I wrote a science fiction game! It’s called Termination Shock and the premises upon which it’s built go something like this: When I wrote it, it was gritty and harsh, and then I started the first ever playtest of it and the major influence my players cited was the sitcom Frasier. It turned out to…
First up, there’s a new story in the ol’ fiction library, and it’s some nasty crime stuff. So, the content warning for Freckles is, there’s torture, murder, and allusions to sexual crimes. If you want to skip out, it’s understandable, but all that darkness is in service of a story about corrupted justice systems and…
Hey, have you heard Thunderhead Mesa? If not, let me back up. Have you heard of Thunderhead Mesa? No? OK, there’s this podcast called Red Moon Roleplaying that does actual plays, but then edits them down so they sound more like audio drama. It’s an fascinating fusion of forms, and they invited me to run…
Hey, wanna hear me, a charmingly systems-promiscuous GM and a British guy talk about games? If you do, click here now. If you want to know more, read on. It’s OK. You’ll have another chance to click that link. A few months back, Twitter was talking about Old Gods of Appalachia and how to turn…
This really, maybe should have been two posts, but fickle fate conspired to let me launch one project just as another completes. So let’s do one big newsflash with two headlines. Dueling Fops of Vindamere is Live on Kickstarter! I’ve been waiting for this one a long time. My newest game is a Crankshaft Constellation…
2021 is the year I’ve started to suspect that any money I’ve made from fiction has been despite my level of skill at business, and not because of it. But with the help of my fans, I’ve maintained and grown the fiction library on this very website. Now, I’d like to do it again. I…
I’ve got a new Kickstarter running, and it’s for a book called DIFFERENT TROUBLE, the first supplement for TERMINATION SHOCK. If you’re already a huge TERMINATION SHOCK fan, I hope this is good news! It’s about 80 pages focusing on playable characters who aren’t human. But it’s more than just “you’re lighter-than-air” or “you have…
I’m posting an update to keep all you interested parties informed about two aspects of my life. One is my private citizen health and wellbeing, and the other is the game-and-fiction production that is the anchor and raison d’etre for this whole site. The Stolzes’ Personal Lives I am safe, my family is safe, everyone…
I wrote a short game, and you can now buy it for five dollars. Million Dollar Soulmate is a two-person, no-GM, one-shot tabletop roleplaying game about the promise and hazards of seeking romance. It focuses, heavily, on the ambiguity and uncertainty we all encounter while looking for someone who completes us. The key question looming…
If you’ve been listening to the TERMINATION SHOCK podcast, you’re aware that I wrote a science fiction roleplaying game. It’s been a blast, with alien misunderstandings, amateur politicians suddenly going pro, haphazard business schemes to corner the market on personal hygiene (“we call it SOAPEC”) and the occasional karaoke contest. Having thoroughly playtested it and…