Skulliver
he/him
5.0
(50)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Skulliver
I value player expression and choices in collaborative experience building. I like to set the table for company, but what makes it an event is what all the people who pull up a chair bring to the table. I believe "Rule of Cool" is our friend. When it comes to making way for the awesome and memorable, I lean into a "Yes and" style of play. I've run games for all ages and can adjust content to suit younger players. I'm also experienced with corporate clients and am happy to tailor a session to your company needs. The games I offer provide opportunities for player skill to shine. Your creativity is not in "the build. It's in how you play not what you play. I believe in leaving consequences like injury and death on the table. I also believe that adventures are challenging things and that can include the unknown and the monstrous. Your choices and reactions to situations beyond your control, along with your use of the tools you have in the moment, are what really count. If you want to challenge yourself as a player by playing imperfect characters, doing dangerous things and snatching victory from the maw of doom, we should talk. What I don't do: - Adversarial GM or power gamer play styles. - Sexual Content. - Tolerate disrespect to myself or others at the table. - Real world politics or drama in game
At a glance
5 years on StartPlaying
198 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Rule of Cool, Knows the Rules
Average response time: 3 hours
Response rate: 100%
Featured Prompts
My 3 systems I'd bring to a desert island would be
Shadowdark. It's a fantastic "all in one" book. Blades in the Dark. Another one book game. The setting comes to life through play in amazing ways. Pirate Borg. I mean, I'm on an desert island, it just makes sense.
When I'm not running games I'm...
reading a wide range of books (lots of history), 3D Printing models and painting miniatures and terrain. I love to crack out my Universal Dungeon Terrain board and get the minis to the table.
I got started GMing...
back in middle school, with 1st edition GURPS of all things. This was back when Ronald Reagan was president and there was a Soviet Union. I've been at it a while. My desire to engage in rules crunch has gradually given ground to seeing the rules as a support for the roses of emergent narratives.
How Skulliver runs games
I love RPGs and the act of communal creativity in play. I love bringing the world to life for my players. I want you to really be able to engage with the narrative and not be stuck in the math of your characters sheet. I want you to have memorable moments and nail bitingly tense battles. I want you to have a blast. If you are in battle, I will play the your foes like they are invested in winning, but also invested in survival. I don't do grudge monsters and I won't gun for your characters outside what seems reasonable for the foes at hand. Where possible, I will reward bypassing a fight. Most of the games I enjoy treat combat as being decisively dangerous and even deadly. Head on conflict is not always the best option. The world, even a fantasy world, does not always agree to meeting you at your current level of capability. I also like a good laugh and will reward you cracking me up. I can do theatre of the mind, or virtual tabletops. If "rule of cool", narrative forward play sounds good to you, then I am happy to engage with you in making that happen. I tailor my style to the group and I can play nice, or hardball, depending on what will give you a good time at the table. If you are looking to branch out from Modern D&D, get in touch. I'm happy to help you find the right game for you.
Featured Prompts
When it comes to voices
I use voices often and welcome others doing so. I feel like doing a voice can be part of the immersion for all at the table and for the speaker, it can help ground them in the character.
My games focus on...
Thinking outside the box. Yes, there is fighting but, it's not always a good choice. I also encourage player creativity and description over rules lawyering and "Roll" playing. The math rocks don't tell much of a story on their own.
Rules are...
a framework to support play. Play in RPGs, for me is about being a co-creator in a story which will never be the same twice. If the rules keep the narrative roses from growing, prune the rules, not the roses.
Skulliver's ideal table
I run an open to all table. Life is stressful, gaming should not be. I tend to be a giving GM and am open to player contributions and rule of cool. I am not open to rules lawyer / win at all costs styles of play. I expect basic respect for everyone at the table. This extends to not showing up late, drunk, stoned, etc. I expect us all to be present as a part of respect for the table. I intend to challenge your character. That does not mean I'm gunning for you. It does mean that I will run opposition like it wants to live, has goals and has a job to do. I have a hard line on forcing sexual content into games. Straight, Queer, does not make a difference. I've been in enough sessions where somebody decided to make it weird for others and I don't make space for that as a host. If you need to flirt with the NPCs or "horny bard" your way through role play, my table is not going to be for you.
Featured Prompts
I think min/maxing...
misses out on the joy that can be part of playing an imperfect character. Memorable characters are a mix of flaws and virtues. When you embrace imperfection, failures are just part of a story. When you over engineer for a result, failures become a cause for stress.
I love it when a player
Engages with playing in an OSR style of play where "the answer is not on your sheet". Asking questions, thinking and really acting as a person in a situation, rather than a pile of, let's face it, mathematical probabilities. When players don't meta game, it can be just magical.
My table is not the place for...
Not sharing the spotlight Xenophobia Forcing sexual content into a session. Don't make it weird for the group. PVP Being a jerk "because that's what my character would do". Nobody should have to pay time or money to allow space for free range jerk behavior. Show up better than that or don't play.
Skulliver's Preferences
Game Mechanics