Ivy (Melkain) (she/they)
5.0
(5)
1 year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Inclusive, Teacher, Knows the Rules
About me
Many years ago I had an idea that I was sure would make me popular, rich, popular, famous, popular... wait, did I just say popular multiple times? Oh right, you see I was a teenager at the time, so that checks out. That idea? What if you grabbed a couple friends and told a story together. One person could be... I don't know, the Storyteller? Referee? Something like that. They would tell the parts of the story that weren't the players. And the people who were the players could write down their character's information on a sheet of paper called... a character sheet! Oh! And dice! We could use dice to simulate some level of randomness. I worked feverishly on this idea the entire summer before my freshman year of high school, and proudly presented it to my friends there. "That's called Dungeons & Dragons you dumbass." I've been hooked on tabletop rpgs ever since, running them for a little over 25 years at this point! First with clumsy self designed systems, then moving into D&D 3rd edition, then quickly branching out into whatever tabletop rpg I could get my hands on. I've run many, many games at FLGS over the years, and one of my favorite things is introducing new players to this hobby. These days I mostly run games online, and have been doing so for more than a decade at this point. I also help run a small local LARP in my area once a month or so. I love worldbuilding and I spend a ton of time building up worlds for my players, and I'm looking forward having amazing adventures together with you!
GM Style
First and foremost, my games are a safe and welcoming place for LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent folk. I fall into both of those categories myself. If you're new to tabletop gaming? Hop on in, I'm itching to help you create your first character. Shepherding new folk into the hobby is one of my favorite things. That being said, I try to ensure my games are enjoyable to everyone, regardless of skill level. I tend to prioritize roleplay, but that doesn't mean I shy away from combat. After all, I don't get all these mapmaking programs for nothing! When it comes to rules, they exist to help tell a good story. If the story is better served by bending or tweaking them, then I will do so - the rule of cool and all that. However I try to stay as close to them as possible unless there's a good reason. Session Zero- I love getting input from my players so we can make sure that we're telling the kind of story they're interested in. For example, if folk are wanting a game that has more combat or more roleplay, that's important to know before we get started! Safety Tools- I use Lines and Veils, and X-card mechanics. I find that having them makes everyone, including myself, feel more comfortable. Telling stories, especially doing so collaboratively brings me a lot of joy. I hope we can tell some great ones together!
Games played
Game platforms used
Game Master Reviews (5)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Inclusive
Teacher
Knows the Rules
Marjaskan
I've played with this GM for a few years on and off. Games are always fun. Player ideas are welcomed and role playing is rewarded. I've played in long term games and one shots, and they're always a blast.
Quinn
I played in a one-shot with Melkain for a charity event with premade characters. The story was amazing and the characters had so much depth and a lot of room for roleplay. The players sent it all off the rails but she was able to keep the story moving along at a great pace throughout all the player chaos. I've been begging her for more games ever since!
Michael Thompson
Played Curse of Strahd 5e with them for about 2 years. It was a lot of fun. They switched a few things to make the Curse of Strahd safe and different from the streamlined adventure. One of the guys that played with us did have a non-standard class; I tend to try and min-max and the GM is cool with both! I have also played with them as a DM for years and have played a lot more than just 5e with them (Dresden Files, Changeling the Lost, Traveler, Dungeon World, and a few others).
Theo
Ivy, our kind and benevolent DM, has been running our Curse of Strahd campaign — such a fun time! She leaves plenty of room for player creativity while it keeping us appropriately challenged within the bounds of the rules as written. She's always willing to make adjustments to keep everyone feeling safe and comfortable — switching out spiders for giant bees for example, or rewriting characters in more interesting and compelling ways when the source material makes some questionable choices. She loves to have the right background music or effect to fit the mood, which makes things really immersive!
Bea
I have been a player in their campaigns for over two years now. Melkain is a wonderful GM. They are very mindful of player skill levels and adjusts accordingly. They are also very helpful when it comes to accessibility and limitations of their players. We have a lot of fun and I look forward to every session.
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