lady_0f_pain (Paul)
he/him
4.8
(6)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About lady_0f_pain (Paul)
Greetings and Welcome! My name is Paul and my screen name is a homage to Her Serenity, THE Lady of Pain from my favorite campaign setting - Planescape! I am a TTRPG veteran and have been through multiple editions of the Dungeons & Dragons game, beginning with those famous red books (Basic D&D) and moving through AD&D 2nd edition onto 3rd edition/Pathfinder where I stayed for a couple of decades. 4th edition seemed to play more like a MMORPG video game, which I didn't find appealing for a TTRPG, so I skipped it and 5th edition, too, until the 2024 rules released. Now I'm a full-on diehard convert! I can't say enough good things about D&D 2024, even with the contrast to everything that came before it. "City of Doors" is the name I gave to my overarching campaign, as I feel that Planescape makes the entire D&D Multiverse accessible to every adventurer, regardless of their home campaign world. I use Discord to communicate with players and I use roll20.net as my preferred VTT (character sheets too)! My sessions are organized with plenty of props, battle maps, miniature tokens, etc. As an adult with ADHD, I depend on these things myself and find that they are helpful even during "Theater of the Mind" encounters. Sometimes I may even do voices... I welcome players - new and returning - that are genuinely wanting to learn and participate in the cooperative gaming experience that D&D 5e is designed to be. Until then, I return to the shadows...
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
3 games hosted
Highly rated for: Inclusive, Teacher, Creativity
Average response time: 19 hours
Response rate: 100%
Featured Prompts
I became a GM because
This is my passion. I love storytelling and all the unique connections that can come about from it. Plus it's great to have people remember you through the wonderful adventures you've been on together in your minds.
I got started GMing...
When I was 15 years old my cousin introduced my brother and I to the Basic D&D red books. He gave me the books and I DM'd my first session with my brother playing a cleric. That's how it's been since with me continuing to love DMing and he still loves his support characters, Clerics especially!
When I'm not running games I'm...
I'm almost always prepping new material on Roll20 for future games and I love to play video games as well. I'm currently playing through BG3 for the first real time with my brother. My character is a halfling wild magic sorcerer while he's playing a monk/cleric water bender build we found online.
How lady_0f_pain (Paul) runs games
I'm a Forever DM with 32+ years experience and I don't hate it. My sessions are organized with plenty of props, battle maps, miniature tokens, etc. As an adult with ADHD, I depend on these things myself and find that they are helpful even during "Theater of the Mind" encounters. Sometimes I may even do voices... I'm a fan of Rules-as-Written (RAW) whenever possible, but I've also observed that 5e 2024 encourages a lot of homebrew and Rule of Cool (RoC), so I try to remain flexible. As a DM I love so many of the elements that go into the game and if I have any weaknesses I'm not telling, but you can generally expect - - Challenging Combat encounters: I'm still learning to nuances of the game myself, but I'm just blown away with how amazing combat has become in this new edition and am committed to bringing it! - Roleplaying: not just with NPCs but time will also be allowed for the PCs to interact with one another, creating those memories! - Consistency: both with the application of the rules but also with the story itself. I believe that keeping the physics predictable and the villains, ultimately, defeatable makes for excellent roleplaying. - Adventure: it should be fun! I want to help you make your character shine and help you get that Heroic Inspiration recharged, when needed. - Motivation: I'm quite good at playing Devil's advocate and keeping players motivated to seek out and CRUSH my villains. It's a gift really. Plus treasure and XP help!
Featured Prompts
I prep by
I'm work a lot to add new modules, maps and encounters to my Roll20.net account. I've been a paid member for many years and have quite the collection amassed on there. Additionally, I'm always reading rulebooks and watching YouTube videos for new ideas.
My games focus on...
I like to feel that I'm going on a heroic journey with the players. I want to challenge their characters to grow and celebrate each victory along the way. I tend to focus on how the PCs relate to the story and giving them the chance to feel like heroes in the end!
Rules are...
I feel like the rules of the game create a predictable sense of physics for players and DMs alike. They're necessary but also must remain flexible as circumstances dictate. I tend to play RaW unless otherwise necessary.
lady_0f_pain (Paul)'s ideal table
D&D 5e is a cooperative storytelling experience that requires cooperative storytellers. Players that are genuinely wanting to learn the rules, be part of a team and have grand adventurers are absolutely welcomed to the table! My sessions will be a decent balance between combat, social interaction and exploration, so any player that enjoys a balance of those cornerstone game elements will vibe well with my gaming style. I also tend to use a substantial amount of props, maps, tokens, etc. even during "theater of the mind" scenarios. Players that enjoy that sort of thing will love my work. I do voices, you can too if you are feeling adventurous! If you enjoy behaving like a hero and want to feel like you're making a difference in an epic story "out there, somewhere" then you belong at my table.
Featured Prompts
I think min/maxing...
is intelligence at work. Where there is a collection of rules there will be a mind that is compelled to exploit those rules. When building a character I encourage players to build the one that makes sense for them and sometimes that involves a little min/maxing. Don't worry, you can still die.
My perfect party mix is
Literally the character options produce either a combat-focus, skill-focused, or magic-focused character. The perfect balance usually contains at least one of each type - with each type containing a number of options. Plus, some way of healing the party is needed.
My table is not the place for...
No one PC can be the center of the story in a cooperative experience that involves multiple individuals. So, players that insist on dominating the experience, strong-arming the other players (usually by telling them how to play), or behaving as villains don't belong at my table.