Ethan Ehnstrom
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About Ethan Ehnstrom
Why hello there! My name's Ethan, and I'm a mortician's assistant with a writing degree who absolutely loves TTRPGs. I was introduced to the world of tabletop role-playing at about eight years old, when the D&D 3.5 Monster Manual caught my eye on my uncle's shelf. Since then, I have clocked a huge number of hours playing, running, and writing mainly adventures for D&D 5e/5.5e, GURPS, and Kids on Bikes, but I like to try out new and strange systems often. Have a funky, offbeat system you want to try playing? Send it my way! I also GM a long-running home game in an entirely original system, with plans to publish an official rulebook once the game's ideal balance has been achieved. My skillset as a writer lends itself toward very character-focused and roleplay-forward narrative campaigns. I design plotlines and story hooks in direct response to PC pitches from my players, and I'm capable of working within pretty much any setting or tone, but if I'm honest I do my best work wherever horror is involved. Most of my campaigns over the years have been tinged with it, and a few have been outright nightmares from front to back, but at all times I strive to maintain strict player safety standards so that however dark things get nobody is forced into a situation where they aren't comfortable at the table. Thanks so much for considering me to be your GM, and I hope to adventure with you soon!
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Rule of Cool, Creativity
Featured Prompts
I became a GM because
I love telling stories, and I love the energy and dynamism that comes with doing so collaboratively. I adore crafting narratives that can grow and change and do completely unexpected things in response to the unique perspectives and inclinations of my players.
The three words my players would use to describe me are...
(I can provide Discord screenshots to confirm these are not made up) - - -
When I'm not running games I'm...
Writing for the screen, for the page, and sometimes for the... mouse and keyboard I guess? I don't know how I'd fit video games into that framework. Well, that or working with the much quieter clients at my 9-5...
How Ethan Ehnstrom runs games
'Cinematic' describes it somewhat, but above all else I am a character-focused GM. My campaign-creation process starts with the basic ideas of a setting, tone, and narrative framing being agreed upon by the whole table (i.e. "we're doing an Odyssey-style nautical campaign in 5e with Greek myth-y cosmology"). As soon as these core ideas are established, I turn things over to my players to pitch their PCs so that the real writing can begin. The sort of pitch a player generates when given just the foundation of a setting and story does a lot to inform me of which elements within that setting and story should be fleshed out for them to explore. Once I have a full party I can set about creating a convincing hook to drive them together and a larger narrative that is tailored not only to serve them as a group, but to provide each character their own unique stakes, choices, and story beats. On the combat side, I am a HUGE believer in action-as-storytelling. I build combat encounters with the goal that they'll each be unique, plot-motivated action setpieces with win/loss conditions more complex than 'neutralize the enemy,' strategic concerns that go beyond just dispensing violence, and a variety of possible outcomes that will each move the story forward in a different way. I enjoy crafting high-stakes scenarios where an individual turn can have tangible narrative impact, and players face interesting tactical problems that force them to think and engage even when it's not their turn.
Featured Prompts
My favorite trope is...
Inanimate objects or locations being personified as in some sense 'hungry.' I actually didn't realize this was a trope in my work until my home game players absolutely read me to filth and pointed it out.
My games focus on...
The player characters. Even in a cosmic horror campaign where the whole point is human insignificance, I build my games to deeply tie the personal journeys and struggles of my PCs in with the plot and the events of the world. Your backstory WILL come up. That is a threat.
Rules are...
A framework meant to organize and facilitate the telling of a story, providing tangible stakes and interesting problems to solve. Disregarding them takes the weight out of your game and reduces it to unmoored play-pretend, but being completely shackled by them can rob you of narrative satisfaction.
Ethan Ehnstrom's ideal table
I try to foster a table that's a little something more than a casual weekly dice-rolling session. The players I really connect with tend to be people ready to invest deeply in a character beyond numbers on a page, and come to this game seeking not just dice-based gambling with imaginary swords (which we are all on some level seeking, let's be honest) but a rich and emotionally fulfilling story. I do all I can at my table to create a space where myself and my players are able to exercise the vulnerability necessary to really put ourselves into the story in front of us. When everyone is really invested and really cares about what's unfolding on the table every week, the game becomes so much more exciting and dynamic. It's like once a week we all get to sit down and watch our favorite show, but we get to do so as both a creator AND a fan.
Featured Prompts
If you're into ___, you're going to love my table
Deep stories with payoffs you don't have to wait years for! I tend to structure my adventures like seasons of a TV show, so while campaigns can stretch on for as long as everyone wants to keep playing, individual storylines move quickly and meaningful things are happening every week.
I love it when a player
Looks me in the eyes and declares that they are making a move that is sub-optimal, or perhaps even directly harmful to them in some way, because it is the most in in-character and narratively interesting move that they can make. I will ALWAYS reward this unless you're being a dick to other players.
My perfect party mix is
A cast of PCs that can bounce off of one another in interesting ways. Any class setups can work somehow, what I'm really after are juicy interpersonal dynamics, strengths that compliment each other's weaknesses, and opportunities for characters to grow and change together for better or worse
Ethan Ehnstrom's Preferences
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