Ashton
he/him
5.0
(5)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Ashton
"So you want a game, do you?" The witch's voice seems to crack in the brittle air, and her one good eye rolls until it finds your face. "Then you must pay the price..." She cackles as she extends her bony fingers. "But coin is just the beginning. What do you want? Tell me what is inside your soul... Who are you?" Hello and welcome! Gaming is more than a hobby for me, it’s a lifestyle. I first started playing as I was learning to walk and talk as a little tyke, and I’ve been playing, running, and designing rpgs since then. I’ve been running games professionally for about 10 years now, although not on SPG until 2026. I like to run a character-driven, roleplay-heavy story, but at the end of the day what’s most important is the players. If you want a hex crawl, if you want high political intrigue, if you want mystery and murder and danger… let me know! I can probably design content tailored to what you’re looking for. For myself, I love stories and I love gaming! I’m looking forward to getting to run some different systems and explore new worlds through this medium.
At a glance
5 years on StartPlaying
2 games hosted
Highly rated for: Inclusive, Creativity, Storytelling
Featured Prompts
I got started GMing...
When I was 6 years old and bounced off playing D&D with some older kids, so instead I ran a game just for my friend. We called it "Quest" and described it as "D&D without all the annoying dice and pencils and stuff." Of course, later I'd learn to love that stuff, and I've been hooked ever since.
My favorite books are
I really like character-driven fantasy epics. I know Lord of the Rings is cliche, but there's a reason it's still king! Recently I've loved The Goblin Emperor and its sequels, Shadow and Bone and its sequels (it really takes off in Six of Crows) and anything by Lois McMaster Bujold.
My favorite system of all Time is
The one I'm designing! My game is "Isles of Mist" (you can google it) and it's intended to blend the philosophy of some of my favorite games while making everything easier and faster. It's simple enough that a 9 year old can play it, but has enough depth for adults. Maybe I'll run it here sometime!
How Ashton runs games
My philosophy is that character is the heart of story. I want to know who your character is and craft a story around them. Bonus points if you are a proactive player who likes to grapple with the world and make plans and come in with big ambitions! I like to prepare an interesting scenario and then let the players come in like a wrecking ball and see what happens. Once play is in motion, I see my job as being a neutral arbiter, using dice rolls and my best judgement to determine what would “actually” happen based on your actions and the conditions in the fiction. My favorite thing is when the outcome turns out in a way I never could have predicted. What you can expect from my storytelling style on various points… - VTTs: I’ll often use theater of the mind, because I want to get straight to the part where we all imagine stuff together. But when helpful, I’ll use a light VTT (Owlbear Rodeo). - Music: I have some minor audio processing issues, so I don’t do well with background music. I can set some up by request, but I’ll probably have it muted on my end. - PbP: I really enjoy using play-by-post for roleplay or downtime actions between sessions, and you can expect dedicated space on Discord to support longer campaigns - PvP: Any interactions between players (attacking, stealing, or even flirting) are only permitted with explicit consent. - Content Limits: My games range from PG13 to R, but not X. If you want to roleplay your kink, no shame, but plan on doing it elsewhere.
Featured Prompts
I deal with rules issues by...
taking a few moments to look up the rule, but if it can't be found in a reasonable amount of time, or if there's too much debate, I'll just make a call so that the game can keep moving and take more time to look it up in depth and make a proper ruling later.
I once ran a session...
Walking and talking with friends around a lake in a park. We had no dice, no rules, it was all improv--and it was a blast. For me, any ruleset has to be better than that. If I could have more fun with no rules at all, then I should be playing a different game!
My games focus on...
Putting you in an interesting scenario with living, breathing characters and some form of tension, then letting you try to figure out what you want to do about it.
Ashton's ideal table
I tend to lean more toward crunchy systems, with a "traditional" or "simulationist" style of gameplay. I love seeing a story emerge from the dice rolls and the decisions at the table, and I'd much rather let that happen organically than play a game that provides meta-level mechanics to shape the story directly. All power to the people who love PbtA games and that whole school of thought, but I haven't found it to click for me yet. That said, story and character are at the heart of the experience at my table. I want to see players who have richly developed character concepts; I want to see backstories and ambitions and flaws and struggle and passion and a certain nobility of spirit that shines through, despite the flaws. I try to provide rich NPCs for you to interact with, play off of, and develop complex relationships with. If you want a character-driven story, my table might be for you. And the stronger of a character you bring for me to work with, the more I can shape the story around your character's goals, ambitions, and backstory.
Featured Prompts
If you're into ___, you're going to love my table
Real stakes. I try to make a game where the outcome is not guaranteed, where you can try anything, and where what happens really depends on what you do. To me the most important thing is making room for player agency, so your actions will shape the story.
I love it when a player
surprises me! I feel like I can usually predict--to some degree--what the players might try, but when a player does something that really takes me off guard, that's the spice! That's the good stuff! I love it when the story develops, through dice and decisions, in ways I never would have predicted.
I think min/maxing...
can be totally appropriate and fun, as long as it doesn't cause problems for the story or the other players. The way I see it, it's both a story and a game, and while the story part is the meat and potatoes, figuring out how to do your best with the tools you have available to you is great fun too!
Ashton's Preferences
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