JoeGKushner
Adventurer
That's a shame but I know where you're coming from. I've got friends who think I waste too much time here myself! :\
March Fo(u)rth for GM's Day Giveaway - Pimp Your GM!
- Thread starter RangerWickett
- Start date
Galethorn
First Post
I nominate my good friend Josh; whenever I get to be a player, he's the GM.
Great games with pirates
A sea-gull vomits on you!
GMs on the fly
In terms of DMing, he's everything I'm not (and in many cases, wish I was). He's quick to make things up, doesn't get stuck on the details, and always seems to keep the action moving. That said, he takes 'impartiality' to an extreme point, and always tries to kill off his GF's character (much to my chagrin, since her character in the pirate game is my character's daughter...)
He's a good DM, especially considering he started a little less than a year ago, on a weekend that I wasn't ready to run a game on.
Great games with pirates
A sea-gull vomits on you!
GMs on the fly
In terms of DMing, he's everything I'm not (and in many cases, wish I was). He's quick to make things up, doesn't get stuck on the details, and always seems to keep the action moving. That said, he takes 'impartiality' to an extreme point, and always tries to kill off his GF's character (much to my chagrin, since her character in the pirate game is my character's daughter...)
He's a good DM, especially considering he started a little less than a year ago, on a weekend that I wasn't ready to run a game on.
Bretbo
First Post
I'd like to nominate my GM: Threshel (aka Jay). He runs our regular game of Mutants and Masterminds and is one of the best superhero game GMs' I've ever played with. He has a real feel for the subject matter; encouraging us to use picturesque verbage about how our characters accomplish a task. We've encountered robots, atlanteans, sea monsters and all kinds of staple comic book elements. Our game takes place in the DC Universe in John Byrne's Elseworlds series Generations; how cool is that! And, what I think is quite important, he always runs the game with equal amounts of combat and role playing.
I think what is truly telling about his GM style is when I first met him at a con game. He was scheduled to run, but had dental surgery the day before. He still showned up, in some amount of pain, and ran a absolutely great game. He didn't really have to show, it was a free event, but felt obligated. Now thats a great GM! (IMHO).
I think what is truly telling about his GM style is when I first met him at a con game. He was scheduled to run, but had dental surgery the day before. He still showned up, in some amount of pain, and ran a absolutely great game. He didn't really have to show, it was a free event, but felt obligated. Now thats a great GM! (IMHO).
fluffaderm
First Post
Gospog, King of All Gamemasters
I am nominating Gospog as King of all Gamemasters.
I had never even heard of an RPG, much less played one, before meeting Gospog. I count my blessings that, of all the gamers in the world, Gospog introduced me to the world of role-playing.
When you play with Gospg, you can always expect:
- excitement
- endless humor
- clever and witty dialogue
- intriguing plots
- NPCs you love to hate
- NPCs you hate to love
- dinner and snacks
- high adventure
- a quick pace
- great scenery and miniatures
- enthsiasm
When you play with Gospog, you will never:
- be bored
- wish you were playing in someone else's game
- stop laughing
- forget about NPCs
- be hungry
- smell him coming a mile away
And so, to my favorite GM, I dedicate this poem:
You write every adventure
As if it were to be sold.
You treat every adventure
As a story that must be told.
You create characters
With personality and style
Who we love to harass
And who make us smile.
When you run your games
You never cease to find
A way to keep
Each of us players in mind.
And so this March 4th
I hope you remember
That your players will
Be grateful forever!
Many thanks, Gospog!
I am nominating Gospog as King of all Gamemasters.
I had never even heard of an RPG, much less played one, before meeting Gospog. I count my blessings that, of all the gamers in the world, Gospog introduced me to the world of role-playing.
When you play with Gospg, you can always expect:
- excitement
- endless humor
- clever and witty dialogue
- intriguing plots
- NPCs you love to hate
- NPCs you hate to love
- dinner and snacks
- high adventure
- a quick pace
- great scenery and miniatures
- enthsiasm
When you play with Gospog, you will never:
- be bored
- wish you were playing in someone else's game
- stop laughing
- forget about NPCs
- be hungry
- smell him coming a mile away
And so, to my favorite GM, I dedicate this poem:
You write every adventure
As if it were to be sold.
You treat every adventure
As a story that must be told.
You create characters
With personality and style
Who we love to harass
And who make us smile.
When you run your games
You never cease to find
A way to keep
Each of us players in mind.
And so this March 4th
I hope you remember
That your players will
Be grateful forever!
Many thanks, Gospog!
I'd like to nominate Rystil Arden. To my knowledge, he has been DMing for 8 years, for multiple groups of players, each of which has multiple campaigns running at the same time. And he's never been unprepared to run any of them. This has made him an excellent ad-libber, which is good because many of his PCs are drawn to random magical effects like moths to the flame.
He also brings a stunning degree of detail to his NPCs. There are no villains that sit in their Evil Fortress, waiting for some hero to come challenge them -- NPCs have their own agendas and are doing their own thing, whether the PCs are involved or not. This, combined with his considerable acting expericence (lead roles in several plays, most recently at MIT), gives the impression that you are playing against (or with) real people in a real world, a feeling that cannot be matched by the most enthralling book or the most realistic video game.
Above all this, however, he is a master at putting his PCs in situations that are just plain fun. I could go on for hours about our ship-to-ship or ship-to-Space-Kraken Spelljamming battles, the time my barbarian slid down a 500-foot long immovable rod to smash through 3 floors of a castle and get into a vault that (previously) had no entrances, or the time our fighter, monk, and thief went toe-to-toe with an army of 300... and won. But people around here seem to like haiku more.
When you get the chance
Always eat the magic cheese
What's the worst it could do?
Thanks for 8 years of fun, Mark!
He also brings a stunning degree of detail to his NPCs. There are no villains that sit in their Evil Fortress, waiting for some hero to come challenge them -- NPCs have their own agendas and are doing their own thing, whether the PCs are involved or not. This, combined with his considerable acting expericence (lead roles in several plays, most recently at MIT), gives the impression that you are playing against (or with) real people in a real world, a feeling that cannot be matched by the most enthralling book or the most realistic video game.
Above all this, however, he is a master at putting his PCs in situations that are just plain fun. I could go on for hours about our ship-to-ship or ship-to-Space-Kraken Spelljamming battles, the time my barbarian slid down a 500-foot long immovable rod to smash through 3 floors of a castle and get into a vault that (previously) had no entrances, or the time our fighter, monk, and thief went toe-to-toe with an army of 300... and won. But people around here seem to like haiku more.
When you get the chance
Always eat the magic cheese
What's the worst it could do?
Thanks for 8 years of fun, Mark!
Sargon the Kassadian
First Post
I nominate Sam (aka theprivateer00) for his roleplaying talent, unceasing motivation to play (or we'd run wild), and creative and unique story ideas (clown pirates and a miniature metal dragon).
My monk's at 1 hp,
Don't roll a natural 20,
Though I know you will.
My monk's at 1 hp,
Don't roll a natural 20,
Though I know you will.
I hope I'm doing this right...
This is the first time I've done anything like this. I'm not usually much of a "joiner."
I have done so in order to put forward my current DM, known here as Steel_Wind. His current campaign, set in the War of the Lance on Krynn, is one of the best I have played. It is ambitious, challenging, absorbing and, most importantly, fun .
He has introduced two terrific innovations to our group (self-styled as CAMSEG; the Canadian Association of Mad Scientists and Evil Geniuses). One is a lovely on-line campaign journal, set up in a style reminiscent of the d20 DragonLance books. This is both useful as a reference resource and as a source of amusing reminiscence.
His other innovation is the much-discussed-elsewhere introduction of computerized projection for combat maps. I'm sure we are only scratching the surface of the possibilities of this technological revolution. It was well worth the $100 CND I contributed to its purchase. (Kudos also to Kevin, who bunged together the support unit for the projector.)
Steel_Wind is not our usual DM (Dave and Mark fit that category; both also highly skilled at the Art), but has run us through several campaigns over the years. I particularly recall a high level RoleMaster game and a Last Unicorn Star Trek: TNG jaunt that were both amusing and, apparently, memorable.
Steel_Wind's Dming style is engaging and thourough, with a good eye for detail. He rewards good roleplaying and punishes out-of-character gaffes through XP rewards/penalties. To paraphrase Monty Python, "He's a cruel man, but fair!"
Thanks for this opportunity to get free stuff!
This is the first time I've done anything like this. I'm not usually much of a "joiner."
I have done so in order to put forward my current DM, known here as Steel_Wind. His current campaign, set in the War of the Lance on Krynn, is one of the best I have played. It is ambitious, challenging, absorbing and, most importantly, fun .
He has introduced two terrific innovations to our group (self-styled as CAMSEG; the Canadian Association of Mad Scientists and Evil Geniuses). One is a lovely on-line campaign journal, set up in a style reminiscent of the d20 DragonLance books. This is both useful as a reference resource and as a source of amusing reminiscence.
His other innovation is the much-discussed-elsewhere introduction of computerized projection for combat maps. I'm sure we are only scratching the surface of the possibilities of this technological revolution. It was well worth the $100 CND I contributed to its purchase. (Kudos also to Kevin, who bunged together the support unit for the projector.)
Steel_Wind is not our usual DM (Dave and Mark fit that category; both also highly skilled at the Art), but has run us through several campaigns over the years. I particularly recall a high level RoleMaster game and a Last Unicorn Star Trek: TNG jaunt that were both amusing and, apparently, memorable.
Steel_Wind's Dming style is engaging and thourough, with a good eye for detail. He rewards good roleplaying and punishes out-of-character gaffes through XP rewards/penalties. To paraphrase Monty Python, "He's a cruel man, but fair!"
Thanks for this opportunity to get free stuff!
Heathen72
Explorer
All GM's deserve an award on this day, but let mention Rob J. who has run a game week in/week out for our group for the past couple of years now, worthy in of itself of an award, particularly given the amount of prep work he does between sessions.
His pace took a little getting used to at first, but now we appreciate how the story slowly burns towards a firecracker climax - and love how the mystery unfolds. He has remained resolutely stingy when giving out XP, despite our whinging, and it has made our progress to 11th (12th, Rob?) all the more satisfying. We know we've earned it. Rob has a scrupulous approach to GMing - he works hard on the story, and always attends to the need for "fun", but is scrupulously fair. He knows that fun sometimes means saying no to your players, as much as they want you to say yes.
Matt and I have been playing with Rob for years, and recently brought a third player into the group, who hadn't played since he was a kid, and this is what he wrote on our GM's Day card to Rob (if you'll forgive the presumption, Hil)
Happy GM's Day Rob!
You've done an absolutely sterling job over the past 18 months and set an
amazing standard. Its been a fabulous reintroduction to the game and I'm
hugely intrigued by this collision between the Iron Kingdoms and Ghostwalk.
Fab stuff all round.
Thanks Rob. You've been a great GM over the last couple of years. I love the fact that I'm looking forward to each session with as much excitement as I did when I was at school.
Mike
His pace took a little getting used to at first, but now we appreciate how the story slowly burns towards a firecracker climax - and love how the mystery unfolds. He has remained resolutely stingy when giving out XP, despite our whinging, and it has made our progress to 11th (12th, Rob?) all the more satisfying. We know we've earned it. Rob has a scrupulous approach to GMing - he works hard on the story, and always attends to the need for "fun", but is scrupulously fair. He knows that fun sometimes means saying no to your players, as much as they want you to say yes.
Matt and I have been playing with Rob for years, and recently brought a third player into the group, who hadn't played since he was a kid, and this is what he wrote on our GM's Day card to Rob (if you'll forgive the presumption, Hil)
Happy GM's Day Rob!
You've done an absolutely sterling job over the past 18 months and set an
amazing standard. Its been a fabulous reintroduction to the game and I'm
hugely intrigued by this collision between the Iron Kingdoms and Ghostwalk.
Fab stuff all round.
Thanks Rob. You've been a great GM over the last couple of years. I love the fact that I'm looking forward to each session with as much excitement as I did when I was at school.
Mike
Best DM ever
My DM is Rob better known around here as Stealwind he talked us into the wonderful projecter setup that you all have seen here that has made our games 10 time better for everyone. We can now see what our characters are doing and where they are. It has made our games that he runs much better and we also have others how take a turn as DM who accell because of his inovations.
My DM is Rob better known around here as Stealwind he talked us into the wonderful projecter setup that you all have seen here that has made our games 10 time better for everyone. We can now see what our characters are doing and where they are. It has made our games that he runs much better and we also have others how take a turn as DM who accell because of his inovations.
MonkeyDragon
Explorer
Adam Kohl is the bestest DM ever.
First, he is an excellent storyteller. The amount of work and complexity he puts into them is nearly impossible to describe. Many-faceted plots are worked out months in advance, complete with hooks tailored to each player. The NPCs are vivid and memorable. Villians you love to hate, and when somebody's too powerful to mess with, you can tell just by the inflection in thier speech. He does voices and accents, gives us handouts, and invents twists that keep everybody guessing.
Second, he runs his games with fairness. He knows when to use the rules, and when to play fast and loose to keep the game moving. He judges things fairly. And he's kind. He knows how to be a rat bastard, but it's always in good fun and he 's just all together pleasant to have him around the table.
Third, he's my mentor. Without Adam, I would never have blossomed into the proud geek I am today. He taught me to play magic, and to play D&D. He taught me to DM. He's always around to answer my questions about rules, and I've me ideas on plots, dealing with players, how to run an adventure, and all the little details that I would never have figured out on my own. Yet when he sits at my gaming table, he doesnt take advantage of the fact that he taught me all the little DM tricks I know. He's pointed me to magazines, newsletters, websites, and this forum. He calls me his protoge, and that makes me proud. Adam is the bestest DM there could be.
First, he is an excellent storyteller. The amount of work and complexity he puts into them is nearly impossible to describe. Many-faceted plots are worked out months in advance, complete with hooks tailored to each player. The NPCs are vivid and memorable. Villians you love to hate, and when somebody's too powerful to mess with, you can tell just by the inflection in thier speech. He does voices and accents, gives us handouts, and invents twists that keep everybody guessing.
Second, he runs his games with fairness. He knows when to use the rules, and when to play fast and loose to keep the game moving. He judges things fairly. And he's kind. He knows how to be a rat bastard, but it's always in good fun and he 's just all together pleasant to have him around the table.
Third, he's my mentor. Without Adam, I would never have blossomed into the proud geek I am today. He taught me to play magic, and to play D&D. He taught me to DM. He's always around to answer my questions about rules, and I've me ideas on plots, dealing with players, how to run an adventure, and all the little details that I would never have figured out on my own. Yet when he sits at my gaming table, he doesnt take advantage of the fact that he taught me all the little DM tricks I know. He's pointed me to magazines, newsletters, websites, and this forum. He calls me his protoge, and that makes me proud. Adam is the bestest DM there could be.
