About me

Greetings and warm wishes, adventurers! Whether you are a bold and hearty hero looking for a fantastical adventure or a clever and cunning scoundrel who just wants to do the job, get paid, and go home, you'll find your place at my table. My name is Craig (he/him), and I've been a game master for more than half of my life. I grew up with my dad telling me all sorts of fantastical stories as a kid, and from there, I only delved deeper. I've run games professionally for a decade now, and have told stories for veterans, new players, and everything in between. When it comes to my philosophy on games, I hold three ideals above all else: 💙 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 The tabletop scene is one shared across a variety of lives and experiences. It doesn't belong to any one group, and we must all look after one another and cultivate our community to make it expansive, welcoming, and safe! 🎉 𝐅𝐮𝐧 Laughter is a universal language. Sharing moments of joy, sorrow, exhiliration, anger, and passion together lets us create memories that last lifetimes! Plus, telling dumb jokes is a fantastic way to blow off steam. I want my table to always be a place you can come to in order to have a good time. ✨ 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 Lifelong learning means that the world never grows stale and rote. Following new stories and opening yourself up to new ideas gives you the opportunity to grow, and see the world through someone else's eyes. Yes, it's important to feel comfortable and safe and happy, but sometimes, it's also important to feel a little uncomfortable in order to grow! If you only have the same experiences day after day, then your life will flash right by, and if I can help you avoid that, I'd love to do so. If all of this sounds like it's up your alley, then come on by, grab some dice, and join me for a rollicking and memorable adventure! No matter what your system of choice is, as long as you bring a good attitude and respect for your fellow players, then you'll find a home here. See you at the table!

GM style

🔹 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 My style runs towards a 50/50 split of roleplay and combat. This entirely depends, however, on the group I'm GMing, and the system I'm running. Some systems are better suited to roleplay, and others to combat, and likewise with groups! I would never force a group of narrative-driven adventurers to go through more combat than they like, or make a bunch of dungeon crawlers sit through hours of roleplay if they don't want it. When running roleplay, I love in-depth stories. Mysteries, hooks related to character backstories, voice acting, music and ambience, and as many visual aids as possible. I believe that theatre of the mind is fantastic for roleplay, but that when running online, you often need to substitute other resources because you don't have access to body language and facial expressions to the same extent. When it comes to combat, I prefer a flair for the dramatic. I rarely use monsters as they're written in book, and rely on as many third party monsters as possible, frequently generating my own and using custom abilities to make combat feel more exciting and cinematic. Not every combat needs to be life-threatening, but I believe most combats should have a goal beyond just "kill all the monsters." I vary combat difficulty based on party preference, but have a preference for more thought-provoking combats when possible. 🔹 𝐔𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 Having been GMing for almost two decades, I've been collecting resources for a very long time. I have full access to all core materials for DnD5e via DnDBeyond, and most of them on Roll20 as well, along with rules and expansions for other game systems via Roll20. I also have significant access to third-party content, with classes, subclasses, races, feats, spells, items, and more. I have introduced countless players to DnD5e and other systems, and have developed multiple resources to help do so that I'd be happy to share with you. 🔹 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐥 We're all here to have a good time, and the rules in every game system exist to help us accomplish that. However, those rules are often limited, and most designers are explicit that the rules are not meant to be hard boundaries. I am happy to bend the rules to help you achieve your storytelling goals! The counterpoint to this offer is generally however that if you can do it, I can do it too. 🔹 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 Most significantly, my order of priority for games goes safety→comfort→fun. I don't think everyone at the table can have the full entertaining experience unless they feel secure and welcome in our shared space, and so I use multiple safety tools to ensure that everyone feels comfortable at the table. I utilize a pre-game boundaries sheet, session zero, the X-Card system, and lines and veils to this end. Everyone deserves to have a good time at the table, and I do not tolerate bigotry of any kind towards players who are all here to enjoy themselves and collaborate on a fantastic shared story.

Games played

Game platforms used

What's StartPlaying?

Tabletop Roleplaying Games Run by Game Masters