I'll be moving to Toronto in late July/early August to attend graduate school. In contrast to my online persona, as a gamer I'm quite easygoing and adaptable to a wide variety of playing styles and group dynamics.
That stated, I tend to avoid groups where people get heavily invested in their characters or feel the need to be "in character" all session. This statement should not, however, be taken as an indication of disinterest in character development or the interaction between character and story. I tend to prefer story-oriented games over tactically-oriented games but this is by no means an absolute rule in my life.
I have spent most of my gaming career as a GM but have very much enjoyed my time in Teflon Billy's (our perennial Ennies judge) and other well-written campaigns of all genres.
If there are campaigns in the Toronto area in need of an additional player, I would appreciate hearing from you. I imagine, the way these things go, that I will have to test a number of campaigns before I find a good fit for my playing style and a group dynamic in which I feel comfortable. Still, sometimes these things are easier than they appear.
EDIT: I realize that the above text does not give much information about me. But because my preferences and style are fairly catholic, all I can think to do is produce a list of my past characters:
Mutants & Masterminds
The Mormodillo: The equivalent version of Captain America from the alternative dimension of Earth: Ballam. The Mormodillo wielded the Seer Stones of Zarahemla and the Javelin of Teancum (the holy relics of Mormonism, the only truly American religion); as well he was endowed with the power the curl himself into an invulnerable ball and tunnel rapidly, as many armadillos can. (The armadillo was the totemic symbol of the Americas used in many 16th century maps and reference books.)
Brown Bear: Beginning the campaign as a mute, inanimate teddybear, Brown Bear was originally an AI created by Soviet scientists for military operations but then sold to an American toy company during the collapse of Communism. Although resembling a children's toy, Brown Bear could shoot deadly laser beams from his eyes and telepathically communicate with children. Despite his destructive capacities, Brown Bear had been mainly reprogrammed as a kids' toy. So, after his transformation through exposure to an alien technology (after which time he became a 9' tall bear with tunsten carbide claws), Brown Bear retained as his war cry when facing super villains: "Hi everybody! I'm Brown Bear!"
Nomen: Nomen appears to be a man who looks like a manequin, the odd smooth featureless look that shape-shifters like him often take on when "between forms." But contrary to his fellow party members' views, Nomen is not a humanoid mutant who looks like that DS9 character; he is in fact, one of the shape-shifting mind controlling space lizards of David Icke's conspiracy theories. Of course, he's a fifth columnist amongst the diabolical space lizards, having chosen to masquerade as a human superhero. Inserting the Icke conspiracy (which is very entertaining reading all on its own) is something I worked out with my GM and which is continuing to inform the campaign -- after all, how could a superhero campaign not be improved with the knowledge that, deep down, the Queen is actually a shape-shifting lizard from space who has really low self-esteem?
Fantasy Genre
In addition to the various unmemorable characters I've played, I've also been
Sairon Grey: Alcoholic translator of Midgaard -- just a generally terrible translator who has managed to get by being a highly effective mage. Although a near-pathological liar, writer of atrocious love poetry, professionally incompetent and excessively attracted to wine, Sairon was a high-functioning member of his party, not simply because of his magical gifts but because... people like this tend to be the great successes of our society provided they can cover these features with a veneer or respectability.
Coriantur Ethem: The character in the fantasy campaign in which I'm currently playing, Coriantur is the product of an experiment I did, in concert with my GM: what is the minimum number of changes you need to make to a fantasy world's myth system to turn it into hermeticism? It turns out that one can place a 15th century hermetic mage in nearly any medieval or early modern society wit just a few tweaks to the myth system. Of course, in addition to trying to come up with the secret occult knowledge that will unlock the universe, Coriantur loves collecting letters of reference so that, in the event of emergency, much can be accomplished on the credit of various local rulers and officials.
Of course, these characters aren't actually the majority -- just the most extremely defined. I prefer to work closely with a GM when developing my character (in part because 75% of the time, I am the GM and know how important it is to cooperate in defining a good character) and am always up for trying new things.
That stated, I tend to avoid groups where people get heavily invested in their characters or feel the need to be "in character" all session. This statement should not, however, be taken as an indication of disinterest in character development or the interaction between character and story. I tend to prefer story-oriented games over tactically-oriented games but this is by no means an absolute rule in my life.
I have spent most of my gaming career as a GM but have very much enjoyed my time in Teflon Billy's (our perennial Ennies judge) and other well-written campaigns of all genres.
If there are campaigns in the Toronto area in need of an additional player, I would appreciate hearing from you. I imagine, the way these things go, that I will have to test a number of campaigns before I find a good fit for my playing style and a group dynamic in which I feel comfortable. Still, sometimes these things are easier than they appear.
EDIT: I realize that the above text does not give much information about me. But because my preferences and style are fairly catholic, all I can think to do is produce a list of my past characters:
Mutants & Masterminds
The Mormodillo: The equivalent version of Captain America from the alternative dimension of Earth: Ballam. The Mormodillo wielded the Seer Stones of Zarahemla and the Javelin of Teancum (the holy relics of Mormonism, the only truly American religion); as well he was endowed with the power the curl himself into an invulnerable ball and tunnel rapidly, as many armadillos can. (The armadillo was the totemic symbol of the Americas used in many 16th century maps and reference books.)
Brown Bear: Beginning the campaign as a mute, inanimate teddybear, Brown Bear was originally an AI created by Soviet scientists for military operations but then sold to an American toy company during the collapse of Communism. Although resembling a children's toy, Brown Bear could shoot deadly laser beams from his eyes and telepathically communicate with children. Despite his destructive capacities, Brown Bear had been mainly reprogrammed as a kids' toy. So, after his transformation through exposure to an alien technology (after which time he became a 9' tall bear with tunsten carbide claws), Brown Bear retained as his war cry when facing super villains: "Hi everybody! I'm Brown Bear!"
Nomen: Nomen appears to be a man who looks like a manequin, the odd smooth featureless look that shape-shifters like him often take on when "between forms." But contrary to his fellow party members' views, Nomen is not a humanoid mutant who looks like that DS9 character; he is in fact, one of the shape-shifting mind controlling space lizards of David Icke's conspiracy theories. Of course, he's a fifth columnist amongst the diabolical space lizards, having chosen to masquerade as a human superhero. Inserting the Icke conspiracy (which is very entertaining reading all on its own) is something I worked out with my GM and which is continuing to inform the campaign -- after all, how could a superhero campaign not be improved with the knowledge that, deep down, the Queen is actually a shape-shifting lizard from space who has really low self-esteem?
Fantasy Genre
In addition to the various unmemorable characters I've played, I've also been
Sairon Grey: Alcoholic translator of Midgaard -- just a generally terrible translator who has managed to get by being a highly effective mage. Although a near-pathological liar, writer of atrocious love poetry, professionally incompetent and excessively attracted to wine, Sairon was a high-functioning member of his party, not simply because of his magical gifts but because... people like this tend to be the great successes of our society provided they can cover these features with a veneer or respectability.
Coriantur Ethem: The character in the fantasy campaign in which I'm currently playing, Coriantur is the product of an experiment I did, in concert with my GM: what is the minimum number of changes you need to make to a fantasy world's myth system to turn it into hermeticism? It turns out that one can place a 15th century hermetic mage in nearly any medieval or early modern society wit just a few tweaks to the myth system. Of course, in addition to trying to come up with the secret occult knowledge that will unlock the universe, Coriantur loves collecting letters of reference so that, in the event of emergency, much can be accomplished on the credit of various local rulers and officials.
Of course, these characters aren't actually the majority -- just the most extremely defined. I prefer to work closely with a GM when developing my character (in part because 75% of the time, I am the GM and know how important it is to cooperate in defining a good character) and am always up for trying new things.
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