zamarren

Hello! My name is Mara Smith, or zamarren in most places on the internet. Poodlehead, Queen of the Nerds, according to my dad. I love tabletop games in all shapes and sizes, mostly to tinker with game rules and sci-fi/weird fantasy settings.

I've been playing RPGs with a regular group of 6-7 people nearly every Saturday for about 15 years. Most of that experience is with Pathfinder and Legend of the Five Rings (3rd and 4th Ed). We also play Call of Cthulhu occasionally. But of course, I have physical copies or pdfs of every game I can get my hands on. My great struggle is convincing my regular group to try something new. Lately, I've been dipping my toes into the solo rpg space, if only to get a chance to play in some of these other settings and rule systems.

One of the best experiences I've ever had playing an RPG with friends was when we went GM-less! Everyone had a little playing card oracle to refer to, and a character made with very simple homebrew rules. It was crazy and had no plot, and it took some time for everyone to find a turn structure that worked, but the results were surprising to everyone. I lost my arm up a dragon's butt, but one of my party used magic to grow a snake in its place, so I call that a win. There was much laughing and awkwardness, and I would love to do it again.