Fishy
he/him
5.0
(12)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Fishy
I've been running and playing TTRPGs since the mid 1980s, have introduced dozens of people to the hobby and created several game systems of my own. My gaming time has dropped off significantly in recent years and I want to do something about that by reaching out to both new and existing players in search of a GM. I am an advocate of TTRPGs (used mindfully and safely) for mental health, being both neurodivergent and depressive myself, and believe that everyone should have the opportunity to play. Lastly, I am an avid collector of games and systems and have a large treasury of TTRPGs spanning the last forty years.
At a glance
3 years on StartPlaying
29 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Inclusive, Storytelling
Featured Prompts
I got started GMing...
Way back in the 1980s, when I found the Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks in a local book shop. From there it was a short hop to buying Alexander Scott's Maelstrom and then finding a copy of the 1983 D&D "Red Box". I have been playing and collecting ever since.
My favorite system of all Time is
My favourite system is also one I hardly ever play. I created obSESSION over twenty years as a distillation of everything I wanted to find in an RPG, though I had to make certain compromises in the hope that anyone else would ever want to play it.
The three words my players would use to describe me are...
...a mystery to me. I know what *I* would use but I don't presume to know the thoughts of others. I would hope that words like "Imaginative", "Innovative", "Knowledgeable" & "Eloquent" would be in there but I also know that, if they are honest, they'd need to include "Inconsistent" & "Unreliable".
How Fishy runs games
I love narrative play using simulationist systems, which is less of a contradiction than it sounds. Game mechanics are there to support the GM, not to control them or limit the players' imaginations. I prefer in-character roleplay to reported speech but accept that not everyone is at ease playing this way, and character voices or accents are appreciated but by no means demanded! Imagination and inspired play are more important to me than number crunching and optimised character builds. Just tell me what you want your character to do and I'll fit it to the system.
Featured Prompts
I prep by
I prep by the seat of my pants, often over-prepping or under-prepping, but, as a tactic, I try create as solid a backdrop for the action as possible, so that I have the detail needed in order to run most sessions ad lib. Pre-invention leads to smoother sessions as I can focus on the moment.
Rules are...
Rules are important to the game, providing a framework for narrative and taking pressure off the GM. They aren't really "rules" though. Rather, every game has a number of systems and guidelines for handling specific circumstances. Everything is negotiable.
When it comes to voices
I think that "silly" voices are a part of the fun but it's okay that not everyone wants to do them. Narrating the gist of what your character is every bit as valid as speaking for them and putting on a bad Welsh accent. Roleplay is about acting IN CHARACTER not ACTING in character.
Fishy's ideal table
My ideal table is one where everyone is having fun and emotion is running high. That might be the group laughing at an in- or out-of-character joke, coming together in loathing for a villain (or grudging admiration for their despicable but clever scheme), glorying in a great success/victory or any other circumstance which, while probably made possible by the PFC, is feeding the amygdala.
Featured Prompts
I love it when a player
I love when a player is proactive and introduces new elements to the game through their RP. Creating and controlling the world is my job but the story grows from what everybody does.
I think min/maxing...
...is disappointing but forgivable, and that it is a key part of some games/campaigns. Ultimately the GM balances the challenge of the game to accommodate all players and PCs but this is harder if some PCs are radically more capable. Min/maxing should be for all or none of the party.
My table is not the place for...
...people who hate "game rules". I don't believe in RAW, or even RAI, but am keen on mechanical systems which take the weight of simulating the world while I get on with the plot and narrative. The only "rule" at my table is the "Rule of Common Sense".
Fishy's Preferences
Systems