Callie Zafren banner

Callie Zafren

she/they

4.9

(10)

Timezone

Europe/london

Language

English

Identity

LGBTQ+
Game Designer

About Callie Zafren

I'm a game designer, writer, improv comedian, storyteller, film fanatic, wine lover, tarot reader, and cat mom to my two babies Artemis & Aphrodite ✨ And if you play in one of my campaigns, you'll see those passions bleed through into my GMing style 🌹

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

4 games hosted

Highly rated for: Inclusive, Storytelling, Creativity

Featured Prompts

I became a GM because

I wanted to craft thrilling narratives and worlds for people to play around in!

The three words my players would use to describe me are...

Imaginative, collaborative, and lots of fun.

When I'm not running games I'm...

Playing videogames, taking a nap with my cats, or diving down a research rabbit hole learning about niche topics.

How Callie Zafren runs games

🎭 Borrowing from my experience in improv comedy, I craft funny, tense, and layered social scenes with rich fleshed out characters. 🗺️ Using tricks I learned in game design, I build exploration scenes with unique mechanics and meaningful choices. ⚔️I run cinematic, fast paced, roleplay heavy, and tactical theatre of the mind combat, making sure it is easy to follow by providing snapshots to players at the top of their turns. 📃I craft my narratives around player characters and their backstories, weaving them into the narrative and making them important to the world.

Featured Prompts

If my games were Movies they'd be directed by...

Hayao Miyazaki, Edgar Wright, Wes Anderson, and Tim Burton

I prep by

Preparing NPC wants and their secrets. Preparing location imagery details and interesting environments. Preparing unique combat encounters and mechanics. This gives me enough to run with when the players routinely go a different direction from what I'd planned :)

My games focus on...

Roleplay Roleplay Roleplay!! I focus on your character and their emotional journey. Everything is in service of your story, even combat!

Callie Zafren's ideal table

Players who love to roleplay, and do everything in service of what their character would do. I love having combat heavy players at my table, they anchor combats and execute thrilling sequences. I love having social and inquisitive players, they make for excellent social and dialogue scenes. I love having newcomers too, watching them get more and more comfortable in character is a great thing to watch. Basically the players who fit well at my table are the players who commit 100%.

Featured Prompts

If you're into ___, you're going to love my table

Strong thematic vibes, descriptive imagery, and compelling characters.

I think min/maxing...

is amazing! If you've crafted a monster of a character then I want to see you play it in action!

My perfect party mix is

People who love combat, people who love social scenes, people who love exploration, and a wild card :)

Callie Zafren's Preferences

Platforms

Game style

Roleplay Heavy

Combat Heavy

Theater of the Mind

Puzzle / Mystery Focused

Social