Josh
he/him
5.0
(7)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Josh
Hi! My name is Josh, I've been playing table top RPGs since I was in elementary school. I used to take my little binder full of homebrew rules out to recess and play with my friends (until we got in trouble because the teachers thought we were gambling). I've got significant experience running Pathfinder 1e, D&D3.5e, D&D 5e, Monster of the Week, Interstitial, and LANCER! I love telling stories with people, playing fun games, and meeting cool people!
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
98 games hosted
Highly rated for: Inclusive, Creativity, Knows the Rules
Featured Prompts
I got started GMing...
I've always loved telling stories with my friends. I've been doing since I was a child, since my dad used my brother and I to test his homebrew system. I've found that I'm just most comfortable settled into the role of GM rather than player.
My favorite shows/movies are
some of my major inspirations are: Dropout's Dimension 20 (Character-first Stories), Pacific Rim (Cinematic Style), Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Rich Characters), Jurassic Park (I like Dinosaurs!), Transformers: Beast Wars (my favorite series of all time)
When I'm not running games I'm...
Writing! I'm text-based roleplaying, working on writing commissions, or preparing for games I want to run!
How Josh runs games
I don't much like running Sandbox, open-world style stuff. I like a focused plot and story that we're all interested in exploring and playing within. I tend to run modules and pre-prepared content, but I am very good at working player choices in. I'll swap out NPCs to fit player backstories, alter arcs and reskin enemies to fit PC desires. Once it makes sense to migrate away from a pregen adventure, and once I know what my players want, I can get to work on a homebrew campaign to explore the character arcs and stories set up in whatever we've done at that point.
Featured Prompts
I once ran a session...
where a player launched themselves out of their own bow. Then later in that same campaign a different character had to fly into battle with their angelic brother whom left them to die a century ago, and now the character is a rage demon.
I prep by
I like to ask my players questions about what they want to do. Then, I try to make those things happen! I can spend hours just writing descriptive text, NPC ideas, combat scenarios, drawing maps, and then find that I've done more than was necessary and also not enough! And I LOVE both scenarios haha
My games focus on...
fun. I prioritize fun! I find fun in visceral and engaging combat, and also in looney tunes nonsense. If you'd have fun doing hardcore story telling and acting, we can do that! If you want a Big Sword That Looks Cool, we can make that happen. So long as we're having fun, I consider that a success!
Josh's ideal table
four to five people who resonate well with one another, both creatively and socially. Friends. I want us to feel like friends. My tables shouldn't feel like "people who hired me to be a Game Designer for them." I'd like them to feel like a friend group who are investing some money into their games to help them tell the stories they want to tell together.
Featured Prompts
I love it when a player
reaches out to a different player about plot beats and ideas for their character. I then love it when they both come to me to share their ideas, and I can work on getting something in place in the game to bring their story idea to fruition!
I think it's a red flag when players...
don't communicate with me and the other players about the things they want to do/accomplish. A player who doesn't ever talk about their ideas makes it difficult to help them bring their ideas into the story. Then, they try to make a move in game that goes over poorly because no one was ready for it.
I think min/maxing...
can sometimes be fun, but generally isn't a rewarding way to approach storytelling. I am a flexible GM, who wants my players to succeed, and building a character who will always do that will make non min/maxed characters feel frustrated, or will never feel challenged, and neither is a good vibe!
Josh's Preferences
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