While Kevin was over in Chicago to hang out with the Jank Cast he got a chance to sit down with Ron Edwards for an hour or three.  I’ve broken the interview down into two parts for ease of consumption. In this first part, we talk a bit about his inspirations for his new game S/Lay /w Me vis a vis early gaming history and the conservative crackdown on all things considered “obscene.” Then we move on to discuss how identity politics can interfere with system discussion, and then a bit about why and how he wrote Trollbabe. Stay tuned for part two!

Relevant Links

• Adept Press
• IPR
• Monte Cook
• Sorcerer
• Skype
• Code of Unaris
• The Forge
• Actor, Director, Writer stance
• Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser
• Henry Kuttner and CL Moore
• H.P. Lovecraft
• S/Lay W/ Me
• Rob Bohl
• Clyde Roher
• Forge Midwest
• Moral Majority
• Scopes Monkey Trial
• B.A.D.D. and The Pulling Report
• Comics Code Authority
• Zap Comics
• Robert Crumb
• S. Clay Wilson
• Gilbert Sheldon
• Meese Report
• Tipper Gore
• Frank Frazetta, Frazetta “Cat Woman” and Boris Vallejo, Vallejo Conan the Barbarian
• Elmore (Red Box)
• Elric of Melnibone
• The Riddle of Steel
• The Shadow of Yesterday
• Dave Arneson
• Blackmoor
• Nine Worlds
• GURPS
• Champions
• Heroes Unlimited
• Vampire: The Masquerade
• Over the Edge
• Prince Valiant
• Chivalry and Sorcery
• The Jank Cast
• The Infamous Five Threads
• Spirit of the Century
• Robert Jordan
• Vincent Baker
• Trollbabe
• Andrea Dworkin (who apparently denies attribution for the quote Ron used, see the 6th question here)
• Liz Danforth
• The Fantasy Trip
• Eastern Promises
• Anna Kreider
• Dragonlance
• XDM
• Jonathan Tweet

Crunchy Bits!

• The Walking Eye Interview 10: Ron Edwards Part 1: 1 Hour 20 Minutes
• Intro and Outro music provided by Oh Possum.

Our final interview from the heady days of Forge Midwest 2009 is a brief interview with Willow Palecek, Forge Midwest organizer and designer of the FATE-based RPG Awesome Adventures. We talk with Willow about why she made Awesome Adventures, how she got into roleplaying, and how Forge Midwest came to be in Madison instead of Chicago. It was nice talking to Willow and I can’t wait for next year’s Forge Midwest!

Relevant Links

• Willow’s Blog
• FATE RPG
• Awesome Adventures
• Voight-Kampff test
• Spirit of the Century
• Lenny Balsera
• Starblazer Adventures
• John Woo
• Carolyn Burg
• Escape from Tentacle City
• Houses of the Blooded
• Legend of the Five Rings
• Hero Quest
• Dust Devils
• Champions
• The Forge
• Ron Edwards
• Dungeons and Dragons
• RPGA
• Blazing Rose
• Mouse Guard
• Storming the Wizard’s Castle
• The Mountain Witch

Crunchy Bits!

• Interview 8: Willow Palacek 25 minutes
• Intro and Outro music provided by Oh Possum.

I distinctly remember sending out an email to Dan, CJ, Brandon, and Jen a bit before Christmas that after reading the Luke Crane and David Peterson’s Mouse Guard PDF, we needed to bump it into the schedule as soon as possible. “As soon as possible” ended up being May, but we were no less eager to delve into the world of David Peterson’s seminal comic. This first session covers character creation, a fairly brisk and entertaining process.

Roles

• Kevin is the GM.
• Dan plays Conner Greenleaf.
  • Rank: Guard Mouse.
  • Belief: Bold action is the way of the Guard
  • Instinct: Check the weather every time we stop.
  • Highest Skills: Fighter 5 Weather-Watcher 5
  • Traits: Tough II
• CJ plays Thom.
  • Rank: Tenderpaw.
  • Belief : I’m ready to be a GuardMouse, and this is my chance to prove it to Tander!
  • Instinct:Meet the enemy Head-On.
  • Highest Skills: Fighter 4 Cartographer 3
  • Traits: Independent I, Sharp Eyed I, Short I
• Brandon Plays Tander Fizzcup
  • Rank: Patrol Leader
  • Belief : Our strength comes from the bonds of fellowship amongst the Guard; not the individual.
  • Instinct: Never let a young one go alone.
  • Highest Skills: Healer 6 Survivalist 4
  • Traits: Rational I, Old Fur I, Leader I
• Jen plays Josephine Wanderwing
  • Rank: Patrol Guard
  • Belief: Knowledge is Power. There is always time to research.
  • Instinct: Trust but verify.
  • Highest Skills: Pathfinder 6 Survivalist 5
  • Traits: Inquisitive I Curious I

Relevant Links

• Mouse Guard/Burning Wheel
• Mouse Guard Comic
• Dogs in the Vineyard
• Pai Mai
• Secret of Nimh
• Champions
• “Be bold then, I command you!”

Crunchy Bits!

• Mouse Guard Session 1 1 Hour 42 Minutes

By popular demand, Session 1 Broken down into smaller chunks:

• Mouse Guard Session 1 Part A 45 Minutes
• Mouse Guard Session 1 Part B 56 Minutes

• Intro music is from “The Ballad of Ivory Lass”, Lyrics by David Petersen Music & Performance by Jesse Glenn
• Outro Music is from “The Plouescal Races” by Gaelic Storm.

Bumpers and Promos

• Spooky Outhouse
• The Great Debate