About me

My first experience with TTRPGs was two and a half sessions of Rolemaster. If you know that system, you know it's not the greatest starting point for a beginner. Added to that, our GM was trying to run this game while taking care of a newborn and finishing up med school. Despite the rocky start, I was hooked, but I didn't know anyone else at the time who could run a game at all. So I started my own D&D campaign and have been GMing ever since! I run RPGs for the stories, the surprise, and the drama. My goal is always to create an atmosphere where the whole group can explore the stories that interest them. My favorite moments in any game are when things feel cool, cinematic, heartfelt, or badass. That moment when the barbarian leaps through the wall of flame, clothes smoldering, screaming in rage. Or that moment when the Netrunner finally breaks into the top-secret mainframe to loot secrets from the rich and powerful, as a desperate firefight rages around them. But most importantly, the very best moment is when I can tell that the players have forgotten that they're sitting in a chair at a desk, and are having a shared experience that takes them away from their lives and which they'll remember for years. But I've never been satisfied with just a standard D&D campaign or two; I've run games in a dozen or so systems at this point, and I'm always excited to try new ones! I even have experience running custom one- and two-player campaigns, which can be a great way to have a more in-depth, character-driven experience, and also help to alleviate scheduling difficulties. If you're interested in something like that, please feel free to message me or hit the button that says "Book GM," and we can start talking about the specifics!

GM style

I'm always flexible in my approach, focusing on making sure that everyone is supported and able to enjoy the experience. For some groups, I focus on punishing difficulty and puzzles. For other groups, I run campaigns that are 90% role-play. I know my way around multiple VVTs, and love to include artwork and ambient audio whenever possible. That said, I prefer to steer away from making a TTRPG feel like a video game, and will always spend my prep time on characters and situations, rather than automating combat. If I have one specialty as a GM, it's introducing new players to the game we're playing. At this point, I've probably introduced 20-30 people to TTRPGs for the first time ever. I've cultivated a lot of patience, and a sixth sense for when someone needs help or isn't having a good time. It's almost impossible to really judge someone's style from a blurb like this, I know. But at the very least, I can tell you my core tenets of running TTRPGs: * The game MUST be inclusive. Everyone at the table has a responsibility to contribute to the fun for everyone else. * The GM is NOT an adversary, just a set decorator/referee/world builder. The GM wins when the game is fun, not when things go badly for the characters. * There will be no drama without real danger. The stakes shouldn't always be life-or-death, but a player who avoids risk will have a bland and boring experience. * Your character is competent. The dice represent things outside of their control. If you roll badly, it's not because you did something stupid; you just had bad luck. * If it's possible to retcon something, and there's a good reason for it, then we'll do it. I'll never punish you over the one detail you didn't think of or say out loud. * NPCs should make realistic choices. In social situations, they should have goals, quirks, and thoughts of their own. In combat, they should do everything in their power to win. If things aren't going their way, they should act like their life has value. * As the GM, I avoid writing stories or plots. Instead, I write characters and situations. Story comes from the players' reactions to those characters and situations. * Games should have choices that matter, and choices only matter if: 1) there are actually multiple different outcomes, 2) the players know what the options are, and 3) there are meaningful and interesting consequences of different choices.

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Tabletop Roleplaying Games Run by Game Masters