Craig Martinson

he/him

5.0

(5)

Timezone

America/new York

Language

English

Identity

Artist

Educator

Game Designer

About Craig Martinson

Whether you've never touched a d20 or you were arguing about THAC0 before the internet, you will find a home at this table. I promise. This is an LGBTQ+ and allies space. Full stop. I run 5.5e in collaborative, lived-in worlds built for whatever kind of story we want to tell. Cozy tavern night where we wax poetic and eat fictional bread? What could be better? Something grinning at you from the shadows with way too many teeth? Don't worry about it. Mourning an NPC who technically didn't exist until three sessions ago? Valid. Hand me a tissue. I've been playing since I was 9, when I inherited a 2nd Edition PHB from my best friend's older brother, dog-eared pages of endless wonder. Thirty years later I'm still chasing that feeling, and nothing beats watching someone else discover it for the first time. I've introduced 30+ players to their first game and ran a D&D afterschool club for three years. When a room full of middle schoolers forgets their phones for two hours on a Tuesday afternoon, you know the magic is real. If you want deep roleplay, a world that actually listens, and a GM who is maybe a little too excited to be here, let's talk. I'd love to run a game with you.

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

4 games hosted

Highly rated for: Storytelling, Inclusive, World Builder

$20 per session

Featured Prompts

My favorite books are

Legends and Lattes, anything by Rachel Harrsion, Eye of the World

The three words my players would use to describe me are...

Creative, encouraging, and completely, unreasonably invested in your character...

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

When I'm not running games I'm reading, drinking coffee, thinking about drinking coffee, and absolutely, definitely not already planning the next campaign. (I'm planning the next campaign.)

How Craig Martinson runs games

Are you ready to tell a story worth remembering? Together we'll get lost in cities that feel alive, match wits with worthy foes, and make rash decisions that probably won't work out...but on the rare occasion they do, we'll never shut up about it. And of course I'll be doing voices for everyone we meet along the way...yes, everyone... Here's the truth: I have no idea what's going to happen at this table, and I cannot wait to find out. The story is yours. The world is ours. I'm just the guy making sure it pushes back in interesting ways when you need it to. I'm not interested in combat that feels like a chore. Encounters are dynamic, terrain matters, stakes are real, and I promise nothing plays out the way you expect. Cinematic chaos gets described. High-stakes battles get a grid. Either way, you're going to feel it. Here's to the wild card pulling it off, the inside joke that still lands six sessions from now, the nat 20 that saves the day, the feeling of being in a room with people who are all the way in, building something together that didn't exist before we sat down. That's the thing worth coming back for.

Featured Prompts

My favorite trope is...

enemies to allies!

Rules are...

awesome! But let's learn them so we can break them!

Craig Martinson's ideal table

Need help with a mechanic? I've got you. Rules lawyer with a heart of gold? Pull up a chair, the party's honor isn't going to defend itself. Yes, there are a ton of rules, and we will navigate them together. But this game is so much more than that. It's a launchpad for one of a kind collaborative play, unbridled creativity, and the kind of immersive storytelling that makes you forget whatever you walked in carrying. Rookies finding their groove. Veterans seeing the game through fresh eyes. Everyone at the table caring about every character as much as their own. That's the ancient alchemy of an epic game. One part fearlessness, two parts mischief. Stir until contagious. Show up ready to try anything, fail spectacularly, and root for everyone at the table. Let's be legendary.