About me

D&D and TTRPG Player and Game Master from the very beginning of the Hobby! Finding Dungeons and Dragons in the 1974 and 1975 time period led to what would become one of my favorite hobbies of all time: Tabletop Roleplaying Games. Or as was often more aptly referred to back in the late ’70s and early ’80s as Fantasy Roleplaying Games (FRPGs). Having played Chainmail and already into historical ancient and medieval miniatures, this now brought to the life the chance to creat magical stories and events around them. To bring my own – similar to Tolkien and C.S. Lewis – fantasy worlds to life with me and my friends, was a whole new use of imagination and level of gaming. These three books (in their boxed set w/reference sheets), “Men & Magic“, “Monsters & Treasure“, and “The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures“, were the most amazing and ingenious production of in the gaming hobby that I had ever witnessed up to that point in time. It changed everything and brought about a whole new way to game and create continuous levels of fun and engaging materials, as it gave that “nerd” in you the freedom and approval and validation to do something you always wanted to do – slay dragons and evil monsters, and be a magnificent hero – albeit in a fantasy world all your own. This was and is DUNGEONS & DRAGONS – Rules for Fantastic Medieval Wargames Campaigns Playable with Paper and Pencil and Miniature Figures. Thank you, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and all the great people of Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), you all made a wonderful difference in my life, that would and continues to be part of my life to this day. As a GM I am a Servant Leader to the Players where I am there to help Narrate the Story and help the Players tell their tale of heroic and fantastic adventures. Agile Monk

GM Style

RULE OF COOL IS CRITICAL TO ANY GOOD STORY AND GAME! Advice and Ideas for Players Related to Involvement in the TTRPG when joining a game with me. Here is some advice on how to generate the most fun with your character. We give the GM all sorts of advice, but making the game enjoyable for everyone isn’t just the GM’s responsibility. Players can take active steps to set up a better game. Create Dramatic Stories The storyline should be a group effort between GM and players. In traditional roleplaying games, players often try to invent the smartest, best, or most efficient solutions to problems in the game world. This sort of problem-solving can be satisfying, like solving a puzzle, but it doesn’t usually lead to the most memorable drama. The worst approach is to come up with the safest solutions, the ones that least expose the characters to danger. These solutions are prudent in terms of the characters’ world, but they tend to slow the action down and make the players’ experience at the table less exciting. We should encourage each other to be exciting rather prudent. When inventing a solution to an open-ended problem, approach the issue the way a good writer approaches a plot point. Don’t just think about what would make sense. Think about what would generate fun. For example, the smartest thing to do when the party arrives in a new city or town might be to keep a low profile until the characters can get a read on the local scene. That’s prudent. But what do your characters really want to do when they finish a long journey to a new city or town? Perhaps they want something more interesting, such as seeking out a famous inn to see whether its desserts really live up to their reputation as the "best in the land." Or maybe the characters have distant relatives or old friends that they feel duty bound to check in on. You can probably think of something more interesting to do than whatever the most "prudent" course of action would be. This sort of open-ended activity is a good opportunity for you to expand your character’s horizons or to reinforce their personality. Don’t take this advice as an excuse to hog the spotlight or derail the plot. Your fellow players are counting on you to help make the session more engaging, not to turn an open-ended roleplaying scene into a headache. Will things go harder for your characters if they don’t always do the smart and safe thing? Sure, but setbacks and trouble make for good drama. Telegraph Your Intentions In traditional roleplaying games, the GM is a neutral arbiter, and when a player asks questions about the world or setting, it’s the GM’s job to discern the answer that makes the most sense in the world. The GM doesn’t need to know the player’s reason for asking because the GM’s answer is based on the fiction of the world rather than on the needs of the drama. In some campaigns, the players are even careful not to let the GM know their intent so that the GM can’t foresee the player’s plan and block it. (GMs should really stay objective and never get into the place of the habit of trying to leverage players' intent to foil their plans or ideas, but rather let them play out). If the PC can talk to animals, for example, the player might ask a number of leading questions about the surroundings hoping to corner the GM into saying that there are animals around so that the player can spring a means of talking to animals on the unsuspecting GM. We encourage you to take just the opposite approach. Explain to the GM what you hope the answer will be and why so that they can take that into account when inventing the answer. The GM and Player(s) working together make the story a "story." For example, you ask, "Just how far away is the enchanted glade where the magical boars were killed?" The GM might invent an answer based on what seems to fit the fictional world. Maybe the GM says, "A couple of days’ travel inland." If, however, you first say, "I wish I could see the place where the boars were killed and try to glean some clues from the arcane signatures left behind by the killer," then the GM might invent an answer that helps your character do something interesting. May the GM say, "The glade is actually outside the city, but it’s magically hidden, so most people hardly know it’s there. If you can persuade the local druids, you might be able to gain access." :)

Games played

Game platforms used

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