March Fo(u)rth for GM's Day Giveaway - Pimp Your GM!

[nakia]

Rich, sublime with props
Brings the eye to the table
pictures in our heads

I nominate Rich Miller (aka Cthulhu's Librarian). He just started DMing our group a couple of months ago, and I am nothing but impressed. His games are consistently fun, whether they be mystery plots or dungeon exploration. As my haiku suggests, he brings lots to the game with play aids -- maps, minis, handouts, templates, and everything else under the sun. I am especially impressed because this is the first thrid edition game he has ever run and the first consistent game he has DM'd since he was in high school.

Rich Rocks!

 

[diaglo]

sorry i don't
know to pimp a rat bastard
until after the TPK



Olgar Shiverstone has been DMing the Story Hour in my sig since Aug 2002. i played in several really bad campaigns prior to helping convince him to assume the mantle again of Rat Bastard DM. Players have come and gone. But the campaign still lives on.

He has the 1edADnD feel to the campaign. but still relies heavily on the newest editions.

 

[eris404]

I am nominating Kid Charlemagne.

First of all, please look at that handle: Kid Charlemagne. It combines whimsy with a dash of history, romance and adventure, which aptly enough also describes his campaigns. He creates huge worlds for us kids to play in, but also listens to us when we want to add something of our own. He makes villains that make me so angry that it is almost therapeutic for me when the bad guys finally get theirs. We can spend whole sessions just talking in character or playing out an epic battle that spans multiple session and either is completely engrossing. He keeps a forum for us to share ideas (look to http://www.crystalmarch.com if you want to see what I mean), to learn about his world, to catalog maps and illustrations we have created and most of all, to keep us interested and active. He rewards good roleplaying with fun plots, NPC contacts, a little bit of in-game fame or best of all, an NPC rival. But most importantly, he has the patience of saint when dealing with our group and gently herds us back to the game when we stray too far off topic. And trust me, we do. A lot.

 

[howandwhy99]

sorry i don't
know to pimp a rat bastard
until after the TPK

I was tempted to nominate Diaglo.
But as there has yet to be an obligatory TPK, I don't think he qualifies.

 

[TracerBullet42]

A master of tales
His adventures are epic
Always a good time

I'd like to nominate FCWesel. He aptly handles many different systems for many different games. I don't know how he keeps it all straight, but he manages to run great stories for many different games at the same time. A Rat Bastard in the best way, he crafts stories and villains that can have you laughing one minute and then have you angry at the latest villain the next. (Still waiting to get back at that evil, pineapple-stealing merchant!)

Not only does he run a heck of a game, but he's my brother-in-law and is always willing to lend a hand with just about anything I might need. I say he deserves this more than the rest of you punks. (No offense...)

 

[Macbeth]

Not sure if I'm eligable, since I've done some work for EN Publishing, but heck, BSF deserves recognition even without a prize.

Goblin Pirates and
Fiendish Goblins, darkness
around, damn poison


Playing at BardStephenFox's table is great, he presents one of the most coherent worlds I've eever seen while still allowing pretty much anything the players want to play, and it still fits. After my Psychic Samurai died, I considered a Warlock or a Tielfing Rogue, and it was all cool, he even worked it into the story.

He also manages to make some pretty powerful moments. When my Psychic Samurai entered the sevrice of a Lord as part of a festival, or when we found said Samurai's ancestral weapon in the stockpile of the goblins that killed him, it actually has an almost literary quality, without being a railroad.

And he makes things work. I finally decided to play a Ranger/Scout, and he worked with me to give him appropriate starting gear and a story that really blends with the setting. most characters come in with some goal that may or may not coincide with what really happens in the campaign, but Deigh Roisin entered BSF's world with a plot, a history, and motivations that we both worked on together to make, that work great with the world.

Plus, playing at his table is great fun. We have a great balance of humor (both in and out of character) and seriousness.

Anyways, I figured I should tell everybody what an awesome DM BSF is, even if I'm not elligable to nominate him for the prize. Maybe if I'm not elligable somebody else from our group will come around and nominate him.

 

[HellHound]

Last chance people! One more day to PIMP YOUR GM for free ENP swag!

 

[Mark]

What a great idea, Ryan Nock! (and Hound, Dextra, Morrus, etal) I hope mkore people see this and say a few words about their GMs and collect the goodies your company is kindly awarding for such posts.

 

[JoeGKushner]

My GM is currently Doomed Battalions aka Scott of Chicago.

Here are some reasons why he's good.

1. He's not afraid to mix up humor into deep, dark horror. For example, while in one city, some of the orphans that the characters were helping were known as the little rascals, while fighting off minions of the Black Pharoh (an alias for one of the Cthulhu mythos.)

2. He's not afraid to say, "Move on" when a rule issue in in play. He's willing to look up rules, give a ruling on it and move on. This allows us to see what we're doing and how it's going and then keep playing and hash out any questions outside of the precious game time.

3. He's not afraid to move beyond the system. He's much more of a story teller in that he's not frantically writing down all the CR's for a particular day. He's got a story arc and gives us enough experience and items so that we fit within that vision of his story, as opposed to what level appropriate material we should have.

4. He's not afraid to work with a player when a character concept isn't working out. He'll allow you to change characters and fit the new one into the campaign background without making a fuss about it.

5. He makes fighting like the movies. Our fight yesterday had three players down at one point out of five with an eventual victory over the bad guys by the skin of our teeth. Very much in the vein of die-hard.

6. He's not afraid to mix materials. Got some Dungeon magazine with some Expanded Psionics Handbook with some madness variants from Call of Cthulhu d20? No problem. This allows us to be D&D characters with some interesting twists.

7. He encourages cooperative role playing. Players don't get side quests or goals that are against the other party members. He makes sure that each party member has their own 'kick' and that they're good at it and it doesn't trip over the other player's toes.

8. He's a good guy! Unlike some people, if he's going to be late, he'll call. If the game is cancelled, he'll let you know well ahead of time. If something in the game is going to change, he tells you ahead of time, not during the time when the change is first noticible.

For those reasons, Scott of Chicago, the dreaded Doomed Battalions, needs to be on the list.

 

[Redwind]

FCWesel nomination

I also nominate FCWesel. We have been playing since the early 90's. Always a good story, multipule games and systems, keeps us focused and a great host (although our characters get the snot kicked out of us often).

oh ya, kill that @!#!$@#@ evil, pineapple-stealing merchant!

PSPS - Death to Pikachew!