Daniel

they/them

4.9

(28)

Timezone

America/chicago

Identity

LGBTQ+

Neurodivergent

Teacher/Educator

Women/Femme Identifying

About Daniel

Hi, I'm Daniel(they/them) and I've been playing and running RPGs ever since I found the Basic D&D set at 8 years old. Since then, I've run campaigns in every edition of D&D, Pathfinder 1e and 2e, Shadowrun, World of Darkness, FATE, and GURPS. I especially enjoy open-ended scenarios that allow players to find new and creative solutions to problems. I am a former math teacher and ran an after-school D&D club. I have spent a lot of time teaching new players and am excited to introduce you to the games I love, whether that means helping you find the most interesting ways to build a character, or doing the math so you don't have to! In particular, I am used to running games for LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent players, and strive to make my games accessible to everyone.

At a glance

2 years on StartPlaying

263 games hosted

Highly rated for: Inclusive, Knows the Rules, Creativity

Featured Prompts

I got started GMing...

When I was 8 years old, my brother and I found a D&D boxed set that had been given to our parents as a joke. We instantly fell in love with the idea of being heroes in our own stories and started running games for each other.

My favorite system of all Time is

I love GURPS because it lets you tell any story you want, from gritty sci fi to comic book superheroes to high fantasy, or even to blend them together in new and interesting ways. Especially when trying to play a story in a world from a book or movie, it can't be beat.

How Daniel runs games

I think the key to a good story is to make the mood fit the genre. Heroic action should feel fast paced and high stakes, while horror should keep you worried about what's going to happen next. With my background in many different genres and game systems, I try to give each campaign a unique feel. I like to reward player initiative and ingenuity. Whether you're working to solve a puzzle or using your character's newest abilities in combat, the game is about you, and my job is to make a world that gives you opportunities to shine. This doesn't mean the players will always succeed, of course, as a narrow escape from certain death can make for a great story as well. In combat focused games, I create my own maps to make the encounters more interesting, using tools like multi-level combat and unusual terrain to create more dynamic battles. Your character's story begins long before our first session, and I want to help you bring a character you love to the table, so I believe strongly in collaborative character creation. Especially for new players and new systems, I want to work with you to make sure you have a character that you will enjoy playing and can use effectively to accomplish your goals. Collaborative character creation is also a great time to tie characters' backstories together, so that you have a shared history to tie in to your roleplay in game.

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My games focus on...

big overarching themes that set the tone for the whole campaign. In a lot of cases it will be a tough moral question, especially in my custom campaigns, so be prepared to make hard choices with emotional weight.

When it comes to voices

They're invaluable in making characters unique and memorable.I've found more than once that players decide to love or to hate an NPC purely on how I voice the character.

Daniel's ideal table

My goal is to run a table for people who have traditionally had difficulty joining the "old boys club" of gamers. I'm both queer and neurodivergent, and want my games to be a safe place for people under both of those umbrellas to express themselves and find community. I like to make my games challenging, though, so be prepared to think hard about your character's choices in both roleplay and combat.