The ol’ boys at Wayward Studios are at it again! They've got a level-4 finale to their gnoll-centric adventure path: Gnoll Man’s Land. Andy took some time to chat with me about this adventure, what he learned from writing a whole adventure path, and the future of Wayward Studios!

You're on the verge of your grand finale for the Gnollwhere adventure path! Any hot tips for the other creators out there concerning anything you might have learned along the way?

In the words of my training at Wisconsin DVR (one of my day jobs): Consult, consult, consult! We know we're absolutely blessed to have a four-member crew, all friends since adolescence and each talented in their own corner of the publishing realm--but even at all that, we still keep in frequent contact with other creators throughout the gaming and even comic book communities. Matt Robertson at Goodman, David Baity, Nick Baran, of course yourself, Stefan and so many others have been such helpful guides along the way. Goodman Games and their third-party publishing community have established an amazing culture of collaboration and mutual support--the lack of malicious ego and competition and true desire to assist each other has been just awe-inspiring, given each of our experiences in other professions, and we absolutely intend to follow in and contribute to that tradition. Even if you're trying to launch something on your own and for now it's just an idea germinating in your head--reach out!

Also--don't skimp on art! A well-done piece of artwork or map can help a reader visualize the concept you're trying to convey with grace and beauty; a picture truly is worth 1,000 words. And I know when I'm staring at a shelf of 50-odd modules to choose from, my eye is drawn to the ones with interesting art.

It sounds like Gnoll Man's Land mostly takes place on another plane of existence. Is this a kind of chaos realm? Tell us more!

That's putting it mildly! We'd originally envisioned the kind of weird, hyper-color universe they had in the second season of the Spider-Man cartoon from the 60s (when the artists and writers were clearly affected by some alternative and mind-altering substances in their Wheaties), but ended up feeling like even that had a "been there, done that" feel to it, and we wanted something way more over-the-top. So, Ar'Traxxis' plane is a realm of our own creation: we wanted to do something that hadn't been done in a DCC or 3PP adventure before, something that gives the Gnollwhere series the epically gonzo send-off we feel it deserves, and we feel we got there. It's also designed to be a bit of a mystery the players have to discover as they explore the realm, so no spoilers--but suffice to say, it's not just Gnolls in Space! (though that is definitely a possible future project!)

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This adventure module is about 32 pages with exploratory areas too. How'd you strike the balance if providing exploration and player agency in an what is ostensibly a somewhat adventure path? That can be a tough nut to crack!

That can be really difficult, especially in a narrative like we've set up with the Gnollwhere arc. We were able to be a little sand-boxy in the second book, Gnolledge is Power, where players had the option of choosing among several paths toward the final goal. In Gnoll Man's Land, we came up with a new mechanic to determine the groups' path. There are (at present and possibly more depending on how the Kickstarter plays out) seven different "areas" of Ar'Traxxis' realm, with the players having to explore a minimum of three of them to get to the final showdown. There is a randomization mechanic by which they'll reach each area, and as they explore they'll gather more information to aid and guide them toward the conclusion. Well, that or they'll die a horrible and miserable death. This is DCC, after all!

So, I've heard about a little thing called Horror Crawl Classics? Let me in on this not-so-secret project of yours.

Ha! Yes, the cat's a bit out of the bag on this one. Horror Cinema Classics is a horror-themed role-playing game using the DCC core rule set but with our own twisted mechanics, set in the realm of 80s VHS slasher flicks come alive. Essentially, a dread power known only as the Darkness has been triggered by the advent of media, overpopulation and overstimulation to make horror movies real. Each adventure is a film, starting with zero-level Flicks wherein players act as Shemps: sure-to-die extras just trying to survive the horrors invading their bucolic little towns. Having done so, survivors find themselves touched by the Light (the not-necessarily-benevolent counter force of the Darkness) to become Actors and choose among several different horror movie trope-based classes. They'll then engage in full-fledged Films where they gradually shift to hunters of the Darkness. We've developed a number of horror and film-themed mechanics, such as the Trope Token which rewards playing one's character in the manner of some of the foolish tropes of those great slasher flicks of the VHS era (the teenagers going to make out in the woods as the axe murderer haunts the town; the stoner drifting off to the bathroom for a quick smoke, etc).

We've been play testing the game at Gamehole Con, Midwinter and Gary Con and people seem to have enjoyed the mix of terror and dark humor as well as the nostalgia it evokes, so we're really excited to launch it. We will continue to play test at the Sanctum Gaming Emporium in Racine, WI (our home town FGS) and at Game Hole Con this fall, and we'll be rolling it out on Backerkit in September so that it (hopefully) funds a day or two prior to Halloween. Our idea is that backers will immediately receive a PDF copy of the Quick Start Guide and a Flick, so they can play on Halloween!

That sounds amazing! Anything else that folks should know about?

Well, From Out of Gnollwhere Book 3: Gnoll Man's Land is currently live on Kickstarter through June 12, and folks can back the new book there as well as order our entire existing catalogue. Randy's also working on getting our website (www.waywardstudiosrpg.) updated with a shop there as well, and all of our existing material is also available through dark nebula games and DriveThruRPG.

We'll also be crowd funding a new Weird Frontiers module, Snakes on a Plain (yes, we do love our puns!) on Backerkit, hopefully in June. This will be a 4th-level, sandbox investigation-style adventure that will hopefully challenge even the hardiest gunfighters in the Western Territories!

More and more adventure paths have been coming out for DCC. What you think about this recent trend?

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