High Adventure | Forbeck.com

How to Write a Tie-In Novel

Matt Forbeck — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:31:58 +0000

My latest column for the Escapist went up today: “How to Write a Tie-In Novel.” Check it out for a quick behind-the-scenes look at how some of your favorite books about your favorite worlds make it to your shelves.

The Art of Writing Tie-In Fiction

Matt Forbeck — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 21:40:40 +0000

My latest column is up at The Escapist. In “The Art of Writing Tie-In Fiction,” I discuss some of the differences between tie-in and original fiction. Stop on by for a read – it’s free – and let me know what you think.

Games and Fiction

Matt Forbeck — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:36:11 +0000

I just launched into a new series of articles over at The Escapist. The plan is to sit in the crossroads of games and fiction and toss around a few Molotov cocktails to see what bursts into flames. Having written more than a few games, novels, and gaming novels over the decades, I’m curious to find out.

In this month’s column, I cover the history of gaming fiction. It turns out that hobby games and fiction have been rooted together since their very first moments, and we can lay the blame for that squarely at the feet of H. G. Wells himself. I always knew I liked him.

Be sure to check it out, and if you have suggestions for future bits, be sure to let me know.

The Play’s the Thing

Matt Forbeck — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:16:26 +0000

My latest column for The Escapist‘s High Adventure series is up. In “The Play’s the Thing,” I write about the wrap-up for the first adventure in the D&D campaign I started for Marty and his friends. Check it out, and comment there or here to let me know what you think.

Also, should I continue to write about the campaign, or should I take up other topics? Now would be a good break point if I’d like to switch, and I’m open to suggestions.

Bunch of Characters

Matt Forbeck — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:24:59 +0000

My latest column for The Escapist–“A Bunch of Characters”–just went up this morning. In this installment I discuss the process of helping Marty and his friends create their first-ever characters for our new Dungeons & Dragons campaign. I didn’t find this as easy as I thought it should be, but in the end I think Wizards got it right. Read the article to see how.

In other news, Merry Christmas! The kids got us up early this morning to see what Santa had brought, and we’ve been eating all sorts of treats and playing with toys and games ever since. Here’s hoping you have a wonderful holiday too!

Happy Holidays and Free D&D

Matt Forbeck — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:01:26 +0000

As a pick-your-holiday gift, I present to you “Inn Peril” (1.5 MB PDF), a Dungeons & Dragons 4E adventure designed for use with five 1st-level adventurers. This originally appeared in issue #114 of Game Trade Magazine this past summer, and a PDF of it was posted on the magazine’s website for free. The magazine has since retired the adventure, but I’m giving it a permanent home here.

I recently used this as the first adventure in the new campaign I started with my son Marty and his friends. I’ve been writing about this in a monthly column for The Escapist magazine, as part of their High Adventure series. If you read those, be sure to check out the adventure so you can see exactly the sort of fun we’ve been having in our game.

The adventure originally appeared without the maps I designed for it, but I’ve included those in this version of the PDF. These are my hand-drawn originals, not the polished pieces you usually see in a published adventure. Look at them, and you’ll see how much a professional cartographer does to earn his keep.

No matter your religion or lack thereof, I wish you and yours the happiest of holidays this season! 2009 was an amazing year in many ways, and here’s hoping for 2010 to be even better.

Game of Choice Up Now

Matt Forbeck — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:51:14 +0000

“Game of Choice,” my latest column for the High Adventure section of The Escapist, is up and ready for you to enjoy. In it, I write about how I decided to run my son Marty’s first at-home RPG using Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition. There are lots of great RPGs out there, and I’d guess that Marty will get around to playing all sorts of them, but this is where we’re going to start.

High Adventure: Back in the Game

Matt Forbeck — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:35:08 +0000

I recently signed on to be part of a team of tabletop game designers writing “High Adventure,” a series of columns for the best all-around gaming magazine on the web: The Escapist. I’ve been a faithful reader of the magazine for years and even wrote an article about Prey back in early 2007. Now, though, I’ll be chipping in something every month, alongside Allen Varney, James Maliszewski, and Monte Cook.

For my first column, “Back in the Game,” I write about how being a professional game designer can affect your gaming habits, then I segue into going to Gary Con with my son Marty, and I wrap up with how the second thing is going to help change the first. Be sure to go give it a read, and then tell me what you think.