Old Scratch

he/him

5.0

(3)

Timezone

America/indiana/indianapolis

Language

English

Identity

Neurodivergent

About Old Scratch

My name is Dominic and I first played Dungeons and Dragons in 1982 in my cousin’s basement with three six-sided dice, pencils, and a tablet of graph paper. I played my first game on Start Playing Games this year and found it to be an amazingly satisfying way to play wonderful games and meet talented players that I would have never met otherwise. Every game I play (yes, Game Masters play the games too) is a new chance to learn more about this incredibly enjoyable hobby. My table is inclusive and safe for LGTBQIA+ players and POC and will honor all boundaries set by completed safety questionnaires and use the X-Card in game to handle anything unexpected which may negatively impact a player's experience. I am currently interested in running Daggerheart, Mothership and Knave 2e games. I will initially focus on one-shot adventures geared towards new players.

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: Creativity, Teacher, Inclusive

Featured Prompts

I became a GM because

Honestly I have always had more fun as a Game Master than as a player. I like being the catalyst that helps player's tell their stories and enjoy painting the world's canvas with the broad stokes that their character's will refine.

My favorite books are

Geek Love, The Woman on The Edge of Time, The Left Hand of Darkness, Thieve's Word, The Three Body Problem, The Hobbit, Another Fine Myth, The World According to Garp, The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, Deryni Rising, Dragon Riders of Pern, The Sword of Shannara, Ancillary Justice, The Fifth Season

My favorite system of all Time is

Daggerheart! It has completely changed the way that I approach role playing and has reinvigorated my passion for this hobby.

How Old Scratch runs games

As both a player and a GM, I prefer story-first role playing games which de-emphasize tactical or "crunchy" combat in favor of emphasizing in-game character and lore development. I feel that the best type of combat is one that moves the story forward and creates an immersive experience which more about completing a story arch than defeating a stat block. I believe that this can be achieved even within the short story arc of a "one-shot" adventure.

Featured Prompts

Rules are...

the framework which helps us tell a consistent story. The dice provide random surprise. Neither rules nor dice will get in the way of having a good time. That said, I tend to run rules as written and if I use house rules you'll know about them before the games starts. The GM alwayshas the final say.

When it comes to voices

I am not very good at them or confident when doing them at all. I am working on that.

Old Scratch's ideal table

I love running games with players who enjoy finding ways for their characters to engage with each other and with their story's world in meaningful ways. Support each other. Build connections, even if only for a few hours. Lift each other up. Reward and compliment each other. This isn't a competition. It's collaborative story telling experience that becomes truly sublime through cooperation and effort. We will use Discord for Voice/Video/Text, Owlbear Rodeo for VTT and Dice, Demiplane for Daggerheart Character Sheets, Mothership Companion for Mothership Character Sheets, and Form Fillable PDF Character Sheets for Knave 2e, Dungeon Crawl Classics and Shadowdark. I will use a KenkuFM bot in our Discord channel to provide ambient music during the game. So please either use a headset with a microphone or configure your Discord sound setting to use "Push to Talk" if you must use your laptop speakers and microphone.