DM and Gaming Philosophy

1. Life’s too short not to be in a gaming group you enjoy.
2. I’m not an extremista.
3. Respect, patience and commitment are important personal qualities.
4. Creativity, spontaneity and improvisation are essential player qualities.
5. The DM and the players share the game.
6. The DM should provide players with plenty of adventuring options and then go with the flow.
7. Adventuring is a dangerous profession.
8. Rewards should be earned.
9. Fighting is good, but role-playing and intrigue are also important
10. Know thy character.
11. Personally, I prefer low-magic settings with mainly Human PCs

1. If anyone decides that this gaming group isn't for them and decides to move on, I don't take it personally. The great thing about online gaming is the possibility of finding a group that fits your style of play. If you like the group and have ideas to increase the fun value, let's hear them.

2. I guess I mean to say that I'm a flexible person. I don't believe that every rule has to be followed to the letter if it doesn't fit the kind of game we want to play.

3. I can be somewhat flexible in most situations, but I have much less tolerance for people who are disrespectful towards their fellow players, who lose patience when the dice don't go their way or who aren't sure if they can make the time for our game. This is one reason why I require PCs NOT to be antagonistic towards other members of their party. Life's too short.

I may not be the best DM, but I'm not going to trash you behind your back, get upset over honest mistakes or question your reasons for doing things (if those things aren't disrespectful).

If a player doesn't show up for a session and we don't know why, I try to give the player the benefit of the doubt and find out what's up. I realize that it's common to drop out of online games without warning or a reason, but I try not to assume anything. If I don't get a response, I'll drop the player, but they can always ask to be re-invited.

4. I like players who try anything (as long as they're also willing to accept the consequences). We don't need rules to tell us if something is allowed. You describe what you want to do, we'll/I'll figure out how plausible it sounds and whether and which ability check is required.

If you like to throw dust in your opponent's eyes when you fight, just do it (make sure there's dust to hand). If you like to trip opponents, before you gore them, tell me-- there's no sweeping strike ability so we'll have to decide what makes sense.

5. This is not MY game and the players are only along for the ride. My job is to give the players options, describe the choices as well as I can, give them an environment they can interact with and judge how well they succeed at the tasks. Together we will decide where this story takes us. Which leads to...

6. I like giving players many adventuring options and let your PCs explore the one(s) that sound the most exciting. If you like playing in sandboxes, that's my preferred approach.

7. I do not feel it's my duty to kill the PCs. Although I will do my best to choose level-appropriate adventures, I won't sugar-coat things if the party is unprepared, undermanned or just plain ignorant for their own good. All of the players look quite experienced and have a sense for when they're over their heads, but I just wanted to be clear on this point.

8. Related to the idea above is that I won't give away XPs or treasure for unearned activities. I do give points for good role-playing, which I think is important in our group.

9. This is to say that we won't be doing dungeon crawling exclusively. I like the idea of PCs having to choose sides in local or territorial rivalries to achieve their (the party's) ends. I also like giving PCs who do a good job of interacting with locals advantages that wouldn't have come with a 'kick in the doors' approach. But when there's a fight on, let's get it on!

10. I won't be able to keep track of everything your PC can do, so you'll have to be up to speed on your special racial and class abilities.

11. I was never a fan of über-characters or power gaming or bad guys from other planes of existence or omnipotent magic users. We may not be in agreement in this group, but I like a game where magic is not...so powerful it overbalances the game? I'm on thin ice here. I'm not dogmatic on this point, but it feels right that magic have a certain stigma attached to it. I'm not sure how that plays out practically, but it's a preference.