In Conversation with Jordan Sorcery

Former White Dwarf Australian editor Dave Taylor in conversation with Jordan Sorcery. We talked about Dave's career with Games Workshop, some behind the scenes White Dwarf insights, how the international editions came to be, and Dave's most recent project - Dave Taylor Miniatures, a company that publishes Art Of books by some of the best miniature painters currently working today! Dave T...

Bob Naismith was one of the early Citadel sculptors who helped to define the foundations of Warhammer and 40k.  From the original Space Marine design, predating Rogue Trader and the start of 40k, to the plastics created for HeroQuest and Space Crusade, Bob and Jordan talk about an incredible career full of iconic and important work. Bob Naismith interview. _____________________________  Check out...

Graeme Davis was part of the team that brought WFRP to incredible life, and his career has taken him to amazing worlds like Vampire the Masquerade, Supernatural, and Vaesen.  In our conversation we explored the opportunities and perils of drawing on folklore for making monsters, such as with the Fimir of Warhammer, and the ways in which encounter and creature creation differs across different RPG...

Trish Carden joined Citadel in the 80s and became a legendary sculptor for Citadel Miniatures. Working closely with Aly Morrison, Bob Naismith, and many others Trish soon gained famed as the Monster Girl, able to creature magnificent beasts, dragons, and monsters that were unforgettable. With Aly Morrison, Trish established Marauder Miniatures, a new Games Workshop imprint dedicated to creating mo...

Rowan Zeoli and Caeylin Ellis of the independent tabletop gaming news site Rascal join Jordan to chat about the founding of the site, taking games journalism seriously, and the future of gaming. Rascal News was founded a year ago by 3 tabletop journalists who had worked for Polygon, Dicebreaker, Gizmodo, and I09. As those organisations have been shuttering their tabletop news coverage and firing p...

Fantastic fantasy artist Ralph Horsley has worked at Games Workshop and the Black Library providing incredible art for Inferno! Magazine and many Warhammer and 40k books. His career has seen him take on the biggest fantasy worlds with work on Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, as well as more recently returning to the Old World to illustrate several covers for Cubicle 7's Warham...

Bolt Action, the World War 2 miniature wargame, just received a hugely succesful 3rd edition from Warlord Games. This is the story of Bolt Action from the people who made it.  From the origins of the first Bolt Action Miniatures sculpted by Paul Hicks, through the acquisition of the line by Warlord Games, to the creation and development of the game by former Warhammer designers Alessio Cavatore an...

In the 1980s Bryan Ansell took over Games Workshop and reshaped it into a brand new company. Paul Cockburn joined Games Workshop from TSR UK having worked on Imagine Magazine and supplements for Dungeons & Dragons. During his time at GW Paul oversaw the relocation of White Dwarf from London to Nottingham and its evolution into a dedicated Warhammer magazine. He also helped to launch Warhammer...

Gaslands creator Mike Hutchinson is one of the best modern wargames designers having released amazing 28mm fantasy battle games like Hobgoblin, hilarious skirmish game of drunken space orcs Space Gits, and even a multi-GM roleplaying game called The Crawling Chaos. Mike Hutchinson in conversation with Jordan talks about his career, design ethos and way of working, and his thoughts on the games des...

John Thorntwaite, former Head of Plastics for Games Workshop between 1985 and 1999, joins Jordan Sorcery to talk about the development of injection modelled miniatures for Warhammer and 40k. We talk about Bryan Ansell's intentions for Games Workshop plastic manufacturing, test cases like the slotta base and Fighting Fantasy miniatures, psychosyrene dwarfs, and the success of kits like the Rhi...

Juan Diaz is a much loved miniature sculptor who worked at Games Workshop for 16 years producing countless amazing minis for Citadel and Forge World. Amongst his many classic sculpts are the first daemon prince Be’Lakor and the infamous Daemonettes of Slaanesh. In conversation with Jordan Sorcery Juan talks about the culture and people he worked with, the materials and processes, and his wonderful...

There have been many Games Workshop games that just didn’t make it past the development stage - from Necromunda on a corrupted Eldar Craft World, to a Dr Who time travelling board game, to the fall of the Empire and the corruption of the Warhammer world by Tamurkhan.  Rick Priestley, creator of Warhammer and 40k and the design team lead at Games Workshop for many years, joins Jordan Sorcery to exp...

Legendary Warhammer and 40k artist Paul Bonner joins Jordan Sorcery to talk about his time at Games workshop. They discuss Paul's iconic Orks and Goblins, his incredible work for early Warhammer, and the way that Games Workshop operated in the late 80s and early 90s. Paul Bonner interview. _____________________________  [ ELEMENT GAMES AFFILIATE LINK ] https://elementgames.co.uk/?d=11216 [ PA...

John Peake co-founded Games Workshop in 1975 with his school- and flat-mates Steve Jackson and Sir Ian Livingstone. Together they would sell John’s handmade wooden games, publish Owl & Weasel fanzine, and battle to keep the company afloat in its first year. Everything culminated in the first ever Games Day, followed shortly thereafter by John’s decision to leave the company as it pivoted towar...

Ronnie Renton, founder of Mantic Games, talks about his career starting with his time as a managing director at Games Workshop. We explore some of the key business decisions behind Games Workshop's phenomenal growth in the 90s, how the culture of the company changed over time, and the challenges they faced. Then we talk the origins of Mantic, creating Kings of War and Dreadball, using Kicksta...

Trench Crusade is a brand new skirmish wargame set in an alternate and hellish world war where demons walk the earth. Based on the world and art of Mike Franchina the game is currently going great guns on Kickstarter where it has already secured more than £1.5mn in support. Mike has worked on Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay with Green Ronin, Warhammer Online with EA Mythic, Diablo for Blizzard, and Mag...

Mat Hart, co-founder and creative director at Steamforged Games, joins Jordan Sorcery to talk about the tabletop business, a career in video and table games, and planning the future of Warmachine and the Iron Kingdoms. Over the past decade Steamforged Games have released original games like Guildball and licenced video game adaptations like Dark Souls, Elden Ring, and Resident Evil. Most recently...

Author and former Games Workshop board member Peter Darvill-Evans in conversation with Jordan Sorcery. Games Workshop and White Dwarf have a long history dating back to days before Warhammer Fantasy even existed. Under the tenure of co-founders Steve Jackson and Sir Ian Livingstone GW was the European importer of the new roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons, the UK publisher of multiple RPGs fr...

Advanced Fighting Fantasy Publisher Graham Bottley in conversation with Jordan Sorcery. Fighting Fantasy gamebooks have had an incredible legacy - ever since that we found that Warlock at Firetop Mountain we’ve gone back into the dungeons, forests, cities, islands, and everything else that Fighting Fantasy has had to offer. In the 80s there was an initial attempt to create a roleplaying game based...

Former Warhammer author Josh Reynolds joins Jordan Sorcery to talk about working with the Black Library, how the End Times really went down, and the challenges & opportunities of writing fiction for settings like Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer 40k, Age of Sigmar, Arkham Horror, and the Legend of the Five Rings. Josh Reynolds has written some of the most iconic characters in Games Workshop’s worl...

Paul Hicks is a veteran miniatures sculptor with a wealth of experience in the act and art of sculpting. Having produced many historical and fantasy miniatures over the years, after first working in Games Workshop retail, we talk about the business of being an independent sculptor, creating new games like Bolt Action from scratch, and the techniques behind making miniatures. Paul Hicks miniature s...

Ryan Miller helped to establish Games Workshop’s brief tenure as a CCG and TCG card game company by founding Sabretooth Games in the early 2000s.  Responsible for the Warhammer card game WarCry, and a 40k card game called Horus Heresy, Miller explored parts of the settings and lore that were relatively untouched, and tapped into a completely different gaming space for GW. And all of that was befor...

Chris Peach, AKA Peachy, is one of the most recognisable faces in Warhammer - a seasoned army painter, Warhammer TV presenter, and all round lovely bloke! We talk about Peachy’s career at Games Workshop - getting started in retail and building a community; how the business culture changed over time; becoming the first army painter at the studio and transitioning to the Warhammer TV team; and all o...

Gary Morley is a legendary miniatures sculptor who worked at Games Workshop in the 90s and early 2000s. During his time with the Citadel team he was massively prolific, producing miniatures for the Warhammer Undead and many other fantasy armies, Necromunda, 40k, Warhammer Quest, Mordheim, and the entire Blood Bowl range.  His Nagash miniature maybe one of his most famous, but there are countless a...

Paul Barnett was a key creative lead in the creation of Warhammer Online and when we got together to chat, Paul had some terrific legends to share from behind the scenes at Games Workshop. We talked about some of the most interesting anecdotes collected from Paul’s time working with the greatest Warhammer creators and the stories they shared over beers and years. The origins of the Chaos Dwarfs, g...