Green Pepper

I played in a one-shot run by Avel, it’s been a while since I’d played in Foundry but it’s a great VTT and I was glad to see it. Avel has a firm grasp on how it works and has added some really cool extras in the way of music, maps and tools really allowing the system to shine. As a DM Avel is friendly and welcoming, I requested to join on extremely short notice, ~1 hour from play and without having met previously Avel had no issues with me joining. Although she only had minutes to do so she got a good grasp of my characters mentality early on which helped my immersion and showed that she was indeed interested in my inclusion. Another good sign, Avel helped a player get the most out of their character in a combat situation by alerting them to an ability they possessed but were unaware of, this shows not only good general game knowledge but also exemplifies a DM that works with the player group, not against them. The one-shot itself was a good mix of combat and RP, Avel is comfortable with the setting and showed off her quick wit with on point responses to character actions. She builds a world that feels alive and open allowing a lot of space for player agency in their approach to challenges. Each path the party chose to take had a challenge which felt unique to itself instead of being a copy paste, this made choices feel like they mattered and RP in general was a lot of fun. Combat was good, it moved along at a nice pace and there were events taking place across rounds that spiced it above the standard kill the enemy salt the earth approach. My favorite part of the game and one that I feel deserves a gold star, or at least its own paragraph was that Avel included a skill challenge. Skill challenges are rare to see in games, they are paced like combat but sit firmly in RP, they bring to life player choices and allow real story telling. DM's needs to be on their toes to work them into events as they take place and I think Avel did a brilliant job. I’m really glad I found the time to play D&D that day and will be interested in a future game with Avel if she has space at a table.

TLDR version; J is a great DM, he enjoys the games with the players, builds a story and revels in the chaotic outcomes that a player group will always bring to a table. This enjoyment is not formed playing against the party but with them. Extended version; I have roughly 6 years of weekly D&D experience and a tendency to pick up random games just to see what other DMs bring to the table, its how I got to J's table, now I won't leave. I find J refreshing as a DM, there is a list of things that he does better than so many DMs I have played with in recent times and the game is the closest in feeling to ones I used to play with friends. There are aspects of J's style that I will 100% be bringing to the next session I run. System; J uses the Fantasy Grounds VTT, not one I was familiar with J gave me a crash course pre session, helped me with setting up shortcuts and character sheets, he took his time and I felt welcomed not rushed or patronised in the experience. J is well versed in the software he is using and has found just enough addons to improve his style of game without overburdening it with bells and whistles. Pricing; The session pricing is like going to your mate’s place, pitch in for some food and drinks and have a good game. J’s pricing is at least half price on the standard of most available, in some cases a quarter or even a tenth the cost. As a player who is in a country with a weaker economy than the US its great not having to be concerned about covering hobby costs. Prep; J clearly spends time in his prep, he gets gorgeous maps and populates them as needed pre session, J will check with the group at each session wrap up planning next moves are and will then use that information to prep the next. The games always feel focused around the party and J often sets up events or encounters to insert in the session bringing atmosphere to the games adding a feeling of sandbox without rails. Story telling / game setting; J is a good storyteller, he gives unique voices to NPC’s adding character to the entities encountered in his games. J will work with players to tell the story of their character if the player wants that kind of development, incorporating them into his world. Additionally, J, who is currently running the CoS module for us has sought out additional content, he has made sure to be full bottle on how the additional content and the original intertwine making it his own and bringing a wonderful breath of new life to an already story rich campaign. Even those familiar with this setting will find themselves in new encounters and unexpected hooks. Lastly (but not leastly) J does not need a map to make it work, he is more than comfortable running a minds eye encounter. Looking back I am sometimes pressed to remember which encounters were maps and which were minds eye. Improving further on this, J will use the extremely rare skill challenge event. Maybe I've played at the wrong tables but I've never seen them done so well. These add a great game sequence that challenges each player to utilise their character paying close attention to what other players are doing and building the story in a very memorable event, (stealing these). Session times; Most sessions I have played with J have run between 3-4 hours, but the game is never a sharp cut thing based on numbers on the clock. J tries to round out the session at story points, it’s rare to end a session in the middle of something instead we stop at points where the party is in a sort of downtime. I’m pretty sure one game went for 5+ hours, no extra price, no mention of overtime breaking the immersion just now doesn’t feel quite right to stop, is everyone ok to continue? Yep, cool, lets keep at it. This relaxed time border has the game sessions feel the most like a game amongst friends as anything I have come across. Playing in J’s games I am never watching the clock and trying to push the game along to get somewhere. I am very happy to let J tell a story with solid trust that he won’t go “whelp, that’s all the time we have today, tune in next week for the end of that sentence” (overplayed example but you get the idea). Session content / pacing; Recently I've started to take in-depth notes. Each time I have been floored by the progress made by the party. It seems each session the group gets time to RP, pick up / close off quest lines, form memorable character moments and dig into some combat, sometimes we can do all of this in the first half of a session. Very impressive pacing that somehow moves a complex story without rushing it. Rules / systems; J is a DM that is comfortable with the rules, he is well versed and has his own selection of homebrew and variant rules, although at first, I was a little concerned about some of them I have since found they just add to the fun, each a great addition to the game. J explains the rules he uses at the start and maintains consistency in their application. That said I would not recommend this game to a rule lawyer, J’s games are amazing because the players trust the DM to implement the rules as they were set, if you like to discuss or argue an outcome, I don’t have the experience to say how it would affect the game but I suspect poorly. Overall if you want a DM that plays the game with you, tells a great story and takes the time to bring out the best of a game you would be hard pressed to find more than a handful of DMs at a similar level with player slots open at their table.

DMDavid puts a lot of effort into his content, acting out voices to build characters and atmosphere, he is well versed in the content he presents and is comfortable improvising situations to suit the many directions that players can take. A campaign of his that I am playing has taken the basic LMOP module and turned it into a much larger game blending in other modules as well as his own content. The PCs are currently Levels 12-14 and there are no signs of the game ending any time soon. David still keeps the game enjoyable and challenging even at the higher levels. David is happy to run games for beginners and very patient helping them learn the game while at the same time is happy to allow the more experienced player vast freedom in character creation and agency.