Who Am I? 

I’m Jeff (he/they), the creator of Lostwatcher Games. I’ve been playing (mostly GMing) TTRPGs for over 20 years. In the past few years I’ve been inspired to turn my experiences and homebrew materials into things others in the hobby can use, and creating this company is my commitment mechanism to that goal. I post TTRPG-related stuff on socials under “Geek the GM” (@geekthegm on BlueSky and @geek_the_gm on Tiktok), though I will also be making company accounts on socials too. Outside of running and trying to publish games, I’m an academic from the USA working in the Netherlands. 

What am I Playing?

Games I’ve played and run over the past few years include Shadowdark, Brindlewood Bay, Cairn, Mythic Bastionland, GURPS, Daggerheart, Star Wars Edge of the Empire, Blade in the Dark, Shadow of the Demon Lord, Mörk Borg, OSRIC, and the occasional D&D 5e. In my gaming groups we regularly rotate games and systems, and currently I’m running two Shadowdark campaigns and getting a third campaign of Cairn 2e off the ground. 

Behind the Name

In my longstanding homebrew fantasy campaign, “Lostwatcher” is a military rank. I will spare you the lore dump, but in my recently concluded three-year campaign multiple PCs proudly achieved the rank. It’s sentimental to me, and one of the better sentimental proper nouns from my homebrew worlds to put in front of “Games” in a company name.

Behind the Logo

The Lostwatcher Games logo was created by Vlada (@unfremd on Instagram), a Groningen-based artist. I think it looks rad as hell. 

Aspirations for Lostwatcher Games

1. Engaging with the wider TTRPG hobby: I’m confident I’ll eventually publish something compatible with Dungeons & Dragons, but the goal is not to be embedded within the D&D ecosystem. I want to publish original games, games compatible with different indie TTRPGs, and system neutral content. 
2. Open systems: I believe strongly in open rules and games. When possible and plausible, I plan to make my games/systems freely available via open licenses like the creative commons. 
3. A focus on GMs: At least to begin, I plan to publish GM-focus materials, as my heart lies in making GMs’ lives easier.  
4. Blogging regularly. I’ve been inspired by the OSR/NSR blogging scene, and as an academic I cannot resist the urge to write about my hobby. My hope is to write a regular weekly blog, and interact with other indie TTRPG bloggers. 

My Values

1. Anti-fascism: I identify as an anti-fascist and democratic socialist, and these values are reflected in my work. My games will not solely or even primarily be about oppression and liberation, but I also refuse to pretend these values are not relevant to TTRPGs as a hobby and art. We live in an age of resurgent fascism, and fascism by its nature seeks to control all aspects of life, including culture. As such, I have a moral obligation to reflect anti-fascist values in the culture I produce. This means making games that are diverse in their representation, denaturalize violence, and foreground solidarity. 
2. Community-building: I will strive to build an inclusive community around the games I produce, and be inclusive and supportive towards other designers and the TTRPG community. A zero-sum mindset is corrosive to this hobby.
3. No generative-AI: Personally and professionally, I believe most generative-AI tools are unethical to use in their current construction (i.e., they’re trained on stolen materials). I also believe generative-AI tools are more detrimental to the creative process than helpful. I have no desire to use them in anything I create for Lostwatcher Games. 

Ongoing Projects

I am actively writing and playtesting two TTRPG products. 

1. The Faction Sparkbook: This project is my farthest along, and you can find the alpha-playtest materials here. This is a guide and set of resources for creating and running factions in TTRPGs. I’ve drafted and playtested the faction worldbuilding tools and advice, and am currently working on creating in-session tools for gamemastering factions (which I’ll release in a future playtest update). My goal is for this book to be the definite guide for building and running compelling factions across systems and genres. This is the project I will complete first, in digital format. At the moment, I see the ideal outcome being that I release it, develop a small but growing base of supporters who like the product, and then gain enough support to either crowdfund art and a small print run, or find a publisher willing to publish a print version. That’s the ideal, it may never get beyond being a digital-only release. 
2. A Troupe-Play Manual: The second ongoing project is a guidebook on “troupe-style” campaigns. Troupe-style play refers to TTRPGs where players rotate characters, rather than having one character that is “theirs.” To my knowledge this form was invented by Ars Magica, and while uncommon has recently been used in the game Band of Blades. Last year finished a three-year long, fully troupe-style campaign where I learned many hard lessons and homebrewed many mechanics. This manual will be a system neutral resource containing advice and mechanics for GMs and players interested in running troupe-style campaigns. The draft is about 35% complete, and it will be my primary focus once The Faction Sparkbook is complete. 

Project on the ‘To-Start-Writing’ List

Below are projects I want to start. They are no more fully formed than what is below.

1. An NSR game with troupe-style mechanics built in it. Something that implements the things I plan to publish in the troupe-style manual I mention above. 
2. A solo RPG where you roleplay a faction instead of a person, building on materials from The Faction Sparkbook. 
3. A book, or perhaps series of zines or small releases or even just posts in an archive, of free and open license factions other publishers can use in their product (kinda like a Dyson’s Maps for factions). This would probably start with fantasy factions that are compatible with D&D and OSR games, but ideally expand to other genres and systems. If I were to start a Patreon (which I have no plans to), I’d probably use it to fund this (archive hosting, art, etc.). 
4. Adventure modules that are “faction-forward,” probably starting in the OSR space. 

Want to Get Involved? 

1. Check out the The Faction Sparkbook 
2. Subscribe to the blog (click the big button at the top of the page)
3. Join the Discord and follow on socials (Active links on our About page)
4. Tell your TTRPG mutuals about us!