Kieran

he/him

5.0

(1)

Timezone

Europe/london

Language

English

About Kieran

Hi there, my name’s Kieran and my life has mainly been spent in stories, hearing them, telling them, performing them, and helping other people step inside them. I've spent most of my life growing up in the theatre. My parents met through our local theatre company, and so storytelling has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Over the last 25 years, I have acted, directed, produced, and written plays across three companies and more than 40 shows. I have played fools, villains, love interests, and, once, the main character’s mother. That background now sits at the heart of how I run tabletop games. When I found TTRPGs through StartPlaying, the skills I had built for decades suddenly had a new home, reading the room, holding tension, switching characters in an instant, adapting when players surprise me, and making every person at the table feel part of the story. I am playing in two campaigns and GMing several of my own, including a Harry Potter campaign using Kids on Brooms, a Dungeons & Dragons 5e Game of Thrones campaign, and a horror D&D campaign focused on atmosphere, character, and suspense. That range has helped me develop my GM style, bringing to games wonder, atmosphere, improv, and player-led storytelling. I may be newer to TTRPGs than some GMs, but I bring decades of practical experience in performance, pacing, improvisation, and collaborative storytelling. At my table, players can expect dramatic scenes, memorable characters, and a welcoming, rewarding game.

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

7 games hosted

Highly rated for: Knows the Rules, Storytelling, Beginner Friendly

$20 per session

Average response time: 7 hours

Response rate: 100%

Featured Prompts

I got started GMing...

Because I realised the things I loved most about theatre, storytelling, improvisation, tension, ridiculous characters and getting a room invested in what happens next, all had a home at the table.

The three words my players would use to describe me are...

Dramatic, adaptable, and invested. I want the big moments to land, the strange little details to matter, and every player to feel that their character belongs in the story.

When I'm not running games I'm...

Usually buried in a board game, up a climbing wall, stuck into a theatre project, or involved in another story in some form. I am happiest when there is a table full of people, there's some good food nearby, and something unexpected and spontaneous is happening.

How Kieran runs games

My GM style is theatrical, character-led, and player-focused. I love bringing varied characters to the table. Every NPC should feel like they belong in the world, whether they are a nervous innkeeper, a sly merchant, a calculating dragon, or an energetic nun. I use voice, rhythm, personality, and intention to make characters distinct, but always in service of the players and story. Improvisation is a major part of how I run games. I enjoy when players take the story somewhere unexpected, because that is often where the best scenes happen. A failed plan can become the most memorable part of the night and a throwaway comment can come back to bite five sessions later. I prepare situations, characters, tone, and consequences, then adapt around player choices. My goal is to keep the game moving while making the world feel responsive. However, I listen closely to what each player wants. In one campaign, a player wanted weapons and armour to feel grounded, so I built a simple realism system that made equipment choices meaningful without slowing play. Another player was struggling to fit a bard-style character into a low-magic setting, so I reworked her abilities into grounded equivalents. By the next session, she used those tools confidently. Most importantly, I want every player to feel seen. Some want drama, some want problem-solving, others want tense combat, mystery, humour, or space to learn. I check in, pay attention, and adjust the game so their choices and characters matter.

Featured Prompts

I prep by

Building places, people, pressures and possibilities, then leaving room for the players to surprise me. I prepare the world to react, rather than writing a script for the party to follow.

My games focus on...

Character choices, memorable scenes, rich atmosphere, and consequences that make the world feel alive. I love mystery, tension, humour, hard-won victories, and those moments where the party collectively realises, “Well, this has become a problem.”

Kieran's ideal table

My table is dramatic, welcoming, and built around the idea that every player should feel like a meaningful part of the story. I run character-led games with cinematic scenes, memorable NPCs, difficult choices, mysteries to uncover, and enough humour to stop the tension becoming too heavy. I enjoy players who are curious about the world, interested in one another’s characters, and willing to make choices that are bold, thoughtful, or occasionally completely questionable. New players are more than welcome, and I love introducing new players to the world of TTRPGs. You do not need to know every rule or arrive with a flawless character voice. I'm happy to help you learn the system, find your footing, and build confidence as we play. Experienced players will also find a responsive world, meaningful consequences, and room to shape the story through their choices. The best fit is someone who enjoys collaborative storytelling, respects the other people at the table, and understands that the aim is not to “win” D&D, but to help create a brilliant story together. We can explore dark, tense, strange, emotional, or silly moments, but the table should always feel safe, inclusive, and enjoyable for everyone.

Featured Prompts

If you're into ___, you're going to love my table

If you’re into character-driven stories, cinematic moments, mysteries, meaningful choices, and a world that responds to what you do, you’re going to love my table.

I love it when a player

Makes a bold choice, asks a curious question, takes an interest in another character, or surprises the table by following through on something unexpected and questionable.