Hinder is quite possibly the best DM I ever played with. He got me into tabletops and inspired me to attempt to run some of my own. His custom stories are phenomenal, he understands that TTRPGs are a joint experience and encourages player involvement in the storyline without trying to pigeonhole them, and is very patient with new players. I would say very few people have been so good at storycrafting that it personally changed the way I view the world, but he's the only one I would say did so in the context of a role-play.

Happy2Hinder is a wonderful GM who truly cherishes his craft. He takes great effort to build the world and story, all the while listening to the needs and wants of his players. Not once failed to bring an exciting and fun night whenever we had sessions, and I wholeheartedly recommend new players to reach out and contact this GM. Very welcoming and friendly!

He's a DM that allows you to just, do you. If you have a class idea, he'll have a balanced but *fun* homebrew subclass done within the hour if he's free. If you have a quirky character that can work with the intricate and meticulously planned worlds, he'll make it happen. Not a stickler for RAW and always down to discuss specific campaign rules to curve up or down depending how sessions go.

As a caveat to this review, I must disclose that I don't actually use the StartPlaying platform for tabletop sessions or discovery. Instead, my experience with hinder has been through Roll20 and Discord, so I can only provide experiences in relation to those two platforms. Hinder, or rather Sam, has been a consistently stellar GM in all games I've had the pleasure of participating in. He is an approachable GM who adheres the idea of collaborative storytelling, wanting to both share a story as well as allow players the ability to shape it. If a player has an idea, theme, or concept they want to do, he's more than willing to flesh it out into a narrative that will be enjoyable to both play and run, while also seeding core knives to help develop background threads and player connections to the world. At the same time, if a player doesn't have an idea, he's more than happy to help the player sit down and work through the sort of adventures they want their character to go through. Basically, Sam is easy to talk to, and willing to have frank discussions with the goal of finding something enjoyable for all involved. He's also knowledgeable enough in the systems he runs, primarily 5e, that he's comfortable in branching from the baseline rules. If a player wants to do something that isn't strictly codified in the handbook, Hinder will come up with a way that utilizes the game's systems to make it happen. He's also not afraid of implementing variant rules--always explained to players before any commitment so everyone has a full understanding--in order to provide variety to the system as well as the setting. As a storyteller, Hinder excels in both construction and execution. As mentioned above, he's willing to work with players to incorporate elements in such a way where everyone has a chance to shine, while at the same time providing a compelling narrative arc to tie those elements together. He'll easily make NPC characters that the party adopts, or create someone so unlikeable that everyone will be invested in their destruction, while improv-ing any npcs or locations that players may suddenly decide they want to will into existence through the consequences of their actions. ...Huh. Honestly, I could go on, but I've only just realized that there's no word count limit for the review system, and it's clear my wall of text needs one. In summary, 10/10, would witnessed-the-birth-ofa-spidergod again.

I’ve been playing with Sam for five years now. He was my first ever DM, and though I’ve had many since, I’m still a regular fixture in his games and I’m grateful for it. His sense for storytelling is phenomenal, his worlds are engaging, his love for his parties is second to none, and his approach to problem-solving and combat are the most satisfying I’ve yet to come across. I can’t recommend him enough. Best DM I know or know of, full stop.

Always set in custom worlds, games by Sam always completely pull me in. Player actions have consequences, but it really is up to you what you want to do (but you know, if you save the princess, during that time the warlord was unattended and wreak havoc in your favourite village). I cannot think of any feeling I have not felt during at least one of our sessions - which is in a big part attributed to Sams story telling, the level of prep work and love he puts into his games. On top of that, he makes sure that every character has chances to shine, and is deeply involved the story we tell together. Before a new game starts, Sam will sit down with you and discuss your plans and wishes for the character you have in mind. In the end, it really doesn't matter whether you have played before or not. You will have fun, I promise!