My name is Stan Shinn. I’ve been playing roleplaying games since 1978. I enjoy gamemastering, game design, and creating new RPG ‘hacks’ and do-it-yourself tips to share with the gaming community. Enjoy the content, and drop me a line if you have any comments.

Here is my GM’ing style as defined by GM Merit Badges:

 

 My games will tell an interesting Story

 

 My games focus on interesting Characters and Drama

 

 Characters in my games are Destined for greatness, not random death [1. Which is not to say I won’t let characters die, but if won’t be a ‘rocks fall, everyone dies’ event which feels outside player control when it happens.]

 

My games use a pre-made Map and some pre-scripted content

 

My games rely on a lot of Improvisation rather than pre-scripted content [2. I use what seem to be self-contradictory methods — “pre-scripted content” and “Improvisation”. I use both — pre-scripted content which forms the backbone of a larger plot, but about 25-50% of gameplay is Sandbox improvisation — characters go off the rails and take the story in new directions, have character-initiated sub-quests and the like. I use essentially the Mouseguard-style Players Turn and GM’s Turn with both methods in play.]

 

I roll Dice in the open and don’t fudge the results in my games

 

My game has Shared GMing responsibility with the other players [3. By this I mean a house rule where players “nominate” other players for Fate points / D&D Inspiration, introduce narrative ideas, etc.). Also, I like to play in games where we occasionally alternate GM’s while still in the same setting.]

 

My games are more of the Social, Fun and “Beer & Pretzels” style