I’m a professional game designer and DM that’s been running D&D games for close to thirty years (over five of those years, I’ve been doing it professionally.) I’ve also worked in the video game industry for around fifteen years, five of those spent working at Wizards of the Coast on D&D and Magic the Gathering projects.

Roll20 is my platform of choice and I’ve been working with it for about eight years. I’m familiar with the Foundry platform, though I haven’t yet used it to run professional games. 

I love storytelling and game design, often trying to come up with new and unique mechanics to make the games I’m running more enjoyable and immersive.  I find the best games are the ones where these aspects are both utilized to their fullest. My philosophy towards game design is to create challenging but enjoyable experiences where players can express themselves but still be constrained by the dangers of an immersive world. I believe in not just empowering individuals, but encouraging teamwork where skills are combined to creatively overcome challenges. I believe a good D&D game is facilitated best through teamwork and friendship, employing skills that can often carry over into the real world. At the end of the day, my job is to provide a fun experience for each player and the table as a whole. 

My Style

I like to define my style as “structured sandbox.”  I have events taking place in the world which I insert players into to see how they change things. I don't believe in creating set solutions to obstacles, rather, I create the obstacles and let players approach them using their skills and abilities.  For me, D&D is a game about problem-solving using resources, skills, and creativity to find effective solutions to problems.  Creativity and teamwork are key to not only overcoming obstacles, but overcoming them in a way where you can change the world for the better (or fill your pockets with gold).

Suspension of disbelief is important to me, so I'm constantly trying to balance a believable world with fun gameplay.  I want my players to feel immersed by the world and their RP, but I also want them to feel challenged by the gameplay aspects.  When designing, I'm constantly balancing these factors against one another to try to create an immersive, challenging experience that players will enjoy in the moment and talk about later.

Combat is important in my games, but there is also value to skills and RP ability as those can have a huge impact on the story. I try to reward creativity, as long as what is being attempted is something a character can do given their skill set.  I feel it’s important to balance gameplay aspects and abilities with the “rule of cool” outlook.  I want players to be creative with their abilities and resources, but what they’re attempting should also make sense given the skills and resources of their character. At the end of the day, I think players feel better about winning if the victory is achieved through their own abilities rather than just being handed to them.

The World

Gaian is a world strongly connected to the flows of magic that is constantly undergoing change. The world is plagued by arcane fires that ravage the surface every two-thousand years, completely destroying anything in their path.  To save themselves, the races of the surface flee into the depths of Gaian, waiting for a time when they can re-emerge and rebuild their fallen empires.  This destruction has created time periods known as cycles in which great civilizations rise and fall.  Perhaps one day a hero will put a stop to these cataclysms, saving Gaian from these devastating cycles of destruction.

The World of Gain is a deep, rich setting that's about 20 years old (real time).  As such, it has a lot of history spanning thousands of years with the rise and fall of many civilizations whose ruins can still be found deep underground or in abandoned areas of the world.  Players will not only adventure within the world, but their decisions may shape society for decades to come.

Game Info

I’m currently running several different campaigns of varying level following a greater storyline that takes place during the 13th Cataclysm cycle of Gaian.  Character level will depend on the campaign and games that are joined.  Campaign information and specific world lore are available on my world discord. Game spots are available sporadically and do not stay open long.

I run games from 11am - 2pm and 5:30pm - 8:30pm (PST) most days.

Game Payments

This game will require a payment be made to the Game Master through Paypal and payments are collected on a monthly basis. Games start at $21 per session (4 sessions in a month) and go as high as $25 per session depending on the time slot and demand for that campaign.  For more information on payments and available games, check the information section of my discord.

Contact Me

For more information on the world and my games, use the following link to join the Gaian discord: https://discord.gg/t2NcaNVxp3
You can also contact me directly on discord (dmraven) or on here.

DM Raven is an attentive DM, amazing world-builder, and entertaining storyteller. I've played in his games for 4+ years. He is creative and adaptive and fair and knowledgeable and entertaining. His homebrew world--Gaian--is well-developed and his various campaigns are set in many different eras and locations in his world, but all the campaigns are inter-related with well thought-out connections, continuations, and storylines.