MacReady (n/a)
5.0
(5)
1 year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Creativity, Visual Aid
About me
I've been gaming, almost, since the beginning. I'm an industry writer that also teaches master classes on creative writing, helping independent creators get their novels, screenplays, comics, and games in shape for publication. I'm here on Startplaying for a specific reason. To build and run a campaign where I leverage an entire career of expertise into a VTT experience. Specifically, my love of horror fiction. There are a lot of talented DMs out there. I won't say I'm better than anyone... I will say, I'm here with 100% passion and dedication to giving my players MY BEST--to give you an escape from the everyday so enjoyable, that it perhaps, disrupts your everyday... just a smidge.
GM Style
Bad acting. Bad voices. Crazy elaborate story. Deep characters. And a wicked good time. I deliver custom story/gaming experiences thought out to nigh obsessive ends. Every adventure, campaign, and setting concieved with meticulous attention to detail. A homebrew spin is possible on just about anything. The goal is not to improve the official take, but to increase the personal flavor and fun factor of OUR GAME. I believe the best games flow from bulletproof story structure where the improv nature of role-playing works *in synergy* with that structure. **The story dictates where you go, the improv and freedom of play dictate how you actually get there.** As an OG DM, all the low level adventures I run take place underground. Surface exploration and more sandboxy play is earned as you level. I shoot for a balanced game, but see strategic combat as the most fundamental element of the RPG. My combats are not hack and slash fests reduced to simply die rolls and math. **My goal as a story teller is to make you feel like you're there clashing iron, summoning magical energies, avoiding the foul breath of your opponent. My goal as a DM is to make that all a ton of fun.** ### I'm a demanding DM. I require that you use your brain at all times AND you reap what you sow. - I kill PCs. - I'll break your favorite weapon. - Remember you left your sack of gold on the bar counter three hours earlier... yep, it's gone. **I don't want PCs to suffer**, but what I've learned over many years of DM'ing, is that the harder the task, the sweeter the reward. When character misfortune is a real possibility, you gain a real sense of satisfaction surving adventures and leveling up. > That said, **I WILL** be fair. Rest assured **I WILL** NOT throw you into no-win scenarios or beset with impossibly difficult tasks. ***Don't spread it around town, but I want you guys to succeed!**** **What I expect of Players:** - Show up. - Pay. - Have fun. - I get sometimes wanting to do your completely own thing, or even outsmarting the DM, just don’t actively work to undermine the narrative, OR the tables fun. - Feel free to give me feedback. Any feedback.
Game Master Reviews (5)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Storytelling
Creativity
Visual Aid
Bob
Highly recommend. Good people. Delivers a great experience. Fun as hell combats. Puts you right there in the action. Keeps the pace. Sick stories. Unless you sick or didn't show up, you having fun at his table for sure.
Redhead with an Axe to Grind
Me and my boyfriend are long time gamers with Mac. We always played in person, in NYC before we moved. I can tell you a few things; First, we traveled 2.5 hours by train each way to game with him. Yeah 5 hours on NYC subways that should tell you something right there. Second, the first time I gamed I didn't know anything about D&D or their group of friends. He made me feel immediately at home, like I was hanging out with friends I had known my whole life. Third, the games were always fun. We laughed so much and even being new, I became so invested in the stories! Lastly, maybe the coolest thing, was that the players always threw out random ideas for new adventures when we finished a campaign. Give us a pirate adventure, something with dragons, something epic where we have to travel to new lands. Whatever we suggested, the next adventure would be what we asked for, times a hundred. He can literally think up anything. My boyfriend wants to add his review too, he says, "He's worth every penny."
Sam Smart
Great DM
Yaran
Very immersive, fun and creative GM
Saint Anthony
Nick, was the most challenging and bloodthirsty DM I ever played with. When your PC's survival is not guaranteed by some pseudo-plot armor. Then actually surviving difficult sessions feel all the more rewarding. His attention to detail and realism far surpass anything that can be learned from a Dungeon Master's Guide. Truly a DM in all its finest senses.
What's StartPlaying?
Tabletop Roleplaying Games Run by Game Masters
Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.
Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.
If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.