Proto

he/him

5.0

(37)

Timezone

America/los Angeles

Language

English

Identity

LGBTQ+

Queer

Neurodivergent

Published Writer

Educator

Voice Actor

Game Designer

No Gen AI

About Proto

Hail and well met, adventurer! Let me tell you a tale of humble beginnings: There once was a house wherein dwelt seven roommates (in addition to two very gay tabby cats and a harlequin great dane, but we'll get to those later) who were all obsessed with the video game Dragon Age. We bought a mystical book titled "Dragon Age RPG" by Green Ronin and - for lack of a more experienced option - I stepped into the role of a first-time fearless leader for the clumsiest, most ridiculous adventure of our lives. It was a blast: from our tank being defeated by the gate he was trying to kick in after rolling two natural ones back to back in the first five minutes of our starting session, to our wizard rushing four ogres by himself to forever leave his legacy, to our frontliner who watched the rest of the party initiate the final battle from the safety of camp, where she was roasting marshmellows with the various NPCs she'd saved and then hired onto their party over the course of the campaign. I've been GMing ever since (going on 12 years now). I have experience running and playing in a plethora of mainstream systems, although I have been known on occasion to goblin hoard obscure offerings from DriveThruRPG (Dread, my beloved). Growing up jumping between the worlds of fantasy and sci-fi literature and the burgeoning realms of fantasy gaming, I have a deep love of epic tales and revel in creating expansive, immersive worlds, rich with lore and just waiting for explorers to forge their own paths and destinies. When I'm not sharing tabletop games, I'm traveling the world as a member of the live entertainment industry, exhibiting at PAX/GenCon, working on plays/novels, lost in an escape room, or playtesting video games / board games. Let's make some magic. ⋆* 🎀 𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗟𝗘 (PST) 🎀 *⋆

At a glance

5 years on StartPlaying

452 games hosted

Highly rated for: Inclusive, Storytelling, Creativity

$25 per session

Featured Prompts

I started running games because...

I love the way that TTRPGs feel like an expansion on open world video games. Even open world games have limits because they are hard-coded; with a TTRPG, as quickly as you can dream up how you want to interact with the world your GM has created, they can improvise expansions.

My favorite books are

War and Peace, Memnoch the Devil, In Memoriam, The Drizzt Series, Dragonriders of Pern, House of the Beast, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Dresden Files, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, Kill The Messenger, The Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine

My favorite system of all Time is

Ten Candles or The Zone TTRPG

How Proto runs games

The players are truly the core of any story, and it is always my aim first and foremost to build to what inspires and delights those at my table. Beyond that, I enjoy creating worlds that play like video games or read like novels, but with every possible restriction removed. Instead of dialogue options, you are more than welcome to ramble on about your life story to every NPC you meet. A linear quest will always exist, but there are many paths that diverge into the worlds beyond and you can come and go from them as you please. On your travels, you'll meet a colorful cast of people, each with their own lives, routines, desires, attitudes, and experiences - and it's my aim to make those interactions as authentic as possible, to breathe life into this ensemble in a way that makes you feel as if they might walk into the room at any moment and sit down beside you. Battles should feel crunchy and tactical, but with dynamic pacing and verbal visuals that make you feel as though you are rising from a greenhorn to someone of truly heroic stature by the game's end.

Featured Prompts

My games focus on...

Expansive narratives and emotional detail, immersive worlds that your characters can live in and NPCs that are more than cardboard cutouts. Stories where the easy solution isn't always the right solution.

Rules are...

Flexible. We follow them as guidelines, but if you can come up with something creative enough or interesting enough to supercede them, I will generally follow your lead.