Tyler Burke
he/him
5.0
(9)
Timezone
Language
About Tyler Burke
Hello! I'm a 31 year old nerd from Seattle, WA area who loves to GM on the side! I've been running DnD 5th edition and Star Wars 5e games as a GM since 2019, and have grown to really love this medium. The cooperative storytelling, tactical decision making, goofy antics, and exploration are just some of the things that keep me coming back for more! I started out playing in person, but over the last couple of years I've gotten very familiar with running games online and have really enjoyed getting better with many of the online tools. I have three goals anytime I sit down (or log in) to GM a game: 1. I want everyone around the table to be enjoying themselves. That looks differently for every player, and I think its my job to engage with each person in a way that helps them to enjoy the experience. My goal is always to make sure that I am facilitating the kind of game that my players will find enjoyable! 2. I want everyone around the table to feel respected. Nobody can have fun if they don't feel respected or like a boundary of theirs has been crossed. My goal is always to establish and enforce these boundaries so that everyone can enjoy the game! 3. I want everyone around the table to leave feeling like they got to be part of the story. I think the beauty of TTRPG's are the stories we can create together. My goal is always to work together with the players to create an awesome story that is meaningful and memorable for each person!
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
3 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Inclusive, World Builder
Average response time: Under 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
Featured Prompts
I became a GM because
A group of students I was working with really wanted to play Dungeons and Dragons, and so I decided to learn so I could facilitate a game for them! I've always loved playing with new players who are just starting out, because I think there is something magical about teaching a new person this game.
People are always surprised when I tell them
That my day job is being a pastor! I've actually done quite a bit of community building in the church context using Dungeons and Dragons. No 'satanic panic' views on DnD from this pastor!
When I'm not running games I'm...
Working my day job, being a dad, and training towards a Triathlon! The last several years I've started to enter into Triathlon races and am aiming to eventually complete an Ironman length race (2.4-mile (3.9 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.2 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.2 km).
How Tyler Burke runs games
The thing that keeps me coming back to GM is the incredible stories that we can create together! Each group of players has an adventure that will unfold in ways I could never create on my own, and I think that's truly beautiful. In my experience, that often means that I need to adapt myself (and my GM style) to the kind of adventure that we all want to embark on together. If we want to play a hyper-realistic survival game with high stakes brutal mechanics, its my job to be the rule-keeper and arbiter of consequences! If we want to play a high-flying fantasy adventure where the heroes do more fighting than talking, its my job to make sure we have fun combat encounters that engage them creatively. If we want to explore the rich cosmology and lore of a particular world, its my job to make sure that they have a depth of characters and situations where they can interact with that world! That rule aside, there are some things I always strive to do regardless of the style of game we are playing. I think that being a GM has a lot of overlaps with improvisational comedy, which is something that I have enjoyed for many years. I'm always looking to say 'yes' to my players, even if its not the 'yes' they were expecting. And I'm always trying to build off of their choices, rather than redirecting them towards what I would choose for them. I'm a huge believer in the 'rule of cool', and will always tend towards bending the rules so that we can all experience that epic moment together.
Featured Prompts
I prep by
trying to create a world that has real moving pieces and engaging elements, rather than writing a story. My job is just to make sure we have the setup for an engaging and exciting story together, whatever the players decide to pursue!
My games focus on...
creating moments and scenarios where the players get to make important decisions that impact the world around them! I think the best moments in my games are always the result of a difficult player choice where they do something unexpected.
Rules are...
the canvas that we paint on together! You have to start somewhere and agree on a shared set of rules; but who knows where we will decide to go from there as a group. I'm up for the adventure!
Tyler Burke's ideal table
My ideal table is filled with players who want to get to know each other and enjoy the hilarious/absurd moments which can happen playing these games together. In my ideal world we will leave the table becoming a little better friends each week, even over the internet! My table is usually a mixture of laughter, deep tactical thought, and "oh shit, did that really just happen?!"; all in equal parts.
Featured Prompts
I love it when a player
has a backstory for their character that gives them clear motivations and weaknesses. That allows me to weave elements into our game which really challenge them to consider how their character would react! A good backstory opens up a lot of possibilities as the GM.
I think it's a red flag when players...
treat these games like a video game where the goal is to "win". Yes there are overlaps between TTRPG's and certain video games, but the only time we "win" in these games is if everyone leaves the table feeling like they enjoyed their experience. That can happen even when you "lose", if done well...
I think metagaming...
robs you of the experience of roleplaying! Its fun to restrict yourself to the knowledge that your character would have in the world. Learning to immerse yourself as a player in the character requires some discipline to 'forget' certain things you know!
Tyler Burke's Preferences
Game Mechanics