In the first teaser for Engine Publishing‘s next system-neutral GMing book, Unframed: The Art of Improvisation for Game Masters, I shared Unframed’s cover artwork. For this second teaser, I’d like to share the author list for the book.
Unframed is an anthology of essays by some of the sharpest folks in the RPG industry, and selecting authors for this book was insanely difficult. I wanted a diverse group of GMs and designers with diverse perspectives on the hobby, on GMing, and on improvisation, and it was a challenge to get that mix right. But it was totally worth it: These folks were a blast to work with, and they delivered.
Here are the 23 authors of Unframed (in alphabetical order by last name):
- John Arcadian
- D. Vincent Baker
- Meguey Baker
- Wolfgang Baur
- Emily Care Boss
- Walt Ciechanowski
- Stacy Dellorfano
- Jess Hartley
- Kenneth Hite
- Jennell Jaquays
- Eloy Lasanta
- Robin D. Laws
- Michelle Lyons-McFarland
- Don Mappin
- Scott Martin
- Alex Mayo
- Jason Morningstar
- Martin Ralya
- Kurt Schneider
- Ken St. Andre
- Monica Valentinelli
- Phil Vecchione
- Filamena Young
…and here’s the full cover, designed by Darren Hardy and painted by Christopher Reach, including text and pricing and so forth. To save you having to squint, Unframed will be priced at $19.95 in print, and all preorders will come with a free copy of the book in four digital formats: PDF, EPUB, MOBI, and plain text. (Here’s the larger version.)
It’s possible the back cover copy will change, or elements might move around a bit, but apart from that this is the final wraparound cover.
There are more previews to come between now and June, when preorders open — as always, stay tuned!
As generally excited as I get about Engine releases, I’m especially looking forward to this one! I feel I gravitate more toward the prep-heavy style of running, and I desire stronger improv chops and to not feel like such a dilettante when I’m caught having to GM on the fly. The author list is like a Who’s Who of my favorite designers (and Gnomes!). You can count on my preorder, no doubt!
I’ve been leaning a lot more towards improv in the past few years, and really enjoying it. I still have a lot to learn, though!
What? No Jeff Rients (Jeff’s Gameblog), Zak Smith(dndwithpornstars), Patrick Stuart (False Machine) or any other OSR luminaries?
Pshaw.
Kudos on including Jennell Jaquays, though. Many have aspired to design dungeons half as engaging as her professional work, but few have even come close.
I could easily have doubled the author list with folks whose work I enjoy (which includes Jeff and Zak; I’m not familiar with Stuart’s work), but I couldn’t afford it. There’s no way to make a book like this without leaving out someone’s favorite designer/author/blogger/etc. in any case; I know this list won’t — couldn’t possibly — be perfect for everyone.
That said, I’m thrilled to have gotten the chance to work with these folks, and Unframed is full of good stuff. I’m confident that whatever your preferred play style or, if you have one, preferred corner of the gaming world, there’s useful improv tips in Unframed for just about every GM.