Nick has been in the zine scene since his early punk days. These days, he keeps much of that same aesthetic in his ttrpg zines, pamphlets and adventures, which he publishes under the Breaker Press Games label. Nick is following now following up one of his earlier publication with the Stennard Courier Volume 2. If your’re interested in seeing what Nick has already created, you can find it on DTRPG and itch.io, but he’s always got a nice package deal via his Kickstarters! So go check out it out!

Hi Nick! You’ve been creating in the DCC scene for since 2020 (or at least that’s when Rabid Dogs was published on DTRPG) and you’ve continued creating content for the Stennard setting the whole time. Can you tell us about Stennard and what makes it so special to you?

Stennard really took on a life of its own. When I wrote my first adventure, The Precipice of Corruption, I threw out some syllables that sounded good together in the intro and ended up with “Stennard.” When my first group of players wanted to interact with the town, I drew a map, rolled up some 0-levels to occupy it, and that felt like enough. And then it wasn't enough. LOL. Each time I ran Precipice in the wild, or started another campaign, the town evolved, characters stuck, and even the map changed shape. It started to feel like a living, breathing place. The more that it felt that way, the harder I leaned into it. Even when I pitched the original zine to Joseph Goodman as my T1 The Village of Hommlet, I didn't know how immersive the end result would be. Maybe I'm biased because I've lived with it in my head for so long, but I tried to capture that feel while making it extremely functional at the table.

That sounds like a great setting to explore. I’ll link a video you created so folks can get an overview of what’s in The Stennard Courier Volume 1, but what can we expect out of Volume 2?

The Stennard Courier Vol. 2 has a similar structure to Vol. 1 The map expands eastward, revealing more of the town. There are 8-10 two-page spreads focusing on each major NPC with their traits, friends, enemies, rumors to share, and services they can provide. It also reveals some of the mysteries referenced in Vol. 1. The reader will learn why the Light Priestess is blind and lost her faith. They'll learn what role the vacant Temple of Delvyr served to the town, what secrets are hidden beneath it, and who has filled the vacuum that it left behind. It introduces new loose ends, like the Firewhisperer. He's an orphan child that sits at the Common Fire, day and night, staring into it and mumbling. I love leaving threads like this to pull and explore later.

You seem to enjoy running a “grittier” and more “down to earth” version of DCC, while a lot of other 3rd-party content tends to be more “wild” and “gonzo”. Do you think that’s an accurate description? What makes that tone important to keep in your games?

It is definitely accurate. When I originally started writing DCC content I was just pulling in "vibes" from my early days of AD&D in grade school, and just trying to emulate that. But the more invested I became in developing my own setting, the deeper I went into dark but grounded themes. I love content that demonstrates that humankind can be both a beacon of hope, as well as the worst monster of all. There is something about that contrast that I find engaging. I've only just recently realized that most of my influences are post-apocalyptic settings, and I just grafted that tone onto medieval fantasy. That survival horror feel I'm chasing combines old school "resource management" gaming with influences like The Road, The Walking Dead, Mad Max, 28 Days Later, Station 11, etc. I think that's why my stuff stands apart from a lot of the gonzo stuff. I'm just drawing off of completely different influences, even if they still feel familiar.

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So you’re one of the few people I know who do game design and self-publishing full-time. I’m sure its an incredibly easy and glamorous lifestyle. Any advice (or warnings) for folks who aspire to quit their day job?

Oh god... Be prepared to engineer your life around your dream and be willing to sacrifice your stability to chase it. As a lifelong punk rocker, I've become accustomed to a lifestyle where you leave for tour with a van full of merch, a tank full of gas, $100 in your pocket, and blind faith that for the next 20-30 days, it'll all just work out. In those days, I sustained on blind sense of purpose combined with DIY punk's incredible international support network. Today, I don't have kids to raise. It's just me, my dog, and a monthly mortgage that is less than half the average rent in my area of Milwaukee. I will honestly say that I'm only here by the grace of others. Without the Kickstarter Backers, the Patrons on Patreon, a series of fantastic gaming groups, a gracious peer group of fellow creators, and the support of my friends and family, I wouldn't be typing these words. It's like stagediving. When the moment hits, I'm going off the stage regardless, but it always works out best when there are a bunch of amped up, supportive people there to catch you. 😉

Thanks for talking with me Nick! Is there anything I should have asked you that I missed? Tell us what else we need to know!

Thank you very much for the interview. Thanks to everyone out there for supporting indie games and indie game designers!

If you want to follow Nick on social media, check out his Twitter or his Instagram.

What else is happening?

Learning Layout

Plus One Exp hosted this great talk on layout. I’ve watched the video a couple times and find it a great educational piece to anyone who does layout in the ttrpg space. Watch it over here!

Spellburn?!

Yeah, I’m going to be be on Spellburn tomorrow (Sept 29, ‘23)! Come and join me on Twitch at 8PM Central! If you missed it, it’ll later be uploaded on the Goodman Games YouTube channel.

Prisoners of the Secret Overlords

This is 56-page long science-fantasy adventure is perfect for when you want to sling spells and blast laser rifles! Day-1 backers get their names added to a special handout of victims who were never able to escape the clutches of the Secret Overlords! We launch October 3rd so get ready!