Julian

he/him

Timezone

Europe/istanbul

Language

English

About Julian

Hi, my name is Julian. I've been playing games and telling stories for as long as I can remember. I got into tabletop roleplaying games as a teenager and into DnD in university nearly 9 years ago. I've been playing and DM'ing almost every single week since. At this rate, I'll hit my 1000th session DM'ed around the end of Winter. I still play with the group I gathered back then almost every week today. Most of my games are sandboxes or stories with a wide world, where the players tell the story and shape the world with me. My intention is always for the group to achieve their goals and tell a story they'd love. The enjoynment of the game isn't just moment to moment, but should also be looked forward to and remembered afterwards. Worldbuilding is one of my favorite aspects, and I have settings I've been running for years. But it's not just about showing the world - it's also about building it. How the players interact and affect the world while telling their stories is a beautiful colaborative art. I dislike fully linear stories. I think they take away from that player interaction. Even when I run games built from a module, I try to expand it into a believable open setting with that story at the core. But there are many other stories to experience and create for the players all around that core. Of course, that requires collaboration from everyone. And I believe that's when the game shines the most - when we can work together to tell these stories the players want to immer

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

$15 per session

Featured Prompts

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

putting my life in order. I started going to the gym with my fiance; we cook, create stories together, or organise table game evenings for a youth group. And when I'm alone and not working, I love writing and worldbuilding.

How Julian runs games

I focus on providing the base world and stories in it. But it's up to the players to choose what their goals are and what they want to do. They choose which NPCs and factions to interact with and how; they choose where to go and what stories they wish to experience. I don't run world-ending threats. The world has other heroes, all focused on their life and what's important to them. But that doesn't take away from the stakes in the games. Do you want to stop the upcoming war? Or maybe start it? Maybe there's a magical plague, and you wish to find the cure or wall off the infected area for good. Maybe you're just trying to make the kingdom you live in simply a better place, so that the people you care about wouldn't have to think about death every day. Or maybe you just want to slay the dragon, cause that's cool. No answer is worse than the other, as long as it works in the group. I want my games to focus on what the players tell me they want. I build the world with all of it, and then the players can shape it as they play. Of course that means that I don't pull punches, but I always want the players to be informed. You might hear there's a dragon up the mountain at level 1, and it's your choice if you want to try and fight it to your death, or return later, when you'd stand a chance. I love roleplay and players scheming more than anything. Combat is a great culmination, and loot is a great reward, but the journey there and the player choices are even more important.

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My favorite trope is...

success at a cost. A bittersweet ending always sticks with me. Delicious in Dungeon is one of my favorite stories, for those who read it to the end. I watched A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms recently, and loved it too. A good story requires sacrifice and loss, even if the end goal is achieved.

My games focus on...

the characters and their influence on the world. I love to worldbuild, but the point is to build a sandbox for someone to play in. Every castle of sand I build can be broken and rebuilt by the ones in that sandbox. I want to tell a story together with people and have them live out their fantasies.

Julian's ideal table

I play best with people who aren't afraid to explore and choose what they want to do. You want to do something or you want to know more information? - Do ir or ask freely. However, that has to be balanced with the social contract that the entire table has to have fun. It's easier for me as a DM, but the players have to care for other players at the table and make sure their choices and behavior progresses the fun. It's like passing a ball. We're all playing the same game and making sure that we're having fun, everyone included.

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I love it when a player

is curious. I have spent years in my setting, although I have not explored it all. And I love it when players are curious about things, because they can never know when things will connect. Some lore might just be a piece of interesting info, while some might twist their entire view of the story.

I think min/maxing...

has nothing to do with the player being a good or bad player. I want the characters you play to be competent at what they do or should be good at doing. Some people want to min/max that, and that's great. But that is different from the social contract we have as people.