About me

Been playing D&D since 2003 in the 3.5 days. Discovered the OSR (Old School Renaissance) around 2007 and haven't looked back. I GMed for public libraries for about 10 years (both adult and teen programs). It was a fantastic experience introducing new people to the hobby at libraries, and I hope to continue that work online. I usually run games using my own home-brewed game system inspired by OD&D and B/X. (In technical terms, although a little bit more complex and less lethal than a system like B/X, my system sits comfortably in the OSR milieu.) Naturally I don't assume any player knowledge of the rule-set, nor should any be required. I favor a looser rulings over rules approach anyway, and a preoccupation with the rules by the players can often get in the way of effective immersion in the role-playing experience. I can usually have those completely new to role-playing (let alone my idiosyncratic system) generate their characters and be exploring the dungeon less than half-way through the first session. I run my games over discord in voice chat, usually with a shared google doc for character statistics and a streamed document for visuals (often dungeon map, actively revealed as the party explores). I welcome players from marginalized backgrounds and identities, and I will not tolerate harassment or disrespect of any other players or identities. We're here to have fun together in a collaborative immersion in a fictional world. My games are set in a world I've been developing through play for nearly 15 years. I strive to maintain a dynamic campaign setting, where players can leave their mark and influence the world's development through the actions and achievements of their characters. As is typical in old school games, becoming a political mover and shaker in the world is often an end goal of play, where high level fighters can expect to become landed nobles and command armies, and high level mages become famed wizards cloistered in ominous towers between adventures. In addition to my homebrewed OSR game system I also sometimes run a heavily modified version of 5e D&D, modeled on the character options available in B/X classic D&D. This game is set in the same setting as my other games are, with the rules modifications better fitting the low-magic, human-centric character of my world than standard 5e. Players who strongly prefer the core mechanics of 5e (though not the specific character options) can request I use these rules.

GM Style

I see my role as a GM to be foremost a world builder/setting curator and a referee to facilitate players' interfacing with the game world. I strive for impartiality. This means you shouldn't expect me to pull any punches from monsters or NPC or fudge rolls in the players' favor, and in the inverse I won't be stacking the odds against the players or using meta-knowledge to benefit monsters or NPCs. Simulation and verisimilitude are my direct goals when I run a game. This doesn't imply exact and detailed rules (I usually favor abstract and rules-light games), but just that the bias of the rules and my rulings is toward consistency and realism (fantastical elements not withstanding), rather than toward dramatic tension or balanced tactical game-play. I prefer drama and exciting narrative to be authentic byproducts of an immersive, consistent game than the contrivances of illusionism. Players can expect, especially at low levels, for character death to happen. I advise players to not become overly attached to a character during character creation (which should be fairly quick), and don't write backstories. Rather, let a character's personality and backstory emerge as you play them. Survivability greatly increases with experience anyway, so by then time a character has been played enough to justify a strong attachment by their player such a character is much less likely to bite it, and their friends will more likely have the resources to raise them from the dead in such an eventuality. Keeping in mind that any dangers PCs encounters are not expressly tailored to their level, players should usually consider retreat to be an option.

Games played

Game platforms used