A streaming series of GM advice to help you get that game off the shelf and onto the table. Tips & tricks from expert GMs for running Blades in the Dark, Monster of the Week, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, and Fate.
We know how daunting it can be to pick up a new game. We're here to help!
Dice Pool is a series of four livestream discussions featuring our most popular games: Monster of the Week, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, Blades in the Dark, and Fate.
We've invited some of the most prolific and talented GMs we know to share their tips, tricks, and "go to" moves in running a successful game. So whether you're starting a new campaign or finally pulling that book off the "Oh Right I Crowdfunded This" pile, you'll find advice you can use to make your game a hit with your players.
To fund this initiative, we're launching this as a private livestream exclusively for backers. These panels will not be shared anywhere else in 2024. Backing this project is the only way to secure your seat to any of the GM roundtables.
You'll not only join all four streaming sessions (that's as little as $2.50 per stream!), you'll also get access to a community of fellow GMs to trade your own tips and experiences.
When you back Dice Pool, you'll be granted access to the Evil Hat community we're creating in collaboration with Moonbeam. We'll use the channels within that community to serve up each GM roundtable to our backers.
A quick overview of the structure:
Each of the four games we're highlighting in Dice Pool gets a dedicated GM Panel lasting 2 hours.
Each stream will feature three seasoned GMs covering their finest tips, tricks, and hacks for running a successful session or campaign, with discussion hosted by our own Director of Projects, Sean Nittner.
Dates for each stream are TBD at this time. We're aiming to get our Moonbbeam community spun up in September with streams to follow shortly thereafter. If you miss a stream, they will be available on demand.
But that's not all!
Backers who pledge at the Backstage Pass level ($25) and up will also get exclusive access to a post-show "fireside chat" that'll take place right after each seminar. You'll have a chance to chime in with your own questions and comments.
Backers of the VIP Package ($50) also get a special PDF bundle of gaming extras, as well as one free selection from a special list of dedicated Roll20 VTT offerings
This project is a cross-collaboration with Moonbeam. Their new platform integrates a collaborative online community directly with livestreaming. It includes cutting edge moderation tools so trolls and spammers don't ruin our good time.
Sharang Biswas (he/him) Sharang Biswas has won two IGDN awards, three Ennie Awards, an IndieCade award and a Golden Cobra award for roleplaying games. He has written for games such as Avatar: Legends, Spire: The City Must Fall, Moonlight on Roseville Beach, Jiangshi: Blood on the Banquet Hall, and Dungeons & Dragons Live.
Sean Foer (he/him) Sean Foer is a video creator, game designer, editor, and professional GM in the tabletop RPG space. He is perhaps best known for his videos on TikTok where he promotes independent game design and dispenses GM advice to make the hobby more accessible. He lives in Chicago with his two rabbits.
Ash McAllan (she/her) Ash is an Australian tabletop and digital game designer living in Sweden, exploring emergent play and resisting patriarchal norms in design.
Sarah Harrison (she/they) Also known online as Sero, Sarah lives in a country you've probably never heard of, New Zealand. Her love affair with Monster of the Week began in early 2020 when she joined a MotW actual play podcast as a hunter before becoming the Keeper for Redgate and Wolf. She has had five mysteries published and also collaborated on and designed an ultimate monster compendium. Likes: cats, cake, and tormenting her hunters.
Apollo Pierce (he/they) An Irish Voice Actor, Cosplayer and TTRPG Performer. He loves unlocking the creative potential of all fellow players at the table with a methodology of wholesome chaos! Apollo can be seen playing TTRPGs on channels like Hearthfire Tales and Hoard of Tales, along many other places across the internet often raising money for charitable causes!
Brandon Wentz (he/him) The executive producer at Critshow Studios, Brandon GMs and produces the main feed podcast show for The Critshow (internally called The Other Side of the Coin) a Monster of the Week actual play. He also takes part in let's plays for new and newly launching RPGs as well as hours of weekly patreon content for Critshow Studios.
Lily Eisner (she/her) A software engineer, writer, and game designer/developer, Lily has experience playing and running tabletop games for over a decade. Her favorite games focus on diverse experiences, healing and growth, found family, and hot people doing fantastic things. Lily loves games that help people learn new things about themselves and creating tools that make it easier to play.
Anthony Nomo (they/them) Anthony is a non-binary, FilAm designer and podcast glutton who spreads radical joy through narrative expression. They've immersed themselves in experience design and the visual arts for nearly 15 years, falling in love with tabletop storytelling nearly as long. Anthony is the founder of Barkada Games, where they strive to foster a more just and equitable world through uplifting marginalized stories and design.
Alexis Sara (she/her) An award winning writer and game designer who focuses on crafting lesbian/sapphic narratives, Alexis' works include Eisner Award Winning comic Puerto Rico Strong and the Nebula Award winning game Thirsty Sword Lesbians. As a Latina woman, a trans woman and a lesbian, Alexis has always attempted to bring her own experiences of marginalization to her writing and her game tables.Â
Lloyd Gyan (he/they) Although starting late in his life to roleplaying, Lloyd has attributed the Fate system as the game that taught him not everything has to be dragons in a Dungeon. From Spirit of the Century to the Dresden files, Lloyd has endured (and loved) all aspects of Fate, embracing its quirky mechanics and funky dice, to its intuitive take on action orientated storytelling.
Randy Oest (he/him) An avid tabletop RPG enthusiast with a deep passion for the Fate system, Randy has been recognized for his contributions to the Fate SRD and Blades in the Dark websites, both of which have earned ENnie awards. He actively maintains the Bits and Mortar website, empowering local game shops to provide PDF versions of traditional RPGs to their communities. Currently, Randy is dedicated to developing an open-source TTRPG project akin to D&D Beyond.
Lara Paige Turner (she/her) About a decade ago, Lara got her first professional RPG writing gig making Fate worlds for Evil Hat. Since then, she's written, developed, and edited scores of games, both Fate-based and otherwise, about special interests, queer identities, and weird little guys causing weird little problems. When she's not doing that she works at a library in Washington, putting books on shelves.
Exclusive access (both livestream and VOD) to all four GM advice panels covering Blades in the Dark, Monster of the Week, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, and Fate.
A two-month, ad-free subscription to the Evil Hat Moonbeam realm.
20% one entire purchase at evilhat.com
$25 Pledge - Backstage Pass
All of the above rewards from the $10 level, plus:
Exclusive access to a post-show "fireside chat" for each of the panels where you'll have the opportunity to ask questions and hang out with our line-up of guests.
$50 Pledge - VIP Package
All of the above rewards from the $10 & $25 levels, plus:
A PDF bundle of supplements and extras to expand your game:
Advanced Lovers & Lesbians ($15 retail value)
Tome of Mysteries ($12 retail value)
City of Red Waters ($10 retail value)
Fate of Cthulhu Darkest Timeline Bundle ($31 retail value)
Your choice of one of the following Roll20 VTT bundles:
Our initial funding goal to produce the four GM panels for Dice Pool.
Funded! At this funding level, we'll produce a bonus stream for all backers: A Look Under The Hat. Director of Projects Sean Nittner gives an in-depth roundup on the slate of games in our development pipeline.
Pay boost! At this level, we'll increase the pay for our panelists by 25%
Another bonus stream! Sean walks through the complete process for publishing a game with Evil Hat - from what makes a successful (or unsuccessful) pitch all the way through development and creating a final, fully-illustrated game book.
Dice Pool is part of the Moonbeam Cross-Collab Campaign. When you back us, you support our Realm and get early access to Moonbeam. If you also back Moonbeam at any Pledge Level, you'll receive an exclusive badge on Moonbeam to showcase your support for our Realm and Moonbeam, 100 moonstones, and an additional two months of Moonbeam+ for FREE!
