My foray into interactive fiction continues with two big projects, though I’m at liberty to talk about only one of them.

For now.

Confidentiality agreements have kept me quiet on a couple of games to which I’ve contributed my writing and editing skills—projects that have kept me busy for the first half of the year and then some. Fortunately, the first has been released, so I’m finally able to share some details.

Without further ado, meet the Necromolds!

New Tabletop Adventure

I was thrilled when Goodman Games gave my name to a publisher of a dynamic wargame looking to bring their creative creatures to the world’s most popular TTRPG system: Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons.

Necromolds has been called “Warhammer meets Play-Doh.” Whereas many wargames depend on metal or plastic miniatures to represent combatants on the battlefield, Necromolds’ golems are formed from modeling clay that can be pressed into existence in seconds—and swiftly squished upon defeat.

The game is a great introduction to the wargame genre for young players or a lighthearted contest for more seasoned gamers. (Yes, those are the same demographic as my TTRPG The Curse of Er’Mah’Gerd.) Given the popularity of 5E D&D, it made a lot of sense to bring the game’s colorful constructs to a wider audience.

Here’s how I helped make that happen:

  • Consulted with Necromolds creator Clint Bohaty to make key decisions about keeping the lore and flavor of the original game while adapting to the mechanics of 5E.
  • Determined which tier each Necromold should be.
  • Created the Conjure Necromold
  • Wrote the stats blocks for eight of the titular golems.
  • Edited the stats blocks for the remaining eight Necromolds.
  • Wrote a self-contained adventure.

Necomolds Awaken! is a one-shot dungeon crawler that can be played on its own or inserted into an existing campaign. Either way, introducing these unique summonable creatures to D&D brings an exciting new dynamic to the world’s first roleplaying game.

The adventure, spell, and stats blocks can all be found in Basalt LaSeur’s Tome of Golems, available here.

My favorite part of the project—aside from collaborating with outgoing creatives like Clint and his team—was exploring the secretive Masquerade faction and developing such members as Sentinel, Scavenger, Silencer, and Steelsong.

Unrevealed Video Game

My current project leaps off the page to the digital equivalent of a TTRPG: a video game RPG.

Having signed a nondisclosure agreement for a certain mobile game from an overseas developer, I can only say that I’ve had a blast localizing and proofing the text while losing myself in the rich story. I can’t wait until the game is released so that I can tell you more about it—not to mention play it myself!