B

Michelle is a paragon of professional GMing; everything I want in a crunchy TTRPG, she brings to the table. Difficult, tactical combat where victory feels hard won. Opportunities for world exploration and character self-growth. A compelling narrative that ties into different character backstories in small but important ways. The option of player agency in driving the story, while providing an easy outlet for the days when we want to turn off our brains and beat up some monsters. Fun character voices. A domineering command of her chosen VTT. Check, check, and check. One thing I particularly like... beyond the games themselves, Michelle fosters a welcoming and lively community in her Discord server. Chatty enough to feel lively, without being so busy it feels intimidating to join in. If you enjoy crunchy TTRPGs, and you have an opportunity to join one of Michelle's games, do yourself a favor: sign up.

Clifton runs a fun game of Shadowrun, and I've had a great time exploring the Anarchy 2.0 system at his table. The missions he runs are varied in nature, while building a cohesive arc-plot narrative over the course of the campaign. Clifton breathes life into the setting by allowing world event to occur without the players' involvement, sometimes leading to new missions, and sometimes just for flavor. Clifton is good at providing opportunities for characters to show off and play to their strengths, but also encounters that put them outside of their comfort zone and force them to react to difficult and unfamiliar circumstances. One thing I particularly like... Clifton isn't afraid to let the players win. Occasionally, we'll come up with a strategy that sneaks around the opposition's guardrails, and a set of rolls to back the execution up. It's gratifying when a GM acknowledges a well-conceived plan and allow the players to get away with it scot-free.

Joshua is a fantastic DM who focuses on two aspects: combat and roleplaying. His combat encounters are tough and challenging, and he regularly demonstrates a strong grasp of the nuances of D&D combat. He rarely pulls his punches, and every victory feels hard won. Between combat, roleplaying scenes are frequent and varied, from serious conversations with the town council, to relaxing dinners at the local tavern at the end of the day, and even a few tense standoffs with would-be nemeses of the party. Joshua's great at adapting to party curveballs, whether it be characters running an impromptu con on a local businessman, or demanding a town build a new temple in return for defending it from an encroaching army. One thing I particularly like... Joshua uses the VTT not just for combat scenes, but also for roleplaying scenes. Every scene. This really helps visually set the stage, as well as show off every character who's present. At a festival, you can see the musicians playing and the town

I played a Triangle Agency one-shot over three sessions with Matteo, and had a good time. Matteo did a great job facilitating different roleplaying scenes between the characters and their contacts. Since most of us were new to the system, he helped teach us how various things worked, and brought intrigue to the table by alluding to the many hidden pieces of knowledge that are uncovered as you "level up" in the agency. One thing I particularly liked... the mission we played had a strong sound and silence theme. Matteo used good evocative descriptions about how different places sounded that added to the ambiance of the mission. It was very easy to imagine how different locations sounded, which played well into the mission design.

I played a Lancer one-shot with Solun, and had a great time. He brought a lot of enthusiasm for the game to the table, as well as patience teaching all of the first time players. He has a great Foundry setup, and demonstrated a strong mastery of the game. One thing I particularly liked... since this was a one-shot aimed at teaching new players, Solun had a bunch of handouts set up in Foundry to help with teaching. For example, when we first started gathering information, he distributed a write-up explaining the nuances of narrative scenes in Lancer. Since we were using premade characters, he had write-ups for each character suggesting some tactics to consider using in combat. Things like this really helped with the learning experience.