From the Freelancing Frontline

RPG veteran Owen K.C. Stephens shares memories and wisdom from his long career as a TTRPG freelancer.

Recent & Upcoming Releases

June 18 2024

The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977

(Dungeons & Dragons)
History of D&D.
Replies (128)
July 16 2024

Quests From The Infinite Staircase

(Dungeons & Dragons)
Adventure anthology for character levels 1 to 13.
Replies (264)
September 17 2024

D&D Player’s Handbook (2024)

(Dungeons & Dragons)
Revised 2024 Player's Handbook.
Replies (156)
October 1 2024

Monstrous Menagerie II

(Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition)
The sequel to the acclaimed monster book!
Replies (43)
November 12 2024

D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide (2024)

(Dungeons & Dragons)
Revised 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide.
Replies (120)
February 18 2025

D&D Monster Manual (2025)

(Dungeons & Dragons)
Revised 2025 Monster Manual.
Replies (89)

Owen KC Stephens' Tabletop RPG Truths #4

A few weeks ago I posted about Owen KC Stephens posting about the 'Real Game Industry' on Twitter, and then a followup a little later, and a third here. This is the fourth installment, as Owen is continuing to share his experiences of the tabletop RPG industry. You can follow along with the #RealGameIndustry tag on Twitter. Many ttRPG writers think overwriting an assignment by up to 50% is...

Aug 18, 2020 81

From the Freelancing Frontline

Owen Stephens Continues 'Real Game Industry' Posts #3

I've been collecting together the Real Game Industry posts that game designer Owen KC Stephens has been posting on social media. You can see Part 1 here, and Part 2 here. Full-time writing, developing, or producing in the TTRPG field means regularly having to create great, creative ideas, that fit specific pre-determined parameters, on command, whether you feel like it or not. This can be...

Jul 4, 2020 148

From the Freelancing Frontline

Owen KC Stephens' Tabletop RPG Truths #2

Last week I posted about Owen KC Stephens posting about the 'Real Game Industry' on Twitter. He didn't stop there though! Here are some more of his thoughts. While there are absolutely exceptions, there are two common paths to becoming a manager in the TTRPG world. One is to be a game creator who does that so well, that you are promoted to the entirely-unrelated field of managing people...

Jun 14, 2020 67

From the Freelancing Frontline

Owen KC Stephens' Tabletop RPG Truths #1

Multi-award winning game designer Owen Stephens (Starfinder, Pathfinder, Star Wars) has been posting a series he calls #RealGameIndustry on social media. Most TTRPG game company's art archives are not well indexed... Or indexed. Yes, the RPG book could have had ONE more editing pass. There would still be errors, you'd still complain, it would cost more and take longer, and not sell any...

Jun 8, 2020 189

From the Freelancing Frontline

From the Freelancing Frontline: Struggling For Experience

In 1997, I attended the TSR RPG Writer’s Workshop, in Seattle, WA. In 2000, I applied for job at Wizards of the Coast, and was hired to be part of the RPG R&D team, working on Licensed Products. The three years between those two momentous events in my early career were.... frustrating. I knew I wanted to do more than magazine articles, to prove to game companies I was a good candidate for a...

Jan 14, 2020 11

From the Freelancing Frontline

From the Freelancing Frontline – Meeting Giants

Like so many TTRPG writers, I got where I am now by standing on the backs of giants. But it’s easier to stand on a giant’s back after you meet them, and I am a depressive socially-awkward introvert with self-confidence issues. Instinctively I don’t want to meet anyone, much less giants. In this regard, the 1997 TSR Writer’s Workshop (held in the Wizards of the Coast Game Center in Seattle)...

Dec 16, 2019 4

From the Freelancing Frontline

From the Freelancing Frontline – From Hobby to Career

Originally, all I wanted from my game writing was to sell enough RPG game articles to afford a subscription to Dragon Magazine. But once I had done that, I found I wanted to write more. Much more. So, I kept sending pitches to Dave Gross, at Dragon, and began looking for other venues.

Nov 18, 2019 7

From the Freelancing Frontline

From the Freelancing Frontline: The Beginning

Welcome to a new column from veteran game designer Owen K.C. Stephens! He's worked at Green Ronin, Paizo, and Wizards of the Coast, as well has his own company, and was co-author of the Star Wars Saga Edition RPG and Design Lead for the Starfinder Roleplaying Game. This first instalment covers his beginnings as a freelancer.