RealWorldbuilding

he/him

5.0

(11)

Timezone

America/halifax

Language

English

Identity

Neurodivergent

About RealWorldbuilding

Hi, I'm Alex, a.k.a.RealWorldbuilding! I've been playing Dungeons and Dragons for almost 30 years, since 2nd edition. I love giving people a chance to relax and have some fun. I'm here to do just that through DMing! In addition to the modules I run, I'm more than happy to run something custom for you, and work with you on your own worldbuilding. Let's see what kind of story we can make together!

At a glance

2 years on StartPlaying

116 games hosted

Highly rated for: Creativity, Knows the Rules, World Builder

Average response time: 4 hours

Response rate: 100%

Featured Prompts

I got started GMing...

in high school! Just tossing together random adventures from the core set for DnD 3rd edition. It lit a spark in me that was around not just playing in a world, but wanting to make worlds that others could live in.

My 3 systems I'd bring to a desert island would be

Tough call! Currently I would probably go with Legend in the Mist, DnD 5e, and maybe the Call of Cthulu RPG? Not sure on the last one, it would probably rotate a fair bit.

When I'm not running games I'm...

Listening to music (making up storylines and worlds to accompany the songs), baking, or working! Kinda boring, but true haha

How RealWorldbuilding runs games

Overall, my style is pretty lighthearted, especially once the group dynamic is in place. Gaming is supposed to be FUN, and I try to make sure everyone has some. My DMing style (all dependent on what game is being played!): Rule of Cool!: 😎😎😎😎 Encounters: ⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️ Worldbuilding: 🌐🌐🌐🌐🌐 Roleplay: 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️ Exploration: 🧭🧭🧭 Puzzles: 🧩🧩 "What do you do?" ⚔️Encounters: D&D is focused on encounters! While does not mean that it is necessarily combat (other options are often good!), combat is pretty central. There are loads of encounters, not all of which are easy. Be ready to be tactical and make choices, you matter! "What is this place?" 🌐 Worldbuilding/homebrew: While i run a lot of published games, the homebrew I put in when I can is designed to be fun and engaging, and that goes double for my worldbuilding. "Who are you?" 🗣️ Roleplay - I encourage roleplay to whatever extent you like! I endeavour to provide a dynamic world with fleshed out NPCs, allies, and villains. Roleplaying is a great way to immerse yourself in the game, so be ready to tell me what your character is thinking. "Where are you going?" 🧭Exploration: A lot of the games I run, be they homebrew or published campaigns, have big exploration aspects. Puzzles, survival, side-quests, and environmental storytelling will be all over. 🆕 I encourage new players and veterans too. 🎵Curated music, ambiance, and sound effects 💻Owlbear Rodeo is a fantastic and intuitive Virtual Table Top (VTT). 📖Great storytelling. 🏫Experienced DM with masters-level knowledge of the rules. 🔦Everyone has a chance to shine. 🛃I love supporting 3rd party and independent creators. 🙋🏻‍♀️What you do matters!!! Not just for you, but for the world. 🦺A safe play environment for all. What my players say: "Alex is a great DM. He clearly knows the rules and knows the content he is game mastering for. He is also very flexible and rewards creative play. From adding music, to having good handouts, maps, and resources, he is very prepared at each session. Looking forward to many more sessions. Two Thumbs up!" - Matt "Alex and I have played 5E together for almost 10 years both as a party mate first and later as a dungeon master....As good of a PC as he is Alex shines most brightly as a DM... He uses Rule of Cool to make [creative ideas] happen. If this doesn’t persuade you just how fun of a DM Alex is you’ll just have to book him and find out yourself!" - Dave "Alex was really welcoming and patient with me as I played D&D for the first time. He allowed me to be creative with my character so I could perform some cool feats while staying within the rules of the game. He's the perfect DM for new and experienced players alike!" - Jared "Alex is a reliable DM that never no-shows, rarely had to reschedule and always communicated clearly. He's flexible with "rule of cool", bending the rules when it's a great idea or helps the plot, but stops short of breaking them. Very good about declaring things one time epic moments so it doesn't become a free-for-all." - Jesse "Alex can convey the scale and grandeur of an entire world. Alex is fantastic at creating an engaging atmosphere that made me excited for the next session every time. If you would like Tolkien as your DM pick Alex!" - Jackson "Alex puts great detail into his games. He uses great visual aids and helps new plays with character sheets and other parts of the game." - Tim "Alex will work with you to develop/integrate things that help connect your character to the story/world, and will adjust the story around the party." - Joel "Very well prepared and built up our adventure so that it ran very smoothly." - Gil "I've played a number of games with Alex, he is always thoughtful about his decisions and gives reason and explanation for features. He pays attention to character choices and developments and incorporates these into the game." - Andrew

Featured Prompts

Rules are...

A framework. They give structure to games, but if something really cool can be done by bending or one-time breaking a rule, I'm not averse to that! But really, rules and guidelines are how we know, as players and GMs, what can and cannot be done. They keep games from being playground make believe!

I deal with rules issues by...

If I don't have an answer, looking it up. If I can't find an answer, I will go with my gut, and possibly reverse that when I find the actual answer. One thing I really strive for is internal consistency. If a rule doesn't make sense for the situation, I will explain why and accept feedback!

When it comes to voices

I am... not the best. I have a couple of them that I can do, but I often get a little self-conscious. I don't really feel that the voices are necessary, and I would rather give a better read or emphasis in my normal voice that to fail to convey the right message while using a character voice.

RealWorldbuilding's ideal table

I feel like I am welcoming to pretty much all players! The vibe really is lighthearted, and usually looking for those who are open and engaging with each other. It's about the table dynamic. Games are supposed to be FUN!

Featured Prompts

I love it when a player

engages other players! Coax out backstory from each other, know when it's best to take a step back and how to make each other feel important.

I think metagaming...

is okay, depending on the players. If you are good at keeping your metagame knowledge out of the game as it's being played, no problem. You may know about a monster's weakness, but your character may not. But if you are aware of an upcoming situation, no problem working with each other to plan!

I think min/maxing...

can be fun. However, it also runs the risk of leading into Main Character Syndrome, though this doesn't always happen of course. However, I am pretty good at ensuring that all players, hyper optimized or not, have their moments to shine.