A.J. banner

A.J.

he/him

5.0

(16)

Timezone

America/chicago

Language

English

Identity

Game Designer

About A.J.

I am a Florida-man, tabletop game enthusiast, and hobbyist board game designer with a deep love for fantasy storytelling. I've been immersed in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition for over 6 years, serving as the Dungeon Master for a weekly in-person group for 4 of those years. With two full campaigns under my belt and many one-shot adventures, I strive to bring rich narratives, engaging worlds, and immersive roleplay to every table. Inspired by fantasy classics like The Lord of the Rings, The Inheritance Cycle, The Wheel of Time, and shows like Critical Role, I enjoy blending deep lore knowledge with creative game design to craft unforgettable adventures. Ready to roll? Worlds await.

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

12 games hosted

Highly rated for: Creativity, World Builder, Teacher

Featured Prompts

My favorite books are

- Eragon - Lord of The Rings - Legend of Drizzt Do'Urden

My favorite shows/movies are

- The Hobbit / LOTR - The Avengers - The Witcher - The Office

When I'm not running games I'm...

- Designing Board Games - 3D Printing + Painting Miniatures - Playing Disc Golf

How A.J. runs games

In my games, player choices truly matter—you won’t just follow a prewritten script, you’ll shape the story with your actions, alliances, and decisions. I focus on immersive worldbuilding and dynamic storytelling, where I set the scene and present meaningful situations, but it's your characters who drive the narrative. Expect a healthy mix of roleplay-rich encounters, tactical, high-stakes combat, and morally gray choices that ripple through the world. Whether you're forging peace between warring factions or unleashing chaos in a magic-ridden land, your impact will be felt—and remembered. I’m here to guide, react, and resolve, but the story is yours.

Featured Prompts

My games focus on...

providing interesting roleplay situations and thematic combats!

Rules are...

bendable when it does not negatively affect player experience!

When it comes to voices

I strive to enhance player immersion by voicing NPCs, while players are neither encouraged nor discouraged from voicing their characters.

A.J.'s ideal table

I enjoy having a diverse table. Some players are heavily moved by dramatic roleplay scenarios, complex plots, and political intrigue, while others are more stimulated by strategic combat, sprawling adventure maps or treasure hunting. It is a great personal mission of mine, at each table, to get to know the table, and tailor the experience to suit each unique player.

Featured Prompts

I love it when a player

thinks outside of the box, describing to me what they want to achieve so I can provide a pathway for creative play.

I think min/maxing...

is a completely valid and fun way to play RPGs, though it can present some problems that can be corrected with excellent GMing!

My perfect party mix is

2-3 talkers, 2-3 strategists, and 1 newbie who is learning from the talkers and strategists.

A.J.'s Preferences

Game Mechanics

Game style

Combat Heavy

Dungeon Crawl

Rule of Cool (RoC)

Organized Play

Sandbox / Open World

A.J.'s games