About me

Elves do not dream; they instead vividly relive the cherished memories collected throughout their lifetime. Hi, I'm Nik. I'm a sci-fi/fantasy hobby writer and a game master of over 20 years. As a GM, I have experience running D&D 3.5e and 5e, Pathfinder 1e, and the old White Wolf games set in the World of Darkness and Trinity Universes, though I primarily focus now on 5e. I take a soft approach to rules enforcement. My stories are deep and serious, but accommodate well-placed humor and high jinks. With role-play I am flexible, able to delve deep into immersion or to keep things 3rd person, whichever you prefer. So come with me and dream a dream. Heed! All will fade to memory.

GM Style

Safety First - RPG Consent Checklist, Lines & Veils, X, N, & O Cards, Open Door Policy I run exclusively "Theater of the Mind" style games as I find that battle maps, miniatures, and props tend to slow the game and limit the imagination. I use either custom or AI generated artwork to help set a scene or to quickly introduce an important NPC. Difficulty finding fitting artwork for your character? We can get together ahead of the game to develop an AI generated picture for you. Story - Writing is my cup of tea. I write rich stories with anticipation for many varied outcomes. Your choices will matter. Player written backstories are optional, but if you take the time to write one, it will be made relevant. Combat - My games run 30% to 40% combat & contests. Contests are things such as chases, competitions, and anything else that pits you directly against someone or something. Puzzles - I don't like getting stuck on puzzles, as a player or as a GM, but they do have their place. I don't run many puzzles, and the ones I do run tend to be fairly simple to solve with many clues. Loot - Magic is an easy solution to too many problems. As such, my worlds tend to be low magic, even for the already low magic 5e setting. On the bright side, that makes any casters or magic items that you possess that much more incredible. To avoid fights over loot, irrelevant loot, or bad roll streaks, I use an "inspired currency" system. Each player gets 3 free inspiration at the start of each session. Every time an inspiration is earned by anyone (quest reward, important discovery, really cool accomplishment, etc), everyone gains one. Inspiration can be used normally or, at the end of each session, players may bank or spend their inspiration points on gear and magic items. Levels - Levels are doled out based on story progression which I typically pace out to be every 3 sessions. My campaigns are paced to run ~30 sessions, from levels 3-12. Other House Rules: - Emotions lay at the core of storytelling. As such, I change any spell or ability that gives immunity to a particular emotion (such as Heroism and Aura of Courage) to instead give advantage (if you already have advantage, it gives a bonus equal to your proficiency modifier.) - Flight marginalizes too many things. Flight without wings or material assistance (carpet, broom, ship, etc) does not exist. Creatures with a natural fly speed and items will have time/distance limitations based on level. - Long-range teleportation can only happen via circles or devices placed by you. This means that you can not teleport to places you have never been before. - I like to keep my action scenes (combat & contests) fast-paced. I use a ~10 second rush rule during such scenes (you have ~10 seconds from the start of your turn to decide on a course of action.) This rule is meant to mimic the feeling of an action-packed moment, and there are no penalties for going over, so people prone to stress need not worry. These scenes are tuned so that a few mistakes won't cause any major changes to your desired outcome, and mistakes add a sense of chaos and realism. - To also assist in faster combat, I use average damage per die instead of damage rolls. Of course, I'll allow you to roll your pretties if you'd prefer.

Games played

Game platforms used