From the desks of my players: DM testimonials

I was a newbie when it comes to RPGs. So, I was very interested to learn the game mechanics and join a group with Mother Universe as the dungeon master. Mother Universe is the one that introduced me to RuneQuest, and he wrote a campaign that we played for nearly two years. It was so enjoyable and I loved the gameplay. Every action led to a brand new storyline with an overarching plot guiding the entire endeavor. More recently, I played a 2-hour Dungeons and Dragons campaign that Mother Universe wrote, with a few other people that were newbies as well. It was a huge amount of fun and the condensed gameplay and pre-rolled characters meant that we could jump right in and play with little or no setup. Mother Universe is a great dungeon master and I'm proud to recommend him! 

Mike is nothing short of amazing at running a table. He’s clear, organized, friendly, knowledgeable, and makes sure everyone gets their fare share of play. He’s fantastic with newbies—kind, patient, and instructive, all in the most genuinely welcoming way. The thing that impresses me most about Mike as a DM, though, is his creativity. Mike gets consumed in creating the stories and puzzles and challenges of each adventure. He wants every plotline to have depth and nuance, every puzzle to be fun and challenging, every BBEG to pack just a little more than you’d expect on the cool factor—and he’s not averse to throwing in some brain-warping twists along the way. He has just as much fun watching it unfold as you’ll have playing it, and his delight is obvious as players navigate his skillful narratives. It’s no surprise that there’s a wait list to get on his table at local events. Bring him to yours; you’ll be glad you did.

I got introduced to DM Mike (Mother Universe) at a local group that runs TTRPG events at local breweries.  The adventures at each table are one-shots, that play out over a roughly 6 hour time frame.  Each DM at these events obviously brings their own flavor to the game.  What really impressed me at the outset with Mike is the level of detail and pre-game prep that he brought to the game.  For example . . . usually at an event like that, you get to select from a stack of pre-made character sheets.  Pick one that appeals to you.  My first time at Mike’s table . . . he wouldn’t give us the character sheets . . . he only gave us the species / class combos (like human/barbarian or elf/ranger).  Why did he do it that way?  Because he had written various subtexts and mini-plots for each character on their character sheet that needed to be hidden from the other players, adding a whole new level of gameplay and intrigue.  I won’t get into any more details from that game, but suffice it to say . . . when my character finally acted on their main objective for the session, there were stunned faces all around the table – in the best way possible!

In every game since then that I’ve been at Mike’s table, I’ve been impressed at the diversity of experiences he designs for the players.  Encounters . . . puzzles . . . relationships . . . you always get the feeling that Mike really spent some quality time designing this adventure.  Plus, I must also say . . . his demeanor at the table is wonderful.  He is kind . . . welcoming . . . generous to both new and experienced players . . . he really has a focus on finding the fun within the game structure.

I’m really looking forward to the day when I can either play a multi-session adventure with Mike, or hire him for a custom one-shot for a special occasion.  I’m sure that, in either scenario, he’ll bring the fun!