Sladjan

he/him

5.0

(5)

Timezone

Europe/belgrade

Language

English

About Sladjan

I have been GM-ing for close to 5 years now, with two groups of friends. I've used the systems: Warhammer 40k Wrath and Glory, Imperium Maledictum, Hunter the Reckoning, Cyber punk Red and DnD 5e. My forte is Warhammer Fantasy 4e and have been running two separate campaigns set in the Warhammer Fantasy Universe and one in the a Song of Ice and Fire Universe. I would describe my style as "collaborative gardening". The story should organically grow through Player roleplay and decisions, instead of being a series of branching pathways and corridors set by the GM. To give an example of the campaign I am still running. The Players started as part of a group of Skaven hostages that escaped captivity. They have managed to become pawns of a Grey Seer, then join the Inquisition and break free of the Grey Seer's influence, only to then summon a demon prince and end up as prisoners of a powerful mage, Balthasar Gelt. The stories I run tend to focus on dark fantasy elements, power politics, intrigue, roleplay, light combat and mass battles (war). I use WFRP 4e partly because it is intuitive for Players, with simple D10 mechanics. The D10 dice also provide fun contrasts, epic triumphs and extremely funny fails, both for the GM and the Players. The point is fun, player agency and rule of cool (even if the Players one-shot my meticulously prepared BBEG). Let's create epic moments together and weave them into a fun and memorable story!

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, Rule of Cool

Featured Prompts

I got started GMing...

After a night out with some friends. We all wanted to play together and I volunteered to GM. We played one shots for Cyberpunk Red, Hunter the Reckoning and WFRP 4e. We eventually settled for WFRP as a system for a 4-year long and ongoing campaign of grim and perilous adventures.

My favorite system of all Time is

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4e. The simplicity of the D100 system, the grounded nature of the career system, the fluid and deadly combat, are all conducive to memorable sessions and storytelling, without the unnecessary crunch.

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

Reading fantasy, historical fiction and history. Usually this means one physical book to read during commute and one e-book before sleep. I always find the time to play video games, my comfort food: Oblivion and Skyrim and Paradox and Creative Assembly strategy games

How Sladjan runs games

The point of TTRPG's is collaborative gardening of a story. Therefore my style is less focused on following the rules as written and grand plotlines that Players follow. For example, during one campaign my Players committed to setting which was deadly for their players, but over time their character became more heroic (magical weapons, magical boons and such). This evolved naturally from roleplay and the game was fun, which was the point. Of course I had to make enemies stronger, but that is part of the course. I like roleplay, character and world building. Politics, court intrigue, complex geopolitics is something that my Players can expect. Puzzles however is something I tend to avoid. Thematically and atmospherically the campaigns I design tend to be dark fantasy. Combat is frequent and high stakes, meant to shape the characters, the story and the wider world. Since the Players are part of a larger world and their "theater of operations" is usually a city or a province, I tend to organize "world changing battles", where Players take command of both armies. The results of the battles shape the world and it gives them more agency than if I, as a GM, decide that Kingdom X destroyed Republic Y somewhere. I tend to run combat as a "theater of the mind", allowing the Players to describe what their Characters are doing, instead of using mapped encounters. For me this limits the imagination and the volatility of combat.

Featured Prompts

I once ran a session...

in a city infiltrated by a vampire cult. The players broke into their safehouse, snuck up to the sleeping vampire, staked it, stuffed it into a closet, threw the closet out the window and then threw a fire grenade at it. I threw my combat notes away and awarded the players with well deserved XP.

My games focus on...

intrigue, power politics, societal conflicts, the cost of magic and the weight of decisions. My games tend to be darker, but they do fluctuate from grimdark to "grimderp", depending on what the players do and what the RNG gods decide.

Rules are...

there to guide the story and the players, but not to constrict them. They are also a tool for the GM to weave the plot and design a campaign. In my opinion the GM and the players should not be afraid to homebrew and experiment, provided that there is a consensus at the table.

Sladjan's ideal table

My ideal table is full of people who are having fun, first and foremost. Players respect each other and the story they are jointly crafting. The mood at the table shifts from serious and foreboding when the players get hooked on and adventure, to tense mathing during combat and laughter when the rolls lead to some spectacular or ridiculous outcomes. The one shots and campaigns are rules light. The basics are set out in session 0 and they follow the rules from appropriate rulebook. However, any rule which impedes fun can be modified if the table agrees. I find this approach to suit my table and me personally. Regarding vibe and atmosphere, the adventures I run tend to be placed in dark fantasy universes, so players should expect appropriate themes and vibes from the story. Players usually do not start as heroes, but rather as regular men and women of the setting. They can evolve into heroes over time.

Featured Prompts

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

political intrigues, dynastic squabbles, social unrest, dangerous magic going awry, ancient blood feuds and knightly tourneys.., you will love my table.

I love it when a player

takes initiative and tries to do something outlandish and this succeeds. This of course messes up my plans, but it sends a story to an entirely different and exciting direction.

My perfect party mix is

The Roleplayer who brings the story to life. The minmaxer, who creates a build that breaks my encounters. The rules lawyer who finds "bugs" in the rules and tries to fix them. The wild card who has and executes insane plans. The note taker, who consumes and tracks the lore.