Just to add to this week’s Blaugust posts, I wanted to shout out a couple of content creators that I truly appreciate – although post deliberately goes outside the traditional bounds of the ‘developer’ role associated with games creation.
Keith Baker, original creator of Eberron
As the setting that inspired many sessions of tabletop gaming, including one of my longest ever running Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, Keith Baker’s world of ‘magic as technology’ – Eberron, a fantasy world where gritty politics and noir stylings add a rather distinct flavour to adventures. Beyond the long-running game that I run in this setting, my association with the setting also includes the many hours I’ve ploughed into Dungeons & Dragons Online: a MMORPG that launched in 2006 with Eberron as the backdrop to the action. I’ve also read many fine novels written in this world (the Inquisitives series and the Dreaming Dark trilogy are my favourites). Many other RPG creators (including luminaries at Wizards of the Coast) have been involved in the setting, but Mr Baker has kept the setting alive during the quieter times between editions of the Dungeons & Dragons game via his personal blog.
Paizo, makers of Starfinder
There are too many credited contributors to name specific individuals here, but this relatively new tabletop SciFi RPG does for Space Opera adventures what Shadowrun did for Cyberpunk. I really love the default Pact Worlds setting with its mix of science fiction and magic. The game system of the same name is also great fun to play, and intuitive for someone who has played so many hours of other d20 rpgs. This is the setting that first inspired me to stretch the boundaries of this blog with a proper tabletop rpg category and a series of homebrew lore-focused posts. It’s also the first non-fantasy rpg that I’ve really felt motivated to run for many, many years.
GamingSF 