NOTE: the opinions expressed in interviews are those of the guests, not necessarily those of shadomain.com.
Today we hear from Austin Conrad, a writer and editor mostly working in TTRPGs. Sometimes he’s freelance, other times he’s creating his own stuff. He’s best known for his indie publications for Chaosium’s “RuneQuest.” He’s also a member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), and he volunteers on the Game Writing committee. You can find him at:
https://x.com/AkhelasWriting
https://discord.gg/JSJDbexn
https://www.facebook.com/akhelas
https://akhelas.com/
Let’s hear from Austin!
What artwork or piece of literature has inspired your TTRPG work?
God, it’s hard to keep track. I try to read broadly and borrow from everywhere, so that what I create isn’t one “tone” from a particular culture or time period. Ancient Greece is a perennial inspiration due to my background in philosophy and history. I’m currently reading through Waterfield’s translation of “The Theology of Arithmetic” to harvest ideas about how a culture of wizards might perceive the world around them. It’s WAY dense, but also fascinating.
Describe your ideal job or assignment in the TTRPG space
Writer! I enjoy the other stuff involved in TTRPG creation, but I’m at my happiest when I’m writing. Ideally I’d be able to just hide away somewhere and scribble insane manuscripts, then hand them off to a publisher for production so I can write the next one.
What celebrity would you like to GM or play an RPG with?
I dunno, really. Ryan Reynolds, maybe? He seems like he has a decent sense of humor. Brandon Sanderson would also be a lot of fun—though I’d probably be overwhelmed by anxiety! Hah, he’s someone I admire both as a creator and as an individual.
Have you ever felt like an outsider in the TTRPG space? Describe if you can.
Every time I start poking around in an unfamiliar fan community. This isn’t because people in the TTRPG world are mean! Each fandom has its own norms, jargon, etc. So any time I find something new and interesting, learning how to navigate that game’s community is a bit nerve-wracking. I lurk a lot, digesting information before dipping in my oar.
Anything else you’d like us to know:
My cat is Mister Bigglesworth, and he’s an orange fluffball of pure chaos. Oh, and if anyone’s looking for freelance collaborators on a project, feel free to hit me up! My business email is austin@akhelas.com and anyone should feel free to reach out. (Unless the spam filter eats it and I don’t notice—in which case, mea culpa!)
Thanks, Austin!
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