Professional Game Master

J.P.he/him

About me

Hello, my name is Jon-Paul, but you can call me J.P. I have played and DM'ed Dungeons and Dragons, Cyberpunk and Vampire: the Masquerade, and lately, Pathfinder 2e, games since way back in the very early 80's. I endeavor to create a visually and aurally immersive gaming environment. I am constantly practicing voices (to the never-ending annoyance of my daughters!) and take great pride in my ability to create believable, fantastic and memorable characters. I use a variety of tools to enhance the roleplayers' experience, including Foundry VTT (Hosted), SyrinScape and Spotify for ambient sounds, music and pulse-thumping combat soundtracks, a dedicated Discord server for our sessions and community, and a wide variety of character voices. All of that is combined with a massive library of books for the RPG systems that I run. While my goal as a DM is for the players to have massive fun and enjoyment, I play the villains and monsters intelligently, making for challenging encounters which heighten the sense of accomplishment when you "win". For me, as a DM, I "win" when you have fun and accomplish your goals. I am not out to beat or confound the goals of the party. You and your party are the story tellers, and each session adds to the epic narrative of your characters' exploits. I am not only a DM, I am also an active player here on StartPlaying. I find it to be important to have a players perspective on the games I run, as it allows me to keep an open mind as a GM. As such, I am always open to suggestions from my players as to how I can further enhance their experiences at the table. I also make myself available to my players for questions outside of normal sessions, for character creation/background story help, free tutorial sessions in the Foundry VTT, and just for general chatting. On that note, I run a paid Discord server that has a lively, active and growing player base, of friendly people that share a common love of the game. I mainly run modules at the moment, but I do not "railroad" players onto a particular path. The players choose where their characters go and what they do. I accommodate this by being flexible with which modules to insert into any given campaign. You might start off with the Lost Mine of Phandelver, for instance, but end up finishing the Tomb of Annihilation or the Tyranny of Dragons storyline. I set the starting point, you decide the direction from there! I also create and insert custom content where appropriate, guaranteeing that no two run throughs of any given campaign that I run are exactly the same. I run an inclusive table, with people from all walks of life, backgrounds, and belief systems. The only two overarching rules at my table are, first and foremost: respect for your fellow players, and secondly: have fun with your character and group! So, if you think we will get along, and want to have some serious fun with some exceptional players, then come along and join one of our tables!

GM style

I employ a healthy mix of role-play and challenging combat. I use maps (displayed in Foundry) as visual aids, during exploration and for combat as well. Role-play is one of the things I live for and I encourage my players to stay in character as much as possible, within reason and player comfort-zones. I love bringing characters to life with my voice, along with a great toolbox full of sounds and music to really immerse the players into the fantasy worlds we play in. I also really like to re-make the maps from the modules, and add maps that aren't generally included, which allows a lot more flexibility within the VTT for exploration within the game, and, I think, helps to maintain an immersive atmosphere, above and beyond the maps included with the modules I employ. I like to play as closely to the rules as possible, but will choose the rule of cool over rules as written where and when appropriate. I won't fudge dice rolls, since, along with roleplaying, I consider a sense of randomness and "fate" as integral to the overall game experience. I also offer free Foundry Tutorial session to my players during the week, to help you get comfortable with the VTT, and also to practice with your characters capabilities!

Games played

Game platforms used

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