Played a one shot and would definitely play again. Had a fun table that rewarded rule of cool and out of the box thinking.

I’ve just played a one shot with Joe/Phoenix. I had so much fun! We laughed, we avoided fights, solved puzzles, rolled horribly, got into fights, rolled brilliantly and were encouraged throughout. It was engaging and friendly and I thoroughly recommend! I’ll be looking for more one shots with this DM.

As a forever gm running modules isn't hard. Which is why I want to say how impressive it is that Joe's games feel so fleshed out and like the player characters are seamlessly a part of the pre written world. Joe also does a great job handling my wacky bard letting me get away with just enough stuff to be fun, but isn't afraid to push back and give him the challenges we need when he overreaches.

An amazing DM, he always makes sure everyone is included and has fun ways of making your characters feel more real. Great story teller, he knows the rules well but also know when to bend them to have fun. Overall amazing!

My global experience with Joe was quite frustrating. He regularly prevented me from acting the way I wanted, and I often found myself arguing with him about the rules, as he often made rulings on the fly to get the outcome he desired, and prevent me from acting the way I wanted. "Rule of Cool" implies that your reason for bending the rules is in fact cool, and not a justification for hindering the players in a way that brings frustration to them. All I did I was trying to play well, and by the rules. I never tried to go "murder-hobo" or break the game at all. I just wanted to do ordinary TTRPG things, and act smart. Doing the most sensible thing at a given time, and according to the rules of the game. But it seems like he doesn't like players doing that, as he eventually kicked me out his Discord server, saying that my "playstyle" wasn't fit for his table. It appears to me that he only wants players who do exactly as he says and never question him in any way. So be warned that when Joe says his DMing style is "Rule of Cool", it's apparently only for what fits his own vision of "cool". Also from my experience playing with other DMs on StartPlaying, he is absolutely not worth the higher than average price tag. You'll find DMs who take only $15 per session and do a much better job than him, and who will actually care about what you want to do as a player.

Joe is a very fun GM who is good at crafting exciting scenarios for their players to encounter. The NPCs he creates are very fun and interesting, with distinct personalities. They allow for player creativity and is very friendly to newer players of the game they are running. Plus they offer many games that are not D&D, and I recommend checking those games out.