Renzo banner

Renzo

he/him

5.0

(18)

TOP GM

Timezone

America/new York

Language

English

Identity

LGBTQ+
Cosplayer
Teacher/Educator
Game Designer

About Renzo

I love GMing because I love watching my players' faces light up when they realize they get to do a cool thing. Sometimes it's "wait, I can be a goblin?!" or "I can fly!" Other times it's the realization that a fireball is a whole handful of dice, or watching a roll come up Natural 20. Even a Natural 1 is disappointing fun for all at my table. I spent 20 years as a historical swordfighter and medieval recreationist, basically playing real life D&D without magic. It's more fun with magic and monsters! As a member of the LGBTQ+, anti-fascist, anti-racist community, I try to keep my games as inclusive as possible while excluding bigots. BOOKING REQUESTS: I'm available most days to play on your schedule! My homebrew: Whistlecoil & Silvertong's Mechanical Adventure Simulator (a one-shot carnival that can be canon in your campaign) Whistlecoil & Silvertong's as a campaign PvP Fight Night (I referee your grudge match or organize a tournament) Gladiator Arena (see how big a monster you can kill. Your choice of level) Official Modules: Lost Mine of Phandelver Phandelver & Below: Broken Obelisk Curse of Strahd Rime of the Frostmaiden If there's a different game you'd like me to run, let me know.

At a glance

1 year on StartPlaying

60 games hosted

Highly rated for: Inclusive, Teacher, Creativity

Average response time: 24+ hours

Response rate: 100%

Top Game Master

One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.

Magic Gemstone

Featured Prompts

I became a GM because

I love telling people they're allowed to do fun things.

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

D&D, Airship Pirates, Shadowrun

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

A mechanical engineer and a Renaissance-style swordfighter.

How Renzo runs games

My gaming style is lighthearted and low-stakes. I'm here to help you have a good time telling a story about your characters' dramatic deeds, not to try to beat you up. I use voices, custom maps, and music to help set my stage in the theater of your mind, then turn you loose to write the plot. Players have full agency over their characters and can do anything that the Fates and the Rule of Cool allow. As a real-world historical swordfighter and mechanical engineer, I love crunchy tactical combat with those who enjoy it, but you don't need it to win my games.

Featured Prompts

I deal with rules issues by...

Going with whatever is most fun or interesting for the players, and looking up the correct rules later.

I once ran a session...

that was a dream sequence for one player. It was chaotic and hilarious.

Rules are...

Guidelines. We're here to have fun telling a story about our amazing adventures.

Renzo's ideal table

My table is a group of authors telling a story together. I don't usually have a plot, just a premise for you to tell your story.

Featured Prompts

I love it when a player

finds a solution or tactic that I hadn't considered.

I think min/maxing...

is a blast in combat-centric games like my gladiator arena. It can be limiting in RP-heavy games.

My table is not the place for...

bigotry.

Renzo's Preferences

Systems

Dungeons & Dragons 5e
OneDice Abney Park’s Airship Pirates

Game style

Roleplay Heavy

Combat Heavy

Dungeon Crawl

Rule of Cool (RoC)

Sandbox / Open World