Ryan M.
he/him
5.0
(4)
Timezone
Language
About Ryan M.
Hello Adventurers! My name is Ryan and I am so excited to DM for you all. I am a Dungeon Master for D&D 5e and have over 10 years of experience with running and hosting my own D&D games. I love creating new worlds and experiences for my players to enjoy and grow with me, doing my best to make everything from storytelling & roleplaying to actual worldbuilding a cooperative experience. That's really why I started wanting to start hosting D&D games here in the first place. I want everyone to have the opportunity to play D&D, no matter who they are, and since I love being a DM and making the stories instead of playing through them, I thought it fit perfectly. I will never turn anyone away from my table for how they look, present themselves, their orientations, or otherwise. My table is a safe space for everyone involved and I will do whatever is necessary to maintain that. Ultimately, I just want everyone to have a good time and I look forward to telling new stories and creating vast new lands with you all!
At a glance
3 years on StartPlaying
5 games hosted
Highly rated for: Knows the Rules, Inclusive, Creativity
Featured Prompts
I got started GMing...
over a decade ago during sophomore year of High School. I fell in love with interactive story telling right there. Over the years I have grown and tailored my storytelling style to one that not only values the characters and their stories, but one that brings them together into one overarching goal.
How Ryan M. runs games
I would like to put my style as a bit of a well-rounded one. I certainly do like my combat, and when there is a a battle, you can bet those enemies will come out swinging as hard as they can. That being said, not every moment is combat. I love roleplay, and having a deep well told story between the players is more important to me than trying to kill with every single encounter. Roleplay & Exploration will take up most of every session unless we are in a dungeon or otherwise enemy infested area, then you can expect plenty of combat. All of this is true. However, the players in my games control where the group goes. I don't railroad (Unless people go absolutely crazy, then I have to steer them back for a little bit) and I want the players to choose the path of the session or campaign. I'll just create the story along the path you choose. Finally, I do like my sessions to have a certain level of seriousness to them. With the characters actually having story motivation and not just being made to be joke characters. I love a good balance between light-hearted & serious roleplay, with the characters being able to shine in both.
Featured Prompts
My games focus on...
the story and the characters. Roleplay is the core of the game in my eyes so I want everyone at the table to engage in it, even if only lightly. However, combat is the other core of the game, so there will always be combat in my adventures. (Otherwise I don't get to use all my cool monsters!)
Rules are...
there for a reason, but they are also meant to be broken at times and bent at others. Most of the time, the rules are right and can be used as written, but other times they get in the way of fun and thus can be bent or broken if need be. Its a case by case kind of thing.
Ryan M.'s ideal table
At my table, the story between me and my players matters most. I am not a fan of meta-gamers or extreme power gamers (there is nothing wrong with making a character strong, just don't try to break the game). Rules exist as a great guideline for how to approach a given problem or question, but in the end I like to let my players shine, so just ask if you can do something and I'll give you a direct yes, no, or a "You may try", there is never harm in asking. Players that like lore, vast worlds, magic, scary monsters, and tales of triumphant heroes fit well at my table. Not that every character has to be a Lawful Good Paladin, but I don't want any evil characters in my game. They most of the time simply do not fit. I greatly prefer if my players stick to the session as much as possible. Jokes are totally fine, but we're not here to joke around, we are here to play. No worries if real life gets in the way either, just communicate what is happening and we'll work it out. I like my players to be cordial, kind, and understanding, as that is what I like to be as well. Everyone at the table is there for the same reason, so lets all be nice and stay on the same page!
Featured Prompts
I think min/maxing...
isn't fun. There is plenty to be said for having a strong character, but I prefer even the strongest of characters to have a real weakness. Especially if only one person at the table min/maxes, then the game tends to only be fun for them.
My perfect party mix is
one that is well balanced. I don't really like to have a ton of class overlap as that can lead to people stepping on each others toes and a severe skill deficit. In a perfect world, every character in the game is a different class than the others.
Ryan M.'s Preferences
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