JW

he/him

4.9

(17)

Timezone

America/new York

Language

English

About JW

I discovered roleplaying games way back in the early 1980's through an article in The Fandom Directory (a listing for comic book fans). Soon the introductory D&D boxed set was in my hot little teenaged hands. If was, sadly, difficult to find players for this new hobby. Shortly after college I was fortunate enough to fall into a group of wonderful players and we spent many a night exploring Battletech/Mechwarrior and Cyberpunk 2020. Since that time I've branched out to include many other genres and systems. These days I focus on virtual table tops, recruiting players from various Discord servers. I'm very familiar with Fantasy Grounds, Foundry VTT and Roll20. My favorite is probably Fantasy Grounds although I tend to use Foundry VTT quite a bit (and I prefer to keep it module-lite). I am also an "empty-nester" and can devote myself to lots of RPGs various days of the week.

At a glance

2 years on StartPlaying

60 games hosted

Highly rated for: Creativity, Sets the Mood, Storytelling

Average response time: Under 1 hour

Response rate: 100%

Featured Prompts

I got started GMing...

My very first experience with roleplaying games had me in the GM seat from the start. It was my way of sparking interest in the hobby and bringing others along for the adventure. That was back in the early '80s, using the iconic blue box edition of Basic Dungeons & Dragons.

My favorite books are

The Complete HP Lovecraft Robert E. Howard's Conan stories The Lord of the Rings Neuromancer Count Zero Mona Lisa Overdrive Snow Crash The Diamond Age

My favorite shows/movies are

The Mummy (both the original and remake with Brandon Fraser) Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Snatch RocknRolla The Gentlemen (Netflix Series)

How JW runs games

I like for my campaign plots to grow organically. Some of what happens is plotted ahead of time, some is improv based on player actions, and some is subplot based on character backstories, etc. Therefore, even if I'm running a published adventure module over and over each running is different from the last. My worlds also tend to be living, breathing things that respond to the players decisions and actions. They can gain allies or enemies, all depending on their behavior. I try for a good mix of roleplay opportunities as well as combat, with combat being both tactical and theater-of-the-mind. I often enhance the experience with music or sound FX from Syrinescape or other sources.

Featured Prompts

If my games were Movies they'd be directed by...

Easy answer...Guy Ritchie (Snatch, The Gentlemen, etc.)

Rules are...

There to provide a framework for resolving conflict. A lot of the times rules-as-written work just fine, but I'm not afraid to use a player suggestion if it's a good one.

When it comes to voices

I'm horrible at immitating accents. But I try and it's often more fun than succeeding at it.

JW's ideal table

WHAT MY TABLES ARE LIKE My tables are friendly places where people of different ethnicities and political viewpoints can relax and just play a game. We focus 99% on the game. If I ever do get a disruptive player I'll quickly deal with it. MY IDEAL PLAYER Wants to contribute to the game in some fashion (good jokes, a wonderful backstory, ideas, etc.) He/she also isn't afraid of their backstory coming back to haunt them. GENERAL VIBE Even though my players aren't close personal friends who grew up with one another, we still bond pretty quickly and enjoy each others company. The vibe is always positive. PREFERRED NUMBER OF PLAYERS I require at least 3 players to run a game—if only 2 can make it, we postpone. I do like to start a new campaign with as many players as possible. Experience has shown that 1 or 2 will always drop very early on, after that the group usually stabilizes at 3 or 4 players for the duration.