StartPlaying logo
game master profile header image
GM Solar

GM Solar (he/him)

5.0

(12)

LGBTQ+
Queer
BIMPOC
Published Writer
Artist
Voice Actor

Less than a year on StartPlaying

13 games hosted

Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, Voices

About me

I'm a queer performer of colour for the stage, screen, and vocal booth, as well as a server/bartender at a local brewery. I have voiced original animation series, commercials, audiobooks, and AAA video games from companies such as Ubisoft. I've got two cats and a basil plant; I love video games and play badminton; and I make nightly blood sacrifices to my archfey patron Carly Rae Jepsen in exchange for gay superpowers. My first taste of the roleplaying world came in the late 2000s with multiplayer Neverwinter Nights, and I've never looked back! I got into tabletop RPGs in college with Call of Cthulhu, then discovered D&D 4e, 5e, and from there a whole world of fantastic systems, of which Pathfinder 2e has been my mainstay for the past 4 or so years. I have extensive system knowledge and love creating campaign-specific content to surprise and reward my players. I received both a Grand Prize and Silver Prize for Battlezoo Bestiary's RPG Superstar challenge for their upcoming book Elemental Storm. I also create content on my YouTube channel to try to help GMs new to PF2e and Foundry VTT navigate those systems. TTRPGs have always been my ideal space for exploration, experimentation, and escape. They were my lifeline during the pandemic and continue to be my dopamine dose during rough days. It's my greatest hope that the games I run can be just as brightening for my players!

GM Style

🎬 Cinematic ⚑ Plot-driven πŸ’™ Player-centric; focused on how the world affects and is affected by player action 🎲 Dynamic; incorporating different modes of play to keep things fresh and exciting, from social roleplay to investigation to skill challenges to high-octane combat My greatest strengths: πŸ‘₯ Fleshing out the adventure and the setting through its NPCs, showcasing distinctive and memorable voices and mannerisms 🎀 Carving out time to spotlight each PC to give them a chance to develop their own personal story 🎭 Crafting a mood through deliberate choice of description, art, and music πŸ™‚ Creating an above-game atmosphere of fun and inclusion so everyone feels comfortable and heard πŸ‘‹πŸΌ Teaching new players about the joy of TTRPGs and the Pathfinder 2e system Tonally, I prefer a generally serious atmosphere so the stakes feel real and the characters are believable, but shot through with a healthy dose of humour so we can also laugh and let loose. The Glass Cannon Podcast would be a good reference for the feel I aim for. Assets: 🦺 Safety Tools and Frequent Check-Ins πŸ’¬ Professional-Quality Character Voices πŸ—ΊοΈ Beautiful Tokens and Battlemaps 🎡 Curated Music Playlists πŸ–₯️ Optimized Foundry VTT Play Environment

Games played
Game platforms used
Social
Game Master Reviews (12)

Proficiencies

Players say this GM is great at:

Creativity

Storytelling

Voices

Andrew avatar

Andrew

Played 13 sessions

Incredible, Amazing. Possibly the best GM I've ever had. There is something to be said about the quality of GM's on this site and the way it makes games run. Do not say them here. This GM soars the clouds of the quality landscape and provides more immersion and fun to their games than I didnt know could exist.

Rayne avatar

Rayne

Arun has been GM'ing our group for 6 years now, which in itself says a lot. Sessions and campaigns have never felt like a slog - rather there is a palpable enthusiasm we all share together. Sessions never feel like a Players-vs-GM, and he strikes a fantastic balance between enforcing the rules as written and following the spirit of the rules. I've played a variety of systems with Arun and he somehow does a great job at understanding the different systems we've tried. I also owe him for bringing our 5e group into the New Gold Age of Paizo (PF2E mostly). He's a skilled actor and story teller, and in particular his voice acting is fantastic. 11/10 would recommend again.

Bryan avatar

Bryan

Played 12 sessions

Solar is a Storyteller, and you can tell the minute you meet them. He is awesome to play with, and you can tell that he is working to bring the best game to the table space for all involved. It is awesome, absolutely give him a try!

L avatar

L

I've played with him in many games both real-life and online - he does a phenomenal job with adapting pre-written adventures to the characters and players at the table, and balancing whacky creative solutions with the ability of the adventure to progress without breaking the world (as a player that tends to ask for a lot of strange things). In some of the longer-term campaigns we've played, it's near impossible as a player to separate the elements that were adapted to my back story and those that were in the source material. It makes the campaign feel as personalized as a homebrew campaign can be - without losing the rich world and story a written adventure can provide. As a GM who struggles with pre-written adventures, this is one of the things I admire most in his work. And as a player, it makes the games incredibly engaging. And for those of you who are more strict around rules - fear not. While he can adapt to the actions of strange lunatics like myself, I've seen him gain fluency in a whole lot of rule sets - and utilize them effectively. He can both guide you into a system, and give you the freedom to use it as a player.

Yiyel avatar

Yiyel

(TLDR: GM Solar is the best GM I have ever had the pleasure of playing with and would go toe to toe with any of the big names in the hobby. Have your doubts? Sign up to his game and see for yourself!) Have you been looking for a GM that not only prepares an incredible yarn, but also listens to their players, weaving bits of personal stories into the games and helps to enable whatever wildbrained scheme you can imagine? Maybe you have watched the likes of Matt Mercer and Brendan Lee Mulligan and dreamed of being a player at their table? If this is you then look no further because GM Solar all of this and more! I have been fortunate to play with GM Solar for 6 years, which have been the best 6 years of RPGing of my life. In that time we have played DnD, Pathfinder, Call of Chuthulu and more, all but one of which were new, yet GM Solar's grasp of the rules and experience of when to apply them and when to bend them for narrative purposes made playing a breeze. Making characters became a joy as I could be confident that any extra info on their background would be incorporated into the gameworld somewhere, ready to tug heartstrings at an unexpected moment. I could write a whole new essay on the joys of coming across new NPCs or GM Solar's technical expertise on various simulated tabletops, or the richness of his storytelling, but reading it would be wasting your time, time much better spent signing up to one of his games and experiencing all of it for yourself. You will not regret it!

Tristan LaMaire avatar

Tristan LaMaire

I've been both a GM and player for Solar for years at this point, and every campaign we've been in has been an absolute delight. To start, he's very LGBTQ+ friendly and skilled at maintaining a diverse and inclusive atmosphere, both at the table and in the story (seriously, I don't know anybody more adept at authentically playing characters of every gender or walk of life!) Speaking as a GM: Solar is an incredible player - one of those MVPs who I want to invite to every game I ever run. He puts love and effort into every aspect of the hobby; his characters are deep, interesting, and fit perfectly into their parties and their setting, his communication in and out of session is excellent, and he makes sure to learn the rules of every system he plays! Speaking as a player: I don't know if any GM has ever left an imprint on me as impressive as Solar has. I know a lot of great GMs who I'd never turn down an offer to be a player for, but Solar might be the only one I'd actively beg to join if he mentioned running a new campaign. His creativity breathes life into even the most mundane scenes; his talent allows every story beat, even the most unexpected player-made surprises, flow into the next like water; his experience as an actor and writer means every NPC is so full of life that it's impossible not to get attached; his knowledge of the systems he runs ensures encounters never bog down the story; his passion is evident in every detail of his campaigns. But the thing that stands out to me the most is how he clearly loves the player characters in his campaigns. He gets just as invested in their stories, their lives, their choices and their consequences, as their respective players do. Solar understands that the heart of a good tale is not the plot it follows, but the characters and their respective journeys along the way! It's been two years since I had the pleasure of being his player in a long-term campaign, and yet I can still remember nearly every moment of that campaign like it had happened yesterday... it was a very, very special experience. Solar knows what it means to be a good player - to bring 100% of his effort to the table while still maintaining the awareness to instantly cede the spotlight and hype up his fellow players - and he knows that "the Game Master" is not a title of privilege, but is instead just another kind of player at the table. No matter where he sits, Solar seeks to enhance the story of the entire group, not just tell his own!

What's StartPlaying?

Tabletop Roleplaying Games Run by Game Masters

  • Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.

  • Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.

  • If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.