Bryan E Rye
5.0
(7)
1 year on StartPlaying
28 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Knows the Rules, World Builder
About me
When I was 5, I would sneak my older brother's AD&D Dungeoneer's Survival Guide away and pore over the pictures of places strange, dark, and deep. The first game I ran was a duet session where my friend rolled up a 7th level character and I sent Baaz Draconians after him (we both loved Dragonlance). The first long-running AD&D campaign we finished ended after the party saved the world from the villain only to have one of their own betray them and destroy it anyway on his way to godhood. I've been game-mastering for over 30 years: AD&D, 3e D&D, Pathfinder, Star Wars Saga Edition. My friends and I have hold a lot of stories together – not a few of them have been epics. I love to go to a world, settle down, and stay awhile with fellow travelers.
GM Style
My campaigns are defined by sustained play that goes beyond a single main arc. When players fall in love with a world and its people, they should be able to explore and know them fully through playing in the Grand Campaign tradition, setting down roots and running multiple characters across decades of in-game time. Between the play styles of open sandboxes and linear railroads, I run living, lore-rich settings where history is in motion and players impact the world through meaningful choices. My NPCs are memorable and have motives of their own, and they don't just go to sleep while the PCs are out adventuring. There are real stakes including character and party death. Challenges arise organically, by circumstance, not by calculator, and combat is as tactical as the opposition makes it. For combat, I use a mix of theater of the mind and overhead camera with minis. I'm a proponent of consistent and reliable refereeing, the importance of time and resource management to deepen immersion, and characters as heroes who build communities (even if they're scruffy-looking nerf herders like Han Solo).
Game platforms used
Game Master Reviews (7)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Storytelling
Knows the Rules
World Builder
As the moonlight gracefully dances through the ancient leaves of the forest, I find myself compelled to share the tale of the wondrous adventure I undertook with the legendary Bryan Rye. For over two and a half decades, our paths have intertwined, creating sagas that echo through time. In the realm of storytelling, Bryan weaves an enchanting tapestry of worlds, each as vast and intricate as the ancient forests we elves call home. From high fantasy realms that span the eons to space operas unfolding among the galaxies, Bryan crafts realms that breathe with life. Even in the confines of pre-written modules, Bryan has an uncanny ability to breathe eldritch life into them. What might be mundane in the hands of others becomes a lyrical dance of narrative and choice under Bryan's masterful guidance. Just as the winds whisper through the leaves, Bryan has the rare gift of turning character sheets into living, breathing souls. The essence of each adventurer, a reflection of one's dreams and desires, is delicately intertwined with the unfolding tale. Playing in Bryan's realm has taught me that characters are not mere ink on parchment; they are the embodiment of our deepest dreams and fantasies. Much like a finely crafted elven bow resonates with the wind's song, Bryan's campaigns are a symphony of thought and detail. Every leaf that falls, every creature that rustles in the underbrush, bears the mark of meticulous care and consideration. The melodies of Bryan's worlds echo in the hearts of those fortunate enough to tread within. In the symphony of Bryan's storytelling, the melodies unfold with seamless grace, each note perfectly attuned to the rhythm of the elven heartbeat during moments of heightened tension. This delicate pacing allows us to linger beneath the moonlit boughs, savoring the intensity as the narrative unfolds. Much like the natural ebb and flow of a woodland melody, Bryan ensures that every character's unique song is heard, skillfully balancing the elements to elevate the ensemble. In the grand ballad of my many journeys, Bryan stands as the unrivaled conductor, orchestrating tales that resonate within the very core of my being. To adventure with Bryan is to dance through realms painted with the hues of magic and imagination. A heartfelt commendation to the maestro, Bryan, a peerless storyteller, a cherished friend, and my eternal companion on this boundless quest. May your future adventures be as magical as the moonlit glades!
Bryan was part of my very first D&D group and i’m so thankful for it! He has a very deep understanding of the core and extended rules, and was always willingness to help out when I forgot some or encountered new scenarios with lesser-used rules. He always remains patient in this regard, which was so welcoming for a total newbie. Bryan’s extensive experience with D&D definitely shows, he really knows his stuff.
Bryan is master story teller and always errs on the side of awesome. I have been playing DnD and Star Wars with him as my DM for nearly 20 years and we always have a great time. Bryan understands the rules and understands how to make them fun. He is not a rules stickler but he doesn't wave them either. He creates good boundaries for fun gameplay. His style is all about having fun and loves to help make your characters come alive. I would recommend him to new and experienced players alike whether it's a single adventure or a long continuing campaign. Can't go wrong with Bry.
Bryan Rye is a wizard. I first got into tabletop roleplaying games twenty-three years ago. Since that time, I’ve played and run many, many games—some good, some bad, some memorably wonderful or terrible—with a wide variety of players and GMs. I can say without a moment’s hesitation, though, that Bryan is the only true master of the gamemaster’s craft that I’ve ever been blessed to play with. He’s in a class of his own, and until I played with him, I simply didn’t know how good tabletop RPGs could be. I first met Bryan as a fellow player, but for the past two years I’ve had the great joy and honour of playing in an AD&D campaign with him at the helm as DM—and it has been a triumph. He is absolutely committed to giving his players a persistent and dynamic open world filled with wonder, beauty, and mystery; imbued with real moral depth, high stakes, and meaningful choices. Outside of our sessions—which have ranged from epic and terrifying battles with all hands on deck to quiet, deliberate duet sessions allowing for careful exploration of intricate lore—Bryan has become a constant and treasured source of intellectual stimulation, imaginative edification, and inspiration to excellence. By observing him at work and by discussing his game-mastering methods and philosophy—which he is always more than happy to do!—I have learned more about the art and craft of running games in the past two years than I’d learned in the two decades previous. The man is a force of nature, and force for Good. Bryan’s knowledge of his chosen rulesets is intimate, intricate, and comprehensive, enabling him to go far beyond the twin poles of fuzzy-logic story-gaming and rules-stickler crunch into a truly magical realm of presiding, apparently (though not actually, I assure you!) without effort, over a living and utterly internally-coherent game world. If you’ve read Tolkien’s essay ‘On Fairy Stories’ and are familiar with his idea of ‘secondary belief,’ it’s that but in a tabletop game. His grasp of the campaign settings he runs—both published and home-brewed—is so thorough it must be seen to be believed. His knowledge of the Star Wars galaxy, for instance, easily exceeds that of most published Star Wars novelists. His NPCs are so vividly and consistently drawn that they can quickly come to feel like party members themselves—the boundary between PCs and NPCs can be a blurry one, and not at all because of ‘DMPCs’ hogging the spotlight—rather; one simply comes to care, genuinely, about the many and diverse characters inhabiting the game world and about their problems and plights. If it isn’t clear enough already, let me offer in closing my resounding, exuberant, and unequivocal endorsement of the best gamemaster I’ve ever known. If you get a chance to play in one of Bryan’s campaigns, jump on it!
As someone who has had the privilege of embarking on countless adventures under the game mastering of Bryan for over a decade, I find myself in a unique position to share just how extraordinary these experiences have been. Bryan isn't just a facilitator of tabletop role-playing games; he is a storytelling maestro. The adventures Bryan crafted were living, breathing entities, rich in lore, and bursting with life. Every NPC we encountered was imbued with such depth and personality that they felt as real as any of us sitting around the table. The plots were intricate tapestries, weaving together our individual backstories and choices into a grand, overarching narrative that always kept us on the edge of our seats. Each campaign was a joy, a terror, and a wonder—but most importantly—they were unforgettable. What distinguishes Bryan is his encyclopedic knowledge of a wide array of game rules. This profound understanding allows him to navigate complex situations with ease, ensuring that the game always flows smoothly. He balances the letter of the law with the spirit of the game, making rulings that are fair, and always in service of the story. It is said, that even in the deepest circles of the inferno, devils renowned for their legalistic prowess yearn for the day they might rival Bryan's mastery of the rules. Beyond his storytelling prowess and rules expertise, what truly makes Bryan exceptional is his life dedicated to creativity and creative writing. This isn't just a hobby for him; it's a calling. He brings a level of detail and narrative flair to the table that can only come from someone who has spent a lifetime honing their craft. Bryan's descriptions paint vivid pictures, his dialogues bring characters to life, and his plot twists have altered the fabric of reality for everyone at the table. He has the rare gift of making each player feel both integral to the story and completely in awe of it. If you ever have the opportunity to join a game run by Bryan—seize it! Thank you, Bryan, for the countless hours of adventure, the unforgettable memories, and the stories that will stay with me forever. Your table is more than a game; it's a journey into the heart of what makes game mastering an art.
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