Bio created in 2017:
36 - UK.
Got into roleplaying in my early teens and loved it. After college, it fell by the wayside as real life got in the way.
Mostly played (MMO)RPGs to get my fix since then (eventually ended up hardcore raiding and leading raids nightly for several years in EQ2 (Xanadu)), but it isn't the same.
Over 10 years later a friend recommended I watch Critical Role, and now I've got an itch I can't scratch.
Previously played: D&D 5e / 3e, AD&D 2E, World of Darkness, Rifts (and other palladium books settings;NMNT/Beyond Supernatural/Heroes Unlimited/Aliens Unlimited...), Call of Cthulhu, Shadowrun.
Played some Magic the Gathering from Beta to... 6th Edition.
Player Warhammer/40k and a few other miniature related games (Necromunda was fun when that first came out, easy to get into), but mostly preferred the painting.
Studied Computer Game Design at university (Interactive Computer Entertainment), decided against moving to pursue it further after my local Acclaim studio closed down (where I'd been working during final year of uni).
I really love dark/post-apocalyptic settings (magical post-apocalypse was what first drew me to play Rifts and other Palladium settings, and of course Call of Cthulhu, I always loved the insanity system and the inevitability of complete annihilation, and that the best you could ever hope for was to buy a little time).
I'm not a Murder Hobo and ideally prefer games to have more depth than just kill things, get loot. Conversely, I don’t treat D&D as a theater group where we only ever talk in character and focus mostly on dialogue and intra-party drama. With that in mind, looking back over the past year of gaming, I find that I enjoy D&D sessions the most when I get to ask a DM questions; what we see, what we can do, can this be used to achieve that... coming up with solutions the DM didn't think of, but allows are certainly some of my fondest group experiences in D&D. Combat and Dialogue quickly fade from memory, it's all the things in-between that bring me back to D&D time and again, the intricacies and nuances that are only possible when role-playing.
Some of my most frustrating moments over the years have probably been when the DM has one solution to a problem, and the players are left for hours trying to figure it out, frustrated and not having fun, with all suggestions and ingenuity regarding finding different solutions shot down no matter how plausible. Such fixed linear narrative doesn't make for a good role-playing experience.
Regularly drop pronouns and determiners; probably a bad habit picked up only to expedite communication when leading raids. This was probably evident from the first sentence.
More detailed answers to commonly asked questions:
How long you've been playing D&D:
I first started D&D around '95.
Prior to that my friends and I had mostly played Warhammer in various forms, and Palladium based Role Playing settings. Played regularly until around '02, post-university life finally got to us all and eventually the gaming dried up. Tried a little Play by Post for a year or so, but wasn't the same back then and everything took ages and often failed to keep going. Been trying to get back into it the past year or so, mostly prompted by a few online friends and watching Critical Role helped motivate me.
Mostly familiar with Forgotten Realms, While I've read Dragonlance books, I'm not so familiar with the setting as a whole. Happy to play any setting.
What was the longest-running campaign you've played in:
A few years, although we had regular survival based 1 shots, as we all really enjoyed that early game feel of being underpowered and having a large dangerous world to escape from.
The highest character from level 1 played right through certainly reached double digits, although maybe only 11-13.
Have you played D&D on Roll20 before:
Yes. I've been through the tutorial in full and been in other games for a few months and I’m running a game for friends in real life that uses Roll20 for mapped areas or if we can’t meet up in person one week.
Availability:
I'm from the UK and I work from home and hours are flexible.
I'm busy Tuesday and Friday evenings.
Why do you play D&D?
Socially; it's a lot more fun to game with others, to work together, collaborate on a task and a story, to bring characters together and see where things can go.
Mentally; it's a lot more engaging than just about any other medium or activity. The creative and imaginative processes used regularly in play sessions just aren't available in other mediums.
Creatively; you have so much more freedom while still having a series of unusual restrictions in the sense of rules, setting and other players. It somehow just feels more rewarding than simply writing short stories or novella.
Ideally, I'd like a hero focused game with a focus on cooperation, teamwork, and with no inter-party drama, although survival-focused as found in more horror type settings is also great.
How do you feel about roleplaying? How comfortable with roleplaying are you?
I like to play out characters as they should be; however getting fully into the character can be more difficult, I'm no actor and certainly more of an introvert.
I typically help myself out in this sense by keeping character personalities close enough to my own that I could see myself doing what the character is doing. That's not to say that all of my characters are just me, just that I'm not going to go playing a flirty halfling female that's always full of joy and wants to be the centre of attention.
Typically I prefer indirect roleplay rather than a more theatrical direct roleplay, the more comfortable I get with a character/game/people, the more in character I can probably get.
I'm happy to put in a lot of effort regarding the game/character including backstory as required. I like know who my character is/was and why he isn't living a safe sensible life and what drove him to risk regular death doing the kinds of things adventurers get up to that anyone with an ounce of self preservation would consider crazy.
What race would you be interested in playing:
I favour lithe intellectual races, my go-to was always various flavours of elf. Planetouched are fun - if available - Kor also sound cool (considering I go rockclimbing/bouldering). I always loved Kercpa (tiny squirrel race from AD&D times). I could probably play anything if it fit with the world/character concept, but for a long-term campaign I'd probably want something I can identify with more.
What class would you be interested in playing:
Characters I prefer are generally those with some sort of internal conflict whether overt or not, perhaps being driven by a desire for redemption, rather than personal greed or naive heroism. I typically don't stray too far from my own personality and ideals, especially if roleplay and speaking in character is expected.
Firstly, I always want to work with the DM/players to ensure that any character I make works and is a team player, I'm very flexible and accommodating with what and how I play a character. I do draw the line at ensuring I still have agency within the game and it's fun for me.
Not class related but, I'm firmly of the opinion that no sane person would go "adventuring" when they have a happy loving stable family/community, not in the risking death daily D&D sense of the word adventure. So it may be cliche to do it, but I do prefer the broken/downtrodden/tragic past trope for my characters, it gives a much more realistic justification to go adventuring (if you have no home/family) and is something you can empathise with, rather than feeling that your character is mentally defective and inconsiderate to those they turned their back on.
For years as a kid (90s) I'd typically try to create D&D variations that could be loosely considered Jedi-like (I loved Luke's story growing up, it was great fuel for a kids imagination), and I can't say that desire has ever really gone away. In the intrinsic/extrinsic sense, I've always preferred what is typically seen as an eastern view that power comes from within (see extra credits myth of the gun: www.youtube.com/watch?v=os3lWIuGsXE ).
I have a somewhat contrarian nature and always like to seek the road less traveled, this is as true in character ideas as it is for real life. I typically prefered to multiclass (although this seems somewhat less beneficial in 5e outside of a few specifics or very late game choices), and I'm fine sacrificing raw power for more lateral progression and greater options and diversity, I'm a lot more interested in creating the style/character I want than I am in being powerful, that said I do try and also make it works and have a character that will survive (It’s not fun to be the runt of the party that never offers anything useful). Typically I favor Dex/Int/Wis dominant roles and archetypes, I prefer finesse of body or mind to charm or brute force.
I like characters to have depth and scope, to be more than just the sum of their parts. Not in an overt way, but for their present to make sense in the context of a past. To be justified in their actions rather than just be a piece on a table that I move around because I needed a character for a game.
I'm pretty open on what role I can fill, I quite enjoy the jack of all trades approach on a psychological level (it's comforting).
Given what I've said, you'd think Bard would be ideal, but as mentioned above my introvert nature and the very hard written flavour to who a bard is and how it plays being prescribed to the player and almost forced onto them, it leaves me hugely reluctant to do it. Maybe a travelling bass player than a minstrel or storyteller could fit.
Tell me about a memorable moment from a previous campaign you were in:
Most memorable moment would be either detonating a fireball as a touch attack while in Limbo and surrounded by Githyanki. I was playing an Elven Bladesinger in what turned into a Planescape campaign back in AD&D 2e. I'd have killed myself if I failed the save, but I was outnumbered and dead if I didn't do something drastic. I survived blackened and burnt, but it's one of the few things that happened during that campaign that I still remember nearly 20 years later.
Another incident was also 2e, but I had a feather token (tree) on a wood elf ranger. Got swallowed by a Purple Worm, back then there was no stipulation on where/how to use it, so inside a Purple Worm was allowed, and obviously not somewhere that a large tree can fit.
What are your expectations as a player:
Agency; So long as we know what's expected of us, I'd like to feel as though we have free will and that we can as a group create a joint narrative and story together. I think the loss or absence of agency can be the biggest threat to the enjoyment of a game, if you no longer feel like you have self-determination or that your actions matter, or at least that you have a choice in making them, then you're no longer playing a role, you're an NPC. That's not to say I won't just go where I think the DM/Story requires us to go, but allowing the players to do so in their own way and in their own time is very important.
Teamwork; For years (2006-2011) I used to lead hardcore raids in EQ2 (for a guild called Xanadu), and that was one of my driving forces that kept me going through what was certainly far from fun a lot of times. Working together to solve problems, defeat encounters, and shape our path in the world is certainly something that's just as important here too. Prior to that I also played inline hockey from about the age of 11, I was assistant captain here and there and we did win the National Championships for under 18s in 98). So teamwork and cooperation has always been a major thing for me.
What do you expect from the DM:
As mentioned above, allow players to make meaningful choices, if you’ve had some idea and come hell or high water you’re going to force it on us no matter what we do, then we have no meaningful choices, we’re robbed of agency and little more than puppets in your game and we’re likely not having much fun. This seems all too common for inexperienced DMs and is the only reason I’ve ever left a game. Roleplaying is a collaborative experience and ultimately it’s the DMs job to ensure the players are having fun: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHUCi6ZbVxU
Happy to answer further questions or elaborate on any answers as needed.
Discord: Xanoth#3571
Skype ID: xanoth
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