FatherJ
he/him
5.0
(23)
Timezone
Language
About FatherJ
Like a lot of people, I grew up at the table — high school, college, and the years after — both as a player and a GM. Then life happened, and the dice went quiet for a while. When I found my way back in 2022, I knew exactly what kind of table I wanted to build, and I have been building it ever since. I run Free League Publishing and Year Zero Engine games almost exclusively, and for good reason: they nail what I care about most as a GM. Tension. Consequence. A world that feels real and pushes back. Whether we are surviving the ruins of Twilight: 2000, chasing the edge of the galaxy in Coriolis: The Third Horizon or The Great Dark, hunting xenomorphs in Alien, or uncovering old horrors in Vaesen, every session is built around atmosphere, player choice, and consequences that feel earned. I also run Dragonbane, Blade Runner, Tales From the Loop, Tales of the Old West, and Invincible: Superhero Roleplaying, so if a corner of Free League or the Year Zero Engine has caught your attention, there is a good chance we can make it happen. My tables are beginner-friendly and LGBTQ+ friendly, full stop. If you have never touched a Year Zero Engine game — or any tabletop roleplaying game — I will help you get comfortable before we roll. If you already know the systems, you will feel right at home. My Information Technology background helps keep Foundry VTT and Discord organized and accessible, and when tech hiccups happen, we sort them out together. With fifteen years of tabletop experience across science fiction, fantasy, horror, western, superhero, and post-apocalyptic games — and several years of dedicated online GMing since returning in 2022 — I know how to keep scenes moving, help new players feel capable, and give veteran players room to be surprised. What I am after is a table where your choices shape the world, the atmosphere pulls you in, and you leave with a story worth retelling. The best thing I hear after a session is not “great GM” — it is players recounting what we built together, like they can hardly believe it happened. If that sounds like your kind of game, let’s play.
At a glance
3 years on StartPlaying
56 games hosted
Highly rated for: Teacher, Knows the Rules, Creativity
Average response time: 2 hours
Response rate: 100%
Featured Prompts
My favorite system of all Time is
The Year Zero Engine. I love how it is easy to teach, fast at the table, and dangerous enough that choices feel important without burying players in rules.
The three words my players would use to describe me are...
Prepared, welcoming, and fair. I try to keep sessions organized, help new players feel comfortable, and make sure the rules support the table instead of getting in the way.
When I'm not running games I'm...
Usually reading RPG books, tinkering with Foundry VTT, watching genre films, spending time with family, or being supervised by cats who believe every keyboard belongs to them.
How FatherJ runs games
Every game I run is built around one core idea: the world is real, and it does not wait for you. Even when I run a published module, I treat it as a living situation rather than a fixed script. Factions pursue their own agendas. NPCs remember what you did and did not do. Problems you ignore have a way of growing. The story does not pause between sessions; it keeps moving, and your choices leave marks. As a GM, I see my role as host, storyteller, rules arbiter, and the one keeping dramatic pressure on the table. My job is to keep the table moving, apply the rules fairly, create space for every player to contribute, and make sure character choices have real consequences in the world. Rules matter at my table because they make danger real and decisions meaningful. I run games as intended, but when the rules do not clearly cover something, I favor reasonable rulings, player creativity, and the spirit of the moment. Mechanics exist to sharpen the story, not smother it. Expect serious character roleplay, tense decisions, dangerous exploration, mysteries with moving parts, and occasional levity that makes everything feel human. I use maps, handouts, music, and soundscapes in Foundry VTT to support immersion — atmosphere you can feel without technology you have to fight. Every campaign includes a session zero, either before the game or at the start of our first session. We use that time to align expectations, ground characters in the world, discuss table comfort, and make sure everyone is ready before the dice hit the table. I check in regularly because I want players to feel comfortable, respected, and genuinely invested in the story, their characters, and each other.
Featured Prompts
I prep by
I prep situations, locations, NPC motives, clues, complications, and consequences rather than fixed scripts. For online play, I also prepare Foundry VTT scenes, maps, handouts, music, and atmosphere so sessions feel polished.
My games focus on...
My games focus on atmosphere, player choice, survival pressure, mystery, and consequences. I specialize in Free League and Year Zero Engine games where factions move, NPCs remember, and the world reacts to what characters do.
Rules are...
Rules are the pressure that makes choices matter. I use them for fair danger, meaningful consequences, and satisfying victories — not to shut down creativity. I run rules as intended when possible, and make clear rulings when needed.
FatherJ's ideal table
You do not need to be a voice actor, a rules expert, or a tactical genius to sit at my table. What matters is simpler than that: care about your character, respect the people around you, and engage with the world we are building together. If you are drawn to survival pressure, mystery, dangerous exploration, moral complications, faction politics, grounded combat, and stories where your choices leave a mark, you will feel at home here. Serious roleplay and lighthearted fun both belong at this table. The best sessions have room for all of it: fear and laughter, sacrifice and bad plans, lucky rolls and moments nobody saw coming that players are still talking about weeks later. If you are new to these games, or to tabletop roleplaying entirely, that is not a barrier. It is a starting point. Come curious, ready to engage, and we will figure out the rest together.
Featured Prompts
If you're into ___, you're going to love my table
If you’re into post-apocalyptic survival, classic fantasy adventure, space opera, superheroes, weird westerns, sci-fi horror, folk mystery, neon-noir investigation, or stories where every choice has weight, you’ll likely enjoy my table.
I love it when a player
I love it when a player treats the world like it is real: asking questions, making plans, caring about NPCs, taking risks, and letting character flaws matter. Engaged players make the whole table better.
My perfect party mix is
My perfect party mix is curious problem-solvers, committed roleplayers, cautious planners, bold risk-takers, and one person who is definitely going to touch the strange artifact after everyone agrees it is a bad idea.
FatherJ's Preferences
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