Jonny Barker
he/him
5.0
(6)
Timezone
Language
About Jonny Barker
I was first introduced to tabletop games by a friend in 2020, and it wasn’t long until I was asking to be the GM for a mid-campaign one-shot. Once I’d done that, I realised how much more I enjoyed writing and running the game instead of playing it, and have since run two separate year-long campaigns and numerous one-shots for friends. Presently, I’m GM in an in-person Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) campaign for a group of friends that is about to enter its sixth month. Most of those players are complete beginners and I particularly enjoy helping them understand the game and discover the realm of fantasy. I still also play in the online game that first introduced me to D&D over five years ago. I’m a huge fan of all things fantasy. I’ve been reading fantasy books for as long as I can remember, and have always loved the world building and escapism offered by the genre. I’m currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing, which enables me to regularly create stories in a variety of formats and support me along with my ambition of becoming a published fantasy author. Writing and running D&D campaigns, is a constant source of inspiration and fuels my creative brain, which in turn helps me to become a better writer. I love introducing people to my passions, talking at length about my D&D campaigns to anyone who will listen. I’ve also recently started a Substack blog about writing, which has its own D&D section, aimed at supporting readers who have never played before.
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
7 games hosted
Highly rated for: Teacher, Storytelling, Creativity
Featured Prompts
I got started GMing...
running a one-shot as part of a campaign break to give my GM a rest. I enjoyed it so much I immediately wrote my own campaign, and started running it alongside the other one. I haven't looked back since.
My favorite books are
So many to list! Eragon, The Stormlight Archive, The Witcher, The Lord of the Rings, ASOIAF, Priory of the Orange Tree, and Temeraire to name but a few!
People are always surprised when I tell them
I'm fluent in French! Perhaps one day I'll be confident enough to run a campaign entirely in French too
How Jonny Barker runs games
My preferred style of play is a roleplaying focus and Rule of Cool mindset, as I get the most enjoyment from seeing my players enjoy themselves and really get into character. I enjoy writing memorable NPCs that stay with the party - one particular character’s safety was once put above that of the party’s objectives. It’s especially delightful when shy members of a group who barely spoke at the start become comfortable and confident enough to speak as their character and really get involved in the game. To this end, I encourage players to write a backstory for their character, so I can bring aspects of it into the campaign. I like to include fairly challenging combat where players, once familiar with the mechanics of the game, have to work together and think about their actions, rather than every encounter be a case of repetitive hack and slash. However, I will rarely put players in a situation where one mistake can be deadly, as I know how attached we all are to our player characters. I like to create dungeons for players to explore, with traps, puzzles, and enemies for players to navigate. I also omit any rules to do with maintaining sources of food and drink or other materials, working on the underlying assumption that players are doing that ‘off-screen’. I prefer to keep the story moving and have players doing what they want to be doing (exploring dungeons) rather than getting bogged down in resource management.
Featured Prompts
I prep by
writing an overarching story, some key NPCs and creating a world for players to explore. I then start the campaign with an epic encounter before letting my players explore the world as they see fit.
Rules are...
more like guidelines anyway... The most important thing is for players to have fun, and I'm more than happy to bend the rules if a scenario calls for it to allow players to do something cool!
When it comes to voices
they're encouraged but not required! I'll be doing lots of silly little voices for my NPCs but there's no expectation for players to do the same. There's so many different ways to do RP, voices are just one of them.
Jonny Barker's ideal table
Players who love roleplay will fit well at my table. Ones who will recognise NPCs from a previous session or their own backstory. I'm looking for full immersion in the story more than anything and try to cultivate that as much as possible. In my live game, I put everyone's phone in jail for the duration so we can get the most out of the session. That being said, the atmosphere is still relaxed and there's plenty of space for making jokes and having fun (a channel on discord will be dedicated to memes), but I'm looking for players who will put roleplay and the story ahead of everything else.
Featured Prompts
I love it when a player
recognises an NPC from a previous session, it shows that that character had an impact on them and they've been paying attention!
I think min/maxing...
is absolutely fine! I know some players get their enjoyment from making the strongest character they possibly can, and they're more than welcome at my table. Just be ready for some challenging encounters if that's the case.
My table is not the place for...
anyone looking to play an evil character. I tend to run stories aimed at saving the world, not watching it burn. If that's what you're after, I'd recommend finding a different GM where that sort of campaign is encouraged.
Jonny Barker's Preferences
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