[LFG] [D&D 5E] with Dedicated DM with standards

Hello my name is Steve I am 29 years old and have been playing D&D 5e since release and DMing 5e for over a year now. I am looking for a dedicated DM with fairly High Standards as the site is currently flooded with lazy half-assed DM's they get bored or quit after 1 session. So I figured I would try my luck on the forum. Will also say I am a RAW or RAI kinda guy unless the bending is by the DM or makes sense. E.G You wanna use Strength for intimidation.  Current Free days are Sunday - Start time allowing for Minimum of 4 Hours of play. 7PM GMT till 9PM  Monday - Start time allowing for Minimum of 4 Hours of play. 7PM GMT till 9PM Tuesday - Start time allowing for Minimum of 4 Hours of play. 7PM GMT till 9PM Thursday - Start time allowing for Minimum of 4 Hours of play. 7PM GMT till 9PM So if starting at 7PM and game runs for 4 hours will finish 11PM.  Next to weed out any possible lazy DM's I am going to list a few questions that I ask along with some detailed reasons, under that will be a few examples as to why I find it necessary to ask these questions as a few times DM's have said that I must have had some bad experiences to feel the need to ask these questions in the first place. There is a few questions that are just personal preference that I ask as there is a lot of DM's that give absolutely no detail at all in there post. 1. Do you and all your players roll on roll20 and not in real life? (If real life rolling, ignore my post please) I know we all like the feel of dice in are hands but to make sure no fudging or just down right cheating is being done all Combat rolls should be on the site for all to see. This site has perfect sheets for NPC's and monsters, feel free to use them to make life easier on yourself and others. 2. Is this a theater of the mind style game or will there be maps for combat at least? If this is theater of the mind then please ignore my post as every single DM that does not use maps that I have played with does not give adequate descriptions normally leading to screwing over the group. 3. What sheets are you using for your games? and is SRD turn on for quick spell fill out? I proffer Shaped with the SRD turned on. These are these the Sheets your using? 4. What world is your campaign based in and are there any changes in lore for your world? Reason I ask is if there is something huge been changed like Drow are not cursed and followers of the spider queen in your world. If it is a home-brew please let us know what changes there are as our character are from that world we would know the lore. 5. Are there any home-brew rules or optional rules being used in your game? If so please can you list them. If so please can you list them. I ask this because I have had a DM drop in rules just to kill players for there own enjoyment. Example of DM vs Player Here! 6. What chat system do you use for your game? Have Skype, Discord, and Teamspeak will get others if needed just don't like roll20 very quite for me and my microphone never works with it. 7. What Official and unofficial materials are you using in your game? If you are allowing stuff from unofficial sources please say, as if it is some of this none balanced stuff people make up and can edit themselves then I can remove my application from your post as I like there to be balance in the games I join. Example of Broken Play Materials Here! 8. What is the start level for the player characters? If this is an ongoing game replacing someone I expects to be joining either the same level or one level behind anything more is little silly since my character would have his own adventuring experiences. 9. What Stats are you using for build our characters? e.g Rolling, Standard, Point-Buy 10. Is this a short or Long term campaign? I am fine with both but it's nice to know before hand how long it is expected to run for. 11. How long are you sessions? I normally allocate 4-5 hour's when I apply for a game if you expects it to run longer than this please let me know if it is shorter than 4-5 hours it is fine. 12. Do you allow Evil character in you group? I dislike this as it causes upset and trouble for a party this is a group game not a solo adventure and actions have consequences so letting that evil character get away with stealing from other party member's or nobles is just silly. thus why i dislike people playing evil characters. 13. What is your style of DMing? Okay so now for a  sample as to why I ask the questions above. 1. Last Week. I joined an OOTA game when I joined I told the DM that I had done the start bit before but I would not meta-game out and for most part I kept quite until the escape happened. So as we leave the cells we have only one route available for us to travel through the guard tower. So we stealthy traveled towards the tower and the group average was about 16 but the DM decided he would not use group stealth. which with that many NPC'S it is obvious someone will fluff a roll. So the two up front people the level 1 cleric and level 1 Barbarian sneak into the room other following behind to find absolutely No weapons on the racks which magically moved up the rope ladder even though there is no upstairs in the map. What they did find upon entering the room is 1 drow elite and 2 drow stood ready with weapons out that 1 shot killed the barbarian and cleric dead due to the poison on the elite's weapon. Now at this point I pointed out to the DM that In the past run through there was no elite in that room and asked him to check the book he basically said no need. An alarm sounds and the drow leave the room. Wait so the Drow leave all the other prisoners out of there cells and walk off sure.... He then follows up with you guys best heal them people on the floor quickly if you wanna escape. So I say well that would be hard seen as you killed them dead. Wait What?  Yeah dude you reduced both of them to there negative max in one hit you killed them. Oh well you didn't need to go into the guard tower. well yeah we did you said we know that the quagoths nest the other way and the only other thing is a storage room. So after that I basically said sorry to stop you but I am going to be leaving your game you obviously have not read the book or are just a DM vs Player kinda DM. At this point 2 others said yeah that was stupid. The DM said well i tried to fix it by getting them to leave. But at that point it is kinda pointless you got people to build massively detailed backstory's then killed them right out the bat by putting something so far beyond them it is untrue. This is the Mildest experience I have had with Bad DM's as of late. I could honestly tell you stuff so bad you would feel sick to your stomach.  

I wonder how Matt Mercer or Chris Perkins would answer your questions.

Well I ask a lot of questions to Mike Mearls and Jeremy Crawford since they are the main people who made 5E and 90% of the time they reply how you would expect a decent DM to reply. As for Chris Perkins and Matt Mercer I love to watch them host a game but have to say the following No disrespect to anyone. Chris Perkins and his AI group are very unfamiliar with the rules for 5E and he offer a lot of flexibility with them. As for Matt Mercer He is too loose with the rules or just ignores them completely to pull in more viewers. Some people like these styles of play which if fine each to there own but there are those who like to play the game with rules to prevent unrealistic stuff from being done. as for an example of this see below. Grogg and the Armored Bullet - He strikes it 3 times with his weapon which kills the creature. Matt asked how are you going to do it. He then explains that he bites out what would more than likely be a 10KG tongue, Snaps its jaw, and Punches up his fist into it's brain. Where in all that is the weapon being used to kill the creature. If you kill a creature with a weapon explain the death blow with what you used not make up some unreal stuff on the spot.

Well, i'm going to say, good luck finding a good DM Thorin. Finding a DM is usually not very easy (I mean,m considering time tables and what not). Finding a good DM who actually understands what the role of a DM is. That is another feat entirely! I tried it before, both me and a friend of mine and never had any success. If you do find one then I'll probably join you if there is room for one more. Out of the days that you have free I cannot do sunday but all others are good to go and I am GMT+1 so times should match easily.

Thorin, I thought I'd put myself out here just to answer what I could and see if I happened to fit the standard you might happen to be looking for. If in the case I do, we can open a discussion on finding you a game, but before then I do believe I have some questions to answer! 1. I happen to let the dice be out and in the open when it comes combat rolls, the medium is available and does give the players a bit more of an ascertaining eye into how luck just happens to be playing out that day. The sheets are a real godsend when it comes to easing things forward, just a click of a button and everything is calculated and posted in one go, it'd be crazy to not use such a resource. 2. I attempt to have combat maps available (making do with basic terrain and features on the fly for sandbox games), and even larger maps for locations if I happen to have the assets for them. This is particularly so when it comes to systems where positioning is key. The only point in time where I theater of the mind is usually in the more social settings where maps would not be of as much importance. 3. Depending on my players, I have a look to see what sheets may be the easiest to use. A majority of the time, I like to use the SRD in conjunction with the shaped sheet, though my preference goes towards the community contributed one because the layout seems to be a bit easier on my eyes and mind. 4. When I run my games which are homebrew, I let my players know of any specific changes which are made to the races. In any other case, I would stick to the lore of the adventure path's setting, no real big surprises. 5. I usually do not bring in most homebrew or optional rules into my game until after I have looked through them and rigorously tested them in my own time for the sake of balance. Of homebrew things I have used, I have generated a small handful of races using the guidelines with the 5e rulebooks, creating them on a similar level of power to the core races. 6. Depending on the preference of my players, it is either a voice chat by Skype or Discord, I've had a few too many troubles with Roll20's interface to warrant trying to use it. 7. I pretty much stick to the official materials, though if a player happens to wish for something unofficial to be brought in, I respond very similarly to the situation as stated in #5. Though, I have been pulling from the Unearthed Arcana series here and there, as it does seem to be interesting and balanced since it is still coming from WotC. 8. Starting level is another thing I discuss with my players. it's whatever happens to be needed within the adventure path (usually meaning level 1 for the full experience or 3-ish for jumping right into the main book). I usually like games to start around 3rd level, gets you into some of the neater features of the classes and one does not feel as squishy as level 1. 9. Yet another discussion I have with my players. If there is a preference towards rolls, I use a modified standard of 4d6/reroll 1s/drop lowest. If such a thing is not desired, it is soon followed by the standard array and then point-buy. 10. I am more of the sort for longer campaigns, one-shots may be nice as little side ventures, but I wish for the players to experience a story, be it a pre-published adventure or a concoction of my own. 11. My sessions, on average, run about 4 to 5 hours if players are on time. I have had cases where they run until six, but only if requested beforehand or by consensus of the players to run longer. 12. For the most part, I do not usually allow evil characters in the party unless I have a deep discussion with the player on the reasoning for there to be. Inner-party conflict can be fun, but a player acting as an evil character just to sow discord and get away with crazy things is not really fun for the entire group, in my opinion. 13. I will be up front, I did not like the phrasing on this question, what one considers proper is a culmination of both what the players and DM themselves believe the others role should be. There are plenty of systems I know where the DM/GM is the antagonist, and the players enjoy going against a force of the world to beat, that is if there is enough of a rapport between the two to warrant such a relationship and be fun the whole time. My opinion aside, I feel that my position as a DM is to guide the players through a story, theirs. Whether this involves rushing into combat more often than talking or vice versa, I am supposed to be the one who adapts and let the dice fall on if their attempts are a success. I do my best to not say 'no' to a players actions, as long as it does seem like a possibility within their power to do so. The world is not a static thing, it is supposed to change dependent on the actions of the characters (at least to some degree). In regards to railroading, if my players do happen to get off track, I try to go with that flow, though there may be consequences for their absence from deeds left unfilled, as all things are. Hopefully the answers fit within your criteria, and I look forward to your response, I'm always trying to look for a way here and there to improve my DMing skills to a wider audience. -Rocky

Well I would like to thank you Rocky for replying to the questions and the responses are what I and my friends look for in a DM. I myself Hate question 13 and have been thinking of taking it off for a while now and just asking it in person via a chat system as it is hard to convey tones when using text. I would very much like to have a chat with you and hopefully get a stable and long term game on the go I know of at least one other among my RL friend who is also interested. Will send you a PM with my Skype am free at the moment but busy tomorrow all day.  Elhazzared - I am fine with you joining if there is room but as I myself am not the DM I cannot guarantee you a spot but I will ask on your behalf when I speak to him. =)

I would like to join this as well for sundays if possible.  I'm quite exprienced with the roll20 system and with 5e

Thank you very much Thorin and Rocky if you do happen to accept me in your game as well. Again, the only day from those you listed earlier on is Sunday as I already have a savage worlds game on that day so if it ends up on any of the other 3 I'll be glad to join.

So I spoke with Rocky and he seems like a nice guy but my friends do not wish to pay to play a game that already costs them money to get the books. so I and them are still looking for a DM sorry Rocky maybe some of the others in this thread will be interested in paying to play.  For those who are interested in Rockys price I think it is $10 per Hour for the entire group so the more of you there are the cheaper it will be. Unfortunately I am little strap for cash so cannot take him up on this service.

Yeah I also don't agree with paid DMing.

Completely understandable, it's not for everyone and we all have our reasons for our opinions. Good luck on finding the DMs you all are looking for. Game on. -Rocky

Just a reminder, we do not allow posts on LFG threads unless you are interested in playing in the game. Best of luck in your search!

From what I can gather you seem to have some players already in the form of a pre-made group. I currently have a LFG going on where only groups can apply. Most of your questions are already answered in the main thread over at the discussion forum. I would most probably need to add that the sheet used is the 5e shaped one including all the API goodness that comes with it. If you want to ask any other questions feel free to do so over at the game forum.