ShaunR

he/him

5.0

(48)

Timezone

America/new York

Language

English

Identity

LGBTQ+

About ShaunR

I love RPGs. I love Horror. When I was little, I found (and fell in love with) the VAMPIRE: MASQUERADE books. I had them all - but no one to play with. Tragic. When I grew up and found my calling as an actor - I thought I would take a stab at RPGs by inviting my castmates to play "theatre games" (lol). I found I had quite the knack for GMing. I've been GMing/playing Call of Cthulhu, Pathfinder, Fiasco, Kids on Brooms, They Came From Beyond the Grave and the likes for about 10+ years. As the "organized one" - I've always been a natural GM (lol). Being an actor, my friends are scattered around the globe - so online hosting has been my goto (though I do like a good home game when I can manage it). I like to immerse my players not only with words but photos, maps and soundscapes. I find Roll 20 to be an excellent way to manage and track games - Discord an excellent way to gather players to chat and notetake - and Syrinscape an excellent way to add tension through music/sound - and I hope you will join me in a session or two!

At a glance

3 years on StartPlaying

119 games hosted

Highly rated for: Teacher, Storytelling, Sets the Mood

Featured Prompts

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

I'm a professional actor. I've worked mostly in musicals and spent 10 years touring the US and Asia. My favorite role was playing Uncle Fester in The Addams Family Musical.

My favorite shows/movies are

Horror based - mostly. I love a good scary movie (and devote my October to a cinematic tribute to Halloween by watching a different themed movie every day of the month). But I also love a good comedy with heart. The Good Place is one of my all-time favorite TV shows - but I'm a fan of Buffy too.

My favorite system of all Time is

Call of Cthulhu. There's just something about the Sanity system that hits home with me. It's perfect for crafting that slow slide into madness that is part of all of Lovecraft's works.

How ShaunR runs games

I love role-play. I love a session where the characters are driving the story instead of the other way around. My theatrical background gives me an advantage in creating believable NPCs (with accents!). Atmosphere. Atmosphere. Atmosphere.

Featured Prompts

My games focus on...

Story and Characters. I truly believe that the real story comes not from the pre-decided story elements but who each new set of characters interacts with those elements. The inter-character relationships should drive the plot - not the other way around.

I prep by

Reading the scenario/campaign several times until I'm sure I know what's going on without having to reference the text too much. I love to bring visuals and sounds into my games so I craft images for all the NPCs and vital items in the game and make soundscapes to immerse us in the wolrd.

Rules are...

Like Monica says "Rules control the fun!". LOL. While I'm not a crazy rules police - I think they are there so we have a balanced and accepted way to deal with pivotal moments in our story.

ShaunR's ideal table

My tables should feel like a group of friends that you just haven't met yet all sitting around together and having fun. I like a laid back environment and welcome players from all backgrounds. My longer games often have in-between chatter on the Discord as we get to know each other better.

Featured Prompts

I think it's a red flag when players...

Go against the flow of the group. If we're party of 4 players who all agree on a certain style of play and 1 who is determined to "mix it up" constantly - we're not a good fit. I love some spontaneity but not at the expense of the group.

I love it when a player

Adds to the story in unexpected ways. Throw in some details about the situation that I hadn't thought of - bring in an NPC contact that everyone finds memorable.

My table is not the place for...

Political debate.