Gherkin Picklewater

he/him

5.0

(4)

Timezone

America/los Angeles

Language

English

Identity

Queer

Neurodivergent

Game Designer

About Gherkin Picklewater

I'm Gherkin Picklewater, and I have been game mastering for about 15 years. I love sci-fi and fantasy. I have run many different systems, but prefer Fallout 2D20 and D&D. I run original campaigns that are story-focused and player-centric and feature a lot of exploration and a fair balance of combat and role-play. Beyond TTRPGs, I play Magic, am a professional performer, and an aspiring musician.

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, World Builder

Featured Prompts

My favorite books are

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester, Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins, and the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells.

People are always surprised when I tell them

I am a theatrical clown. I have been performing as a clown for around 20 years, and moved to the Bay Area in 2005 to attend the Clown Conservatory at San Francisco Circus Center.

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

a professional performer focused on improvisation and theatrical clown. I also podcast, play magic, am a community radio DJ, and work for a boutique culture production start-up as my day job.

How Gherkin Picklewater runs games

I am a big fan of deeply engaged players, story-driven games, and weird, wonderful worlds. I write all of my own adventures and focus more on Campaign play. I do a lot of voices and character-driven NPCs, and try to get a good balance between role play and combat in most sessions.

Featured Prompts

I prep by

I write one or two fresh encounters for my campaign every week on average, so my game always has something new, unique, or interesting for my players to explore while they are following the breadcrumbs and threads of the general plot.

My games focus on...

Exploration, Roleplay, and to a lesser degree Survival.

Rules are...

heavily malleable. GM's need to keep the story moving and have the flexibility to alter their worlds in ways that accommodate the story, that the rules as written might not normally allow.

Gherkin Picklewater's ideal table

My table is open to old players and new. I like a relaxed vibe, where players don't need to stress small things. I also love players who want to role-play. Combat is wonderful, but role play is where the hobby gets its name and its soul.