Jayke

they/them

4.9

(38)

Timezone

America/new York

Language

English

Identity

Queer

Published Writer

Game Designer

About Jayke

Hey, I’m Jayke. Game Master, published writer, game designer, queerfolk, and a person with “too many creative hobbies” and not enough restraint to stop picking up new ones. My games tend to focus a lot on character, consequence, and letting the story grow naturally from the decisions you make. I’m not here to fight the players. I’m here to take you seriously, see what you do, and figure out what happens next. I’m not a perfect GM by any means, and I’ll be the first to say it, but I try my best, adapt to what my players need, and genuinely value critique and feedback so I can make the best experience possible for everyone at my table. I love running for new players, experienced players, and anyone in between. You don’t need to know all the rules. You just need to show up, engage, and be willing to exist in the world for a few hours with me. Best case scenario, we tell a great story and have a great time. Worst case scenario, I TPK the table, question my life choices, and we try again while laughing about our terrible decisions.

At a glance

1 year on StartPlaying

57 games hosted

Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, Teacher

Average response time: 1 hour

Response rate: 100%

Featured Prompts

I became a GM because

...mostly by circumstance. Everyone I play with today I taught (to some extent) in my home-games or equivalent. I've tried my hand as a player a lot more recently, but it isn't quite the same enjoyment as being a GM is, and not nearly as satisfying.

The three words my players would use to describe me are...

...Helpful, due to my experience teaching and realigning on rules; Creative, for my wacky nonsense I put into a lot of my games; and Adaptable, because I try my best to adapt to players needs the best I can within the context of play, and willing to retry if I get it wrong the first time.

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

...doing an incredible amount of creative projects. I've dabbled in poetry, tabletop-engine writing, multimedia projects, so forth. Often I just experiment creatively among various mediums or engage in media, primarily CRPGs.

How Jayke runs games

My priority is always the story that emerges from the players. I run character-driven games where your choices matter and the world responds accordingly. I don’t believe in forcing outcomes or dragging players down a predetermined path. Instead, I build situations, present problems, and let your decisions shape what happens next, for better or worse. Tone-wise, my games usually balance drama and humor. Serious moments are treated seriously, but there’s always room for levity, bad decisions, and the occasional completely unplanned disaster. I’m very comfortable adjusting to the group. Some tables lean heavier into roleplay, some into tactics, some into exploration, and most fall somewhere in between. My job is to support the experience the players are excited about while keeping the world consistent and believable. Rules are important, but they exist to support the experience, not suffocate it. I run games fairly and consistently, but I’m always open to questions, feedback, and working with players to make sure the game feels good to play. You can expect: • Strong focus on character and narrative • Meaningful consequences for decisions • Collaborative, player-driven storytelling • A table that welcomes both new and experienced players • Emotional damage (the fun kind)

Featured Prompts

I prep by

...often asking questions of the players. At the start of the campaign I take time to look at player's wants and needs and work from there to develop the storybeats and plot points that will be explored in the campaigns. Session-by-session is similar.

My games focus on...

...narrative and player agency. Outside of Villain Monologues, I think it's important for players to have the choice to affect the narrative however they wish, whenever they wish. Most my narrative adapts to player's choice, because I find joy in them having fun.

Rules are...

...not the centerpiece. They are the medium which gameplay is had, but the game is meant to be fun first and foremost, even if they means bending the foundation we play upon.

Jayke's ideal table

I run a loose and friendly table, everyone is there to have a good time and players who are open to a little bit of goofiness and focus on having fun with other players are the best types to have at my tables. We can get serious moments in campaigns of course, and heartfelt moments too, but all-in-all, my table is focused on creating an inclusive, friendly environment for everyone.

Featured Prompts

I am for a vibe that's...

...friendly and fun. At the end of the day we are all playing to have a good time, and my goal is hoping the players have that good time, and so I aim for a comforting vibe in my games to help facilitate everyone having fun.

I think metagaming...

...is fine when it's appropriate. I use a lot of tools to help display Health Estimates to players, and general discussing of skills is fine, but I think it's important to remember what your character would logically know, not what you as a player do.

I think min/maxing...

...can be fun, but will be downplayed in games I run. I create fun and enjoyable encounters made so beginner's can have a fun time playing, I rarely, if ever, create super-tough fights. Don't let that stop you, but my tables do not inherently support that style of play.