Knack

they/them

5.0

(5)

Timezone

America/new York

Language

English

Identity

Queer

Artist

Teacher/Educator

About Knack

My name is Knack, let's tell some stories together! I've been running games since I first started playing dnd a little under 10 years ago, from one-shots to multi year endeavors. My specialties lie in narrative and collaborative games like Daggerheart and Monster of the Week, and in that vein I like to bring a level of player choice and collaboration into every game I run. While I'm most versed in the D&D 5e and PBTA systems, I'm always excited to learn and implement systems that players might want to try out. In my day job, I'm a cartoonist, so I tend to make custom assets or character art for the games I run. Let's roll some dice and put some characters in situations!

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: Creativity, Rule of Cool, Inclusive

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I got started GMing...

because a group of my friends and dorm mates wanted to play, and I was the one who had the most passing knowledge of the rules from watching The Adventure Zone. I wrote a whole custom mini campaign for them! It was my first time playing too, haha.

When I'm not running games I'm...

working my day job as a cartoonist, or trying to learn as much as I can about history (whether that be attending museums or otherwise) and different jobs and ways of life, to enrich my writing for both TTRPGs and my own craft.

How Knack runs games

IN LONGER GAMES: roleplay and character arcs always take precedence unless we've decided otherwise as a group. Whether that character arc (or story arc) involves combat is different per group, depending on the preferences of my players. (When I do run combat, it's usually a puzzle at heart too!) In custom games especially, I also like to involve my players a lot in the fleshing out of worlds and otherwise, to better emphasize that it's just as much their story to build, too. IN SHORTER GAMES: (generally in Learn-To-Play games, or ones where the players want to test out a setting or a system), I like to give everyone at least one character moment, and have us play through a puzzle and a combat. IN ALL GAMES: I WILL be doing voices, and running ambient music or soundscapes! More importantly, I like to give opportunity for PC narration (and I'll jump in should anyone need help), the ability to "fail forward," and rule of cool where applicable. As far as genre, I've run many things but tend toward horror, urban fantasy, mystery, and adventure. All of these can happen in any setting, so the world is our oyster! Additionally, I make use of RPG Consent checklists for every game, and welcome folks to use the X card whenever needed.

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I prep by

taking about half an hour post-session and writing out things I want to remember and set up for next time. I also take notes during the sessions! And following this, the day of the session, ahead of the game itself, I'll go through everything I wrote last time and build upon it if I need to.

When it comes to voices

I love them! I utilize voices in every game, whether that's as a DM or a PC, both for fun and as an aid to differentiate in character vs out of character talk.

Knack's ideal table

My table is an inclusive, open-communication space for folks who love collaborative storytelling and roleplay. I recently realized I've run more Monster of the Week than anything else in my time, so player input in storytelling and world building is something that I do and will incorporate in all of my games (to the degree that each player is comfortable with that!). The types of players that fit well in my games are those who bring an inquisitive spirit, toward both whatever world we find ourselves in and toward the other players and PCs. And if you're a new player and don't yet know if you fit in with this part yet, I'd be happy to show you the ropes! Another thing to know for my table is that I tend not to run ultra-long campaigns! This may change, but as of right now, I likely won't run anything longer than a year. (The sweet spot I've found right now is 4-10 sessions for a mini campaign.) I'm open to a lot of playstyles! However, typically, if you're here for crunch and dungeon crawling, you probably will want to find someone else (though I have run one-shots like this to scratch that particular itch). I'm a professional artist -- AI imagery or otherwise will not be tolerated, end of story. Additionally, any kind of bigotry will likewise not be tolerated.