Alex

he/him

5.0

(39)

Timezone

Asia/shanghai

Language

English

Identity

Podcaster

About Alex

Over a decade ago, I began my journey as a D&D game master in 3.5e. Today, I live to tell stories and create shared memories. I run games in a variety of systems, including Star Trek Adventures, D&D 5e, Spire, Heart, Tales of Xadia, Mouse Guard, and more! The more games I run, the more I thrive on emergent stories that lift up player expression. I run games that support improvisation and encourage player authorship. I bring players into worlds that they can truly change and make a difference in. Start your adventure with me today and follow me into worlds that come to life through your character. Be someone new, be someone old, or just be yourself.

At a glance

1 year on StartPlaying

322 games hosted

Highly rated for: Creativity, Teacher, Inclusive

Average response time: 9 hours

Response rate: 50%

Featured Prompts

I became a GM because

I love presenting choices and following the consequences of those choices to places that surprise even myself. Every adventure is an opportunity to learn something new about a player character through the choices they make.

How Alex runs games

EMERGENT - The stories we tell together come naturally from the cause-and-effect of each situation. My session prep never includes intended solutions. Instead, it's up to you to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. TECHNICAL - I love rules that are thematic and help tell the story, and I like to let the dice decide how things will go. My favourite systems build the "rule of cool" into their resolution systems and support the epic drama we're looking for, while surprising everyone. At my games, you can expect me to use all the levers at my disposal to illustrate the story. DIRECTOR - I run my games like a director. I frame scenes and decide who is in them. I am very concerned with pacing and getting everyone involved. I am not afraid of splitting the party to tell stories that span multiple locations and plot lines. SITUATION FOCUSED - I prep situations that are complicated and messy. I do not prep situations that are made specifically for any PCs characters. Instead, I want my players to find their stories within those situations, and be open to learning something new about their characters as they encounter new things.

Featured Prompts

I deal with rules issues by...

I will make a ruling on the spot if there is any doubt. After the session is over, we can look it up and correct it for the future. I also prepare rules references in easy to find places so the players can learn the rules as we play, gradually needed the references less and less.

I prep by

I prepare situations that are elaborate and messy. I tend not to plan much past the first half of a session so that I can react to the players flexibly. I will prepare maps for big set piece fights, and backdrop images for key locations. Major NPCs will have stats and images prepared ahead of time.