GM James (he/him)
5.0
(5)
2 years on StartPlaying
3 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Creativity, Rule of Cool
About me
Hi all I’m James. The first time I ever played a rpg was Dungeons and Dragons in 1982, and I’ve been playing ttrpg’s ever since. I’ve been DM’ing for the same amount of time and started attending gaming conventions in the 80’s. I love everything about role playing games: the people, the escapism, the ability to write your own (fictional) destiny and the community. I began with DnD, but over the years branched out into almost everything, including Champions, Paranoia, Toon, Gamma World, Boot Hill, Marvel Superheroes, and of course the awesome Call of Cthulhu (just to name a few). During my career as a TT gamer, I’ve scaled the barrier peaks, had my soul sucked out by the demi lich Acererak, razed the keep on the borderlands, traversed the globe, hunting the followers of Yog-Sothoth, found myself abandoned on the desolate plane of Nogard, and been gooified multiple times by your friendly Alpha Complex computer. Feel free to join us and make your own mark in the myriad of worlds I enjoy bringing to life.
GM Style
For 5e I squeeze every adventure into my homebrew campaign world of Mediterranea. I like to get to know the characters during our initial Session 0 and then weave an adventure hook to get you all to go where I want you, incorporating your backgrounds, alignments, and character features into a story that makes sense. I like there to be some roleplaying conflict to be going on amongst the party which I will happily engineer if something doesn’t readily present itself. But basically, I pride myself on being new-player friendly and I strive to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone. I like to make my npc’s alive using various (bad) accents and voices and like to incorporate ambient music in the discord channel to help set the mood. I do not like killing off players and will strive to keep you alive long enough to enjoy the campaign and hopefully finish it with some nice loot to retire with and/or your sanity still intact. I never take myself too seriously and try to bring levity and humor to anything I’m involved in. Feedback is greatly appreciated, and I consider all suggestions with an open mind. I also love “gm’ing” Call of Cthulhu and Paranoia and intend to run both games regularly along with DnD 5e.
Games played
Game platforms used
Game Master Reviews (5)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Storytelling
Creativity
Rule of Cool
Jaden
I had never played DnD and was intimidated by all the rules and character creation. I joined an in progress campaign, that my brother and his friends have been doing for the past 2 months, and took over one of the NPCs. It was a blast! James was sure to integrate me into the story by giving me information that the rest of the party did not have. This helped me get into the mood to roleplay the character. All in all, great experience and am looking forward to joining the next campaign.
Chad Gouge
James is the man. I have done a few one-off adventures with friends but had never done a full campaign. James is very knowledgeable about all of the races and classes and how to synergize. After making my character's backstory, he gave me suggestions for how they may best fit into the world he had built. I am now about 8 sessions deep into this story and I am always looking forward to the next session. With James we are not just rolling our dice and getting into combat at every turn, he allows us to problem-solve on our own terms. Sometimes they work other times they don't. it's all part of the fun. 10/10 would recommend James for your campaign.
Sam
James is an INCREDIBLE GM. His knowledge allows players unprecedented freedom, as he always knows how to take ANY player action and find a way to tie it into the game in a flowing, playful, intelligent way. He has an uncanny ability to make new players and veterans alike delight in new experiences, approach problems in novel ways, and to make them feel like they not only live in, but BELONG, in his worlds. He is playful, fun, relaxed, and incredibly knowledgeable. For people who are new to the game, he helps, guides, and most importantly, bestows a level of confidence I would have thought years to cultivate. For veterans, he challenges, changes, and forces player evolution. His knowledge, demeanor, candor, support, and challenge make him hands down the best GM I have ever had the tremendous pleasure of playing with. He is absolutely the real deal, and I could not imagine a scenario in which you would not find yourself beyond happy to have played with him. Please, do yourself a favor and play with him. It does not get better than this.
Neal
James is an incredible Dungeon Master. We have been playing D&D together for what seems like an eternity and he is my all-time favorite DM. I have always loved D&D and James is a big part of the reason why. He is extremely knowledgeable, creative, and adept at quickly adapting to the ever-changing campaign he is DMing. He loves to make the campaigns challenging (and creates his own campaigns as well) while still doing his very best to ensure the party's success. He can easily work with Newbies as well as seasoned campaigners and will make the adventure exciting for all. I recommend this DM highly!
Weston
James is an incredible GM. He’s very good at keeping everyone involved while still allowing the players to try different things. He built an amazing world around us that has kept all of us dying to know what’s next. An easy way to describe James is that he’s like Spider-Man, except he’s your friendly, neighborhood GM.
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