Max
he/him
5.0
(6)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Max
Now in my 7th year as a DM, I've been running players through games in a series of exclusively homebrew worlds. My players have gifted me with opportunities to hone my skills as a story-teller, a collaborator, and an improviser, and have walked away satisfied from both one-shots and longform campaigns alike. My tables are guaranteed safe for members of the LGBT+ community, as I am a member of that community myself. My villains may try to kill your characters, but they won't misgender them. My degree and background is in political science and activism, which gives me unique insight into world-building and intrigue and affords me the privilege of establishing urban environments that feel real and alive. My career as a social worker and background in mental health ensures that my tables create a trauma-informed environment in which to gently explore difficult topics and themes. My games will not use generative AI in any form.
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Inclusive, World Builder, Teacher
Average response time: 4 hours
Response rate: 100%
Featured Prompts
My favorite books are
Recently I've loved the "Dungeon Crawler Carl" series and Christopher Buehlman's "The Blacktongue Thief." Pratchett's "Discworld" series means a lot to me, and I've really enjoyed thework of Hank and John Green. I've also been making my way through the Animorphs series.
My favorite shows/movies are
Murder mysteries, improv comedy, gameshows, and musicals. I'm also a big sucker for the Muppets!
The three words my players would use to describe me are...
Engaging, Flexible, Thorough
How Max runs games
I emphasize the "collaborative" part of "collaborative storytelling game." A DM's world should be responsive and open to their players and while there have to be some limitations and guardrails to let the story get told, it's not my job to decide how or even if the bad guys get defeated. I enjoy crafting difficult combats and I love a good puzzle as much as the next guy, but my games tend to be character-driven and emphasize roleplay and the relationships your characters build. While my games depend heavily on your choices and how you frame them, I also don't put too much emphasis on delivery. I'll ask you how your character says or does something, but there will be an understanding that your exact words won't necessarily be what comes out of their mouth. No human being has 20 Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma, so you won't be expected to roleplay like you do--but I will ask you to roleplay through the structure of what you say. My greatest Strength as a DM is that I can synthesize the needs of my character's backstory with whatever world I build and can make a game rich and engrossing straight away. My biggest weakness is that I tend to offer hints before I ought to.
Featured Prompts
I once ran a session...
in which one of my players decided their Harengon character worshipped Bugs Bunny, and we spent a significant chunk of time building out an entire Looney Tunes pantheon with corresponding species ("Orky Pig" and the Goblin Ancestor "Fudd" come to mind as examples.")
Rules are...
Rules are there to make the story happen. That means when rules conflict with storytelling, the story wins every time. I believe in the rule of cool and in healthy game balance. More than once I've told a player "I don't think the rules allow that, but it's cool af so I'll let it work once."
When it comes to voices
When it comes to voices, my experience in theatre has taught me that tone and commitment is more important than a diction-perfect accent. I'm always impressed by people willing to put in the effort and I do my best to return what's given to me at the table.
Max's ideal table
My ideal table believes in the power of "yes, and!" My favorite collaborators have been people who key into the lore of the worlds we play in and build characters who fit in that world--while expanding on it with some plot hooks of their own. The perfect players for me are players who know how to direct and share spotlight, and who use the question "why would my character do this?" more often than the excuse "It's what my character would do."
Featured Prompts
If you're into ___, you're going to love my table
I asked some of my current players to fill in this blank and their responses were as follows: "Witty puns" "Wordplay" "Social Justice" "Deep world-building" "Flirting with NPCs"
I love it when a player
uses lateral thinking to solve problems in ways I don't see coming! Players who can see problems in fresh lights and use their creativity to engage with what's in front of them consistently create great beats and I live for it.
I think metagaming...
has it's place. I try not to use above-the-table knowledge to gain unfair advantages and I hope my players won't either, but making choices that move the story forward, keep the table safe, and helps our fellow players have fun is how that knowledge should be used.
Max's Preferences
Platforms