Dan
he/him
5.0
(14)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Dan
I am a passionate storyteller. I decided I wanted to become a writer when I was fourteen years old and have never deviated from that goal. All roads lead there. I am a professional Technical Writer, creating documentation and knowledge bases for both hardware and software companies. I also write, direct, produce, and edit a long-form documentary series for YouTube; have written several screenplays (both my own and commissioned); have published a memoir; and have had several essays and short stories published in various outlets. I came to TTRPGs late in life, through a chance encounter with Dimension 20 on Dropout.tv. I had never been exposed. In my youth, no one in my circle played or even spoke about Dungeons & Dragons, so I was left with the cliches. But the format instantly clicked with me and made me want to use the various systems to exercise a different part of my storytelling brain. When I run a game, I think of it as a screenplay: I know the beginning, but don't control the characters. And while that is daunting, it's also wildly exciting. Breathing a new kind of life into storytelling.
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
9 games hosted
Highly rated for: Sets the Mood, Teacher, Inclusive
Average response time: 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
Featured Prompts
My favorite books are
A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES by John Kennedy Toole AGAINST THE DAY by Thomas Pynchon BLOOD MERIDIAN by Cormac McCarthy COVER-UP by Seymour Hersh FROM HELL by Alan Moore LIBRA by Don DeLillo MOTHER NIGHT by Kurt Vonnegut SOLARIS by Stanisław Lem THE ROOM by Hubert Selby Jr. THE STAND by Stephen King
People are always surprised when I tell them
I make candles.
When I'm not running games I'm...
A professional technical writer, memoirist, filmmaker, and documentarian.
How Dan runs games
When running a game, I am much more drawn to dark, gritty, human stories than fantasy hero settings. While I thoroughly enjoy a D&D-style fantasy hero experience, I reserve that for my experience as a player. My goal is to breathe life into the world surrounding the player, hoping they become invested and consumed during the several hours spent there. I want them to be able to see, smell, and taste the world, and I endeavor to have them, with minimal effort and some guidance, quickly step over that daunting gap between themselves and their characters. I bring over 25 years of storytelling to that purpose, and I can accommodate any direction or tone the players want to explore, interact with them based on the tone they establish, and guide them without the session feeling on rails. And even when it is, I try to keep the rails smooth and invisible. I do my best to blend and incorporate the mechanics into the play. A dice roll is never just a dice roll. I want to work with each player to explore what the outcomes and resolutions mean. It's not just a number on the die. It means something happened.
Featured Prompts
I deal with rules issues by...
Looking up and reviewing the rule being questioned. If the rule as written is not being followed I update the situation to follow the rule. If the rule is open to interpretation and I determine as the GM that my interpretation is not unfair to the player, we move on.
If my games were Movies they'd be directed by...
Paul Thomas Anderson Sidney Lumet David Fincher Werner Herzog François Truffaut
When it comes to voices
I do my best and then accept that unintentionally funny is a fine byproduct of the attempt.
Dan's ideal table
My ideal table is evenly split between storytellers and story lovers. Not everyone is a fantastic improviser. Not everyone is an excellent listener. If my table consists of an even mix of those who bring their strengths and are willing to grow in areas where they may be lacking, that is ideal. That said, the table is at its most ideal when everyone sits down, sheds the baggage of the "now" and allows themselves to sink into the warm embrace of the "here." My love of RPGs stems from an equal mix of storytelling, escapism, gameplay, fun, and a light dusting of gambling. This hobby should let us all recall, for a few hours at a time, what it's like to be a child. If we imagine it, it can be real while everyone's at the table.
Featured Prompts
I love it when a player
Takes the game in a direction I could not have predicted and leaves me scrambling.
My table is not the place for...
Those who don't believe that this hobby should open its arms to everyone who wants to participate. Veterans should listen to new players and new players should listen to veterans. You're never too experienced to learn something.
Dan's Preferences
Systems