Welcome to Tavern Talk Thursday! This is a weekly column where we chat with a member of the TTRPG (tabletop role-playing game) community to learn more about how they found themselves at the table, what they love about tabletop gaming and other fun things. Think of it as a little sneak peeks into the minds of our fellow players and DMs.
Adventuring can be tiring, so settle in for a long rest by the fire and this week’s chat with the incredible storyteller Damion Poitier. The man, the myth, the legend is known for his work in acting, voice acting, motion capture, being a geek, and so much more. From the table to the big screen and everything in between, Damion is a fully-certified badass nerd with a love for the TTRPG community. His most recent contribution alongside Hannibal Tabu to the community comes in the form of his campaign setting The Sundering: The Nation Beneath our Feet. Preorder your copy right now!
Keep up with Damion on his social media channels! (Twitter/Instagram)
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Damion Poitier
Julia Roth: Let’s chat your TTRPG backstory! How did you find yourself at the table?
Damion Poitier: I come from a long line of genre enthusiasts, my grandmother was a librarian and an Ardent Sci-Fi reader, as was my mother, and my father was that, plus a comic collector. So when I was introduced to the idea of being a part of said stories instead of merely an observer by my first non-familial BFF, Bob DeNatale, I was All In for the adventures.
JR: Favorite world to adventure in?
DP: Aside from homebrews, Eberron holds my heart.
JR: Favorite one-shot adventure?
DP: The charity all monster one shot I was invited to participate in with Keith Baker DM’ing (coincidentally the creator of Eberron).
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JR: Backstory or class first?
DP: Depends on the adventure setup. I like to try and fill in the blanks of any party I’m in, so I guess that leans towards class.
JR: Favorite spell and why?
DP: Good ‘ole’ Eldritch Blast, every monster has a plan till they catch an Eldritch Blast to the face…
JR: Who has been your favorite character to play?
DP: One of my first, a slightly Orchish Barbarian/Ranger called and themed Spider. He had a Giant Spider animal companion I innovatively christened… “Web.”
JR: Do you have a particular race/class you enjoy?
DP: I like something almost human, and I have a Scouty-Fighty-Scholarly-Magicy predilection that is hard to satiate without multiclassing.
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JR: Is there something that you build into every character? A fun trait or a special item?
DP: Not really. I like to play “Prepared/Pro Adventurers,” so I almost always try and have long, short, and ranged weapon options, as well as a good amount of wide spectrum utility items… An oversized Dagger/ -not quite a short sword- is def an EDC though…
JR: What is your favorite system to play within?
DP: I’m a D&D head. I know there are better-evolved systems (in fact, I’m building one), but that just hits a nostalgia itch that nothing else really scratches.
JR: Tell us about the wildest adventure you have been on?
DP: Wait at the table or? To be completely honest, I’m having one of those “what’s your favorite book moments” where there are simultaneously a million stories, and not a single one comes to mind.
JR: What has been your most impactful moment at a table?
DP: Because details aren’t my friend at the moment, and it was a homebrewed campaign long past… anyway I did once manage to double Crit (natural 20’s all around) during one of Spider’s seminal BBEG battles with his legacy battle axe’s once per day (again I innovate) “Master Blow” that already does double damage without a crit. There were screams, hugs, high-fives and general exhalations of joy all around. (Shortly after that battle, as we were traveling to gather our reward, I critically failed, and Spider was killed by a pack of hyenas… to this day, I Hate hyenas and Gnolls, lol)
JR: Favorite dice to use?
DP: I actually have 2 sets. There’s my “pro set” that I used for all my Geek and Sundry streams. That was an accumulation of gifts and a few purchases because I didn’t remember where my old dice bag had gotten off to. (You can’t imagine how sad I was when I realized it had been so long since I’d been at the table that I couldn’t easily locate my dice… and of course, the joy of realizing that I then got to purchase New Shiny Dice!!) Then I was finally able to locate the hodge podge bag of remnants that make up my “original” set, and they sit in silent opposition, berating each other for bad rolls of the past…
JR: Would you rather face off against an entire dungeon of undead or charm your way through a royal court?
DP: I prefer an enemy I can smash over political machinations. That might be because so much of day-to-day life is dealing with the “royal courts” of the not-so-royal. But undead are very icky. So it depends on the character build. But if I have any kind of Holy or Nature dominion access (read also; applicable magical implements of violence), Bring Out Your Dead!
JR: Favorite TTRPG Monster?
DP: I love Chimeric creatures (more Xanthian less Eldritch), so hybrids etc., are my Jam! (dam near all of my characters are at least slightly Chimeric)
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JR: Good luck charms or rituals before a game?
DP: I usually roll through my dice a few times and pull anything I see consistently rolling low or high. (The high rolls have been wasted and will certainly not show up during play. Whereas the low rolls are a sign of things to come, and clearly, those dice cannot be trusted with any circumstances of consequence.)
JR: Who is sitting at your dream table?
DP: Okay, I know far too many amazing TTRPGer’s to let myself fall into this trap, lol. There are a lot of folks I haven’t role’d with yet that I’m looking forward to sitting with.
JR: What are you most looking forward to within the TTRPG world?
DP: I’m a fantasy art fiend, so seeing all the new work being produced to support this increasing variety of fantasy offerings, feeds the soul in a big way. I’m really looking forward to getting back to the table more regularly. There are so many new and interesting methods we are developing to play within each other’s worlds and spread and introduce them to others. And I guess I should mention the upcoming release of the first book for our campaign setting (still available for preorder on backerkit). That’s pretty high on the list.
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/tavern-talk-thursday-johnny-stanton/
Who I Am: A nerd by the strictest definition. I enjoy diving straight into my favorite fandoms without a care in the world. I live on video/board games, fantasy movies and TV, and all things geeky.
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