[New Releases] Scarred Lands, Unknown Armies, and Vampire: The Masquerade!

Hello readers! I have been consumed with development on Hunter: The Vigil Second Edition, keeping on top of short story submissions, and proofing a brand new Firefly Encyclopedia that’ll go to approvals shortly. I’m taking a quick break to let you know I have three gaming-related releases.

Karmic Wheels and Fifth Ties | Unknown Armies 3rd Edition Karmic Ties and Fifth Wheels is a Campaign Starter Kit for Unknown Armies Third Edition. In the kit, the player characters are the black sheep of a large, extended family based in rural Wisconsin. Brought together again for a family reunion at the behest of matriarch Maple Adams, they discover that old secrets and occult mysteries lie at the heart of everything their family has done over generations. Throughout the campaign they may learn who they truly are, and how thick their blood runs through the veins of the occult underground.

Beckett's Jyhad Diary | Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition Beckett’s Jyhad Diary serves as the definitive book of setting and plot for Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition, containing 30 chapters spanning different geographical regions, encountering vampires of every clan, profiling obscure and profound segments of the mythology, and providing countless story hooks on every page.

Beckett’s Jyhad Diary is a fiction-forward supplement and is heavy on the lush lore of the Vampire setting. Though Storytellers will benefit from the material in this supplement, any fan of V20 can enjoy it. And, if you LOVE Beckett? For a humorous take, check out Paths of Storytelling!

Ring of Spiragos | Scarred Lands Ring of Spiragos is the conclusion to a trilogy of Scarred Lands adventures developed by myself and Scott Holden for Pathfinder first edition* and Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition. This adventure offers a wealth of lore and possibilities and, as the adventures progressed, we offer more options for gut-punching scenes and opportunities for exploration. As the conclusion to the trilogy, I definitely encourage you to pick up Gauntlet of Spiragos (Free!), Dagger of Spiragos, and Ring of Spiragos to play in the Scarred Lands. It’s a wonderful setting!

* Links in my post are to Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition adventure versions.

Happy gaming!

July 6, 2018
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My WisCon 42 Schedule and Reading

Hello everyone!

I am excited to share my WisCon 42 schedule with you today. The guests of honor are Saladin Ahmed and Tananarive Due. I hope you will join me for my reading on Sunday!

Saturday, May 26 2:30-3:45 p.m. Geekiness and Productivity University B
Moderator: Rachel Kronick. With Becky Allen, Catherine Krahe, Allison Morris, Monica Valentinelli

Capitalism tells us that we are only worthwhile when we produce or when we consume. As a result, many of us end up justifying everything we do, whether for work or pleasure, in terms of “productivity”: “I’m useful to society because I make widgets.” “My crafting/stargazing/gaming/reading/writing make me work better and consume more.” “That person is a better geek than me because they spend more money on their hobbies.” These kinds of framing buy into and reinforce capitalism. Are there ways of framing geeky pursuits that don’t buy into a capitalist framework? Are there ways of justifying our geeky pursuits that don’t commodify them? Are there ways to avoid needing to justify our geeky sides at all?

Sunday, May 27 1:00-2:15 p.m. Smash the Patriarchy Reading at Michaelangelo’s
Naomi Kritzer, David D. Levine, Monica Valentinelli, LaShawn M. Wanak

Powerful stories can move mountains and shatter glass. This reading is not for the faint-of-heart. The stories will unsettle you, make you uncomfortable, force you to think and feel. Come for the stories. Leave with possibilities.

Note: I will have swag bags at my reading that will include this! You’ll have to come to find out why!

Sunday, May 27 2:30-3:45 p.m. Why Do Gender Neutral Things In Games Get Gendered As Masculine?
Moderator: Rachel Kronick. With Kel Bachus, Tanya D., Jack Evans, Jed Hartman, Monica Valentinelli

Watch a “let’s play” and you’ll soon see a lot of gamers gendering non-gendered things — humans with non-declared genders, fish, trees, basically anything or anyone that moves — as “guys” or “he”. NPCs in tabletop RPGs quickly get gendered as masculine if the GM doesn’t explicitly declare them otherwise (and a lot of GMs forget that non-masculine genders exist). A lot of gamers generally tend to fall into masculine-default mindsets while gaming. Why does this happen, and how do we stop it?

Monday, May 28 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. The SignOut Capitol/Wisconsin

Saladin Ahmed, Becky Allen, Eleanor A. Arnason, K. Tempest Bradford, Sue Burke, Kristi Carter, Nino Cipri, Loren W Cooper, Meredith Dillman, Timmi Duchamp, Tananarive Due, Anthony W. Eichenlaub, Jack Evans, Rhea Ewing, Karin Gastreich, Andrea D. Hairston, Alex Iantaffi, Vylar Kaftan, Naomi Kritzer, Rebecca Kuang, David D. Levine, Dale Cameron Lowry, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Nancy Jane Moore, Pat Murphy, Beth Plutchak, Cath Schaff-Stump, Nisi Shawl, Sheree Renée Thomas, Amy Thomson, Monica Valentinelli, LaShawn M. Wanak, Sunny Moraine

May 23, 2018
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My 2017 Publications

Hello everyone,

It’s that time of year! Today, I take a look back at what I’ve published in 2017. This year, I’ve had a busy but rewarding schedule. Let’s see how this year shook out for stories, games, and comics!

This year, my summer travel was pretty intense. Thanks to the fine and upstanding individuals at RopeCon in Helsinki, Finland, I was able to travel overseas to talk about my work and chat with fans. Plus, I was at CONvergence, GenCon, and Geek*Kon as well. I’ve already put together a tentative 2018 schedule that wraps around a few conventions I’ve never been to before, but the shows will be further apart for sure.

As luck would have it, my 2017 list of publications wound up with a stronger emphasis on gaming publications than fiction or non-fiction. That said, there’s a lot happening behind-the-scenes. My agent, Jennie Goloboy, recently announced she’s switched from Red Sofa Literary to the Donald Maass Literary Agency, and I have recently signed a new contract. I’m excited despite (what I feel) has been a lower productivity year for multiple reasons, and it’s something I am holding on to as I move forward.

Games Released in 2017

This year, role-playing game material was the bulk of my publications. Here’s a list of what was released in 2017 thus far–with the caveat that I may be missing a few short adventures.

  • LEGACY OF LIES, Vampire: The Masquerade Dark Ages 20th Anniversary Edition, 2017, Onyx Path Publishing/White Wolf Entertainment AB (Developer)
  • OVER THE EDGE, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, 2017, Wizards of the Coast
  • RUSTED VEINS, Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition Playtest, White Wolf Entertainment AB (Consultant)
  • DAGGER OF SPIRAGOS, a Scarred Lands adventure for D&D 5E and Pathfinder, 2017, Nocturnal Media/Onyx Path Publishing (Developer)
  • DARK ERAS COMPANION, Geist: Sin Eaters “Forboding Lands”, 2017, Onyx Path Publishing/White Wolf Entertainment AB
  • UNKNOWN ARMIES 3rd Edition Books 1, 2, & 3, 2017, Atlas Games

Of Note

Though my releases were sparse in other forms, I did move forward on fiction and non-fiction, both behind-the-scenes and in unique ways. For fiction, I kept busy promoting Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling which launched late 2016. I also managed to kick off a serial work called Diary of an Aspiring Alchemist, which is available for free on WattPad.

In non-fiction, I self-published eBook called Make Art Not War Challenge: Rules, Essays, and 31 Creative Prompts. The latter is a continuation of this year’s blog initiative and posts linked to my Make Art Not War Challenge.

I also sold two original short stories which will debut next year, a cool bit I’m doing for a card game, and an essay to an upcoming anthology. I do have more news to announce, but for the time being I’m holding off until long after the ink is dry. There’s more to come!

If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that I’m human after all. (That realization incurs two eyebrow raises and a sip of tea!) Many thanks to friends and family for being so supportive during an interesting and turbulent year.

I’ve left comments open on this post if you’d like to share your news. Hope you’ve fared well, and your future is everything you hope it could be.

December 1, 2017
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[New RPG Jumpstart Release] Legacy of Lies for V20 Dark Ages

V20 Dark Ages | Jumpstart | Legacy of Lies

Two Princes. Bitter Rivals. And a Coterie Caught Between Them.

Marcus Verus, the vampiric Prince of Chester, secretly prepares to go into torpor. Should his plans be made public, the Prince knows the wolves — both real and imagined — would launch an attack, threatening all within his domain.

That’s where you come in.

Legacy of Lies is a jumpstart for the Vampire The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Dark Ages Edition corebook. This standalone jumpstart is a taste to whet your vampiric appetite. It includes:

• Basic rules for players and Storytellers
• Introduction to the V20: Dark Ages setting
• Introductory adventure
• Characters for players and Storytellers

About Legacy of Lies

Marcus Verus, Prince of Chester, is secretly preparing to go into torpor, and wants to ensure his house is in order. Verus does not wish to make his plans public, because he knows the minute he announces his desire to rest, the wolves will be at his door, and all would be threatened within his domain which was entrusted to him by his sire, Mithras, the King of the British Isles. Instead, Verus is assessing who will be worthy to take the reins of leadership once he leaves Chester by appointing a council of peers to rule in his stead. Of course, such a position carries a price: Whomever sits as the Baron of Chester will have to answer to Mithras, himself.

First, however, Marcus Verus needs to convince a group of vampires (the characters) to carry out a secret mission on his behalf. Verus, a seasoned warlord, is not a vampire of many words; he will test the characters by asking them to question an informant hiding in Rouen and take further actions if necessary. What the characters do not know, is that Verus is already aware of the secrets the informant possesses. He’s more curious to know what they’ll do next.

What secrets will your characters unravel? What dark decisions must they make? Whose favor will they win? Find out in Legacy of Lies!

November 22, 2017
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Announcing a Serial Fiction Release: Diary of an Aspiring Alchemist

Diary of an Aspiring Alchemist
Cover Art by Meredith Gerber

Though I write a lot, I don’t always take time for myself. My stories. The ones I have to write, but don’t know if they’ll sell or not. This year, I made a pledge: I was going to write those stories, because while I don’t know if anyone will read them I also don’t want to wait. I can’t afford to. Not now, not anymore. Not even with insane (and I do have them!) deadlines and responsibilities.

Back in July, I started a journey to tell the story of William Sand. William is a key figure in my modern fantasy novel; he’s a supporting character whose motivation is caused by preceding events. This journal is the story of how William Sand was saved, stumbled, and then fell. This background is hinted at in the novel; his story and connection to the other characters isn’t crucial to the plot, however. I felt it’d be better to separate that narrative out, rather than bog down the novel with these details.

Here’s the rub: Diary of an Aspiring Alchemist is also my first, untouched draft, written in dribs and drabs, and posted for you to read.

I know this story. It’s a tale that I don’t want to write, but it’s been driving me mad. Don’t write it, the story matters only to me, causing me no shortage of frustration. Do write it? See what happens. I also know this is a difficult and challenging story to sell or be marketable, because William Sand is not a hero. Or, at least, I don’t see him that way.

Diary of an Aspiring Alchemist is written as an epistolary, and the entries take place in real time. They were either written shortly before posting or the night before; I made one edit to fix a placeholder for a character’s name. Other than that, this is all William. Raw. Alone. Found. Then very, very lost.

I hope you enjoy Diary of an Aspiring Alchemist. It is the kernel, the seed of what’s to come in a world I’ve wandered in for some time.

October 31, 2017
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