Introduction
A Paragon is a GM Archetype recognized by Introversion, Intuition, Feeling, and Judging traits. People may take note of your level of depth when it comes to thoughtfulness and imagination. Combining a solid inner vision, valid values, and a generally quiet and refined version of humanism gives people who share moments with you remarkable memories. The role of a GM is not about any amount of prestige, for the value of what you do is about the lives you touch and leave a positive impact.
few share your level of compassion
There is an intense amount of sincere love for what you do, and that love spreads to the people you share time with doing so. Using your creativity, imagination, and sensitivity strengths allow you to make each moment valuable and curated to bring everyone closer together. Few share your level of compassion, but you do not even consider that to be the case, as humility brings you to remind people you do it because it is the right thing to do.
Game Mastering Styles
When it comes to the imaginative world, you are truly connected and inspired by the depth of creativity in creating and making connections. Inspiration strikes by the craft made through the experience. Games that allow you to dive into getting to know each other as players and as characters are the most critical aspects of a game. It’s not just the numbers, math, mechanics, or even rules as long as we all grow as people independently and simultaneously.
You want everyone at the table to feel included
These needs are not just suggestions but nearly a requirement for you to feel satisfied. Since you are known to be upfront with your feelings, it is too hard to hide when elements of the system or setting do not sit well with you. These feelings can challenge you when looking for something that attunes to your values, but when you do, it is a match meant to last. Once you find something that has all the elements that match your desires, it will almost exclusively be your resource and measuring point for all future games.
With an adamant preference for systems and settings that match values, your table members tend to have a majority of shared values or at least respect them all. You want everyone at the table to feel included, and that is easier to manage if you are all cut off the same, if not similar, cloth.
Storytelling Style
There is a library of ideas that move through your mind. Those ideas are not grand stories about heroes or giant monsters but the more grounded elements of who we are as people in a world more significant than ourselves. This level of depth may be a philosophical perspective on humanity or the value of life, but the truth is entirely straightforward. You value self-reflection and appreciation, striving for conventions and themes that allow a person to find the confidence to be themselves without fear.
You value self-reflection and appreciation
To spend quality time with the character and allow them to explore their own stories, from their origin to the current moment, and see what holds them back is a passion. This emotional compassion drives the hope that everyone at the table can experience the freedom that comes with creative expression. You sit with the understanding that the characters we make are extensions of ourselves, no matter how far the fantasy extends, and wish to provide closure.
Only some people will be so inclined to open up themselves, choosing to lock their character on a specific path because of the narrative they have presented in their minds. Such a confrontation will likely build an internal conflict with the player as they sometimes feel pushed. However, your good nature and sincerity tend to win each moment, as the primary goal above self-actualization is comfort and enjoyment.
Table Management
The members at your table are not just players but individuals you grow with as humans. Your heart is full of drive for autonomy that translates onto the players as you strive to assist their sense of uniqueness in the story. To you, there’s a healthy bleed between who the players are and who their characters are. You strive for them to have the best.
you strive for equity over equality
Such a level of compassion means that you not only allow but encourage independent free-thinking at the table. If you establish any rules, you’re also typically willing to bend them for player satisfaction. However, you do not accept people attempting to break the system for their benefit or to gain the upper hand on the others at the table.
Everyone at the table is equal in value, and the goal is to keep everyone on an even playing field. Confrontational personalities may push back on this, but your altruistic nature is solid. Instead of applying equality, so everyone has the same, you strive for equity so everyone can have the same potential. Despite all the kind nature, you refuse to allow one to take advantage of you or your table.
Session Resources
Regarding the most crucial resource a GM could bring to the table, you are one of the few who authentically declare an excellent attitude. There is little point in explosive theatrics or bundles of items if there is no sincere passion. As such, there are times when the first few sessions remain bare of any additional tools. However, you consider your work with a session zero truly expansive, ensuring everyone at the table is on the same page and feels unparalleled comfort.
Beyond that, the next level of importance is the players themselves. They will provide you with everything that you need for every session. They create the backstories, the NPCs from their emotional involvement, and the locations flushed with empathetic relevance. You do not work to build immersive environments, as most of your spent effort is on adding depth to what the characters hold dear. The castles and monsters you put in their path get a decent amount of attention, but you prepare that room that the character slept in as a child with vigor.
most of your spent effort is on genuinely adding depth to what the characters hold dear
Still, you are very attentive to the players and their needs and include any additional resources that would bring a sincere level of satisfaction without hesitation. For example, if a player suggests that battle maps help them feel more comfortable in battle, you will have a map prepared for every encounter. If a character expresses that their social skills have been underutilized, you will prepare bustling cities full of life to engage. You are a people pleaser in the best ways.
The Game Master's Toolbox
- World Anvil: A worldbuilding program that helps you create, organize and store your setting with detailed wiki-like organization and interactive maps to store your notes.
- DnD Beyond: An excellent place for digital character creation and creating a campaign group for easy roll shares and sheet management.
- Notion (TTRPG University Notion Templates)
- Evernote
- DnD Beyond’s Encounter Builder: I’ve heard it’s helpful. You can build an encounter and determine its difficulty level based on math.
Role Generator: You can randomly generate everything from cities, to magic items, to herbs, to NPCs. https://www.rolegenerator.com/
- Inkarnate: For fantasy world and city maps. Yearly subscription.
- Wonderdraft: For fantasy world and city maps. One-time purchase.
- Dungeon Scrawl: For creating flat and isometric dungeon maps. Completely free.
- Dungeondraft: Building and Dungeon crawl maps, full color.
- Azgaar Github Fantasy Map Generator
- Dungeon Fog: Free map-making tool
- Dungeon Map Doodler
- Spotify: There are so many D&D playlists to choose from, or, pick your favorite video game tracks to play.
- Syrinscape: With Syrinscape, you can control the master playlist and players can decide their preferred volume from their end.
- YouTube Premium: Put on a 3-hour ambiance video without commercial interruptions.
- Google Forms
- TTRPG University Google Forms to Copy
- DMs Guild: A place to find supplemental guides and campaigns to enhance your official D&D content.
- Drive Thru RPG: The all-TTRPG sister of DMs Guild.
- The Monsters Know: A book series about monster tactics and strategies to help enhance gameplay.
- Point Buy Calculator: Doing a character sheet from scratch? This will help so much with the number crunching. https://chicken-dinner.com/5e/5e-point-buy.html
- DnD Beyond: The best place to build a digital character sheet. Fully connected to all the official D&D content. Makes leveling up take about 30 seconds.
- Wild Shape Tracker: Super helpful for druids. https://arcaneeye.com/apps/wildshape-tracker/
- Character Backstory Template: https://arcaneeye.com/dm-tools-5e/dnd-character-backstory-template/
- Xanathar’s Guide to Everything: I use this particular book ALL the time to help build my character backstories. There are roll tables in the “This is Your Life” chapter.
- Google Dice Roller: Super simple. Go to Google, type “dice roller,” and you have a dice roller.
- Roll Dice With Friends: You can give your temporary room a custom name, share the link with your friends, and all roll together!
- Owlbear Rodeo (straightforward and intuitive)
- Canva (DIY, simplified VTT)
- Roll20 (complicated learning curve)
- Foundry VTT
- Norse Foundry
- Shard
- Tablespire
- Tabletop Simulator
- Fantasy Grounds
