Hi there, I'm Wright, and I love roleplaying games! Love running them, love playing them, love discussing them, love reading them, love thinking about them. As you might imagine, Roll20 is practically my homepage!
My current favorite RPG is probably Blades in the Dark, but I really love Burning Wheel, most Powered by the Apocalypse games, and the various systems grouped under the "OSR" heading as well. Since Dungeons & Dragons is the Coca-Cola of the hobby, it seems prudent to mention that my favorite version of D&D is probably Basic D&D as filtered through Labyrinth Lord (though I like the B/X text more), but 5e is a close second, and I also like 13th Age. Dungeon World is my favorite attempt to replicate D&D using a different set of mechanics, though I like Torchbearer a lot as well. As to the other "official" iterations of the system (most of which I've played to some extent), they all have bits I like and bits I don't, but of the ones I've played, only B/X and 5e hit the sweet spot for me.
I'm currently involved in four online campaigns, one as a GM. I’m currently running Stars Without Number for my longtime group, broken up by occasional short excursions into other systems.
As a player and a GM, my first and foremost goal is always to help the other players at the table (including the GM) have as much fun as possible. When I'm wearing my player hat, I'm proactive, patient, and always ready to help. I read as much of the rulebook as possible before playing a game I haven't played before, and I become decently familiar with the whole rulebook and any house rules within a few sessions. This speeds play and takes some of the pressure to teach the game off the GM's shoulders. I also try to take the initiative and move the narrative forward if the group can’t decide what to do next or otherwise reaches an impasse, and I try to own the piece of the setting my character would know about if that’s a responsibility the game requires of me. As a GM, I look for the same qualities in potential players.
My playstyle varies depending on the system, but my "comfort zone" character tends to be some variant of "sneaky, snarky, arrogant lady with weird/lacking morals and a massive chip on her shoulder." Why that particular character always erupts from me when left to my own devices is for others to figure out; I have no idea. One thing I can tell you is that while I don't mind my characters dying, especially in a system which expects character death, I would always rather see my characters tormented with hard choices to which there is no easy answer and haunted by their bad decisions. You can see why I like Burning Wheel and Apocalypse World so much. :)
Things I really don’t like in roleplaying games and roleplaying game culture include:
-Denial of player agency. Constraints imposed on a PC’s agency due to fictional circumstances are fine and dandy. Telling me my PC can’t do something because you don’t want me to do it? Bad GM. At the very least, cast off your GM mask and talk to me like a fellow human being about why you don’t want me to do a thing rather than getting all “YOU ARE ZE PLAYER! I AM ZE GM! I OUTRANK YOU!” on me.
-GMs unilaterally fudging dice rolls and/or otherwise ignoring the rules of the game out of obsequious devotion to “the story” - and screw the long tradition of RPG rulebooks tacitly allowing and even approving of such behavior! Note that I am not wholly opposed to fudging a roll with my players’ explicit consent - I hate unilateral fudging, not “Let us never speak of this again” fudging.
-Use of literary terms like “the story” and “the plot” to describe anything which happens at the table - “the story” can only be known after the game session when we reflect upon the events which occurred in the game, and “the plot” is a literary contrivance which gives GMs an excuse to deny player agency.
-Bad sportsmanship, especially bad-faith play. Nothing is more irritating or damaging to a roleplaying group than a player whose every word and action shows a lack of respect for and/or interest in the other players and the spirit of the game. I have been that player before, so I understand the mentality, but it’s still very rude and not something I want at my table.
-Related but distinct, players who believe it’s the GM’s job to resolve all social disputes and cater to their every whim regardless of its appropriateness or the burden it places on the GM’s shoulders. The GM’s job is to portray the fictional world with integrity, adjudicate and apply the rules fairly, and keep the game moving. Everyone at the table is responsible for their own fun, and everyone at the table bears equal responsibility for the emotional and physical health of the others in the group.
-Traditional fantasy elves suck and I don’t like them. Unless they’re dark elves. Dark elves can be cool. Traditional fantasy dwarves are pretty cool, too.
Finally, I refuse to play with hateful gatekeeping dickheads who get off on making other people feel bad. They’re not welcome at my table, and I’ll leave a game lickety-split if I show up at another table and find such terrible behavior tolerated. I also know no one is perfect, that we all have blind spots and bad days, etc. I am not immune to that, and I am willing to forgive those who show remorse on the condition that their subsequent actions support their words.
May your preferred deity bless you for reading this far. I do witter on a bit, don’t I? Have a great day!