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Mike Athey

Mike Athey (he/him)

5.0

(9)

4 years on StartPlaying

8 games hosted

Highly rated for: Creativity, Knows the Rules, Teacher

About me

Hey! I'm Mike, I've been a GM ever since I offered to run some games of Marvel Super Heroes at my elementary school in the 5th Grade way back in 1985! I'm big into narrative and adventure storytelling, with a particular emphasis on cinematic action. The joy for me in tabletop games is working together with the other players to craft fun and exciting tales out of the raw material the game systems give us. I've run or played everything from the classics (D&D, World of Darkness, Shadowrun) to the obscure (Big Mother****in' Crab Truckers, Buck Rogers in the XXV Century, Toon) to the contemporary (Blades in the Dark, Sentinel Comics, Monster of the Week). My current personal faves are Torg Eternity, Feng Shui, and Unknown Armies.

GM Style

My style emphasizes narrative first, but usually with more crunch than purely rules lite systems. Genre emulation tends to be more important to me than getting bogged down in rules discussions. I sometimes use voices and accents, but clarity of communication is more important to me than method acting. Being able to joke about what's going on is important to me, even if the subject matter occasionally goes to dark places. I try to be inclusive and sensitive to players' comfort zones, and am open to frank and honest discussion of what we're all here for.

Game platforms used
Game Master Reviews (9)

Proficiencies

Players say this GM is great at:

Creativity

Knows the Rules

Teacher

Alexander avatar

Alexander

Played 3 sessions

"I really enjoyed the unique twist on existing modules he used. He took my personal favorite plane from the Wizards multiverse and made it the base for a newer module for the other people in our group who were starting out." -Mr.Blue "Mike was an awesome DM, I cannot recommend him enough! He was very encouraging, patient, and helped me feel confident in the game as a new player. He was able to smoothly work around accessibility issues in our group (a mute player) and was receptive to integrating player feedback. Every session was fun! He encouraged us explore our crazy ideas to really make the adventure our own. If you're on the fence about having Mike as your DM, go for it!" -Squirel "He made each session fun and was a great and amazing host we were always excited and eager to play. We were nervous at first playing with a stranger but he made the game interesting and intriguing. It was easy to follow and he made it worth playing every step of the way. He was the best DM I've ever had. Thank you Mike for all your hard work and dedication every step of the way." -Iron

Steven avatar

Steven

Played 1 sessions

I reached out to Mike for help in teaching me the rules for Mutants and Masterminds 3E so I could run the game for my players. He put together a combat tutorial session for me which helped out tremendously. M&M 3E can be tricky but Mike was able to explain the rules and provide a lot of helpful tips. He has a ton of experience with this system and is a great teacher on top that.

Gino avatar

Gino

Played 1 sessions

First time playing this system and had a blast! GM was very clear and flexibly used the room to maximize player inventiveness and move the story along. Played the characters of the NPC;s really well and made us feel like we were in the environment. Would happily recommend to others!

James  avatar

James

Played 1 sessions

Mike is a warm and friendly GM, who likes to be a fan to the players. He had a firm grasp of the rules and is able to walk people through complicated parts of the system. He loved the genre which we were playing in, and was able to present it in a colorful fashion. Mike does his best to make you feel welcome.

Corey avatar

Corey

Played 1 sessions

Mike was great at allowing player agency and creativity to have a positive impact on the game and story. He really encouraged everyone to get involved and stay involved. Everyone had a great time!

Shibboleth avatar

Shibboleth

Played many different systems (D@d, Hero, Gurp, Feng Shui, Torg, Rifts, WW, and many more) with Mike as GM. He is always prepared, knows how to set an atmosphere, adaptable, and most important he really cares about the players and everyone having fun.

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