Zac has written for dozens of publications, including entries in D&D 5e, Mork Borg, Mothership, OSE, Vast Grimm, his upcoming work on Primal Quest, Zweihander, and the Hannibal RPG, and more. In another realm, he is the President of Tabletop Fanatics, one of the Directors at World of Game Design, and a co-host of the Geeks’ Cant podcast. Zac is one of those person you wonder "how do they make it all?", and now I am having a chance to pick his brain on this chat, and work with him on a Primal...
Apr 04, 2024•2 hr 10 min•Ep. 38
Michael is the mind behind Luck of Legends, where he teaches writing using games like Stories RPG - which is also his creation, a play-to-learn literacy game and podcast. He coaches teachers, runs after-school programs, writes curriculum, and zealously preaches the gospel of re-designing learning in and out of the classroom. We have been following each other's work on twitter for a couple of years or so, and I've always been interested in gaming for kids (I think it relates to me really hoping m...
Apr 02, 2024•2 hr 8 min•Ep. 17
As the original creator of the Mystic Punks, Anthony Meloro has been writing TTRPG zines and materials since 2016. Never satisfied to stay within one genre, Meloro continuously taps into his effervescent knowledge of trash comics, video games, punk rock and, DIY culture to create his work. An educator, a father, a game designer, a MYSTIC PUNK! In this chat we had the opportunity to talk about art, creativity, education, fatherhood, game design, being outsiders, and so much more! We also really g...
Mar 27, 2024•2 hr 4 min•Ep. 52
Irvin Morales is a Game designer, content creator at Role Per Second YouTube channel, and CO-CEO of KoboldCon, a convention in Mexico that promotes the indie TTRPG movement in LATAM. I am very happy to receive my friend and fellow RPGLATAM creator Irvin for a great chat about his journey in the TTRPG world, beginning as a player, becoming a GM, event organizer, store owner and then game designer. We also talked about the unique realities of the hobby in Latin America, especially Mexico and Brazi...
Mar 19, 2024•2 hr 18 min•Ep. 51
Rafael Balbi is a Artist, Graphic Designer, Game Designer and Podcaster from Brazil who digs into game design theory in TTRPGs, dynamics of play and gaming systems. Creator of the Oil Fantasy playstyle and lead of a popular hexcrawling westmarches campaign called Biergotten, using a d&d b/x retroclone. Me and Rafael are long time friends, we had a blog together for a while, we wrote an Adventure for DCC RPG Brazilian edition, and we just love hanging out and talking about games. In this epis...
Mar 14, 2024•2 hr 40 min•Ep. 50
Justin Sirois is a novelist and game designer as well as the founder of Severed Books and now Severed Toys. Severed Books publishes fiction, games, accessories, and RPG modules. Since 2012, we've published a lot of fiction, had a project optioned for TV/film, expanded into tabletop gaming, and have run over 30 successful Kickstarter campaigns. Collaborations include: Stockholm Kartell, Aaron Draplin (Draplin Design Company), The Dead Milkmen with Andrew Ervin, Head Lopper's Andrew MacLean, Ax-Wi...
Mar 12, 2024•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 49
Billy Blue is a RPG artist and game designer. His clients include, Gallant Knight Games, Philip Reed, Gaming Ballistic, and Yog Du games. He also recently released his own RPG called TLD RPG, a rules lite Dark Fantasy RPG in which he works on integrating his art and writing into a single thing. And we talked a lot about exactly that on the podcast. How to integrate Art and Game Design. We talked about the bless/curse of writing, illustrating, doing layout and everything in a book. We mentioned a...
Mar 07, 2024•2 hr 2 min•Ep. 48
Lex Mandrake is an rpg content creator who writes games and supplements, produces videos, and composes music under the moniker Dank Dungeons . Some of his larger projects include AZAG , the weird sword and sorcery rpg and 5B, the 5th Edition compatible OSR style rpg. Recently, he's been working with dungeon-tuber Jorphdan to create videos highlighting indie rpgs on the Jorphdan's Jocular Junction YouTube channel. I had the honor to work with Lex in AZAG, and had a great time hanging out with him...
Mar 05, 2024•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 47
Matthew Morris, aka ManaRampMatt has been playing roleplaying games for nearly a decade and has been creating and publishing games and supplements since 2020. He is obsessed with Mausritter and any other Into the Odd based game. Outside of the gaming world he is a husband to an amazing wife, father to two little and cute kiddos, and pastors a rural church community. Matthew loves history, theology, fantasy, adventure, and lots of weird little things in those realms. Matthew's work and enthusiasm...
Feb 29, 2024•2 hr 1 min•Ep. 47
David Blandy is an artist who makes rules light, flavour heavy games. David formed the Copy/Paste Co-Op with friend and illustrator Daniel Locke last year to make weird games for weird people in a weird (profit sharing) way. Some of his work includes Eco Mofos, Lost Eons, Babel and much more! I'v been talking to David over Twitter for a while now and I am always impressed by the depth and width in his work. In this chat I had the opportunity to talk to him a little bit more about it, and about h...
Feb 27, 2024•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 44
Daniel Sell is the founder of Melsonian Art Council, a publisher of the finest TTRPG books, creator of Troika! The Science Fantasy RPG, and someone who is always lifting other creators up. I've been following Daniel's work for a long while, since the days of Google + or something. I religiously bought all the Undercroft zines he released and fell in love with Troika! the movement it was released. Since then, Melsonian has not disappointed and has put out some of the most creative adventures and ...
Feb 22, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 44
Luke Gearing is the renowned writer and game designer behind some of the best weird fantasy adventures made in the last years! He has been making TTRPG stuff for a long while and is tackling bigger and more challenging projects lately. His works include Fever Swamp, The Big Squirm, The Isle, many others, and now Sawyers, a urban fantasy heist game that promises a unique way to play! BACK SWYVERS NOW: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/melsonia/swyvers To be honest, I am a fanboy of Luke. His a...
Feb 20, 2024•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 40
Jim Miller is the founder of Crit Hit AZ, a convention focused on tabletop gaming in Arizona, and is now Co-Director of Tabletop Games of Game on Expo, happening on March 15th to 17th in Phoenix. He is also a game designer and community builder, and, like all weirdos, a lot more than all of that. I got to know Jim a long time ago, back when I was publishing my first games. Jim was super supportive of my work and the first photos of people playing my games on conventions are probably from Crit Hi...
Feb 15, 2024•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 42
Megan Goins and Terry Azamber and new game designers with their first project being funded on this year's Zinequest. The project is called Terra Arcis, a captivating single-player journaling RPG game in which the players are invited to go on a harrowing trip into the beautiful and deadly kingdom of fairies. I got in touch with Megan and Terry through Zac Goins, and he told me how they got into Solo Journaling game by playing my "Lost in the Deep" journaling game about being the last survivor in ...
Feb 13, 2024•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 41
Brandish Gilhelm / Henkerin Ferinale, also known as Runehammer, is the game designer, artist, and content creator behind, well, RUNEHAMMER. A powerhouse of TTRPG design and guidance, he is the creator behind Index Card RPG, Viking Death Squad and more recently Skull & Crown! Brandish also has an amazing YouTube channel where he not only talks about the amazing work that he does, but about TTRPG in general, and how to CREATE THINGS! Brandish is constantly sharing his wisdom and knowledge of g...
Feb 09, 2024•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 40
Richard Ruane (he/him) is the creator of the award-winning game Moonlight on Roseville Beach. He was nominated for the IGDN Groundbreaker Award for Best Setting for Barrow Keep: Den of Spies in 2021 and Dark Designs in Verdigris in 2020. He's previously contributed to Codex, Eat Trash Be Free, and Sunken. I am so glad to have Richard over. We met a few years ago when I traveled to the US and we tried to organize an TTRPG meet up in NYC, and basically only a few people showed up. Since then we'v ...
Feb 07, 2024•1 hr 59 min•Ep. 39
Raul Volpato a illustrator and pixel artist working on tabletop RPGs and digital games, and developing his own game, City Noire. I've been fascinated by Raul's art from the moment I saw it on Twitter. I grew up on those old RPG on Sega Genesis, and Super Nintendo, and seeing this style of art being used on RPG was something quite new and refreshing for me. It sparked my creativity and until this day I have notes for future projects where I can work on with this style of art to maybe work with Ra...
Feb 05, 2024•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 38
Paolo Greco is a writer, game designer, artist, book binder, editor, publisher and many other things! They created the Adventure Fantasy Game, Chthonic Codex, Mageblade, Wulfwald, Beyond the Pale and much more. They also created Lost Pages, the publisher who first published both Into the Odd (by Chris McDowell ) and Maze Rats (by Ben Milton). I've been a fan of Paolo's work and presence in the RPG space since the good old days of Google +, and miss seeing them around, so this chat was special fo...
Feb 04, 2024•2 hr 23 min•Ep. 36
Colin Le Sueur is a tabletop roleplaying game designer, writer, and illustrator. Originally from Canada and now living in the North of England, Colin designs and publishes games such as Runecairn and We Deal in Lead under the imprint By Odin's Beard RPG. Colin's work and dedication to the craft is inspiring for everyone to see. He is constantly developing his work and publishing what he is doing, showing the process of making a game to those who follow him. Runecairn was one of the first solo ga...
Jan 29, 2024•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 36
Matt Finch is one of the fundamental figures of the OSR style of TTRPG, his works include OSRIC, Swords & Wizardry, the magnificent Tome of Adventure Design, and the super influential Quick Primer for Old School Gaming (among many other things). He is also the founder of Mythmere Games and is constantly making more and more excellent gaming material! It's hard for me to put into words what Mark's work means to me. I don't know if my work would ever be the same without his. The Quick Primer f...
Jan 25, 2024•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 35
Paweł Kicman. TTRPG designer by day, popculture journalist by night. Creator of CORP BORG, Kill Your Necromancer, Whispers of the Woods ( LAST HOURS ON KICKSTARTER ) and other weird things. He loves vanilla pudding, basketball, and sleeping. I gotta say that what got my attention to Paweł's work was Corp Borg and his critique to corporations and all the shit related to them. That immediately made a connection with me, and when I saw the way the book looked and the awesome and brutal stuff you ge...
Jan 23, 2024•2 hr 30 min•Ep. 33
Adam Vass is a tabletop RPG designer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is a one-person operation: writing, illustrating, laying out, publishing, and distributing tabletop storytelling games from his house (though they love teaming up with friends for additional help). He is a multiple-time award winner for RPG designs including the stoner metal science fantasy Necronautilus, scumbag retrofuture Cybermetal 2012, playful and haunting Babes in the Wood, and many more. He is also cohost of the Brain Tru...
Jan 18, 2024•2 hr 8 min•Ep. 33
Sean F. Smith is a writer, a magician, and a games designer. He's written for critically acclaimed products like Odd Jobs and Moonlight on Roseville Beach, coordinates games for charity in South London as part of the Role Play Haven, and will not say Macbeth in a theatre (not even a lecture theatre). Sean's work has been growing and growing and now permeates lots of my favorite game universes, including quite a few award-winning ones. In this chat we talked about how his experiences outside of g...
Jan 15, 2024•2 hr 13 min•Ep. 32
Mike Evans is the creator DIY RPG Productions, author of Hubris (an incredibly and wonderfully bizarre weird fantasy setting for DCC RPG), Death is the New Pink, Barbarians of the Ruined Earth, and a lot more! But Mike is a lot more than that also! Mike Evans moved to Rochester, NY in 2013 after his wife received her PhD in Toxicology at Rutgers University and took a post doctorate position at URMC. Mike has been working in the non-profit sector for nearly a decade, serving as Director of Operat...
Jan 11, 2024•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 31
Johan Nohr is a graphic designer, illustrator, game designer, and pretty must and awesome person! He is the co-mastermind behind Mörk Borg, and his unique style has created ripple in the TTRPG aesthetic as a whole. I met Johan online, on the apocalyptic lands of Twitter, and his work on Mörk Borg quickly got my attention. The way the graphic design and illustration says just as much about the game as the text of the game really impressed me, and reminds me the work of literally illustrators and ...
Jan 08, 2024•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 30
Felipe Faria is a fellow #RPGLATAM Artists, who has illustrated many amazing games and is well known for his black and white ink style that combines the best of old-school style art, comics and mangas. He has worked on titles such as, Primal Quest , Lilliputian: Adventure on the Open Seas , We Deal In Lead , and many more. I've been following Felipe for a few years and I was immediately captivated by his style, composition, and choices! His characters have a unique style that feels like only him...
Jan 02, 2024•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 29
Yochai Gal is the creator of the fantastic Cairn RPG, co-host of the great Between 2 Cairns podcast, and one of the main proponents of the NSR (New School Revolution). His is also a very active voice in the TTRPG space, and if I may add, a very positive one. Yochai is always looking for ways to make not only the amazing games we love more accessible, but the act of making these games more accessible too. When I was developing my trilogy of horror RPG zines (Screams Amongst the Stars, The Dead Ar...
Dec 26, 2023•2 hr 42 min•Ep. 27
Michael Curtis has been working in the RPG industry since 2008 and playing RPGs since 1980. He is mostly known for his work on the DCC RPG line, including such adventures as Frozen in Time, Intrigue at the Court of Chaos, and the DCC Lankhmar set, and for his classic Dungeon Alphabet book and the old-school megadungeon Stonehell. Michael is currently the Director of Product Development for the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG at Goodman Games.Thank you for listening! Michael Curtis is a tremendous ins...
Dec 23, 2023•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 27
Lukasz Kowalczuk is a comic artist and illustrator whose unique style gives whole new identity to whatever he is working on. He is the artist behind To Hell and Galgenback, the Mork Borg webcomic series, and is the illustrator of the award winning Kosmosaurs RPG, among many other amazing works! I got lucky enough to meet Lukasz online and his style, energy and philosophy quickly draw us closer. I had the honor to collaborate with him on Kosmosaurs RPG, which wouldn't be the same without him, and...
Dec 19, 2023•2 hr 23 min•Ep. 26
Navi is one half of A Couple of Drakes, the duo behind Court of Blades, Dead Belt, and a score of other badass tabletop games. A mother of two young boys, and an avid hobby collector, living in a haunted Victorian house in the Appalachian mountains. I meet Navi and her partner Shawn through Tweeter and was impressed by their enthusiasm and their constant production of thoughtful and unique RPG ideas. We did collaborate on a small piece for Court of Blades and then I followed them from some dista...
Dec 15, 2023•2 hr 4 min•Ep. 25
