Harrow: The Blighted Plane
Skills required: Creative direction, narrative design, worldbuilding, creative writing, NPC and creature conceptualization and design, mechanical development
Harrow: The Blighted Plane is a crystalpunk TTRPG set in a fallen fantasy world that I conceptualized from the ground up and is the perfect representation of the skills that I can bring to creating fully immersive and unique settings. I was the creative director and lead writer and designer for this project and the continuing Harrow: The Blighted Plane line.
I’m incredibly proud of the entire book—which is 300+ pages if you’re interested in seeing it in its full glory (LINK)— and could spend an inordinate amount of time talking about it here, but I’ve pulled out smaller samples from the core book that highlight the worldbuilding on a macro and micro level (LINK / LINK), NPC conceptualization, dialogue, and flavor text (LINK), creature conceptualization and design (LINK), and metatextual guidance on playing in the world (LINK).
Cypher Shorts
Skills required: Narrative design, creative writing, encounter/scenario design, micro-worldbuilding, NPC dialogue, mechanical development, lore drips
Cypher Shorts are collections of adventures designed to allow players and game masters to create characters and start a 3-4 hour game in minutes. They span a variety of genres and are entirely self-contained, meaning that players are introduced to a new setting, circumstances, and end goal in each short. I’ve led the design and writing efforts for this line of titles since their inception.
The selected samples I’ve linked here showcase my favorite challenge to overcome when creating Cypher Shorts, which is how to make the players feel like they’re in a full world rather than just existing fleetingly in a scene. Using lore drips through encounters, player discoveries, and NPC interactions, I’ve created believable microsoms for the players to navigate and enjoy. (LINK)
5e Periodicals
Skills required: Creative direction, narrative design, creative writing, worldbuilding, encounter/scenario design, dialogue and flavor text, NPC and creature conceptualization and design, mechanical development
I’ve written 100+ 5e-compatible periodicals for Underground Oracle Publishing, Crucible Magazine, Dwarven Forge, and various Dungeon Masters Guild publishers. Through those releases, I’ve created player and game master supplements that enrich any existing fantasy setting with narrative-driven mechanics and lore.
Since these were periodicals, they each highlight many of the above skills simultaneously, so I’ll highlight a few of my personal favorites by subgenre. Here is a folk horror cult (LINK), a witchcore micro-setting (LINK), a high fantasy bathhouse (LINK), and a collection of high fantasy species and cultures (LINK).