Nonya

Here's the takeaway: after two years of playing under Riot across multiple editions and campaigns, I can say he's one of the most consistently engaging and character-driven DMs I've ever played with. His strongest attributes are his characterization, story telling, worldbuilding, and his eagerness to integrate players' ideas seamlessly into his worlds. We started out getting into D&D around the same time, discovering our love for the game. Our first real game together was as fellow players in a mutual friend's Mines of Phandelver, where I first learned of his incredible talent for developing intricate and complex characters. Shortly after the module concluded, he started hosting his own campaign with a completely homebrew setting and story. Immediately, it was evident that he was very passionate about it and had put a ton of work into developing it. Over a year later, we're still working our way through his intricately designed world full of charm and having a blast doing so. He's great at improvisation and off-the-cuff dialogue, but it's also clear that he puts tons of planning into every single session. Sessions usually start with wrapping up combat if we left off in the middle of an encounter, followed by an hour or two of adventuring, story, and roleplay, after which we enter a related combat encounter for the remaining session time. He always makes sure everyone has their moment in the spotlight, both in and out of combat. There's not a single character of his that I would describe as undeveloped or lackluster. His true strength is most definitely his characterization. Every encounter with an NPC feels meaningful and helps his worlds feel truly lived-in. Rules disputes, beyond simple and easy corrections, are usually handled out of the session as to not take up session time. Scheduling issues are few and far between. If there is an issue, he lets us know well in advance, and even offers alternate times to play for that week. Riot's your guy, hands down.

Some of my very first tabletop experiences were with this GM. He's consistently been helpful to newer players looking to understand and explore the world he's crafted. I'm not sure I would even still be playing if not for him. He put a lot of effort into breaking down the rules and mechanics in a way that was easy for me to understand. He showed me that tabletop games were a fun setting to express yourself and have fun!