Most of the stories we love are someone else’s version of a story that inspired them. Sometimes it’s nearly an exact remake – Thanos and Darkseid, for example. Sometimes it’s a reinterpretation – The Lion King is Hamlet. Sometimes it’s a fusion of many stories told in a your way. Creativity isn’t about originality. That’s…
At a recent convention, I ran a Creator Clinic to help people improve their games and storytelling. One thing I had to emphasise several times is rules are not an afterthought. If your entire game doesn’t hang together through its rules, it’ll be unplayable for most people. A good test is: Can someone read your…
Hi everyone! Era: Crueltide was an idea I came up with last Christmas. Actually, it was already published last year in a very minimal way via The Era Zone Issue #15, which is currently only available in digital format. It’s not supposed to be my most serious game ever; it’s more in the style of…
Hi everyone! Today I’d like to talk about AI music. AI is the next big thing, right? It’s taking over the creative industry. Anyone can write a book, anyone can make a song, anyone can deliver amazing artwork. You may not be surprised to hear that I’m quite biased on this subject. What do I…
Hi everyone! Today I want to talk about “Show, don’t tell” in comics. I was prompted to write about this because I’m in the process of putting together the majority of the New Year, New Stories 2026 comic anthology. I have a different way of writing comics compared to many people, because I did not go…
Hi everyone! The fated day is finally here! Era: Crueltide is now available on Kickstarter. For the craziest, most pun-filled game I’ve produced to date which also offers a deep world where the only limit is your imagination, get to the Kickstarter right now and bag your copy! You can get the Digital, a Paperback…
Herkese merhaba! Cascade #3’ün son rötuşlarını yapıyorum. Bu çizgi romanı da #1 ve #2’de yaptığım gibi sizinle paylaşmak için sabırsızlanıyorum. #3, bu muhteşem destanı sonlandıracak! Bu özel projeyi tamamlamak gerçek bir yolculuktu, çünkü bu ölçekte, istediğim zaman dilimlerinde bir çizgi roman seti yapmak gerçekten zordu. Bu yolculuğa birkaç yıl önce, COVID’den önce başladığımda beklediğimden çok…
Hi everyone! A rare occasion today! I’m going to talk about podcasts and why I think it’s worth appearing on them to tell more people about your book. I’ve said many times before that I’m not a marketing expert, and I stand by that, so you can take all this with however much faith you…
Hi everyone! I wanted to announce something quite special today: I have recently completed work on a book called Voices from the Void. I mentioned it in a previous post – it’s designed to help anyone who wants to create, write, voice, produce or direct audio content. Whichever role you’re taking on, I’ve included absolutely…
Hi everyone! Today I’m going to talk to you about printing. I think this is something a lot of people don’t understand very well, especially when it comes to the difficulties of producing a very large book. Anything over about 300 pages – which is quite common in tabletop roleplaying games – presents certain challenges….
Hi everyone! Today I’m going to talk about indexing! I know, boring, right? It’s certainly something that many creators don’t think is terribly important, judging by the indie roleplaying games I see. And yet, a good index at the end of a book greatly increases usability for anyone who wants to play that game. I’ve…
Hi everyone! Today I’d like to talk about editing and just how important a good editor is to what you create. Editing is more than just mixing, mastering, or adding sound effects. It’s all of those things, yes – but the first part of editing is choosing the right takes. While I, as the director,…
Hi everyone! Today I’d like to talk about “New Year, New Stories 2026”! Another year is coming, and as always, we’re approaching the point where “Make 100” goes live on Kickstarter. For the last several years, I’ve used this time as an opportunity to create a project called New Year, New Stories. Its goal is…
Hi everyone! Did you know we have an EraScapes Patreon? I’ll admit it! I’m not great at marketing. But our EraScapes Patreon has been around for a while now, and it’s packed with audio adventures. You can support us with a monthly pledge or even listen to several free, unique episodes, such as Stranded, which…
Hi everyone! Today I want to talk about my plans for Violete’s return to solo comics. It’s been a while since Violete #2: Backlash, which I still think is one of the best comics I’ve ever written. Although she has appeared as a major part of the Cascade 3-part series, she’s not had as much…
Hi everyone! Today, I am preparing for my next big roleplaying game convention. That made me think I would share some tips with you about how I prepare. At that convention, I usually run around 13-15 games from Tuesday to Sunday (16 last year!). I thought it might interest people to know how I design…
Ed and his team really did something special with this one. I thought the first Time Travel Campaign was pretty gruelling, but this time the stakes feel even higher. Many years after the first crisis, there are threats everywhere. While some are obvious, some are unseen forces working from the shadows. The Agents of Change’s…
Sometimes survival of the species means changing everything about the world you were born into.The Consortium is in an uncontrollable crisis and humanity is almost getting destroyed. Only you can go back and change the past to save the future.You’ll start a dynasty of characters, passing the mission from parent to child, and make choices…
General James L. Constantin says, “In the first month, we had confidence born of ignorance. We thought we could fight for life, but mankind has always won. We were sorely mistaken.”Humanity has been doomed by a parasite that turned people into “Infected”, scattering anyone who survived across Gaia. Towns are run by individuals or warlords,…
Hi! I’m Comfort, I’m new here and I’ve been given a few of the audio dramas that EraScapes has created to try. I thought I’d start by telling you about my experiences of these amazing, immersive stories. This Audio Drama is a very emotional ride. Imagine being taken away from everything you know and love,…
Hi everyone! It’s probably obvious when you think about it, but I believe that, far too often, we write infallible heroes. Whatever happens, they suffer a “setback” and then immediately overcome it. I think this was popularised to some degree by Star Wars.* A New Hope essentially lets everything fall into place for our heroes….
Hi everyone! I thought I’d talk briefly about casting today. I don’t discuss it as often as writing or directing, but it’s sometimes an amazing experience. I’ve cast a number of audio dramas now, as well as a movie. Sometimes I already know who I want for the lead. Sometimes I put out an open…
Hi everyone! Hi everyone. Today I want to talk about one of the most important moments in a tabletop role-playing game: the moment you enter combat. You’ve realised the enemy is too much, you’re not going to be able to negotiate – you’re going to have to fight. Then… you do whatever initiative mechanic your…
If you love martial arts, you’re going to adore this comic. Every fight scene has been carefully choreographed and delivered by a team with a strong interest in making it look right. How would you fight five people at once and walk away? Well, like this. If you want an indie comic where the creators…
We watch them fall.Families, towns, entire cities disappear under the shadow of the Infection. From the safety of the last outpost, we record every struggle, every choice that costs a life. Out there, you are one of them. Every step, every decision, every moment matters. Resources vanish quickly, trust is rare, and danger waits in…
To her peers, Hai-Xang Hayden was nothing more than a spoiled heiress, burning through wealth with no thought of tomorrow. To her mother’s rivals, she was the weakest link in a powerful dynasty, someone who would never matter. But when tragedy struck, those same voices witnessed a transformation they could not have imagined. The careless…
Hi everyone! I thought today I would talk a little bit about Hardcastle’s Hell. Some years ago, I worked with Leo Cosh on creating Hardcastles Havoc. Years later, now that we’ve been working together for a long time, I decided that I would offer to continue that. We decided that we would both like to…
Hi everyone! Today, I thought I’d talk about Era: Marscape, which is a game I came up with some time ago. It was prompted by a conversation with another enthusiastic creator. He’s used to home brewing, he had some suggestions and he wanted to use Era d10 to do it. So he very politely (and…
The world you knew is gone.What remains is a battlefield where titans rule. Steel cities crumble, oceans rise, and the ground itself shakes with every step you take. Since you awoke, you had only one purpose: conquer what remains.Each Kaiju is a rival, each clash a test of dominance. Territory is survival, and only the…
Heroes swing swords, slay beasts, and save villages.Not us. We’d rather keep our hands clean and our mugs full. So we tell stories.Some are true, most are not, but if the crowd laughs and the coins clink, does it really matter?In this town, a good tale is worth more than a sharp blade. We’re not…
