Thesa Party-info
What is a Living world, how does it work?
If Thesa is a 'Living World', what does that mean?
Every time I GM'd I would always need to make a new world, a new map, new towns, new characters, new storylines and that was tiring.
In order to fix that I decided to make a living world, which is a world way overdeveloped in which I would use as the base scenery for every campaign I would GM in my life.
The story is ever developing and the characters that previously explored the world are there to be found by newer players.
What about 'Character Ownership'?
As weirdly as it sounds, if you make a character within my world, your character is mine. I don't mean this in a 'I will steal your character ideas and take all the credit mwahahaha'. Realistically speaking, if your character were to appear in a future campaign and you are not available to make a guest appearance, I will be the one in control of your character.
If you don't want to play with that character anymore I will still try to inform you of what your character is doing and ask opinions about what decisions the character should make, and I will try my best to keep your character as faithful to your original vision as possible.
Regardless of that, your character will be residing in my world and that's a good thing. If you want to forget that character than it's fine, I'll just do whatever I want with it. But if you do care then that means your character will always be available for you to play again, and their adventurers will never finish.
How do I GM?
Style
I have my own particular style of GM'ing. Here is a list of some of the quirks I have while on session.
- I illustrate what I can and tend to skip descriptions when not asked for them, you're free to ask details the illustrations can't show.
- Since I use a VTT I tend to optimize combat so it flows better. I don't add many descriptions to hits and misses. The players are free to do it anyhow.
- No specific preference over Exploration/Narrative/Combat campaigns, depends on the players more than me.
- I tend to focus on the world a lot, so I'm bad at bringing your backstories at first. Once I understand characters better I am comfortable to make more player focused moments.
- I may have altered DnD5e a lot in my homebrew, but I like to stick to my homebrewed rules as much as possible.
- GM's improvise a lot but I try to keep it to a minimum, the campaigns are not railroaded but I tend to cancel sessions that don't have much prep.
- I try to have 4 to 6 players per group.
Balancing
The games will be constantly balanced, there is no particular reason to go for a completely optimized build because I will be nerfing and buffing throughout the sessions.
I understand that not all players approach RPGs with the same level of optimization. Some players may prioritize role-playing and story development over mechanics and min-maxing, and it's important to balance the game in a way that ensures everyone can have fun. To achieve this, I take several steps to ensure that players with unoptimized builds can still enjoy the game.
Foundry VTT
I GM through FoundryVTT, it is a virtual tabletop with a variety o tools that in the end helps me do my job as a GM. It requires that players have a PC to play, so I can't welcome mobile players.
What are the etiquette rules?
Don't ruin the magic (or the "I KNOW THAT IMAGE" syndrome)
I use MANY images during my sessions, some of them from popular media. So I understand that players will recognize some images, if you do, please keep it to yourself or at least try to comment only after. I care about this because the images help to construct the scenario. But if you comment that a NPC has art from a Fire Emblem game then the other players can search for it and my NPC is not a warrior from a secluded city, but the warrior with the FE art.
Fun > Roleplay
I don't care that much if "that's what your character would do", if your character is doing that is hindering the groups ability to have fun, I ask you to get out of character. Drama and evil acts don't necessarily make a game not fun for everyone. So no need to worry about that. But if your character is an introvert and doesn't like being around other people, ergo refusing to be with the party, you probably need to stop and find an excuse for your character to accept travel with the rest.
Meta Knowledge
Meta, in the sense that you're using an information to gain advantage is, obviously, forbidden. But you're absolutely free to discuss what's on your mind with the other players, even if your character wouldn't engage in such activity. The latter type of Meta is ok and encouraged.Delays
If you're late and didn't get to tell me, then I'll wait 15 minutes for you to enter the sessions call. If you can't make it in time I'll block your attendance and continue the session without you.
But, if you do notify me that you're going to be late, then I'll wait up to an hour.
If you simply can't come, if you tell me before the agreed upon time, I'll cancel the session (I really try to not make sessions without every player present).
Expulsions
There are 2 reasons for which I would expel someone.
- Being an ass.
- To many delays.
The first one is simple, don't be a dick on my table, things can get heated, but don't be an ass.
The second is like this, if for two consecutive weeks you're late and didn't notify me on either, you're out (common sense on my part does apply).
