DM Brian

he/him

5.0

(13)

Timezone

America/new York

Language

English

Identity

DMs Guild Writer

Hispanic/Latinx

Published Writer

Game Designer

About DM Brian

Over 28 years of running roleplaying games, I've collected amazing stories as a game master for friends, family, and people I connected with online, in stores, and at conventions. My goal is to strike a chord in you that you forgot was there. To evoke your barely remembered dreams and memories. I strive to run your dream game, an immersive game that puts you in the moment, where you can exercise your imagination and make real choices. In my games, the fairies are eccentric, the pirates are craven, the dragons poignant and monstrous in turn. The battles are death-defying while the gardens hide secrets just out of sight, and the dungeons make you start to question reality as explore them. I've run over 100 different published adventures, in addition to homebrewed campaigns. I know what kinds of games leave players thrilled. I wrote a zine-length fairy tale roleplaying game called In the Court of the Fairy Queen (on DriveThruRPG). I’m also honored to be a recipient of the 2022 Goodie Award presented by Goodman Games!

At a glance

3 years on StartPlaying

126 games hosted

Highly rated for: Creativity, Teacher, Storytelling

Featured Prompts

I got started GMing...

One day when I was eleven, I was at a toy store and picked up a box with a knight fighting a dragon on the cover, thinking it was a board game. At home I soon realized it wasn't a board game at all. It was a completely different kind of game: it was D&D! I didn't know any GMs, so I taught myself.

My favorite shows/movies are

Labyrinth, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Pan's Labyrinth, The Princess Bride, The Empire Strikes Back, Pandorum, The Sword and the Sorcerer, Captain Kronos, Farscape, Twilight Zone, The Haunting of Hill House, Avatar: the Last Airbender, Pirates of Dark Water, Star Trek, Dr. Who, The Hollow

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

I play piano, visit the many parks nearby, and read stories, history, and art. I search for lesser known art and illustrations. I am also writing roleplaying game adventures.

How DM Brian runs games

My goals: 🔷Make roleplaying games easy and exciting to play, whether it's your first or your 100th game. 🔷For you to become immersed in the scene and feel a part of the world. 🔷For you to spend more time playing and less time preparing. I create an environment where your decisions in the fictional game world are your own. I represent characters you encounter as real people (or stranger beings when appropriate!) with their own distinct lives and goals. I want the world to feel real enough, no matter how fantastic it is, that you feel you understand how to engage with it without worrying too much about game rules. I hope to see your eyes light up when you discover the unique freedom of roleplaying games. I emphasize meaningful player choices that go beyond what's possible in a video game. My favorite moments are when players pause to take in an incredible situation they find their character in, as they consider a decision before them. I evoke an atmosphere, act in character, create voices, and surprise players. I enjoy many styles of game from deadly action and open-ended exploration to rich character development and lush world building, whether in different games or together in the same game. I favor emergent storytelling, when a game takes on a life of its own, based on the combination of player choices and chance, and becomes a story none of us could have planned. More about my game mastering: 🔷I've taught novice players of all ages by not assuming prior knowledge and pacing when I introduce rules so players aren't overwhelmed. I break down topics to make them easy to grasp. 🔷I love stories, art, music, and history from ancient times to the 21st Century. I take inspiration from these sources and evoke them in gameplay. Contact me for birthdays and other parties, teaching new players or game masters, running games for kids and families or clubs. I also accept requests to run specific adventures.

Featured Prompts

My games focus on...

I bring to life imaginative and interactive worlds for my players to explore and develop relationships with. I favor games with strong themes, whether those themes include fairy tales, pirates, weird technology, gothic horror, sword & sorcery, mythology, dark fantasy, or classic D&D.

Rules are...

helpful in creating consistency, so consequences of player decisions don't feel arbitrary. This is especially important in worlds with magic or similar phenomena. I favor rules-as-intended interpretations and sometimes deviate from the letter of the rules as logic dictates.

When it comes to voices

I just go for it and put on the voice that the character I'm bringing to life inspires me to. I like to do a mix of humorous, vulnerable, confident, and eerie voices. I'm a musician so I play with rhythm, pitch, melody, and phrasing to drop hints about a character and their secrets and flaws.

DM Brian's ideal table

My table is a supportive environment where players work together as a team. I act as a facilitator, adventure and setting designer, referee, actor (for the non-player characters), and sometimes tactician (for opponents). I encourage players to listen to each other's ideas, and help the group come to decisions. Novice players bring fresh perspectives because they make fewer assumptions about RPGs. They can be especially creative. On the other hand, experienced players know what it is they enjoy about RPGs and how to cuts to the chase. I welcome anyone who engages with the game and the other players. All writing, maps, and other images I use are human created (no AI).

Featured Prompts

If you're into ___, you're going to love my table

games with a strong theme or setting and a degree of challenge (the exact degree depends on the game and on group preferences, from moderate to extreme).

I love it when a player

comes up with a plan or solution I haven't anticipated. I craft scenarios not plots. I don't plan the outcome, only the situation. You decide how your character responds to the situation. When I present a problem or obstacle to the characters, I never have only one correct solution in mind.