As many of you know, but some of you perhaps do not, I have a book coming out!
So You Want To Be a Game Master will be released October 31st from Macmillan and Page Street Publishing. In this Twitch stream we took a deep dive into the book, exploring the full Table of Contents and chatting about some of the hidden treasures you’ll find within.
You can find the video here if the embedded player doesn’t work for you.
WRITTEN BY
Bill Heron & Justin Alexander
This is the book that lead to me becoming the co-creator of the Infinity roleplaying game. And now, by a very long and very strange road, you can finally add it your own collection!
Back in 2015 I was shopping around for a publisher who would let me develop and publish a node-based campaign. I eventually reached out to Modiphius, spoke with Chris Birch (who owns the company), and was assigned to the Mutant Chronicles RPG. I started reading the existing material for Mutant Chronicles, but a few weeks later, Chris reached out and said, “Actually, we’ve got this new RPG we’re developing called Infinity, based on Corvus Belli’s tabletop miniatures game. We need a really cool campaign for it, would you like to work on that instead?”
When I took a peek at the Infinity universe, I loved what I saw, so I jumped at the opportunity.
Over the next couple months I started developing the material for, first, Acheron Cascade and also a second campaign. I’m not entirely clear on the sequence of events here, but by the summer of 2015 Infinity no longer has a Lead Developer. At Gen Con that year, I had a few meetings with Chris Birch and others about the campaigns I was working and these evolved into a broader discussion of how I thought the Infinity product line should be organized.
If I recall correctly, on Sunday, as I was packing up my suitcase to head home, I got a call from Chris offering me the job as Infinity‘s new Lead Developer. Which was simply amazing.
Within days we were launching a Kickstarter that was revamped to match the blueprint for the product line I’d proposed, and we went on to have the largest Kickstarter ever for a first edition RPG. (This record has since been blown out of the water multiple times over.)
But now that I was focused on developing the core game, Acheron Cascade needed to be laid aside for a bit.
It got laid aside for a long time.
I eventually left Modiphius, in part because I really wanted to focus on my campaign. I spent a few months fleshing out the first few adventures and beginning to playtest them, but, ironically, I wasn’t able to finish the campaign because a few months later I was hired by Atlas Games to become their RPG Developer.
Benn Graybeaton, who had taken over for me as the Line Developer for Infinity, brought in Bill Heron. I was able to pass my development notes and playtest drafts over to him, and he managed to somehow turn them into a finished book. Bill’s a hero and I’m so grateful to him for using what I’d begun and bringing a book that I thought I would never see to life.
Hope you enjoy it!
INFINITY – ACHERON CASCADE
Modiphius Entertainment – 2022
(Co-Author)
Print Edition – PDF Edition
We’ve got a video taking a deeper dive into what you’ll find inside SO YOU WANT TO BE A GAME MASTER? and why it’s a book that every GM, whether they’re taking their first step or just looking to take their game to the next level, will want to own.
I have an article printed in Bayt Al Azif #5: “The Three Clue Rule!”
“Now wait a minute,” you say. “I’m familiar with the Three Clue Rule. In fact, I can read that article right here on the Alexandrian!”
That’s true!
But this particular version of “The Three Clue Rule” has been revised and rewritten. The original version of the essay was written in 2008. In fact, today is the 15th Anniversary of the Three Clue Rule! There are people reading this today who weren’t even born when the Three Clue Rule was published. I’ve learned a lot in the last fifteen years and I wanted to bring the “Three Clue Rule” into accord with that. (For example, the terms “node-based scenario design” and “scenario structure” didn’t even exist yet in 2008.)
Now, to be perfectly honest, if you’re already a long-time fan of the Alexandrian, this new-and-improved version of “The Three Clue Rule” probably isn’t a good enough reason to grab a copy of Bayt Al Azif #5 all by itself. The new tools I’ve incorporated into the article are things you can also find lurking around on the site.
But Bayt Al Azif is just a fantastic magazine for Cthulhu roleplaying, so it’s worth checking out regardless! Issue #5, for example, includes:
And more!
FROM MACMILLAN & PAGE STREET PUBLISHING
COMING TO A BOOKSTORE NEAR YOU
OCTOBER 31st, 2023!
Long-time fans of the Alexandrian who have been asking to have the site’s incredible trove of GMing lore collected into a book: This is what you’ve been waiting for. It’s your complete guide to:
Plus a huge selection of extra credit, including:
But these aren’t just your familiar favorites. The book is chock full of brand new material, too! And everything has been freshly updated into a comprehensive and cohesive volume — the most authoritative book ever written about being a Game Master.
FROM THE BACK COVER
Have you ever wanted to step into your favorite movie or book or television series? Do you want to take your friends on impossible adventures? Do you want to play a cunning elf, a daring spy, a brilliant detective, or a dastardly villain? Do you want to create new worlds?
Do you want to be a Game Master?
Millions of people have discovered the amazing opportunities for creativity, problem-solving, and — most importantly! — fun offered by tabletop roleplaying games. Do you have what it takes to join them? Whether you’re thinking about playing Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Vampire: The Masquerade, Cyberpunk RED, Star Wars, The Witcher, or any one of the countless other roleplaying games that let you go on adventures with your friends while playing characters of your own creation, this book is the key to unlocking the limitless vistas of your imagination.
ENnie Award-winning game designer Justin Alexander offers you the only true step-by-step guide to becoming a Game Master. In less than an hour, you’ll have all the tools you need to run your first adventure (including the adventure itself!). From there, Alexander guides you one step at a time, showing you how to create your own adventures along with the practical, actionable tips and tricks you’ll need to share them with confidence. With your friends you’ll explore dungeons, solve mysteries, steal priceless artifacts, unravel strange conspiracies, and venture forth on epic journeys!
And even if you’ve been playing for decades, So You Want to Be a Game Master? will level your game up with never-before-revealed secret techniques and a huge selection of extra credit lessons that will blow your players away.
PREORDER NOW!
Also available in France, Germany, Spain, Japan, Brazil, Australia, and worldwide! Search your regional sites online or check with your favorite local bookstore!
