Gaming with Der Wolf
I regularly run games in 10 core systems, and am versed in many more. Take a look through the game systems outlined below to see my unique approach to each of them.
Choose Your Adventure
Select a game system to learn more about what Der Wolf offers.
Pathfinder 1e
I love all the systems I run equally, I just love Pathfinder 1st Edition a little more. To me this system has the perfect level of complexity that allows players to create highly customized characters that help them tell the story they want to. Pathfinder 1e is my go to for all of my homebrew fantasy campaigns
- Get ready to drink from the firehose — I make use of all official Pazio content available via the Pathfinder System Resource Documentation
- Adventure paths abound — In addition to homebrew and custom content, I have completed dozens of campaigns using the most popular Pazio offical adventure paths including Kingmaker, Wrath of the Righteous, Rise of the Runelords, Curse of the Crimson Throne, and others
D&D 5th Edition
The most recognized roleplaying game in the world, and for good reason. D&D 5e is the perfect gateway into tabletop RPGs — its rules are clean and approachable without ever boxing in your imagination. I can have a brand-new player rolling dice and shaping the story within a single session, which makes it an ideal first step for anyone curious about the hobby. Whether you're gathering a few friends or filling a larger table, this is the system I reach for to turn newcomers into adventurers.
- Beginner-friendly by design — Simple, intuitive rules I can teach in one session, so no prior experience required
- Creativity without limits — A flexible framework that rewards imagination over rules-lawyering
- Great for larger groups — Scales comfortably to accommodate bigger tables and lively parties
Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20
Nein, nein, nein! Do you like punching Nazis and preventing the world from being devoured by eldritch horrors? Then this is the game for you. Achtung! Cthulhu drops you into the shadow war of World War II, where Allied heroes battle occult SS factions, ancient gods, and the things lurking behind enemy lines. It's pulpy, over-the-top action with a cosmic-horror edge — and despite all that mythos and machine-gun fire, it's a remarkably easy system to pick up and learn. Just be ready for a campaign that runs a little bloodier and a little scarier than your average adventure.
- Cinematic, over-the-top action — high-stakes heroics where you take the fight to both the Axis and the Old Ones
- Easy to approach and teach — a clean ruleset that gets you into the action fast, no horror-gaming experience needed
- Darker and more intense — leans into genuine scares and grit, perfect for players who want their horror with teeth
Alien: The Roleplaying Game
Space is vast, dark, and not your friend. If you prefer your horror slow and creeping — the kind of dread that builds in the silence before everything goes wrong, then this is the game for you. Set in the iconic Alien universe of corporate brinkmanship and synthetic people playing god, this is a world where you are expendable and survival is never guaranteed. It shines brightest in tight, focused stories: one-shots or short two-to-three-session arcs where tension can mount and snap. Built on a clean, easy-to-learn d6 system, it gets out of the way so the real horror can take over, and beneath the body horror and the dread, it asks some genuinely hard questions about what people are willing to do to stay alive.
- Slow-burn, atmospheric horror — dread that builds rather than jumps, best savored over one-shots and short arcs
- Easy-to-learn d6 system — simple mechanics that keep the focus on tension and story, not rulebooks
- A study in human morality — body horror with a purpose, pushing players to confront what they will sacrifice to survive
Call of Cthulhu
This one is not about winning (then again, no roleplaying game truly is). Call of Cthulhu casts you as an ordinary investigator pulled into mysteries the world isn't meant to understand, where the real adventure is uncovering the truth and being brave enough to believe it when everyone around you thinks you've lost your mind. Some of what you discover may break your character, and learning to be okay with that is part of the experience. It's a game built on roleplay and deduction rather than combat — you'll talk, investigate, and piece together clues to draw out the answers. I usually run it in its classic 1920s setting, the era Lovecraft himself wrote in, though I'm equally at home bringing the mythos into the modern day. It works beautifully for short, self-contained mysteries, but I've guided longer campaigns into the dark as well.
- Mystery over mastery — a game about exploring the unknown and believing the unbelievable, not racking up wins
- Roleplay-driven investigation — leans on conversation and deduction to uncover the answers, with character growth that may cost something
- Flexible scope and setting — perfect for one-shot mysteries or extended campaigns, run in the classic 1920s or the modern era
Deadlands Classic: 20th Anniversary Edition
Do you like a little rootin' and tootin'? Imagine the wild west with zombies shambling across the prairie. Deadlands is the granddaddy of the Weird West; a twisted version of the 1870s American frontier where gunslingers, hucksters, and snake-oil preachers square off against the monsters lurking just beyond the campfire light. It's a setting that bends to whatever mood your table wants: play it dead serious as gothic horror, or lean into the over-the-top silliness of a spaghetti western gone wrong. At my table, I run it with the classic poker chip and playing card rules, which keep the dice to a minimum and put a little gambler's luck right in your hands. I tend to deal these adventures out in short, punchy arcs of two or three sessions.
- Weird West at its finest — six-shooters, showdowns, and supernatural horror on the haunted frontier
- Serious or silly, your call — the tone flexes from genuine dread to gleeful pulp, depending on your taste
- Cards and chips over dice — I use the poker chip and playing card rules to keep things tactile and fast, perfect for a tight 2-3 session run
Fallout: The Roleplaying Game
War. War never changes. I've loved the Fallout setting since its very beginning, and getting to run it at the table is a genuine joy. Built on Modiphius' 2d20 system, it's a remarkably approachable game that drops your band of survivors: vault dwellers, ghouls, super mutants, even robots, into the blasted ruins of post-nuclear America. What I love most is how flexible it is: rather than handing you a fixed map, I work with my players to build a custom wasteland rooted in where you actually live, so the rubble and radiation feel close to home. From there, the post-apocalypse becomes a canvas for almost any story you want to tell — town-to-town wandering, faction warfare, or carving out a slice of the ruins to call your own, all driven by a satisfying level-up system that lets your character grow in exactly the direction you choose.
- Endlessly approachable — an easy-to-learn 2d20 system that welcomes brand-new players and veterans alike
- A wasteland built around you — I collaborate with players to craft a setting based on your own corner of the world
- Your story, your way — a rewarding progression system and an open setting that supports any kind of post-apocalyptic tale
Mechwarrior Destiny
Do you like giant stompy robots? Boy howdy, do I have the RPG for you. Set in the sprawling BattleTech universe of the 31st century, Destiny puts you in the cockpit of a towering BattleMech while warring interstellar dynasties scheme, fight, and betray each other across a thousand worlds. Built on the narrative-focused Cue System, it's a far friendlier way into BattleTech than the dense rules of the mainline RPG or the tabletop wargame; you can strap in and start trading fire without drowning in spreadsheets. At my table, I layer in a broad set of custom rules to make things more realistic and gritty, adding weight and consequence to every battle without the bookkeeping. More than anything, I love sinking into the lived-in future of the BattleTech setting, where the machines are battered, the politics are brutal, and history hangs heavy over every campaign.
- Mech combat, done right — pilot a BattleMech through the iconic, war-torn BattleTech universe
- An approachable on-ramp — the narrative Cue System opens up BattleTech without the dense rules or spreadsheets of the mainline games
- No guts, no galaxy — custom house rules add realism and weight while keeping the focus on story and atmosphere
Pathfinder 2e
Pathfinder is a fantasy roleplaying game of quests, magic, monsters, and treasure, set in the richly detailed world of Golarion. It holds everything I've loved about this setting for the better part of fifteen years: an amazing, deeply fleshed-out system with lore and character options that go on for miles. If you've played D&D 5e, Pathfinder will feel familiar in its streamlined, approachable design, but it has a distinct voice all its own. It's a fantastic pick for new players or for anyone wanting that classic fantasy experience without the heavy crunch — easy to learn and fast to play, while still offering deep customization when you want to dig in.
- A beloved, richly built world — fifteen years of setting and lore packed into one of the most fleshed-out fantasy systems around
- Streamlined but distinct — familiar to 5e players, yet confident in its own identity and rhythm
- New-player friendly — less crunchy and easy to pick up, while still rewarding those who want deeper character building
Star Trek Adventures: First Edition
One of my oldest memories is watching The Next Generation with my family, and my love for Star Trek has only deepened in the decades since. This is a setting where you never have to tell the same story twice — space fantasy, hard science, and wonderfully weird sci-fi all live comfortably under one roof. As a Starfleet crew, your continuing mission is to explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, and boldly go where no one has gone before. It's a sterling use of the 2d20 system, and I've watched it turn ordinary roleplayers into genuine Starfleet officers right before my eyes. I run my sessions and campaigns to honor the episodic heart of Star Trek, making sure there's always something new to discover every time you sit down at the table.
- Infinite diversity in infinite combinations — space fantasy, hard science, and zany sci-fi all in one setting, so no two stories are ever the same
- An excellent 2d20 system — elegant rules that put the focus on exploration, problem-solving, and being a Starfleet officer
- Episodic by design — sessions and campaigns built around the discover-something-new rhythm that makes Trek feel like Trek
Der Wolf on YouTube
View past plays of Wolf's sessions, how to videos for using the Roll20 VTT (Virtual Tabletop) platform, videos on Pathfinder 1e character creation, and more!
Visit the Channel ↗Wolfism (wolf-is-um), noun
A turn of phrase commonly uttered by your humble gamemaster
- The dice have a story to tell — Rolling dice is a critical part of the TTRPG experience, adding an element of randomness to the outcome of your character's actions. This allows chance (or maybe fate) an opportunity to intervene in the story at any moment.
- I'm the second best gamemaster you know — Because, hey, if you shoot for the moon, at least you'll end up somewhere in the stars.
- Thank you to the players for playing, without you, the stories would never be told — Running TTRPGs has become an increasingly larger part of my professional life, something I literally couldn't do without the support of my players.
- As is tradition — Said in reference to anything we do on a usual basis, even if it's a mistake. Especially when it's a mistake. It's ok to have a little fun at our own expense, GM included.
- You know that {x} exists — it's weird, it's scary, and you try not to think about it — A little joke I like to make whenever my players roll a nat 1 on a Knowledge check in Pathfinder.
- Not in my Christian Pathfinder server — I am not a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but that doesn't mean I don't get to joke about it when someone says something a little racy.
- Reel it back in — We do tend to get off topic sometimes, which is fine — but eventually we need to return to the story to make sure everyone is involved in the fun.
- DerWolf Bucks — A phantom currency awarded to players whenever they do something cool and/or noteworthy — not redeemable for actual goods or services.
- I'll see myself out — Uttered whenever I tell a joke that doesn't land. Sometimes it doesn't land on purpose.
- How dare you — Said whenever a player says something I don't like. As a joke. Usually.
- Gnomes don't exist — Because they don't.
- Thanks, I hate it — My go-to line whenever players mess up my plans — read: often.
- Let's get weird — My go-to line when it's time to roll initiative.