Celebrating Women in TTRPGs for Women’s Month!

Hail and well met, Pathfinders and Starfinders!

March is Women’s History Month here in the United States, and all of us here at Paizo want to take time to uplift and appreciate some of the women who bring our games to your tables!

It’d be silly not to mention that our CEO and Founder, Lisa Stevens, is a prominent woman in the TTRPG community and has been a cornerstone of Paizo since the beginning. You can enjoy some of her stories about her time working in games by checking out Auntie Lisa’s Story Hour!

Now, to showcase and give space to some more of the phenomenal women who make Paizo’s worlds better and brighter! As the theme of this year’s Women’s History Month is “Advocating for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”, we’re also celebrating the work these people do in those regards!

Caryn DiMarco, she/they

You may have seen my name on PFS scenarios or in Lost Omens Highhelm—or on some soon-to-be-released products! I am so proud of this achievement, but when I'm not writing for Pathfinder, I obviously do play a lot of Pathfinder. This includes Pathfinder Society (forever GMs unite) and one question that's always on my mind is how to make sure every player feels welcome at our games. 

I've been at a lot of tables where I'm the only member of a certain group, and that's never a fun situation to be in. But often it's the only way to get more people to show up. I want to thank everyone who's signed up for a table or showed up to GM despite being a minority in their community; it's always a risk, but it's work that makes this community more welcoming for the rest of us. If this doesn't apply to you, I hope you walk up to each table with the goal of getting to know all the players and doing your part to create a safe and welcoming environment for them. 

Pathfinder is a game for everyone, but it takes everyone's effort to make that true. 

Solatra Lilac Harvinkai, credited as Sasha Laranoa Harving (nov/nov and dune/dune)

To advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the world of women is a difficult topic to broach. I am, personally, as a tall butch nonbinary lesbian who underwent estrogenizing hormone treatments for several years, and who has felt like a boy and a girl and a woman and am none now... am not often advocated for in the inclusion of.

I feel like when people aim to include women, they want to say that anyone who considers themself a woman is welcome. Often, I’ve seen them explicitly turn away trans women who are not able to safely come out for having some facial hair, or implicitly for not speaking the same language as the majority at the function by not having interpreters, or for being disabled by being in a venue with three steps up.

This is me saying to include them. Include everyone affected by misogyny. Fight the venue to get a ramp put in. Yell when they don’t want to spend money for an interpreter. If you have any form of privilege, weaponize it for those without.

We do not win alone. And there will come a day when our voices demand more attention than their silence.

Sara Jeffers (she/they)

Sara Jeffers (she/they) is an Indigenous Two Spirit game designer and graphic designer who utilizes traditional Salish art and storytelling structures to help de-colonize game design and add to the growing representation of First Nations and Indigenous North Americans in the industry. They also professionally GM a number of systems and games, focusing on combining horror with wholesome. When not writing or playing TTRPGs, Sara can be found hanging out with the coolest kids on the planet (theirs) and watching Bluey. 

Their previous published work includes Starfinder Bounty #10 and several solo TTRPGs available on itch.io. She is currently writing a full level 1-20 campaign for Pathfinder Second Edition and starting production on a murder mystery Actual Play set in the world of Thedas. Her most recent graphic and motion design work can be seen on an upcoming Thirsty Sword Lesbians Actual Play on Enchanting Sorcery Productions on Twitch and YouTube.

In the future, Sara wants to be part of the movement in the TTRPG industry that leads towards something more exciting and less problematic than 4X play.

Lynne M. Meyer (she/they)

Hello! I’m Lynne, one of Paizo’s editors. I’m a queer femme and an advocate for inclusive games. For over a decade, I worked in higher education as an interfaith and DEI educator—a role that included developing and implementing training programs for students and staff, and directly supporting students of all genders and sexual orientations.

This background now informs what I do in the gaming industry.

I'd been a player for many years, but it was a 2018 call for contributors to what would become Uncaged Anthology that inspired me to start writing for TTRPGs. An anthology of one-shots, each centered on a feminist reimagining of a traditionally female mythological archetype and its origins? I had to do it! I battled my fear and pitched an adventure. Almost everyone on the team was of a marginalized gender, and the support we gave (and still give) each other was life changing. For most of us, it was the first time we’d experienced anything like that.

I then helped edit all the subsequent Uncaged books. That work led to more projects, and more opportunities to grow my skills. Eventually, that led me to Paizo!

Find me on Bluesky (@lynnemeyer.bsky.social) and Twitter (@Lynne_M_Meyer).

Elizabeth V Nold (she/her)

Hello! My name is Betsy (she/her) and I am a player, GM, and freelance writer of TTRPGs. I most recently got to work on [redacted], but, in the meantime, you can check out my work on the Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-05: Inheritor's Rite or Pathfinder Bounty 7: Cleanup Duty. I have also written for the Shadowrun system and contributed to the Attitude sourcebook.

 I began my TTRPG adventure when my friend bought an AD&D book for $1.00 at a yard sale. I did not realize until years later how rare my all-girl group was at the time. In my 30+ years playing, GMing, and writing for games, I have seen women go from being a minority to being a common sight. Gaming has given me many opportunities. I have learned that I can write. Through GMing, volunteering as a Venture Officer, and helping to organize Paizo Organized Play Games Conventions (come say hi at Origins), I have learned to be confident in my abilities and how to convey that confidence.

Thanks to all the strong women and allies who have come before that made this possible for me. I hope that I can help keep the progress moving forward.

Jessica Redekop (she/they/he)

Hello! My name is Jessica Redekop (she/they/he), and I was one of two women with a cover credit on Pathfinder Rage of Elements. Women play games and belong in the gaming industry.

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This month and every month, we appreciate the contributions women make to our games here at Paizo—and across the games industry!

In Solidarity,
Rue Dickey (they/he/xe)
Marketing & Media Specialist