About me

Hello, friends - My name is Travis, and I've been gaming for almost 25 years now, with about 18 of that as a game master. I got my start reading Lone Wolf choose-your-own-adventure books and moved on to AD&D played extremely incorrectly with my middle-school friends. Since then I've branched out into many gaming systems, AAA and Indie alike! Some systems I've run include things like D&D (3.X, 4e, PF1e, 5e), Legend of the Five Rings (3rd, 4th and 5th ed), Call of Cthulhu (6th-ish?), Exalted (3rd), Deadlands (Original), Various WoD games (Old and New), One-Roll Engine (Wild Talents, Godlike, Nemesis), Warhammer 40k (Dark Heresy 2nd), and probably a dozen more, plus an awful lot of micro-RPGs! I ran games on the San Francisco Bay Area TTRPG convention circuit for about ten years, and that's given me an awful lot of practice in knowing how to make a game feel alive and fun, without letting players run all over me. When you play one of my games, you can expect a solid plot, challenging (but not mega-lethal) encounters, and lots of chances to roleplay with characters that range from extremely serious and believable to 'Foot-wide talking spider with a pink ribbon tied around her who speaks with a squeaky voice'. I specialize in extremely high fantasy, low fantasy, and horror. All my games are LGBTQ+ friendly and BIPOC inclusive, with a 0 tolerance policy towards behavior violating that. I will kick you out. This is your warning.

GM Style

I have a saying when it comes to tabletop gaming - If everyone's having fun, you're doing it right. There are a few things I feel I stand out at, and most others I'm at least passable. I consider myself a very good storyteller, making memorable locations and characters, which reaches across all genres I run. Most games I run will be in three genres, and I approach each one a little differently. High Fantasy games are about making you feel powerful, but that you need all that power to face the challenges before you! It's about letting each player be the hero they want to be. I work hard to make sure that every player will have their time in the spotlight (unless you don't want that) and a chance to show off their unique abilities. It's also about letting imagination run WILD - I promise I will never run an adventure on the Sword Coast. Games like D&D and Exalted fit into this category nicely. Low Fantasy games are about exploring the fantastical. Denied the ability to throw fireballs or heal with the touch of your hand, you still must delve into a world that will often defy your expectations... And preparations. Low Fantasy is about heroes who are in over their head, but are still bringing the fight against evil! Deadlands is the perfect setting to embody what I consider low fantasy. Lastly, I run horror games - These are often modern investigative-horror games, and in them my goal is to make you feel competent, well-equipped and well-trained - And then are overwhelmed anyway. But at the end of the day you ARE the heroes, and with some care, some luck, and a lot of caution, you may still prevail - but it will always have a cost. I usually run these games with the One-Roll Engine, but the new Aliens system is also really good! In many other parts of game prep, I can be pretty flexible - I tend to prefer quick, high-lethality combat, but a slower and more tactical experience can also be fun. Lastly, I want to say that I'm a pretty laid-back individual. I just want folks in my games to have a good time - but also, I think it's important that characters I'm less of a 'Yes, and-' GM and more of a 'No, but-' GM, giving players ways to move towards their goals without breaking the feel of the game. Important parts of running a good game are maintaining the vibe of the game and dealing with potentially problem players, both of which I step up to do. Zero tolerance for bigotry at my table.

Games played

Game platforms used