Stephen
he/him
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Stephen
I've been playing, running, writing, and designing role-playing games for almost 20 years now, and I never want to stop.
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Featured Prompts
My favorite books are
Ender's Game, Gateway, Dune, the Song of Albion trilogy
When I'm not running games I'm...
Reading, writing, studying stage and historical combat systems, hiking, and finding new hobbies to enjoy.
How Stephen runs games
I love building and telling stories in my games and prefer to treat RPGs as a collaborative storytelling medium with the mechanics providing a structure to build on, rather than a tactical board game with story elements.
Featured Prompts
My games focus on...
Collaborative storytelling that gives all the characters a chance to grow and explore their potential within the narrative.
Rules are...
A great framework to inform the how of a game. Ultimately they serve the story rather than strictly confine it.
Stephen's ideal table
I run an easy-going table that promotes collaboration and ensemble storytelling, even in the crunchiest of combat survival settings. Players who can embrace failure as a strong driver of story will do well.
Featured Prompts
I love it when a player
Tries something they are not mechanically good at because it makes sense for their character.
I think it's a red flag when players...
Try to be the main character. RPGs are about ensemble storytelling and there's no place for one person to always be in the spotlight.
Stephen's Preferences
Systems
Game Mechanics