Game Design

 

As a professional roleplaying game (RPG) designer, I have written for or contributed to the development of  various settings and game lines, but I specialize in religion, esotericism, and mythography in game design, world-building, and storytelling. Representation of the numinous — the sacred, the holy, however one interprets or names it — and its role in society and culture have a valuable contribution in fantasy and speculative fiction, and I draw on historical belief systems and practices in my design and development work. I have been featured on a podcast and I was a panelist in one livestream discussing these issues:

I have written for a number of publishers, including White Wolf Publishing and Holistic Design, Inc., in the earlier part of my career, with recent work for Ulisses Spiele and Helmgast AB.

Publication Highlights

  • “Et in Arcadia Ego,” revised edition for KULT: Divinity Lost (Helmgast AB, 2021). This has been performed as an Actual Play  (podcast playthrough) by Red Moon Roleplaying (2021–2022).
  • Fading Suns, 4th ed. (Ulisses Spiele), various contributions:
    • approximately half of the “patron saints” in the Character Book (2021)
    • Ur-Obun species material in the Character Book (2021)
    • other material is forthcoming
  • “In a Sacred Manner: Ur-Obun,” for Fading Suns, Children of the Gods: Obun and Ukar (Holistic Design, 1998)
  • “Pentateuch,” in Weird Places, for Fading Suns (Holistic Design, 1997)
  • World of Darkness: Sorcerer (White Wolf, 1997)
  • “Subtle and Quick to Anger: Eskatonic Order,” for Fading Suns, Priests of the Celestial Sun (Holistic Design, 1997)
  • “Den of Vipers: House Decados,” for Fading Suns, Lords of the Known Worlds (Holistic Design, 1997)
  • Celestial Chorus Tradition Book, for Mage: the Ascension (White Wolf, 1996)
  • Halls of the Arcanum, for Mage: the Ascension (White Wolf, 1995)
  • “Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull,” for Indiana Jones and the Golden Vampires (West End Games, 1995) [no relation to the 2008 film]
  • “On Wings of Eagles,” Dragon #233 (TSR, 1995)
  • The Inquisition, for Vampire: the Masquerade  (White Wolf, 1994)
  • “Et in Arcadia Ego,” for Kult (Pyramid, May 1994, no. 7)

References and a complete list of publications are available upon request.