Alvin

I have been playing with Der Wolf in the Tyrant's Grasp campaign now for 6 months and it has been an absolute blast. I've never played Pathfinder before, and the range of options for character building can be intimidating but Der Wolf was very supportive and spent a lot of time answering my numerous questions and letting me run through different options before the game started. I joined mid-way through the campaign and that can be difficult but Der Wolf was very welcoming. Game-wise, I have enjoyed the pace - it moves fast, with multiple fights per session but not too fast. The enemies are well balanced to the party, and also highly varied. Der Wolf is always friendly and his constant enthusiasm and energy DM-ing is a big plus in his games. While I don't have the personal time to sign up for more than one campaign with him, I easily understand why many in the group have done so. When this campaign eventually ends, I will definitely be looking for another Pathfinder one with Der Wolf.

I’ve played in Garry’s homebrew campaign for a year now and it’s been great! His descriptions of scenes are very detailed, and the fights are both well balanced yet challenging. He also allows a fair amount of non official game material so if you ever want to try Unearthed Arcana or anything similar to this, it’s a great campaign to go for. Garry is very approachable and quick to respond to any questions you may have. The pace of the game is set or limited by the players rather than him. I found his decisions always more than fair. I would highly recommend Garry and his campaigns - you’ll have a great time!

I played the Maze of the Archmage one shot with Nri last minute along with a friend. It was a good session and Nri did very well as a DM with 2 last minute players who he didn’t have a chance to talk to beforehand. He was knowledgeable about the rules and very approachable; he kept the game going at a good pace throughout. The narration of the NPCs, settings and combat were all very professionally done and it was also in a warm and friendly way. Visuals and music on Roll20 were good. The quality was that of an experienced DM rather than a new one. Regarding the module itself, it has some RP opportunities but is mostly a dungeon crawl. We spent about 4-5 hours on it, and only covered half or so of the available rooms and encounters before fighting the Big Bad. Fairly combat orientated so build your characters for that. It was a thoroughly fun session and definitely not a one-shot experience. I would highly recommend trying one of Nri’s games.

I am currently in Crawford’s Out of the Abyss PbP campaign and it’s been great from the start! Those familiar to the campaign will know that there are a host of NPCs, including some that follow the party, and Crawford really manages to bring them all to life in a unique way. She writes beautiful prose when describing the conversations with the NPCs and also describing the many varied scenes in the Underdark. When narrating the PCs actions, i find she often does a much better job of it that the players whose characters they are! In terms of her as a GM, she is very fair minded but also allows for creativity. Whether your an optimiser or a RP focussed player, she finds a way to include you in the game and keep it all balanced and moving forward at a good pace. There are regular posts and updates from her during the day, and she also responds to any queries you may have quickly. She is very familiar with the rules, but as is the nature of 5E, there can still be conundrums especially involving combat and terrain and she takes the time to work out logically these questions. Overall, i would definitely recommend Crawford as a GM. She’s definitely one of the best, if not the best that I’ve had the opportunity to play with. You also definitely get a sense that the campaign is more a labour of love for her than a job. Which is probably why the campaign is always full. For those that get a chance to join - on the rare occasion someone drops out- my advice is to move quickly and secure that spot!

Started playing on Cid S’s Marvel Faserip Quantum Zero Play-by-post game and it’s been great from the start. Cid is very approachable and helpful both to new players and people familiar with the game. The Faserip system is great in many ways but the rules often do need both clarification and updating as the system was designed in the 1980s. Cid does that very well and is also fair in his rulings. He also gets the views of the party as to what they feel is fair or what they want for the game before doing this. The updated rules are posted in a separate channel for easy reference. In terms of the PbP, Cid is responsive to questions asked and the game moves at a good pace. There’s 1-2 large posts per day from him and smaller responses to queries as well. For combat, Initiative is done individually but then you can post your character’s actions out of order and he will then rationalise it after. That’s helpful for a PbP game. Overall, I would definitely recommend others try Cid and also this campaign. It’s great to be able to play an old favourite but also be part of its updating and evolution. Contrary to his profile description, there’s not actually been any foul mouthed rants to date….