My Dungeon Master Style
Lets roll with it! My DM style is a combination of following the rules as written while encouraging my player's ingenuity and, more importantly, their silliness. Sometimes you just wanna be a wizard doing a skateboard trick off the back of a T-Rex. And other times you wanna be that rogue designing a MacGyver style solution to a puzzle. These situations are so fun to roll for! And if it doesn't work out as planned? Well, there's usually a pretty entertaining resolution in store for you. After all, failure is part of the adventure!
Rules to Abide
D&D is for everyone! It’s a common slogan in the D&D community and one that is of paramount importance in the games I run. Of course, my end goal is to ensure the enjoyment of all my players. But in order for them to enjoy it, they gotta feel safe and included first. For that reason my top priority is to first establish the rules of my table to ensure the game is as inclusive as possible.
No Racism, Homophobia, Sexism, Transphobia, Islamophobia, or bigotry of any kind. Be kind, respectful, and empathetic towards one another. No Religion or worldview is justification for breaking these rules. And finally, listen to each other and have fun!
The TTRPG Safety Toolkit has more on this subject if you'd like to read more. Inclusive games for the win!
Why Professional DMing?
Many years ago I worked in a printing warehouse. Every night I would go in and pack small boxes into big boxes until dawn. The one upside to the job was our bosses let us wear headphones. So, to keep the monotony at bay I decided to listen to The Adventure Zone podcast on a whim. The comedy, the comradery, the mystery and drama! That podcast of silly brothers and their dad playing D&D introduced me to the hobby. And ever since those fateful summer nights I have found myself head over heels in love with D&D.
Podcasts like The Adventure Zone opened my eyes to this genre and how creatively driven it is. Acting, writing, music, painting, design, tactical combat. D&D has it all and more! Hot on the heels of my first ever self published adventure I have found myself wanting to introduce people to the hobby not just as a hobbyist, but as a professional dungeon master for hire. TheFabledAble is raring to go!
My style is adaptable for both veterans and newcomers. I know the rules like the back of my hand and know how to communicate to both ease new players in and cheerlead the vets who are on a roll. My character creation process is very hands on, helping players nail down that character concept or brainstorm one on the spot. My goal is to tailor each session to the goals of the players and their characters while following an overarching narrative.
I also utilize a variety of programs and tools to run D&D online. Voice modulation software for monstrous abominations, Beautiful environment establishing artwork, immersive ambience and heart pumping music! All get used to maximum effect to make for a truly entertaining D&D Session. Interested in learning about what programs I use? Scroll down to the tools of the trade section on this page for more info!
Tools of the Trade
The D&D Beyond Website. One of the biggest complaints about D&D is how all the math and systems make character creation overwhelming. Well in comes D&D Beyond with its sleek layout perfectly segmenting D&D character creation into digestible snippets! I use this website for session zero character creation and to track future level progression. Players in my campaigns also have access to all of my D&D Beyond content for character building in our game! There is no need to worry about spending any additional cash on the service itself - that's included in your game.
Dungeon Draft. The most dungeon-y tool I use for dungeon and dragons. Dungeon Draft is an awesome lil program where you can build D&D maps on a grid. What makes it so great is it has a massive library of free art assets and the ability to upload custom assets of your own. Add on top of that some pretty stellar lighting and water effects and you have one heck of a program! Oh, and it gives you tons of export options to ensure your map is compatible wherever you plan to use it. 10/10 would definitely recommend over fiddling with photoshop.
Maps I built using Dungeon Draft
The Dungeon Draft Interface
Zoom & Discord. Both these programs are awesome for video and voice chat. Zoom can be more intuitive for people of all ages and comes with a built in scheduling reminder which is super useful for setting up a D&D session. Discord comes with a pseudo chatroom for both in game and out of game tomfoolery. Discord also has multiple voice chat rooms making it possible for me the DM to “whisper” secret info to some of the party without the others overhearing. Uncover juicy lore secrets and then tease your fellow players with your hidden knowledge! Muahahaha!
Foundry VTT. The end all be all. The place in which we actually play D&D!!! It is more feature rich than its competitor, Roll20, with a 10000% more user friendly interface and design. This program coupled with a web host makes for an awesome online roleplay package. And then there's the mod scene. Holy moly is it active! With these mods I've added customizable 3D Dice, D&D Beyond Importing and a whole list of extra features to make the game more immersive and intuitive. It’s truly awesome!
Foundry Character Sheet & D&D Beyond Integration
An example of D&D combat in Foundry VTT
Foundry Character Sheet & D&D Beyond Integration
Foundry VTT Gameplay Examples
Lets Roll Some Dice!
The active participation and cooperation involved in D&D make it one of the best tools for teaching kids and adults better communication skills. It helps bond workers in a way that their day to day simply cannot. It engages your problem solving and creativity while stimulating your imagination with music, art and drama. It also happens to be very fun. Now lets get together and have the adventure of a lifetime!
