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It didn't take long for James to want to customize his tabletop experiences. James Vail is an independent game designer and artist known for his first book, Xas Irkalla and Strain, an original hardcore rule system. He has always had an appreciation for gothic and scifi themes in artwork, books, movies, games, and even music. After being introduced to tabletop RPG's, James soon began writing and GM'ing his own campaigns. Though game design is James's passion, he also enjoys video games, hiking, extreme metal, and playing guitar. James has always had an interest in game design; remembering creating custom maps for StarCraft, Warcraft, Neverwinter Nights, and more as a child.
Strain Basic
Xas Irkalla
Alone Against the Forlorn Wild
If you like (un)seen places check out...
Everyday Enchanter   - A real-life/journaling roleplaying experience. Enchant the ordinary objects around you and unleash your potential!
BROKEN LUCK - a Troika zine   - rpg zine
The Steadfast and the Rebellious   - A storytelling RPG where you generate a city and its freedom fighters with a deck of cards
Sorcery is a Sword Without a Hilt   - A Sample Chapter of His Majesty the Worm
CAPITALITES [early access]   - the urban asian roleplaying game
Gothic-Punk   - A 90s Urban Fantasy Skirmish Game
An Altogether Different River   - A GM-less storygame about returning home and grappling with what has changed
The Lost Bay   - Suburban Gothic RPG set in 199X
Hogwarts: An RPG   - Magic school roleplaying
The Electrum Archive - Issue 01   - A Science Fantasy RPG Zine
D66 Potions & D66 Oddities   - Portable, System-Agnostic, Magic Item List
Gourmet Street: Fantasy Street-Food Adventuring   - A zine about bringing the greasy beauty of street food to your urban rpg adventures.
If you like Believe check out...
Live. Love. Die. Remember.   - An RPG of memories and mecha love
Dubious Pursuits   - A Game of Bounty Hunters and Loaded Questions
AlMost   - A micro-game about the ways in which we fall in love a little bit every day. For #YourMoveJam
the girlfriend of my girlfriend is my friend!!   - a simple ttrpg about the magical disaster of trans young adulthood
The Spectacular Spectacles: an Everyday Enchanter experience   - An IRL/journaling experience about seeing your day-to-day life through someone else's eyes
KENZIE'S PROJECT   - a 3-player horror game about how academia changes us
Dream Space   - a make-believe one shot ttrpg
Compromise//Empire   - A 2-3 player GMless game about resisting Empire
Black Skies For Babylon   - The worlds greatest combat tragedy RPG
It Will Come Back   - A 2-player game about being in love with a monster or being a monster who doesn't believe they deserve love.
you are now ooze   - a small game for oozes, or anyone expecting to be ooze in the future
Drink Up!   - Roll a die and act out the wild effect of your drink!
If you like Aaron's Experiments check out...
Whistling Wolf Café   - A solo café sim game. "You may not always get what you want, but you'll always get what you need."
Alone On A Journey   - A collection of solo adventure games
Punch Town: The Town of Punches   - A block-flinging RPG where punching can solve literally any problem, somehow!
Sedentary Dances   - A Zine Collection of Poetry Games
Stewpot: Tales from a Fantasy Tavern   - A collection of games for running a tavern with your old adventuring party.
Parley   - After years of war, will the things you learn encourage you towards peace or more violence?
Solitaire   - a collection of solitaire games for you, the player
VOLUME   - A Collection of Resources for Fantasy Roleplaying Games
Heroic Chord Playtest Package   - Help us playtest our cozy pastoral fantasy RPG!
Animon Story   - The TTRPG about Kids and their Monster friends!
In Space, No One Can Hear You Feel   - A GMless 2 player game to be played sitting next to your partner.
Songs we Sing - Demotape   - Playtest release of Songs we Sing the fantasy urban decay tabletop roleplaying game