Hi, I’m Garry—father of two, husband to a wonderfully patient non-gamer, and a lifelong supporter of Heart of Midlothian FC (which has taught me resilience if nothing else).
I’ve always been drawn to fantasy worlds, whether that’s Tolkien, Brandon Sanderson, Dragon Age, The Lord of the Rings, or discovering the next great tabletop RPG setting. Give me ancient ruins, morally grey villains, impossible choices and a well-drawn map to explore, and I’m happy.
Like many people, my tabletop RPG journey really began during the COVID lockdowns. With everyone stuck at home, I convinced my family to try Dragon of Icespire Peak. We finished the adventure together, but while the rest of the family happily returned to their own hobbies afterwards, I’d caught the Game Master bug and followed the rabbit hole!
Since then, I’ve run campaigns online and around the table, exploring systems including D&D 5e & 5.5e, Tales of the Valiant, Pathfinder 2e and, more recently, Daggerheart. In August 2025, I put myself out there and started focusing primarily on in-person games. My current campaign is Age of Umbra, which I’ve been running for over six months, and many of the ideas, successes, mistakes and lessons you’ll find on this site have come directly from those experiences.
What You’ll Find Here
Jambo GM’s Journal is where I share the things I enjoy most about tabletop roleplaying games:
- Honest reviews of RPG core books, adventures, campaign settings and third-party supplements.
- Hands-on reviews of physical GM tools, from Pathfinder 2e Pawn Collections and Tom Cartos map books to anything else I can get my hands on
- Campaign journals and reflections from behind the GM screen, with a current focus on running Daggerheart’s Age of Umbra.
- Musings about my Worldbuilding
- Maps I’ve created in Inkarnate, along with the ideas that inspired them
- Thoughts on my session prep techniques and lessons I’ve learned
Everything I write is based on my opinion. If I review a product, it’s because I’ve read it, run it or used it in a campaign—not because I’ve skimmed it for an afternoon.
Thanks for stopping by, and welcome to Jambo GM’s Journal.
Jambo's GM Journal 