Here we presented him with our first selection of questions and we couldn't wait to see what he had to say...
Jacob Rodgers: Wow, that’s a tough choice, just because I’ve been in the field a long time, and worked on some really awesome projects. I’ll cheat and give you a top three list (in no particular order):
BEOWULF: Age of Heroes was a great project, where we brought Duet (1 Gamemaster, 1 Player) to D&D, explored the Migration Era (all of your adventures are explained as the tales told by a Scop later on), and made some truly customisable and scary Monsters (capital-M Monsters begin Undefeatable, meaning they only take 1 point of damage when you hit them – you’ve got to figure out their secret weakness over the course of the adventure and the book is loaded with suggestions on what that might be).
Ruins of Symbaroum was another fun project where I was asked to join a team with the original designers and translate that existing setting into 5e. We made a lot of rules changes to do so – Corruption that affects all characters and can make you a NPC if it is not managed, Extended Rests that are the only way to recover all of your hit points and Hit Dice after 24 hours in a safe place, and Corruption when any spell is cast or a magical item is discovered or used, so both martials and spellcasters must pay attention to Corruption.
Ashen Frontiers is my new project, the first one where I’m leading the team working on it. Set on a broken world that is poor in metal, only the Elemental Planes are truly accessible, and arcane spellcasters can regain power by tapping into a primal source with devastating consequences. I'm really excited for it – I’m working on both 5e and Pathfinder versions simultaneously and each system is informing the other and you’re going to see a lot of improvements to the systems to support the setting.
TP: What would you say is the best selling point of your TTRPGs?
JR: Each has its own appeal, carrying on my cheating ways:
BEOWULF came at a fortuitous (if bleak) time when we were all told to stay home and don’t see anyone outside the house. Having a game where you could play with your loved ones and no one else was good timing.
Ruins of Symbaroum brings dark fantasy to 5e in a major way. The monsters in the Bestiary are tweaked to an inch of their Challenge rating and the other rules make them even tougher. And Corruption is a constant threat – areas and monsters can give you Corruption and magic items can too, so no matter how you choose to fight the darkness, you’re screwed in the end.
Ashen Frontiers, well, folks that have been around for a while will likely recognise what I’m drawing on for the setting. I mean Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden, of course. No, I’m inspired by TSR’s Dark Sun from the ‘90s and the revelation that Hasbro would never touch it. I understand their reasoning, but I believe that there’s a way to do post-apocalyptic fantasy in a way that includes everyone. There are gladiatorial arenas in the setting, but folks sign up to fight in hopes of fame and fortune, not because they are forced to do so. Working on the setting is so often a process of challenging assumptions and I’m committed to doing it right.
TP: Why the TTRPG space?
JR: Depending on how you count it, I’ve played since about 3rd grade (9 years old, or so). A buddy and I would draw out mazes on graph paper, sit opposite each other so we couldn’t see the other’s sheet and describe the current conditions and ask for a decision from the other.
So I independently invented TTRPGs in the early ‘80s. It was in the zeitgeist and I saw E.T. in the cinema, so that’s likely where the idea came from (if you’ve haven’t seen one of the most famous movies of all time, it opens with the main character trying to join the teenagers at a D&D game).
From there, it was a wonderful process that continued to grow – I fulfilled a lifetime ambition to go to Gen Con one time in 2015 and I’ve gone every year since then. I helped out at a booth, ran demo games, and ingratiated myself such to have my first pro chance. Now, it’s a major part of my income.
TP: What is your favourite product that you produce and why?
JR: I love all of them. We do monthly articles for BEOWULF that expand some aspect of the game or give you a new challenge and I recently finished writing KING BEOWULF, which is all about realm management and higher level play. It’ll be a little while before it’s ready for primetime, but everyone who has seen it has been impressed.
Similarly, I just finished converting part of the epic Symbaroum campaign for Ruins, and that was a lot of fun. I think it really exemplifies what you can do in the setting, and some of the threats you will face.
JR: I don’t think I’ll surprise anyone by talking a bit more about Ashen Frontiers. The Patreon is live – you can visit it by going to http://www.ashenfrontiers.com/patreon. I hope that my patrons will be excited to build out the setting and discover what I’ve done there.
TP: Who do you think would love to play your TTRPGs and why?
JR: I have a great playtest group, which includes several what I call ‘tame munchkins’ – folks that will point out over(or under)-powered combos, unclear rules, and anywhere they could abuse the rules but choose not to. So anyone who enjoys digging into a system and seeing how things work together will likely enjoy my games.
Ashen Frontiers is especially exciting as I’m doing the same rules in two systems. Comparing the two might be really educational for a 5e player new to Pathfinder, for example.
TP: Where do you see your TTRPG writing career taking you in 5 years?
JR: So, about five years ago I had a meeting with one of the publishers I work with who is also a personal friend. He asked about my goals and I was clear with him – ‘I need X dollars a month to work in the field full-time’. We’ve been working towards that since then, but neither of us had ‘global pandemic affecting the global economy and shipping’ on our dance cards. In the end, it might be a good thing, as we’ve had to tighten things up and make careful decisions to continue to grow and that means we’re better coming out of the disaster than going in.
But I’ve blown through my savings that I had hoped would carry me through and things are day-to-day right now. But I hope that Ashen Frontiers will contribute to the goal and I’ll get there some day.
TP: If you were given the time and opportunity to develop something unique, what would it be and why?
JR: Although it is inspired by a prior property, I think Ashen Frontiers might count (once I get done with it). If not, another project that I can’t talk about yet certainly does count. It’s a team project but I’m certain that it will be something more fantastic than any member of the team could produce on their own (certainly not me, at least).
TP: Who do you admire in the Independent TTRPG writing space and why?
JR: Gar Hanrahan, Elaine Lithgow, Emmet Byrne, KC Shi, Sarah Madsen, and Walt Chiechanowski have each impressed me in their own ways over the years. Each has been professional and brought new ideas to the project each time.
TP: What got you into TTRPGs in the first place?
JR: I was a precocious reader early on and so Tolkien was an early love. I had some money (birthday or something) and told my Dad I wanted to go to the mall. He thought I was going to buy a video game, but it was MERP (Middle-earth Roleplay) instead. That was my first game, and my first lesson on how players don’t like railroading. Only up from there!
