In Conversation with Jordan Sorcery

Rogue Trader, Dark Heresy, Deathwatch, Only War, and Black Crusade - the Fantasy Flight RPGs that put players into the 41st millennium of Warhammer 40k. My guest today, Ross Watson, was a major player in the development of the games, joining FFG after a stint working on the US edition of White Dwarf. We talk about adapting 40k to a roleplaying game format, how FFG worked, and how the games changed...

Indie skirmish wargame Moonstone has been gaining fans for its beautiful miniatures, whimsical world, exciting story, and innovative mechanics, and the entire thing is the brainchild of creator Tom Greenway. In our conversation we talk about the business journey and decisions involved in starting a brand new games publisher, Goblin King Games, and getting a game onto shelves; how to build a commun...

The legendary Games Workshop art director and concept artist John Blanche joins me to talk about his epic career, his methods, his work, and what he has in store for the future! John Blanche Interview. John Blanche in conversation with Jordan Sorcery. John's Links: [Morderin Kickstarter by John Blanche] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnblanchepresents/morderin-by-john-blanche [Voodoo...

Game designer James Hewitt interview. James Hewitt designed Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower, Horus Heresy: Betrayal at Calth, Gorechosen, and more at Games Workshop. At Mantic he worked on Dreadball and Hellboy, and across an incredible career he has designed and developed great games at some of the biggest companies. Most recently he has taken on a role developing games in the Dystopian Age for War...

Game designer Eric Lang interview.  The man behind the FFG games Warhammer: Chaos in the Old World, Warhammer: Invasion, and Warhammer 40,000: Conquest, the CMON games Cthulhu: Death May Die, Rising Sun, Ankh, and Blood Rage (with artist Adrian Smith, and most recently Life in Reterra from Avalon Hill joins me in conversation. Eric talks about how he got started with gaming, his games design philo...

An often under sung, but utterly essential role for any miniature manufacturer is that of the mould-maker and miniature caster. Working with highly technical materials and technologies Anthony Epworth has been at the cutting edge of the art and science of miniature making since joining Citadel in the 80s. Sharing stories about his time at Citadel and Games Workshop, Bryan Ansell's Foundry, an...

Ronin is a Mork Borg compatible RPG that brings the samurai and yokai of mediaeval Japan to life on the table top. Featuring stunning, high energy, high octane art and graphic design, and a solid fast paced ruleset it is no surprise that the game, and its publisher - Slightly Reckless Games - are building a following. I got the chance to sit speak with Sacha Lightfoot, founder of Slightly Reckless...

Alan and Michael Perry were some of the earliest sculptors at Citadel and they helped to define the look and feel of Warhammer as it evolved from the very beginning. Their work on the Empire informed the distinctive historically influenced uniforms, they created the Goblin Fanatics, and they designed some of the greatest models, units, and armies in Games Workshop history In my interview with the...

Former Games Workshop assistant art director Tim Pollard joins me to talk about the 80s and 90s under Bryan Ansell, posing for art by Warhammer legends, the reaction to 40k in the studio, writing and publishing the legendary lost GW newsletter Black Sun, the period that John Blanche and Dave Gallagher paid with original art works to lodge in his spare rooms, and what it's like to be the offic...

Dr Gary Colman has helped to found a new charity that is making use of tabletop gaming to help vulnerable individuals through shared co-operative experiences, collaborative storytelling, and the rolling of many dice! We talk about Gary’s own history with roleplaying, how he came to tabletop gaming as a therapeutic offering, setting up the charity Game Therapy UK, and whether wargaming like Warhamm...

Ian Watson is the original author for the 40K universe. Hired by Bryan Ansell to write science-fiction stories for his beloved settings, Watson was responsible for creating the Inquisitor trilogy featuring Draco, Meh'Lindi the assassin, and Grimm the Squat, as well as for writing the long verboten novel Space Marine. Watson also worked with legendary film maker Stanley Kubrick to  create the...

Johnny Fraser-Allen joins me to talk about his new Dungeons and Dragons campaign setting The Gloaming, creating some of the most movie accurate Star Wars gaming tables, and the work of building an entire fantasy world from literally the ground up! A world renowned concept artist and sculptor Johnny Fraser-Allen has worked extensively in Hollywood with the WETA workshop, designing and creating mons...

Steve Jackson and his company Steve Jackson Games have been at the heart of the tabletop industry since its earliest days. At Metagaming Concepts Jackson pioneered the micro-game, an efficient multiplayer gaming experience like OGRE that fit in a small polythene bag. After founding his own company Jackson went on to develop classics like Car Wars, Illuminati, and GURPS - the Generic Universal Role...

George Yurchak has long been a hobbyist and a member of the Latvian competitive 40k team, and those experiences have helped him to found his own gaming accessory company - Frontier Wargaming. Frontier produce high end paint cases and hobby decks and George and I chat about how and why he started the company, his experience playing competitive 40k, and the future of the hobby. George's Links:...

Bill Making Stuff is a phenomenally creative YouTuber who manages to take everyday household items and craft miniatures, terrain, and entire wargame worlds out of nothing.  With an artistry that is unmatched on the platform Bill crafts not just models but entertaining and hilarious videos. We talk about the world of crafting, the work of YouTube, the influence of Games Workshop & Warhammer, Bi...

Former Citadel sculptor Adam Clarke Joins me in conversation to talk about the Citadel sculptor training programme, what it was like working in the studio, the process of working with green stuff, and his career making freelance miniatures for Privateer Press, before founding his own company Black Scorpion Miniatures. Adam Clarke has worked on some of the greatest miniatures games in history havin...

I am joined in conversation by the unparalleled Games Workshop legend, games designer Jervis Johnson. We talk about a 40 year career creating, refining, and contributing to almost every Games Workshop game worth playing! From Blood Bowl to Epic, Warhammer Fantasy to Warhammer 40k, Advanced Heroquest to Advanced Space Crusade, Warhammer’s End Times to the Age of Sigmar, Jervis has been part of the...

Dave Chapman & Dominic McDowall in conversation with Jordan Sorcery I’ve never read or played The Laundry and after asking about it online I was approached by the publishers of the game’s new second edition, Cubicle 7, and invited to ask any questions I had! CEO of Cubicle 7, Dominic McDowall, and game designer for The Laundry 2nd edition, Dave Chapman, join me for a conversation about the gam...

Duncan Rhodes in conversation with Jordan Sorcery Duncan Rhodes joins me in conversation as we talk about his hobby and career with Games Workshop. Beginning with his obsession with 40k and then Warhammer Fantasy, then his first role in retail teaching customers how to play and paint, we talk about what motivates a lifetime in the hobby.  We also explore Duncan's move to head office, taking t...

Kim Newman in conversation with Jordan Sorcery Kim Newman has had a long and successful career as an author famous for his Anno Dracula series, as a television personality, and as Empire's horror expert since the magazine's very first issue. But there is another aspect to the remarkable history of this remarkable writer - his time writing the very first Warhammer Fantasy novel, Drachenfe...

Chaz Elliott in conversation with Jordan Sorcery. Chaz Elliott was responsible for the look and feel of many early Citadel books and magazines, including Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader, White Dwarf, and Warhammer Fantasy Battle 3rd edition.  During his brief, but influential time at Games Workshop he also transitioned into miniature sculpting, creating the famous lost ra...

Adrian Smith in conversation with Jordan Sorcery. In an incredible career artist Adrian Smith has produced some of the most iconic Games Workshop art for the worlds of 40k and Warhammer Fantasy.  From his early work drawing playful Nurglings and dramatic scenes for the Realm of Chaos to his unforgettable renderings of Warmaster Horus and the Emperor of Mankind in their final encounter, and countle...

Marc Gascoigne in conversation with Jordan Sorcery Marc Gascoigne has worked extensively in fantasy and science fiction publishing as a writer, editor, and in many other roles besides. One of the key figures behind the creation of Games Workshop's Black Library and the beginning of the Horus Heresy series Marc's first stint at GW saw him co-writing the Judge Dredd RPG and co-creating the...

Tomas Rawlings in conversation with Jordan Sorcery. We talk about the culture, behaviours, and perceptions of the video game and tabletop gaming hobbies and industries. As an exceptional thinker on the nature of gaming Tomas has given TED talks, consulted across the video games industry, written tabletop games, and co-founded his own games studio, Auroch Digital, to push the boundaries of what gam...

Padraig Murphy and Dominic McDowall in conversation with Jordan Sorcery. Dominic McDowall, CEO of Cubicle 7, and Padraig Murphy, producer of the WFRP 4 edition range, join me to about the development of the 4th edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. We talk about designing new supplements, updating old ones, the future of the range, and just a little bit about the recently announced The Old World...