Simon banner

Simon

he/him

5.0

(6)

Timezone

Europe/london

Language

English

Identity

Veteran
Neurodivergent
Game Designer

About Simon

A lifelong storyteller with a love of both playing and Games Mastering, my rapidly greying face is etched with over 40 years of fun and laughter at the Role-Playing table. I've played and Games Mastered a range of systems, favouring games that are narratively driven or have mechanics that compliment the genres/tropes they are emulating, with a particular fondness for super heroic shenanigans. I'm a fun-first Games Master and fan of player characters. I love the chaos and improvisation that flourishes in games, while focusing on delivering a truly cinematic experience.

At a glance

1 year on StartPlaying

Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, Rule of Cool

Featured Prompts

I became a GM because

growing up, I couldn't decide if I wanted to write, act or create - so I figured, why not all three?

How Simon runs games

I love games that put narrative first and enjoy involving the players in creating the worlds and situations their characters find themselves in. I like to provide cinematic style experiences, where players can feel like the stars of their stories.

Featured Prompts

I prep by

Panicking first, then hooking on to a fun story I want to explore. I focus on the main story beats, any potential side details and the likely paths the players might take. I then throw it all out on the night and wildly improvise, when the players head the other way!

My games focus on...

involving the players in telling the story - many GMS focus on *their* world and *their* stories, but RPGs are a collaborative experience, and encouraging players to build alongside you creates a more compelling world for everyone to inhabit.

Rules are...

great! Who doesn't love a clever, mechanically satisfying rule? However, sometimes they might slow things down, get in the way of the storytelling, or impede the fun. Rules are best regarded as tools to help the table tell a great story and any good tool can be adapted to suit the job at hand.

Simon's Preferences

Systems

Homebrew Game
Indie TTRPG
Star Trek Adventures - First Edition
Household
Masks: A New Generation
Paranoia
Warbirds
The Wildsea
Outgunned
Deathmatch Island
Star Trek Adventures - Second Edition
Star Trek Adventures: Captain's Log

Game style

Theater of the Mind

Rule of Cool (RoC)

Sandbox / Open World