GM Nick banner

GM Nick

he/him

4.9

(74)

TOP GM

Timezone

America/new York

Language

English

Identity

Podcaster
Published Writer
Teacher/Educator
Game Designer

About GM Nick

I'm Nick — a Game Master who's spent years building worlds players actually think about between sessions. My published work spans gothic mystery, Star Wars and Star Trek adventures, superhero pulp, and historical horror, but what I'm best known for is The Labyrinth: Portals of Peril — an ongoing D&D multiverse campaign now past 38 sessions, with 15 players and 19 characters who've crossed between nine official D&D worlds and counting. I write every table like it's a story worth remembering: strong voices for every NPC, mysteries that reward real investigation, and choices that carry weight instead of resetting cleanly next session. Whether you're joining a one-shot or a long-form campaign, you're getting a GM who's thought several steps ahead of wherever you think the story is going.

At a glance

5 years on StartPlaying

64 games hosted

Highly rated for: Storytelling, Teacher, Creativity

$20 per session

Top Game Master

One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.

Magic Gemstone

Featured Prompts

I became a GM because

I realized the stories I wanted to experience at the table didn't exist yet — so I started writing them myself, and never really stopped.

I got started GMing...

running one-shots for friends that kept refusing to stay one-shots — which is basically the origin story of everything I run now.

My favorite shows/movies are

the ones that mix genres without losing their nerve — think ensemble-driven space opera, gothic mystery, and pulpy superhero adventure all treated with equal seriousness. If a story can make you laugh and then genuinely worry about a character in the same episode, I'm hooked.

How GM Nick runs games

My style is narrative-first and character-driven — I write mentors, villains, and everyday NPCs with real voices and real reasons for what they do, so nothing ever feels like it's just there to fill a scene. I blend investigation, roleplay, and combat rather than defaulting to one, and I favor stories where choices carry real weight — nothing resolves just for convenience. Expect a table that laughs often, gets attached to people it probably shouldn't, and occasionally realizes three sessions too late that a "minor" NPC was important all along. Continuity matters to me: nothing you do gets forgotten, even sessions later.

Featured Prompts

I deal with rules issues by...

ruling fast and fair, then moving on. I'd rather keep the story moving than stall a session hunting for the exact page number — if something needs a longer look, we settle it after the table, not in the middle of a scene.

I prep by

building strong structure with room to improvise. I know where the story can go and why every key NPC does what they do, but I'm never so locked into a plan that I ignore what you actually decide to do at the table.

My games focus on...

character and consequence. I want you to care who lives, who you trust, and what you're willing to risk — combat and exploration matter, but they're in service of a story you'll still be talking about after the dice are put away.

GM Nick's ideal table

My ideal table is curious, a little chatty, and willing to get attached to things — characters, NPCs, running jokes, unresolved mysteries. I write for players who ask questions instead of just rolling for damage, who'll remember a name from four sessions ago because it mattered to them, and who are up for a story that occasionally costs their character something. Great with both new players who want their first campaign to actually stick with them, and veteran players looking for a GM who plans several moves ahead. If you like game nights that turn into "wait, can we stay another 20 minutes," you'll fit right in.

Featured Prompts

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

immersive, cinematic, memorable fantasy experiences

I love it when a player

takes the heroic option! Making a great story in TTRPGs depends on the DM, the Dice, and the Player and I love when players do the cinematic hero risk because win, lose, or draw it makes for a memorable adventure.

My table is not the place for...

lone wolf, anti-heroes, that don't get along with others. TTRPGs are a group game so players who would create a character that doesn't work well with teams should choose to pass up my tables.

GM Nick's Preferences

Systems

Dungeons & Dragons 5e
Pathfinder 1e
Rifts
Call of Cthulhu
Dungeons & Dragons 3/3.5e
Shadowrun
Starfinder
GURPS
Kobolds Ate My Baby!
World of Darkness
D20 Modern
Star Trek Adventures - First Edition
Palladium
King Arthur Pendragon RPG
Star Wars D20
Adventures in Middle-earth
Ars Magica Fifth Edition
Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition
Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game

Game style

Rules as Written (RaW)

Sandbox / Open World

Social