Donovan (he/him)
5.0
(9)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
19 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Inclusive, Storytelling
About me
I am Donovan Wishon, a DM and educator. I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons for over 30 years and have been a DM regularly for the past two. I love introducing new players to D&D and creating fun, imaginative, and thought-provoking narratives together with players of all experience levels. I especially enjoy guiding players through Planescape adventures where they can explore all the wonder, weirdness, and possibility that the D&D multiverse has to offer. So join me in exploring heavens and hells, realms of chaos and order, fey courts and shadowlands, gate towns and astral seas, homes of gods and the dead, and an impossible city of portals at the heart of it all. In another incarnation, I am a professor of philosophy and teach a college course on “Dungeons, Dragons, and Philosophy”. Beliefs and ideas are at the heart of Planescape, and I am an enthusiastic tour guide for both its fantastical multiverse and the philosophical themes infused within it. In my games, philosophy is not just talk; it is choice and action. So even those new to D&D or philosophy will have a blast exploring ideas and their cosmic consequences. But ultimately players are the main storytellers in my games. I'm there to help them tell an epic tale that is exciting, entertaining, and enjoyable for everyone at the table.
GM Style
I try to give my games a good balance of imaginative storytelling, strategy-based combat, exploration, problem-solving, and interactive role-playing. I will bring the D&D multiverse to life with vivid descriptions, an engaging cast of characters, interesting locales and encounters, maps and artwork, and a good bit of (nonprofessional) voice acting. I also give players space to interact with each other, explore and develop their characters and the world, and do really cool stuff! But I am happy to adapt my GM style in whatever way makes my games the most fun for everyone.
Games played
Game platforms used
Game Master Reviews (9)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Creativity
Inclusive
Storytelling
Jim
New review
Played 3 sessions
Easy to communicate with and very patient and super helpful in creating a character and is open to ideas.
Farrian
The world building is incredible. Tons of characters to fall in love with.
Lance
Played 5 sessions
Donovan is a wonderful DM, he’s very patient and thorough with explaining the rules to first-time players, and is quick to reward creativity for more experienced ones! He puts a lot of effort into the writing and voice-acting for all the NPCs and storylines in his world, and the philosophical twists he puts into his stories are fun and interesting! I had an awesome time playing in his game!
Matt Willis (tokens)
Played 4 sessions
Donovan is an excellent DM with a talent for building and maintaining community at the table. His game setting is very intriguing and richly detailed, but he's also careful to make room for the players to explore the aspects of the game they find most interesting. Oh, and his voice work is also *very* entertaining. I look forward to playing with him again soon.
Fishing
I've been playing with Donovan in various games/systems for around 30 years (both as a player and as the DM). At present, he's running some Planescape material and doing a good job. He is well-prepared, focused, allows for agency by the players, and generally creates a good environment for people to have fun. The stories are good and he isn't the kind of GM to ruin things with GMPCs, weird house rules, or creepiness towards players. What you'll get in his games is just the ability to play RPGs with well-written storylines.
Miriam Crotwell
Played 17 sessions
Donovan is a fantastic storyteller and a good steward of the game. He ensures fair player participation among groups with diverse experience levels. My favorite aspect of playing with Donovan is his flexibility which often allowed for humorous and kick-ass moments. Overall, his experience in facilitating adventure shines the most through his exposition, as he expertly entwines intimate knowledge of source material with physical aids like maps and character portraits.
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