Driden
he/him
5.0
(12)
Timezone
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About Driden
My own Platinum Rule for RPGs is simple offer and assume respect, as well as good will. We all want to experience something breaking out of the mundane, at least for a bit. Entertain and be entertained by weaving a story together, play the game together. My main enjoyment comes from others being engrossed in the session, or at least having fun with it. Allowing myself a little honesty, RPGs are a huge part of my life, took me from being an extremely shy kid to someone who can easily give lectures to a full auditorium. As silly, as that sounds, feeling like I truly pilot spaceships, confront gods, stalk dark alleys of great cities, protect the multiverse from villainy, and more throughout my life. I want more people to enjoy this hobby, so I never took money for running games before, sometimes putting more time and effort into them than normal work. But as life goes on, duties grow and times get harder. I want to see if maybe I can integrate my adult life and passion better. Sneak a bit more of the hobby into the day. Less Important Basics DoB: 1987 (37) Sex: Male Nationality: Polish Religion: Agnostic Orientation: Not this type of role play
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
41 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, World Builder, Teacher
Featured Prompts
I got started GMing...
by creating my own system. Getting a proper handbook was not that easy in my country. Being a preteen, I just heard about the concept from a friend, I was spending vacations with, and so we made a game we could play.
My 3 systems I'd bring to a desert island would be
Savage Worlds, Fate Core and Freeform Universal, not because they are the best, but I could do most with them, and I'm not limiting myself to just three.
My favorite books are
very hard to choose. But I can tell some are always fresh in my mind, like first 3 Earthsea books by Ursula le Guin, Sword of Destiny and Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski, Other Songs by Jacek Dukaj, Green Mile by Stephen King and I'm noticing I could go on for a while.
How Driden runs games
Atmosphere That might be the most communication dependant part of the game. There is, a hook, set in the listing, but that's just an initial proposition. GM is only one person at the table, and there is no way, or sense, to dictate the flavor of the whole game alone. It has to be forged together. Building up on what others put in and trying to blend into a cohesive whole. That's one of the reasons why session zero is so useful, to get a shared vision for the game. Propose a direction everyone else wants to go for, or tweak it, until agreed upon. Player Characters It varies for some genres, but I tend to aim for the player characters to feel like part of the world. Having stakes in it, so the story can have emotional resonance for them. Avoid becoming a disconnected leaf on the wind, that could just as well protect, as they can massacre a town. NPCs Creating believable and engaging characters for PCs to interact with, was always a cornerstone of my games. That's in a way most of human motivations, connections with others. Sensitive Topics I think any healthy medium shouldn't completely shy away from things that are uncomfortable. Just as not every piece of it needs to tackle them. When we approach anything close to taboo, it should be treated with proper respect and gravitas, rather than just cheap shock value. Mechanics in Play I like a clear mechanical framework that is fair and understood by all players, but used as a tool to make the session better, not overtaking the game. Something that can be played with, creating fun, situational interactions. Systems There was a time I tried every system I could find. Easily played way over 200 of them by this point, tried running a fifth of that and created a playable version for six more of my own. Not that I'm able to fully keep track of all of those. This said I can't choose a favorite. I love and am annoyed by elements of too many. But some major ones would be Chronicles (World) of Darkness games (especially Requiem and Forsaken), Savage Worlds, Fate, L5R, One Ring, D&D 5e, and a few Polish ones no one here has probably heard about. Specialization Because of my love for RPG variety, my specialty is making games that work outside of the typical, for all kinds of unique ideas. Adapting universal and specific mechanics, or even making my own. I used to improvise a ton, now I do it less, because of added materials, but skills are still there.
Featured Prompts
I deal with rules issues by...
making judgment on the spot, for pacing, and get back to the issue after the session.
I prep by
creating the starting situation, surroundings and NPCs. The rest is just reacting to what players do and building up on it. At least, that's my favorite method. Some systems, ideas and games have other approaches.
When it comes to voices
I don't come from a tradition of doing a lot of accents, but I did get pretty good in manipulate my voice, and speech patterns to make NPCs more recognizable and unique.
Driden's ideal table
I think it's a wrong question for me. I don't have one monolithic table, never did, it seems too limiting. I don't run, nor play ADVENTURE! the same as One Ring, I like variety and I do adapt to the concept of a particular session, or campaign. So the question of who would fit, what's the vibe and such should be more on a particular game. The only thing that would be universal is that I believe we should leave everyday life outside the door and enjoy what the game has to offer.
Featured Prompts
I think metagaming...
should not be fought, but worked with, at least to an extent. If a player knows something about the world and wants to use it, I prefer to incorporate it into the character, then pretend they have no idea that silver might work on a werewolf.
I think min/maxing...
should be a balancing act. Yes being great at something is nice, having some weaknesses, interesting. But building a one trick pony that could not function in their everyday life, because they lack so many basic competences, is pushing the character into too small of a box, in terms of options.
My perfect party mix is
the one that fits the circumstances, and players agreed with each other. I do like everyone to have a niche where they shine, as it is simply fun, but saying every group has to have X among them is going a bit far.
Driden's Preferences
Systems