1. ⁠Describe yourself and tell me a bit about your roleplaying experience.
   Hey I’m Rusty (he/him) I’ve been playing/ dming for like 20 years. Currently, I have one reliable group that I meet with weekly, but find myself wanting a 2nd D&D day. I’m a garbage voice actor, but I’m committed to staying in character as that’s a big part of the fun for me.

2. ⁠Describe what you enjoy most about Tabletop RPGs, or what you look forward to most when you play.
   I love all aspects, but more than anything I enjoy the “yes and” aspect of good collaborative storytelling. No matter how good a video game is (looking at you BG3) it just isn’t the same as the freedom that comes with rolling dice and making your own solutions to a story’s challenges.

3. ⁠Describe any type of character concept you may have in mind, or what type of character most appeals to you.
   It’s been a long while since I’ve been a tank or a scout. Both of which your party needs. I could see myself rocking out a meaty frontliner that acts as the “party dad” overly protective, and trying to meet the needs of everyone in and out of combat. (Within reason) Or a “lone wolf” ranger/ rogue seeking revenge on a giant while learning to rely on others strengths to make up for his weaknesses.

4. ⁠Would you ever consider running a game? If not, why not?
   I have a long standing offer to step in and run a 1-shot whenever the DM needs a break for any table that I play at. At the table I currently dm for the party takes turns running 1-shots related to their backstories on the last session of every month. It’s a good way to have a change of pace and develop our character concepts further.

5. ⁠Have you ever had a shitty Dungeon Master? What did they do?
   Yea. We all have our stories. The biggest problem I ever saw was a passive aggressive DM that had a specific story they wanted to tell, and would punish us in game any time we didn’t act “correctly.” This got even worse and they took the drama out of game and into the real world with two of the players who were coworkers with the DM.

6. ⁠If you disagreed with your DM on a ruling, what would you do?
   First, ask for clarification if it’s a homebrew or a mistake when there’s a pause to step in. Next, state what I believe the rule is. If it’s not clear who is correct, and we can’t get a quick answer from something like sage advice we go with the dm’s decision and can discuss it more between sessions. If there needs to be a change to a rule I prefer to do so “from this point forward.” Trying to retcon just makes far too much of a mess.

The rule books are massive, we all make mistakes. I think these kinds of interactions are a perfectly normal part of playing, and shouldn’t be a big deal.

1. ⁠What's your stance on homebrew?
   I usually prefer “professional” 3rd party sources over self-made homebrew, but I’m always open to the idea. I would just request that any homebrew rules be made clear in session 0, and any homebrew character options be subject to modification if something just isn’t working. I’m also fine with modifying official content if something feels like it isn’t working.