stakes heist or hit. Some of the greatest scenes I've been a part of haven't included a single attack roll or saving throw, but in-character scheming, drawing upon the deep knowledge and expertise of highly competent characters, accomplishing what no one else could. But the scenes that get the adrenaline pumping, the stories that players get excited to tell and re-tell, are the glorious battles. When the chips are down, the plan goes sideways, and the wolves are at the door ... swords or guns are drawn, deadly magic or cutting-edge tech scorches the air, allies and enemies fall. These are the moments that define Heroes and Villains, and the reason that so many people fall in love with role-playing. In short, I like for a game to flow like a great story, between scenes of dramatic tension and pulse-pounding action.
Featured Prompts
My games focus on...
My games focus on crafting stories that make the players feel the thrills, fears, victories, and struggles that their characters experience. Whether it's horror that makes them look over their shoulder, action that makes their heart race, or hijinks that make them laugh so head their eyes tear up.
Rules are...
Rules are a paradox. Good rules are necessary for creating fun and exciting scenarios. Consistent rules are essential for fairness and verisimilitude. Klunky rules are a drag. Intelligence is understanding the rules, and why they are important; Wisdom is knowing when they must be enforced or broken.
Lex's ideal table
I try to keep a balance at my table, between a fun and relaxed atmosphere, and a focus on keeping the game flowing. We're here to have a good time, and that means fun banter, cracking jokes, and laughing together, but it also means getting excited about the story, taking the situations seriously enough to engage with the danger and challenges that the characters face. The players who will most enjoy my games are those who can go from laughing at a bad pun or relevant movie quote one minute, to serious in-character strategizing the next. Those who can enjoy a social scene, that turns into a chase scene, that turns into a combat scene, that turns back into a social scene. Those who care enough about their characters to react as the character would, even if that might lead them to a heroic or tragic death scene ... but are also grounded enough as players to laugh at their own character for making poor choices, and understand that sometimes a character's story needs to have a little tragedy.
Featured Prompts
I love it when a player
I love it when a player comes up with a solution to a problem that I didn't think of, but it makes even more sense in the story than the solutions that I did expect. I love it when a player goes out of their way to make sure another player gets to have a Crowning Moment of Awesome.
I think metagaming...
I think metagaming can be used for good or for evil. Good metagaming is making choices that will lead to a better story, and more fun for everyone ... evil metagaming is making choices that short-circuit the story in an attempt to claim some selfish benefit.
Lex's Preferences
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