SpitfireDave
he/him
5.0
(19)
Timezone
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About SpitfireDave
My gaming journey started with D&D and TSR games in the early '80s, but I got away from the hobby after high school. After a Stage IV cancer fight 15 years ago, I returned to the RPG hobby with a vengeance. Life is good! I'm a Cambridge-educated American, happy husband, and proud father of an amusing and impressive teenage girl. Outside of gaming, I ran a successful non-profit theater company for 10 years and dabbled in amateur formula racing. What I love most about gaming is getting into a cycle of creative enthusiasm where players and I are feeding each other to create memorable experiences. While I secretly cheer for the players, I make sure to referee objectively so that the team can enjoy the wins it earns. Teaching new players or teaching experienced players new systems is something I've done a lot of since I came back to the hobby. It was easier for me to teach friends how to play games than find gamers. These days Shadowdark, OSR games, and Call of Cthulhu are the games that groove me most. With that said, I love, play, and run A LOT of games. Games have always been more about the people at the table than specific rule sets or mechanics to me. I can have a blast playing Parcheesi with people. Well, that's me. So, you up for it? Want to roll some dice and make some shit up together?
At a glance
4 years on StartPlaying
6 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Knows the Rules, Storytelling
Featured Prompts
My favorite system of all Time is
James Bond 007 RPG. This is partly out of nostalgia. My group of friends and I played the hell out of that game on Friday nights when my parents were bowling. But the % dice and degrees of success simply tied to every skill check was fantastic. The system perfectly fit cinematic tone.
People are always surprised when I tell them
I traveled through Europe without a smart phone. Crossing the pond to study at Cambridge in the mid ‘90s, I took every chance I could to travel through Western and Central Europe. We had to navigate, know train schedules, pay cash, and translate on our own. My brain could not do it today.
The three words my players would use to describe me are...
1. Enthusiastic. When I run a game it becomes a passion, and I invest in the story and the happening. 2. Engaging. My adventures, NPCs, challenges, and situations make you think and feel. Players get immersed. 3. Imaginative. Descriptions and scenarios with delightful twists and surprises.
How SpitfireDave runs games
The games that I typically run have a variety of interesting challenges, be they social interactions, chases, combat, mysteries, puzzles, or traps. What's crucially important to me is that they make sense within the context of a narrative-- your team's story where you're the stars of the show. I like to present a layer of information to you, encourage you to poke and probe to discover more. Engagements with NPCs will be meaningful and memorable. Overall, I'm pretty flexible. What your group wants, I can calibrate to. Having run a lot of games for a lot of different types of people, I have different approaches. We can cover that when we first get together, and revisit it regularly to make sure you're getting the experience you're after.
Featured Prompts
I deal with rules issues by...
Unless it is an essential moment, I prefer to have rules discussions between gaming sessions. Having the GM make a ruling and go with it is important to keep the story and everyone’s fun flowing. With that said, a quick reminder from players here and there about a rule is fair and most welcome.
I once ran a session...
. . . of Call of Cthulhu at the house with a dedicated group of friends from my theater company. We played until wee hours of morning and really let go. Players were shouting and shrieking in character. At 3am we heard a disembodied voice “Are you alright?” We’d disturbed the next door neighbors.
When it comes to voices
I rarely go deep on accents myself, but instead really try to bring the character’s motivations and distinct personality to the forefront. Sometimes I do it, but there’s always the risk that a slip in accent takes people out of the scene. I enjoy when invested players use them.
SpitfireDave's ideal table
My table is a place where I like people to mix seriousness and humor. I aim for an immersive vibe and tell dark fantasy/horror stories that benefit from appropriate comic relief. People who get immersed and invested laughing and rolling bad rolls and setbacks, and cheering triumphs are what I love and encourage.
Featured Prompts
I think it's a red flag when players...
… unnecessarily abuse NPCs for sport.
I think min/maxing...
Min/maxing is a perfectly legitimate way for someone to enjoy RPGs, but it seldom works if everyone else at the table isn’t doing the same. So, it can be risky. Creating optimal character builds, gaming advantageous situations demands the GM do the same in challenges against the whole party.
My table is not the place for...
Political rants, mean spiritedness, and PVP. Life can be tough for people, and I want to build a place people can escape all that.
SpitfireDave's Preferences
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