Nilla

he/him

Timezone

America/indiana/indianapolis

Language

English

About Nilla

I have been a game master on and off for about 15 years, mostly with in-person groups of family and friends as the forever gm. However as I’ve gotten older and my friends move away and start to build families it’s been harder and harder to make time for the games I love. So I’ve turned to the online gaming space over the last couple of years I’ve ran a few games on Roll20 and met some cool people and stumbled into a few pitfalls of finding people online, and learned how to adjust the craft of game mastering to the new tools and environment of the internet. I’m a very visual listener and storyteller and that’s one thing I’ve began to love about playing with virtual tabletops is the ability to share images and set scenes with music and soundscapes that can really immerse you into the moment. I prefer sandbox style games and always want engaged players to tell their own stories, I love including player material backstories NPCs, lore, whatever I can get my hands on from other players I try to incorporate into the worlds I play with. Right now I mostly play DnD 5e and will be running my main game with that rule set, but I have dabbled with some other systems like starfinder and call of Cthulhu In my games I welcome both new players and experienced players and my ideal table would include both. I really enjoy the dynamic that develops with the awe of first discovery and the wisdom of years of play.

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

Featured Prompts

I became a GM because

Mostly because I had a knack for learning the rules in the beginning so my friend group at the time kinda just nominated me to be the gm to keep stuff moving along. Then I started to learn how tell stories and make players feel special, that’s when I began to really enjoy being the GM.

My favorite books are

Frank Herbert’s “Dune” series Isaac Asimov’s “The last Question” William Gibson’s “Neuromancer”

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

Playing video games like Path of exile 2, factory building, rogue-like, or deck building indie games. Or just vibing with my cats watching shows or YouTube videos. Occasionally if the weather permits I’ll go riding my motorcycle for fun.

How Nilla runs games

I find myself visualizing and describing things as a movie in many ways, scenes, transitions, descriptions of what the camera sees vs what the player sees, and I really like using the tools at hand with online virtual tabletops to make a very visually appealing game. Immersion and flow are very important to me, realism and storytelling that has cohesive design is important. I really enjoy engaged players and including backgrounds and making sure the players can feel the effect of their choices on the game and the world as we play. My style focuses on sandbox style play and meaningful choices, with a focus on role play and interaction where choices matter. I enjoy crunchy tactics based combat, and especially like it when players come up with some outside the box ways to make attacks or handle intense situations. Rule of cool stands tall in my combat scenarios. I also like using and creating homebrewed monsters that fit the setting, even if it’s just a fresh paint job on an old stat block, it can bring a lot to the table. I welcome both new players and expert players, but my ideal table would have a range of experience, I think the best stories come with the excitement of the unknown with a new player and the wisdom of an experienced player balancing the team.

Featured Prompts

I prep by

Bullet points background settings, important NPCs and health amount of improv, framing and structure but nothing concrete

My favorite trope is...

Evil deeds being done for good intentions, and getting out of hand, makes for compelling bad guys

Rules are...

Important but the rule of cool usually trumps them for storytelling

Nilla's ideal table

I enjoy running a table where people want to RP or voice act for their character and engage. My goal is to make every scene and setting feel real and coherent so that you as a player can feel immersed. That’s also why I like running more sandbox style games and need players who want to explore and dive into a world. I like to keep a serious vibe or tone to things but it’s also a game and there’s a place for comedy and goofing around for sure. But too much can lead to some people feeling like nothing matters or feels important and I don’t want that. Players of all experience levels are welcome at my table, I enjoy playing with newcomers and old hats alike. A good mix of experience levels I think makes for the best groups.

Featured Prompts

I love it when a player

Has an engaging backstory that gives me some NPCs to incorporate, or lore about a place in the world, really anything that I can use as inspiration and bring to the table to share with everyone.

I think min/maxing...

Min maxing is completely fine, it’s a game and we all want to have a character that is good at what they do! The great thing about DnD is no matter how well designed a character is there is usually an area they are weak, just like any good character should have flaws.

My perfect party mix is

Newcomers and experienced players and everywhere in-between. Having a range of experience levels with the game can make for some really great moments.