Shawn (old school)
he/him
5.0
(15)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Shawn (old school)
Hello future players! I’m Shawn. Thank you for the interest in one of my games. The RPG community has never been more accessible, fun, and easy to learn for new players, while remaining fun for long time players like myself. Although some recent decisions made by Hasbro might have unfortunately separated a lot of experienced D&D players a little. I'm still running a couple games with the 2014 version of 5e, but I’ve expanded my portfolio a bit. There's A lot of other good games out there. I’m currently running Shadowdark one shots and will soon be posting some Call of Cthulu one shots. In both cases I hope to start on-going campaigns with both systems before 2027. I'm also interested in DC20 and possibly a few others. don't hesitate to reach out if you're interested in me running a game for you. I'm actively trying to recruit players and get more campaigns running here on start playing. I look forward to running a game for you. As an artist I try to use a lot of visual handouts and references to enhance my games. Preferably my own, but I do search google for reference and token images. I make an honest an effort to avoid AI when searching. I pride myself on making my own maps to provide original and unique locations accurately depicting what is happening in your game. I love Incarnate, with this program people create beautiful, detailed maps. It’s very important to me that maps are still easy to read and understand. Mine will be.
At a glance
3 years on StartPlaying
44 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Teacher, Storytelling
Average response time: Under 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
Top Game Master
One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.
Featured Prompts
When I'm not running games I'm...
Hopefully doing some artwork. My original dream job was to be a comic book artist. However, All the games I post here on start playing feature MY original artwork in their advertisement. I would be happy to create an Image or custom map for you, just pm me and we'll work out the details.
How Shawn (old school) runs games
I would describe my style of game mastering as “a world building storyteller who runs a laid back game without an ending set in stone” because my players choices DO matter and change the world that they are playing in. My settings tend to have a tone similar to that old Disney cartoon THE BLACK CALDRON, dark and dramatic, but still fun with enjoyable characters to interact with. A place where character’s actions and motivations MATTER in the story WE’RE creating. Although you won’t have to be a great improv voice actor to participate in the role play I provide (honestly I’m not either lol). I will still introduce you to interesting NPCs to interact with. Often you’ll help save from villains who you’ll grow to fear and hate (or love lol) before ultimately defeating them (Or not? Like I said, your choices matter.) while making important decisions and trying to fulfill a story arc happening in the game.
Featured Prompts
I deal with rules issues by...
Sometimes "rule of Cool" is best. I believe in "Rules as intended not as written" and prefer "Rulings over Rules". I will do my best to be fair and consistent for everyone. The game is more enjoyable if we don't waste time debating or sometimes even looking a rule up if possible.
Shawn (old school)'s ideal table
I don't want to say "beer and pretzels" but I do like it to be a relaxed and fun environment. We're all here to escape the real world and enjoy fantasy for a while.
Featured Prompts
I love it when a player
keeps their backstory short because they realize the adventure and story is in front of them. The adventures I offer are sandboxes, but usually already have quite a bit of story built into them. Small personal goals and motivations are always easy to work in. But personal epic quests not so much lol