About Alucair

The most important idea when running games is that they should be memorable — for the right reasons. When we reach any conclusion, whether the end of a session or the end of a campaign, we should feel fulfilled. The emotion doesn't matter so much, as long as we walk away seeing it as time well spent.

It's my view that we should be present in the world always — true to the world, true to our characters, and honest about what each of us wants to get from the game. We should all be ready to go where the story takes us, where the characters would logically go.

How about the players?

If a player comes to me with an idea, I embrace it. If someone wants to tweak their character mechanically or in some other non-story-breaking way, I allow it — it's our story, and we're in charge of how it works. I'm not here to be the invisible wall. If anything, I'm here to break those walls down and let us go exactly where we want to go.

I run adventure paths, but I don't let them constrain me. I'll change details if it fits, add things if I think they'll resonate. The path is a foundation, not a cage.

What can I do?

Ha — what can'tI do? Bad accents and voices? Try me. Go off on a tangent and change something completely on the fly? I've probably already done that three times this session. Show up, stay dedicated to the characters and the story? That's an easy ask.

What happens when things go wrong?

Tell me. Please, tell me. Reach out — honesty and conversation set us free. No matter the problem, I want to talk it out, in Discord or in private, whatever you need. I'm not afraid to make changes, walk back a bad ruling, or open up the table for discussion and actually listen.

Safety at the table is first and foremost in any session. We should all feel safe and welcomed, able to be ourselves when we step out from behind our characters. We should also feel that the content of the story is exactly what we signed up for — that it doesn't drift or mutate into something we are no longer comfortable with.

It is absolutely key that should any of us feel things are moving in a direction we're not happy with — whether story content, table discussion, or anything in Discord — we are able and welcomed to say so. Whether that's “this is going a bit too far” or a full stop, right now.

I want you to know that I take any call for a change of direction, or a complete stop, as gospel. Such calls will be treated with the utmost respect and seriousness, without question or hesitation.

If you need time to reflect after a session before raising something, that is also absolutely fine. We can talk through any elements you were uncomfortable with and work out together how best to move forward and bring things back into equilibrium.

Session Zero

All campaigns begin with a Session Zero so we can lay out ground rules, get to know each other, discuss characters, and set expectations for the campaign ahead. That said, from the day you sign up we're already having these conversations — honing in on exactly what you want from the game before we even sit down together.

Lines & Veils

Lines and veils are discussed at Session Zero. A line is a hard boundary — content that will not appear at our table, full stop. A veil is content we'd rather handle off-screen or fade to black on. It's all about finding the right balance for everyone at the table.

X, N & O Cards

• XStop — this has gone somewhere I am not comfortable with. Full stop, no questions asked.
• NWe're heading towards an X. Begin steering away from this direction.
• OAll good — keep going, happy with everything here.

Three years behind the screen across two systems, with a few hundred sessions run and counting.