Lyceum Dropout
he/him
5.0
(18)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Lyceum Dropout
My name is Jared, a writer, teacher, and philosopher, and I am so excited to run some games for you! A little about me: 🐲 I've been playing D&D 5E basically since release, running games for my friends since I was 15. 🦉 I studied philosophy and media studies, and am deeply interested in how we tell stories and what we can learn from them. 🫖 I love a little homebrew, and love to challenge and play with the rules. I've been DMing for friends & campers for a long time, and I thought now was the time to bring my passion to the public! I would be so thrilled if you would join my table or have me come run for yours :)
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
24 games hosted
Highly rated for: Inclusive, Storytelling, Teacher
Average response time: 7 hours
Response rate: 80%
Featured Prompts
I got started GMing...
Teaching my friends to play in high school. That was the first time I realized it's true that the best way to learn is to teach!
My favorite books are
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, which has and will continue to inspire all my stories. The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec, an underrated entry in re-tellings of classic myths that reimagines Angraboda's role in Ragnarok. And Jazz by Toni Morrisson, which made me bawl.
When I'm not running games I'm...
Tutoring at my day job(s), playing strategy games like Civilization VI and Crusader Kings III, and planning for my games!
How Lyceum Dropout runs games
TL;DR, I'm deeply interested in how we interpret the world both through and in fictional worlds, and pushing people to think! With my background in media studies and philosophy, I tend to focus my writing on themes. Because of that, I prefer to lean on roleplaying and setting up scenarios for my players to make unique, complex decisions regarding personal, political, and general ethics. However, I'm also a big rules guy; not a stickler per se - the rule of cool is important - but I want my players (and myself) to feel challenged both in roleplay and in combat. In my mind, TTRPGs are a game as much as they're a story, and while there's truth to the dice telling the story, I believe that they tell the story with us, not for us. My philosophical studies have focused on phenomenology - the study of phenomena - and hermeneutics - the study of how we interpret the world (named for our boy Hermes). Both of those impact my GMing and my writing as I treat my players as both agents in the world and as their real life people. When I GM for my close friends, I'm thinking about how the themes apply to them in real life. When I GM'd as a camp counselor, I was thinking about two major things: First, what do my campers need to be learning? But secondly, and more importantly, how do they need an escape? Lessons are good, and we are there to teach them. But it's also summer camp. I'm not here to remind you of the hardships of the outside world, if that's not what you're interested in.
Lyceum Dropout's ideal table
My tables are all about inclusivity and curiosity. The stories I want to tell put players in worlds where everything around them is constantly in motion, and situations aim to challenge their worldviews and approaches. Players looking for roleplay-heavy tables with unique and varying combat will feel right at home at my table. I am most interested in furthering your characters' stories with my worlds, and presenting you with the occasional combat that feels rewarding and real.
Featured Prompts
If you're into ___, you're going to love my table
Philosophy, ethics, silly goofs and serious moments :)
I love it when a player
Surprises me! I'm not a "let me plan out every branch," kind of guy. I want to see what *your* response to solutions is, and I want to feel challenged when you come up with solutions I might not have anticipated!
I think min/maxing...
Can be really fun and rewarding in its own way, but shouldn't be done to ruin anyone else's experience. But the systems exist and are fun and interesting - let's see how we can mess with each other >:)
Lyceum Dropout's Preferences
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