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philo4

philo4 (he/him)

5.0

(5)

2 years on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: Creativity, Knows the Rules, Teacher

About me

I have always loved fantasy, magic, and many things that fall under the rubric of “supernatural”. Despite the absolute certainty that I would have loved playing D&D when I was younger, for various reasons I did not start to play well into adulthood. The vast amount of my TTRPG experience is with D&D 5e, although I have also played a few other systems, and read the rules for many more. I have been playing D&D for a little over 9 years, and have DM’d a full module campaign for two groups (Avernus), run a home brew campaign that was cut short because of covid, and helmed many one shots/short adventure arcs. Although TTRPGs take a lot of my attention, I also enjoy board games, reading (almost always fantasy/sci-fi), making/finding good food, and walking around the city I live in.

GM Style

My first priority is always everyone’s safety, comfort, and fun; safety tools and good communication are paramount for me. After that, I like to run a mix of combat, RP, and exploration, but I generally tailor those ratios depending on my players. I am not the best voice actor, but I do enjoy trying to make NPC’s distinct. I usually see my role as a facilitator for the players; offering them hooks, adjudicating rules as needed, and helping to focus when it is appropriate, but otherwise letting them guide the story and action as they see fit (of course this can vary a lot depending on whether the game is a one shot, a module, or a sandbox homebrew; even in a more constrained format, I still try to provide as much agency to the players as I can though.) If forced to say what I think is one of my main strengths as a GM, I do like running combat and feel I am pretty good at keeping it fast and fun, so my games usually have at least some combat; it is rare to have a session without any.

Game platforms used
Game Master Reviews (5)

Proficiencies

Players say this GM is great at:

Creativity

Knows the Rules

Teacher

Felurian avatar

Felurian

Philo4 is super creative. He came up with his own one shot that was so well themed and thought out. It was also just really fun to play! I think he’s great for new players; he’s patient and explains the game well. He’s also very inclusive. He checks in with players and is very conscious of maintaining a fun and safe game. He responds well to feedback as well. In a recent game I let him know an NPC we both created wasn’t being played the way I imagined. He was appreciative of the feedback and modified that character in the next session that played really well in the game. You’d think it was planned all along!

Kendra Dunham avatar

Kendra Dunham

Great GM who goes out of his way to be inclusive, letting the players drive the game/their experience and meeting them at their level and vibe. Knows the rules if you're looking for more strict gameplay, but is more interested in everyone having a good time and making interesting character choices rather than insisting on rules that penalize poor but fun character actions. Would recommend.

Izlelja avatar

Izlelja

Great DM. Tells the story in an interesting and immersive way. Tries to make your character feels unique and goes beyond than the standard campaign instructions. Knows the rules well and the game flows very nicely.

viktor sahlin khalil avatar

viktor sahlin khalil

I have had the pleasure of playing with Steve or in one of his games weekly for 5-6 years. Steve is one of the best Gms I know and he has proven many times that with good planning and the ability to adapt to players' imagination every session is an adventure in itself. It is also my opinion that it takes quite high skill to be able to adapt your storytelling in a way so that you end a session with players wanting more. The man has left me with such good cliffhangers that sent chills down my spine so hard that I could survive global warming alone just thinking about them. He is friendly he is kind he has good humor and you will never have a dull moment in one of his games that is something that I can ensure for you. -Viktor

Dominic avatar

Dominic

Philo4 has been my favourite GM (and player!) of any group I've been a part of. As a GM for multiple D&D 5e games, he has captivated us as players in the stories he tells, making sure everyone has a chance to shine. Even when we have thrown absolute spanners in the works of whatever he may have prepared, he is absolutely on it and rolls with whatever his players end up doing, very quickly adapting the session around the players' choices. Games with him have always been greatly paced, and in addition to being pretty much a 5e expert, he's incredibly creative and genuinely one of the nicest guys I've ever known. Absolutely nothing but positive words for him (especially for putting up with my constant nonsense attempts to get advantage on rolls)!

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