E. Beer

I would also include "Inclusive/Safe" based on my experience, but only can select 3. Mike is a great Game Master for the player who wants to put work into a character and setting, and get the same work back. I'm relatively comfortable with roleplay, I'm comfortable with letting the spotlight fall on other players and characters and I am comfortable things not always going my way. But I love to build characters, I love building their stories and I love the ways those stories interact with the stories with others. I speak as much on myself because I feel Mike has served what I like in these games very well. Combat: PF2e helps DMs in a lot of ways with balance, but I feel this Game Master wields those tools effectively. Sometimes we get really challenging encounters that requires us to use a lot of resources and sometimes we get put into situations that - with clever thinking - a bad situation can be turned around into an easier encounter than it could have been. I think Combat has been varied and am looking forward to the creative ways this Game Master pushes our sandbox party mechanically. Social: The social interactions in game with NPCs are believable, fairly distinct and usually have some substance to even hand-wave'able NPCs. As a note (not a critique), there isn't a huge range of character 'voices' in terms of actual timbre/tone/voice acting. But characterizations are present in the descriptions, the way characters speak and what motivates them in a way that feels holistic and fun. I have had games with other DMs where - "yes it makes sense an NPC is kind of an unhelpful dick", but it wasn't fun. I have not had an issue like that here. We have largely been dealing with a lot of 'commoners' in my time with the party, but from what I've seen, I have no doubt that Mike can handle substance, fun and depth as we change social circles in the continuation of the campaign. There is also a level of romance in our game that the DM has handled with tact, and made the NPCs involved fun for everyone to have around. Intrigue: A lot of DMs don't handle intrigue well. I think Mike has done a wonderful job so far. Mysteries are fairly consistently tied to character motivations, character moments, etc and in ways that - if your party are paying attention and proactive - can lead to some really great hooks for everyone to join in. Plot: Mike has been very good about tying in character motivations, goals, etc into plot. We're in a sandbox game and so I believe the party has also been making smart/fun story decisions, that goes back to what I said at the start that Mike is very much a DM where we have gotten back what we put in. All players have cared about presenting interesting characters AND engaging genuinely with other characters and Mike has been a very strong facilitator in the over-arching plans and choices they've made. Puzzles: I normally wait for a moment to compliment or critique a designated 'designed' puzzle before wanting to fill in this section. Nothing like that comes to mind on first blush BUT I can think of several situations our party has been put into where we have information, and need to somehow make smart, tactical choices with the information we have. I am of the opinion that a puzzle is when you have ALL the information you need, and it's your job to solve it, but I think a lot of the dangerous moments that aren't necessarily combat that we've found ourselves in has scratched a similar enough itch to comfortably say I think Mike will throw good 'designed' puzzles at us in the future as well. Rulings & Arbitration: This is probably THE most important thing for me when playing with DMs, and especially paying for a game master. Ruling is generally done well by most people, and I think Mike handles things well. We get away with some rule of cool things, and are allowed in a lot of instances to try at least semi-plausible rolls while still not being allowed to get away with everything. That said, the more important of these two things, arbitration, I believe Mike to be capable of handling. It's not an easy job, and while part of it does come down to player responsibility, in my relatively short time playing with Mike I have seen a foundation of the GM willing to make hard choices with players for the sake of a healthy play environment. We haven't experienced the breadth of all the ways communication can break down in a game (which speaks to the quality of the group as well, I feel) which means that there's a possibility of different situations being handled less competently than what I HAVE seen... but... what I have seen is promising. Over all, great game, great players, facilitated by a Game Master with experience and who encourages everyone to have fun.

I think Dominemesis is an excellent GM, I appreciate that they are enthusiastic for their players to succeed (and do neat things) and their patience for newer players. In my experience thus far, they are also chill and relatively easy to interface with.