Zachary Mishlove

he/him

Timezone

America/chicago

Identity

Neurodivergent

Game Designer

About Zachary Mishlove

Hi I'm Zack, a creative writer with an extreme passion for games and the unique stories they can tell! After getting my start in TTRPGs with Dungeons and Dungeons 5e, I became committed to passionate storytelling. My journey took back in time to 3.5 for some time where I learned the wonders of weird splat books and amazing campaign settings like Eberron (my preferred dungeoneering experience to this day). In more recent times my college career led me to mind awakening games like Mage: the Ascension and the over-the-top Cyberpunk, allowing me to really become a versatile writer no matter the setting or system. If you are looking a game master that has an extreme passion for his craft and a love for the artistry that goes into this hobby, I’m your guy!

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

Featured Prompts

My favorite books are

The Dungeons and Dragons 5e Dungeons Master's Guide gave me my start and had so many amazing illustrations that captured my imagination. However, my all time favorite is the Tome of Battle from DnD 3.5. For those in the know Stone Dragon style is my favorite. Mountain Hammer for life!

My favorite shows/movies are

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is my all time favorite show as it really helped me find myself and gave me a decent taste in music as well. Along with that I really enjoy the Blade Runner movies and the cyberpunk genre as a whole in recent years as well as most of Wes Anderson's movies.

When I'm not running games I'm...

Listening to vinyl music is a big one! I am shamelessly inspired by Hirohiko Araki's work and incessantly reference music in my work because of it. Other than that I often build and paint for miniature war games and game on PC.

How Zachary Mishlove runs games

My style and love for TTRPGs came first from a love of games and the systems they run off of. Expect mechanically interesting scenarios and combats. Additionally, with my more recent exploits I also have loved the ways narrative can be wrapped into the mechanics of a game and how roleplay can influence that. Above all else, I love world-building so expect me to add all the little things that matter to make your experience all that much more immersive.

Featured Prompts

Rules are...

Limitations definitely breed all kinds of creativity. I love rulesets that bring about unique gameplay scenarios. However, these days I enjoy telling the best story I can and make sure the rules suite that. Its always fun make rules suite my game and my players with fun ways to empower themselves.

Zachary Mishlove's ideal table

Life is all about balance and as such like a balanced party of adventures I like to have a table of people that have different interests. Diversity is the spice of life and I want to accommodate all kinds of players with my intricate worlds.