Pitiful Dragon (Rick)

he/him

5.0

(5)

Timezone

America/los Angeles

Language

English

Identity

Neurodivergent

About Pitiful Dragon (Rick)

My goal is to welcome you to a virtual table that you completely forget about as you become immersed in a story that has never been told before -- because you and your fellow adventurers are creating the story. Success for me comes when you are not only the author, but the character and the audience all at once. My job is just to locate you in a space and introduce you to NPCs and Denizens of the world. I have been doing this for a very long time. I promise to work hard as your DM and keep the table fun and friendly.

At a glance

3 years on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, Teacher

Featured Prompts

The three words my players would use to describe me are...

Fair, fun and prepared and ADHD... wait that's four.

I got started GMing...

A long time ago in a galaxy not so far away. Back when kids played D&D and the more serious players played AD&D.

I became a GM because

My DM went away to college, so if I wanted to play, someone needed to DM. I borrowed my brother-in-law's DMG and honestly, I still have it today.

How Pitiful Dragon (Rick) runs games

I enjoy roleplay, and I will encourage everyone to try it because it really adds fun to the game, but I don't expect everyone to roleplay all the time. I am extremely supportive of players who just want to kill things (I tend to punish excessive murder hobos, however). I like to add mystery and an occasional puzzle into the game. I will gladly and patiently teach new players. I believe in having individual session zeros to go over everyone's character privately before we have a group session zero. In the group session zero, we will work through play style, safety and other expectations so we all understand each other. I run a PG13 game. No sexual content on-camera and we limit sexual innuendo. Violence happens, and it might be bloody, but let's not get saturated in the gore. I prefer Discord as a video/voice communication platform. I want my players to use D&D Beyond for their digital character sheets. When you are a part of one of my campaigns, I will share the DMG, PHP and other player resources with you. For a VTT, I prefer using AboveVTT, but I have also used Roll20 (using the Beyond 20 browser plugin). I often use pre-made WoTC content. I like to add a few twists to make the adventures stronger and to incorporate your back-stories. I am working on doing more homebrew stuff (probably set in Greyhawk or world of my own). I am in the Pacific Time zone. My biggest concern is that everyone has fun and my monsters get to gnaw on the bones of your character. 😉

Featured Prompts

I deal with rules issues by...

RAW, but I listen to the player's interpretation of how they see the rule working. I will let them know how I lean on the issue and solicit input from the other players if I am not already firm on my position. Then I will make a ruling for this instance and reserve the right rule officially later.

When it comes to voices

I try to distinguish each NPC with a unique voice (emphasis on try). I am no voice actor so feel free to mock my attempts. However, be forewarned, too much mocking could have in-game consequences. :)

I prep by

I spend hours prepping for every game. I find it takes as much time to prep pre-made content as it does to prep homebrew. I take an enormous amount of time adding all the monsters and all the notes I need to Above VTT. This way everything is at my fingertips and I am not bouncing between windows.

Pitiful Dragon (Rick)'s ideal table

I enjoy a group that enjoys each other. I love it when they strategize together. I want players who are willing to live within their character's limitations. I don't enjoy rules lawyers BUT I expect players to advocate for their characters which will include challenging my rulings when I get it wrong as long as they accept my final ruling. My primary rule is that this is a game and we are all here to have fun. If we become too strict in playing a by the book game, the fun level goes down. However, if we go too far in the other direction and not follow any rules, then we are no longer playing a game, which also affects the level of fun negatively. Balance is key.

Featured Prompts

I love it when a player

Is engaged with the game. I mean, they are really listening to the DM and to the other players (especially during roleplay). I often ask the most engaged player to be our chronicler and post a recap on Discord after every game session.

I think metagaming...

Is difficult to avoid and happens all the time. I think that every player should try to avoid it because it makes the game more enjoyable for everyone.

I think min/maxing...

As a player, I love it! As a DM, it can be frustrating. I think it is important to let the players play their best version of their character. It just means that I need to do the same with the monsters - even if I need to bring in more monsters to deal with OP players.