Lynn Zero banner

Lynn Zero

she/her

5.0

(3)

Timezone

America/los Angeles

Language

English

Identity

LGBTQ+
Queer
Neurodivergent
Women/Femme Identifying
Game Designer

About Lynn Zero

I started gaming in the early 90s, with AD&D 2nd Edition. Within months, my friends and I not only had multiple ongoing campaigns, but we were already inventing our own rules, even our own systems. I've been playing, running, and creating games ever since! To me, collaborative narrative is one of the best things humans ever invented. I favor character and drama over combat and crunch, but I've run more than my share of combat so it's not an issue when that comes up. I like stories to grow on their own, let characters take on a life of their own, and let my players' choices have meaning in the narrative.

At a glance

2 years on StartPlaying

50 games hosted

Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, Teacher

Featured Prompts

I became a GM because

I just love collaborative storytelling, I think it's one of the best things humans have ever created. For me it's all about being part of a story that we're telling together, I really think there's nothing like it.

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

Writing my own game!

How Lynn Zero runs games

I tell emergent stories. I know who my NPCs are, what they're doing, what they want, and how they feel. Whether they're proactive or reactive, to me it's important that the world itself feels alive; it's not built to revolve around the PCs, it has a life all its own, and PCs do what they can in the flow of it. I'll be upfront: I love dark stories and dark worlds. My two favorite genres are cyberpunk and vampires, they read as more true to me because joy can be difficult to come by, and usually has a cost. I'm not here to tell power fantasies, or heroes' journeys. I like stories with difficult decisions, and emotional weight. That said, I do not tolerate edgelordery or assholery. While I like dark stories, that doesn't mean I want awful things at the table. There will be no SA, no racial slurs, no bigotry of any kind, I absolutely do not tolerate any of it. My stories and characters don't need those things to be dark or dramatic. If, for whatever reason, a group and I decide we want a story or character to push in one of those directions, it will be done as respectfully as possible, and always ready to be dropped at first need.

Featured Prompts

My games focus on...

Player agency and drive! I prefer to tell stories that react to players, not the other way around. I don't tell stories where The Plot Happens and the players are just along for the ride. My goal is to present enough hooks and interest that you can pursue your own objectives.

Lynn Zero's Preferences

Systems

Dungeons & Dragons 5e
Dungeons & Dragons 1e
Dungeons & Dragons 3/3.5e
Dungeons & Dragons 4e
Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition
Star Wars D6
Cyberpunk Red
Star Wars D20
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2e
Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game

Platforms

Game style

Roleplay Heavy

Rule of Cool (RoC)

Lynn Zero's games