Sam

he/him

5.0

(6)

Timezone

Pacific/honolulu

Language

English

Identity

Artist

Teacher/Educator

Voice Actor

Game Designer

About Sam

Hey! I’m Sam, and I love games! I have been designing them, running them and reviewing them for my entire life, ever since I was 4 years old inventing my own board games, and running around the school grounds at recess swinging sticks shouting stuff like the ol classic “Ahh it’s a monster! We have to take it down! Quick, throw a fireball!" I have been continuously running RPG campaigns for years on end, always doing something new! I love all manner of medieval games, surreal worlds, and I also absolutely LOVE Cyberpunk! With medieval fantasy, which I love dearly, I began with Palladium and Pathfinder, but I have since gone on to *design more games* that have better mechanics, while also diving further into the roleplaying itself, the heart of a character, the interactions, the realism. So I play beyond what is listed! I’m good at playing a wide variety of characters. I would be honored to be the narrator of your legendary tale! My game designs are my work, play, and very identity. Being able to earn a living doing it is a lifelong dream! I aim to make it thoroughly enjoyable and memorable for everybody.

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: Creativity, World Builder, Sets the Mood

Featured Prompts

I got started GMing...

before I even knew what that was! My whole life, for as long as I can remember, I have been making games, being a facilitator of fun, and igniting the imaginations of my friends.

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

teaching guitar lessons, writing music and singing, going on hikes in the beautiful mountains, preparing for the next game I will be running, and of course... being silly.

How Sam runs games

I am the Game Master for you if you want an imaginative, fun, fair, very experienced GM who does not expect you as the player to remember or care about every single nitty gritty stat, rule and detail. I dig deep into game mechanics when they are *fun* and *relevant,* but the purpose of these games is to be immersed in the characters. I aim to help my players focus on playing their character and role, rather than reading through a textbook of hurdles they have to get over. You do not need to know any stats or rules to have a great time with the games I design. You just need an imagination! The purpose of the stats is to make events play out in an interesting and less predictable way, rather than making it just about "leveling up." The character sheets for the games I design are elegantly concise and clear. I design excellent game mechanics, interesting plots, and above all: I love to design worlds. I am very fair, balanced and *creative* interpreter of what the dice “mean.” Dice rolls are used to amplify descriptions of the events rather than trying to *limit* events, and it turns it into a more interesting story by adding a little bit of chance. In this world, your character's weaknesses and failings become even more interesting than the victorious glory, and conflicts of characters add to the depth of the game. I like to play with wild fantasy settings, but using realistic and gritty survival situations. From years of experience, I know with certainty that "It's cold" can be every bit as interesting or even MORE interesting than "the whole world is gonna be destroyed by big evil bad guy and you are the chosen heroes of destiny." With me as a GM, you will not be disappointed! I’ve done more campaigns than I can even count, something like 30? I'm great with voices, I pull funny faces, and I like to exaggerate every NPC's personality. I'm friendly and laid back, I'm a good communicator and mediator, and above all: being a GM is not about me. I don't care about recognition, I care about FUN! Care to join in?

Featured Prompts

I deal with rules issues by...

Quickly, fairly and realistically going with what makes the most sense for the character and the situation, usually leaning toward a success. Nitpicking and arguing against players is the opposite of a good GM. The rules are made to provide challenge and realism, not to annoy players.

My games focus on...

immersing you into a fascinating fantasy world and giving you the means to be whoever you want to be within that world. I take pride in my intuition for game design and storytelling. The rules of my games are always made to enhance the immersion, give meaningful challenge, and create the unexpected!

Rules are...

either fun and immersive, or they suck. Simple as that.

Sam's ideal table

Immersion is where it's at. My games take place in wild fantasy worlds, but involve realistic and intense survival/combat rules that reward careful planning and cooperation between players. If you like the sound of that, you are most welcome to join! I have had many different personalities of players over the years, and I find that it works out as long as each player is sticking to their character. Some enjoy getting right into the acting and taking initiative, while others prefer to be more in the background and make plans, and that's alright. If *everyone* wants center stage, it might be a shouting match, and if *everyone* was a shy bystander, the game becomes awkwardly quiet. It's good to have a variety of players. If you are friendly, imaginative, thoughtful, and at least a little bit silly, we can all get along wonderfully and have a blast.

Featured Prompts

If you're into ___, you're going to love my table

silliness mixed with realism

I love it when a player

goes against the meta in a situation where they are staying true to their character despite the losses. "Nope I just run cause my character is terrified of chickens" or "I wouldn't have figured that out yet, I would totally walk right into that trap." I reward dedication to roleplay!

I think metagaming...

is lame, because it *lessens immersion!* The game is not about maximizing stats and exploiting loopholes, the whole point is to have fun with a realistic, immersive, exciting, unpredictable challenge roleplaying as characters, not to "win." There is no "win," just "fun!"