Satine Phoenix might be the most recognizable woman in the game industry. Her popular video series GM Tips, regularly has about 100,000 views per episode. She's a GM for D&D's official Twitch channel, where she co-created Maze Arcana and DMs the popular Sirens of the Realms stream, in addition to her career as a model. artist and cosplayer. She also created both DrawMelt and DnDMelt at Meltdown Comics in Hollywood, founded CelebrityChariD20 and co-created the graphic novel series New Praetorians, and among other projects. With so much going on and convention season starting, Satine was gracious enough to carve some time out of her busy schedule to talk about gaming.
As expected, Satine is a gamer through and through. "Gaming is in my blood," she said. "I've been obsessed with board, card and RPG games since I was a tiny elfling. Some of us are just wired for it."
As a multi-talented Renaissance woman, it would be easy for her work in art, comic books, etc. to dominate her schedule, but Satine makes time for gaming, on and off camera, for a very simple yet important reason. "It's all about Play," she said. "Creating stories whether it's in art or comics, novels or tabletop games, it's all equally play to me. Tabletop games are the best because I get to play with others. We make stories and adventure deep into new experiences as a team."
"As a player," Satine continued, "I enjoy being surprised and working out puzzles with my friends. As a GM I enjoy providing a playpen for my friends' imaginations. It is escapism, it's creativity in storytelling without the restraints a company puts on you, it's making new experiences, it's staying young. I'm in it for all of the reasons!"
The definition of a "good" game session can vary widely but at its core it's about creating an experience so since she's a celebrity GM it made sense to ask Satine how she tries to create a good session for public or private games. "I ask the players a lot of questions about their character and the team as a whole before the game even starts. I let the players tell me why they are together, other experiences their group has had, things they lost, how they worked through things together," she said. "It takes at least a half an hour of talking and coming up with backstory together to form a bond. The players are more attached to the experiences (instead of their characters) this way. They actually seem to be more willing to sacrifice themselves for one another when I use this method of pre-bonding."
When it comes to introducing new people to RPGs, Satine says, "There is not a one-size-fits-all method. As a GM, I find it works best to talk to the player and ask them what they want out of the game, what kind of expectations they have. After listening to them I explain how I approach the game and the table specific rules. Be clear with your expectations. Clear communication is the key to a happy table."
Gaming has been more than fun or a career for Satine. It's also been helping her heal from serious issues, as she's going to explain in her upcoming book, Mirror Into the Maze. "It's part autobiography, part workbook on how to overcome PTSD by playing D&D. It's my journey in overcoming my childhood trauma by creating the character that would allow me to defeat my own monsters from 8 years old into the woman I am today."
Speaking of women, Satine has some advice for women in the industry: "Do by doing. Don't let anyone tell you 'you can't' because the truth is: You can."
contributed by Beth Rimmels
As expected, Satine is a gamer through and through. "Gaming is in my blood," she said. "I've been obsessed with board, card and RPG games since I was a tiny elfling. Some of us are just wired for it."
As a multi-talented Renaissance woman, it would be easy for her work in art, comic books, etc. to dominate her schedule, but Satine makes time for gaming, on and off camera, for a very simple yet important reason. "It's all about Play," she said. "Creating stories whether it's in art or comics, novels or tabletop games, it's all equally play to me. Tabletop games are the best because I get to play with others. We make stories and adventure deep into new experiences as a team."
"As a player," Satine continued, "I enjoy being surprised and working out puzzles with my friends. As a GM I enjoy providing a playpen for my friends' imaginations. It is escapism, it's creativity in storytelling without the restraints a company puts on you, it's making new experiences, it's staying young. I'm in it for all of the reasons!"
The definition of a "good" game session can vary widely but at its core it's about creating an experience so since she's a celebrity GM it made sense to ask Satine how she tries to create a good session for public or private games. "I ask the players a lot of questions about their character and the team as a whole before the game even starts. I let the players tell me why they are together, other experiences their group has had, things they lost, how they worked through things together," she said. "It takes at least a half an hour of talking and coming up with backstory together to form a bond. The players are more attached to the experiences (instead of their characters) this way. They actually seem to be more willing to sacrifice themselves for one another when I use this method of pre-bonding."
When it comes to introducing new people to RPGs, Satine says, "There is not a one-size-fits-all method. As a GM, I find it works best to talk to the player and ask them what they want out of the game, what kind of expectations they have. After listening to them I explain how I approach the game and the table specific rules. Be clear with your expectations. Clear communication is the key to a happy table."
Gaming has been more than fun or a career for Satine. It's also been helping her heal from serious issues, as she's going to explain in her upcoming book, Mirror Into the Maze. "It's part autobiography, part workbook on how to overcome PTSD by playing D&D. It's my journey in overcoming my childhood trauma by creating the character that would allow me to defeat my own monsters from 8 years old into the woman I am today."
Speaking of women, Satine has some advice for women in the industry: "Do by doing. Don't let anyone tell you 'you can't' because the truth is: You can."
contributed by Beth Rimmels
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