Candlekeep Mysteries features D & D’s largest cast of writers and designers

The next book released for Dungeons & Dragons will feature the work of 19 different co-authors, more than any other book featured in the 5th edition of the original RPG. Titled Candlekeep MysteriesThe collection of one-shot adventures highlights the diversity of creators working in the industry today. The book won’t be out until March 16, but you can still experience these authors’ back catalogs today. You will find places like the Dungeon Master’s Guild and itch.io which are full of new content for your home games.

Polygon reached out to the entire team for more information on his previous RPG work. Think of this as your introduction to the best independent voices of some table tops and a guide on where to find their work online.

Alison Huang is an Australian writer recognized for her contributions to Anthology without a cage and the RPG Writer Workshop of Storytelling collectiveBoth won their ENnie awards in 2020. Their design philosophy revolves around making content queer and / or subversive.

itch.io

Photo: James Vela

Jennifer Kretchmer is a producer, writer, streamer and performer starring on D&D Beyond’s livestream tabletop show Silver and steel;; She is the creator and executive producer of Monsters & Fablesand she has also worked in front of or behind the camera on over a thousand episodes of television. Jen is a passionate advocate of disabled accessibility and increasing media inclusion. She is currently adapting the graphic novel by the pop musician Lights Skin & earth for television.

The Guide to Accessibility in Game Resources | Linktree

Daniel Kwan is the producer and co-host of the Gold ENnie Award Asians represented Podcast – home of Dungeons & Da Asians, The wrap upand the ongoing Asians read Series. Apart from Candlekeep MysteriesDaniel recently published Ross rifles, a Powered by the Apocalypse hack about the violence and drama of World War I.

Personal website | itch.io

Graeme Barber is a military veteran with a background in archeology and commercial diving. He started out in the industry by critically analyzing games and how they were built in the world. Since then, he has specialized in game design, consulting, and freelance writing.

Personal website | itch.io

Sarah Madsen is a science fiction and fantasy writer and tabletop role-playing game designer who has written for companies like Wizards of the Coast, Kobold Press, and Cubicle 7. Your cyberpunk urban fantasy novel Weaver’s follyis out with Falstaff books in February 2021.

Dungeon Master’s Guild | Kobold press

Michael Polkinghorn started playing D&D and other role-playing games in 1979 and has been active ever since. Most recently he was the author and dungeon master for the Relic of the past Podcast.

Podbean

Kienna Shaw is a tabletop RPG designer, streamer, and storyteller. She has freelance credits in various indie game products and a catalog of self-published games that she co-produces Salty sweet games (a channel for TTRPGs and video games) and curated the TTRPG security toolkit.

Personal website | itch.io

Brandes Stoddard is a freelance writer and home-based father. He previously worked for Wizards of the Coast, Pegasus Spiele, Atomic Overmind, Tribality Publishing, Blue Devil Games (for the ENnie nominated Dawning Star line) and other publishers.

DriveThruRPG | Tribality

Hannah Rose is a freelance editor, writer, and game designer who loves all kinds of fantasy stories. She lives in Seattle with her partner James and their two families of cats. She is co-author and development editor at Candlekeep Mysteries.

Personal website | Twitter

Amy Vorpahl is a comedy actor, writer, player, and presenter. You can find them in shows like The newsroom and The Mindy Project and online with nerdist, college humor and The guild. Before working with Wizards, she released two more adventures and filled out a whole Youtube channel.

Dungeon in a box

Photo: Derek Ruiz

Derek Ruiz is a Mexican adventure designer and cartography illustrator. He enjoys creating fantastic locations and intricate storylines for his games and has been a longtime dungeon master.

Patreon