John Wick (he/him)
5.0
(36)
1 year on StartPlaying
237 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, Rule of Cool
About me
I'm John Wick, famous for my work on Legend of the Five Rings, 7th Sea, Cat: A Little Game about Little Heroes, Orkworld, Houses of the Blooded, and a dozen more RPGs. My unorthodox GM techniques and tricks can be found in Play Dirty (volumes 1 and 2).
GM Style
* Collaborative: My job is not to tell the players a story, but help them tell their characters' stories. * Safe: I want everyone to feel welcome at my table. * Fun: I have a fast, rapid style that doesn't allow minutiae to get in the way. * Challenging: I'm much more interested in what characters *will* or *will not* do rather than what they *can* do. I create situations with difficult moral choices to test the characters' mettle and resolve rather than whittling their hit points down to zero.
Games played
Game Master Reviews (36)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Creativity
Storytelling
Rule of Cool
I've been a fan of the games John has written for a long time. Getting a chance to watch to sit down at a virtual table with him and play those games with him as a gamemaster has been such a treat. He lets his players have agency, make choices that affect the story, all while guiding the game through a satisfying narrative.
John and Jared's seminar on game design made me think about the "Why?" of the game I'm creating in ways I haven't explored before. As a software engineer, I was a little too focused on the "How?" and it was getting the lion's share of my effort. Their advice has steered me to revise some key concepts of what I'm working on. If you are designing your own game, my advice to you is DO NOT miss the next class when they offer it.
John is a very experienced GM. He runs a "rules light" game that emphasizes the story to ensure the players feel like their characters are the stars of the show. His games include elements that emphasize player agency. He is skilled at using lighting, voices, and other elements to help create an immersive environment.
John is inclusive and cooperative storyteller and rewards you for engaging rather than fighting against the narrative. He also loves to create a multitude of hooks, and include your ideas in the plot of each session making sure everyone gets their time in the spotlight. I always recommend John as a GM whether in person or online.
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