Zoe
she/her
5.0
(2)
Timezone
Language
Identity
About Zoe
I’m a forever GM, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve been playing and GM-ing Dungeons & Dragons 5e since 2017, running countless one-shots and multi-session campaigns for a wide range of players. While I was a student at New York University, I founded and ran the university’s Dungeons & Dragons club, giving me extensive experience organizing games, teaching new players, and managing tables with diverse playstyles. My games are primarily homebrew, high-fantasy settings that emphasize roleplay, character-driven storytelling, and political intrigue. Player choices matter, and the worlds I build respond accordingly. That said, these stories often lead characters into dangerous, morally complex situations where high-stakes combat becomes unavoidable and meaningful. Outside of tabletop gaming, I’m a scientist working in biotech, which has shaped my structured, prepared approach to GM-ing. I value clear communication, consistency, and respect for players’ time. I currently live in Southern California with my wife and maintain several bioactive terrariums—two of which house my snakes, Ribs the corn snake and Vonnie (Kurt Vonnegut) the hognose. If you’re looking for a GM who’s enthusiastic, organized, and deeply invested in storytelling, I’d love to run a game for you!
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Creativity, Teacher
Featured Prompts
When I'm not running games I'm...
- Building bioactive terrariums - Reading (fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, etc.) - Playing video games (console gamer all the way) - Tending to my wild indoor garden - Writing and ink drawing with fountain pens
How Zoe runs games
In my games, players can expect a strong emphasis on roleplay, character-driven storytelling, and meaningful choices. I love running high-fantasy worlds shaped by political tension, moral ambiguity, and factions with competing goals, where social encounters matter just as much as combat. While narrative and immersion are central, my stories naturally pull characters into dangerous situations, and when combat happens it is high-stakes, impactful, and tied directly to the story rather than existing as filler. My tables are collaborative and welcoming. I enjoy working with players to integrate character backstories into the world, rewarding creativity and engagement both in and out of combat. You can expect a prepared GM, clear expectations, and a setting that reacts to your actions—for better or worse. Campaign Hook: Saros is dying. A decade after the Cataclysm shattered nature, life, and death as its four nations know it. The last habitable land—Vall—buckles under refugees, fear, and a ruthless preservationist regime. As the world collapses and truths long ignored resurface, you must decide whether Saros is worth saving, and what you’re willing to become if it is. You and your party begin in the Vallian capital of Reinadon to form an adventuring group contracted by the government to combat otherworldly creatures. These creatures have been leaking out of rifts in reality since the Cataclysm and the nation's arcane scholars may have a way to close them for good, with your help.
Featured Prompts
Rules are...
1) Rule of Cool 2) Nat 1 = Automatic Failure 3) Nat 20 = Automatic Success 4) Respect everyone's Lines & Veils 5) Quick round of rose, thorn, bud at the end of each session
Zoe's ideal table
My table is best suited for players who are thoughtful about character creation and invested in who their characters are beyond their stat blocks. The more care a player puts into their backstory, motivations, and personality, the more I can meaningfully weave those elements into the larger narrative of the campaign. I enjoy collaborative, curious players who like to engage deeply with the setting and aren’t afraid to surprise me with creative decisions—both in roleplay and in combat. My table’s vibe is immersive, respectful, and story-forward, with room for humor and levity when appropriate. Players who enjoy character growth, narrative consequence, and exploring the world through their choices will feel especially at home.
Featured Prompts
I think metagaming...
...has its place. You can mentally prepare yourself if you know what a monster is going to be. However, do not metagame socially with other party members as this can ruin surprises and influence player behavior.