StupidHerodotos
he/him
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Identity
About StupidHerodotos
I have been playing and DMing games in a variety of game systems for nearly 10 years. I work in the TV industry and have a penchant for intrigue, drama and cinematic moments. Fittingly, story-first games and storytelling itself are more of a focus than crunchy mechanics for whatever system I use. I have DMed DnD 5e (and 5.5e), Scion 2e, Ironsworn, Mage the Ascension 2e, City of Mist and Legend in the Mist - the systems I have played and experimented with a many more. I am also always up for a challenge or to try out new and different systems. I just love playing games! I tend to build heavy and varied worldbuilding where players are incentivized to explore the worlds history, cultures and secrets in their own unique way. Obviously players are more than welcome to not do that and focus on their own character and mission. I am more than happy to improvise interesting moments and tailor what I am doing to whatever my players want to do!
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Average response time: 2 hours
Response rate: 100%
Featured Prompts
My favorite books are
the entirety of the Discworld collection and the Percy Jackson series (mostly nostalgically) are some of my favorite works.
My favorite system of all Time is
Mage the Ascension 2nd edition. It is flexible, deep and heavily story driven, which I prefer to very crunchy, number-based systems.
When I'm not running games I'm...
working at my day job, creating documentaries. I also read a lot of fantasy and historical novels, comics whatever. And lastly I am studying to acquire my B.A. in Ancient Near Eastern Studies - learning niche stuff is my bread and butter!
How StupidHerodotos runs games
I am a story-first DM with focus on roleplay. When creating fights, I like them to feel motivated and necessary, so I tend to gloss over or summarize less important battles, obviously with player input. I love building complex worlds that can be enjoyed and explored at the players pace with loads of really weird NPCs and locations. I tend to create very comprehensive world documentation and work with my players to create fitting and fun characters with ideas about possible character arcs and some kind of background personal thing going on. For most things I tend to go by rule of cool if I and my group can make sense of it. I often explain the stakes of a situation, so my table knows what it gets itself into if it takes a specific route or makes a risky decision. Risk tends to get rewarded. I am also a massive fan of group storytelling, so I have no issue with players creating their own elements and plot points as long as everyone has fun with it.
StupidHerodotos's ideal table
My table is very open to whatever me and my players want to try. If today's mood is chaotic, I will embrace it, if it is somber, I will embrace that too. The best fitting players are ones who build characters with personality, goals and ideas of their own. All of these can and will be developed during play, but a strong starting base is always appreciated.
Featured Prompts
I am for a vibe that's...
fun. I love building darker worlds filled with intrigue, mystery and some truly dreadful things - but my players and I have to enjoy playing in them. Comedic things will happen, drama will happen, but everyone should have fun while participating in the game.
I think min/maxing...
is alright, as long as everyone is aware of it and alright with it. I try to make things balanced, so one player min/maxing, will increase the difficulty for the entire table.
My table is not the place for...
racism, sexism and discrimination. I don't like players discriminating against other players or even NPC's based on such things.
StupidHerodotos's Preferences
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