Mad Jay
he/him
5.0
(7)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Mad Jay
I’m a freelance game writer/designer, professional GM, and host of the Diceology podcast. My published work includes Paizo, Evil Hat Productions, and Fandom/Cortex Prime, along with my own titles By Aecer’s Light, Lifted: Vault 01, and my upcoming game Lifted: Indomitable. I love games about outsiders, underdogs, and heroes who rise from impossible odds. Burning Wheel is my jam, but I also run a mean sci-fi or superhero table—Champions Now, Cyberpunk RED, Wild Talents, and more. Want something bespoke? Hit me up. Read my GM musings at playfearless.substack.com.
At a glance
4 years on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Inclusive, Storytelling, Creativity
Featured Prompts
I got started GMing...
Circa 1970s Hoboken, NJ. Running Red Box D&D I bought myself by selling greeting cards from a Capt. O. ad out of the back of a comic book.
My favorite system of all Time is
The Burning Wheel RPG.
When I'm not running games I'm...
Playing games, designing games, reading games....or buying games.
How Mad Jay runs games
I run games RAW, letting the rules do the heavy lifting and applying just enough GM lift where a system needs support. I prep situations, we play to find out, and a narrative emerges from player choices and the mechanics we put into motion. Session Zero is where we set expectations together: tone, lethality, safety, boundaries, and what kind of game we want to play. I’m a sucker for player-driven RPGs, a daemon at one-shots, and I love tight 4–6 sessions arcs. I specialize in West Marches and drop-in exploration (The One Ring: Moira — Year One, Break!!: The Fracture Frontier) as well as deeper, bigger campaigns for players who want something memorable and character-focused. Consider my Games Played list a shortlist of the 🔥 games I enjoy running and know well. If you’re looking for something not listed, reach out—there’s a good chance it’s a world I’d love to run for you.
Mad Jay's Preferences
Systems