Monthly Archives: September 2018

Robin Lea

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Robin Lea, with the Killington resort's ski slopes in the background.
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Robin Lea is a game designer and author, working under the Peryton Publishing imprint to create games like Qalidar: Resistance. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio, with her old man. This year at Carnage 21, you can find Robin running Just Another Layover and Dungeon!

TARA: What game are you playing the most right now?

ROBIN: Icons. I’m running a regular campaign and playing in another one. I’m also playing in a regular Buffy the Vampire Slayer game.

TARA: How was GenCon this year?

ROBIN: It was really nice. I ran fewer games than in previous years, didn’t have any particular obligations, and just kind of wandered around and enjoyed the craziness. One of my old friends from Arkansas showed up too, which is always fun.

TARA: What was the first “gamer” game you ever played?

ROBIN: The first RPG I played was D&D, with the sort of purplish box and the Erol Otus cover. I suppose if we’re talking about anything that counts as a serious gamer game, it’s probably this old Avalon Hill game my dad had, called Alexander the Great. It was about his invasion of Persia and had some fairly complicated “clashing army” rules. They seemed complicated then, anyway.

TARA: What brought you to Carnage originally?

ROBIN: Back in 2009, my old man was chatting with one of the organizers on a now-defunct RPG-based social network and somehow got the idea that he had committed to absolutely definitely go to Carnage that year. It sounded like a fun trip, so off we went. After that, we were hooked. It’s a fairly long drive from Cleveland, but it’s worth it.

TARA: What is your favorite thing about Carnage?

That’s a tough one! Carnage is my favorite convention and there are a lot of things I love. I guess the word would be “cozy,” which covers both the amazing location and all the friends I’ve made there.

Outside of running into her at Carnage, you can reach Robin online through her website, on Facebook, and on Twitter as @RChristinaLea.

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Oscar Rios

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Bronzed coin of a man's face in profile, with the lettering "De Horrore Cosmico."[block id=”fast-five-2018″]

Oscar Rios is the president of Golden Goblin Press, specializing in Call of Cthulhu role-playing content. This year at Carnage 21, you can find Oscar running games of Robotech and Cthulhu Invictus, as well as performing Glimpses Into the Empire — LIVE!

TARA: What makes role-playing the Cthulhu mythos in a historical era uniquely interesting?

OSCAR: It’s a double escape for players. Their characters are living in another time and place, a citizen of a different historical period, be that the Jazz Era, the Victorian period, Dark Ages, or Classical period. Secondly, this individual is also involved in battling strange cults, monsters, and alien gods to defend mankind from their malignant horror.

TARA: How did you get involved with the Cthulhu Invictus setting?

OSCAR: I was a play tester to the original version, and became the setting’s biggest fan. I’ve written a large number of scenarios for the setting over the years, including the settings only published campaign, The Legacy of Arrius Lurco. My company, Golden Goblin Press, produced a supplement scenario collection called De Horrore Cosmico, and when we tried to publish a sequel  to that book Chaosium asked if we would take over the setting and convert it to 7th edition. We jumped at the opportunity and spent to next two years completely overhauling the setting from the ground up. Writing for Cthulhu Invictus for over ten years, I’d learned a lot about that period of history, its culture, mythology and the setting’s strengths and weaknesses.

TARA: Are you working on anything new you can tell us about?

OSCAR: We are finishing up several projects, including Riding the Northbound, a hobo-themed 1920s scenario; Tails of Valor, a Cathulhu scenario collection – yes, you play as a cat fighting the Cthulhu Mythos – I am re-writing a couple of scenarios for Britannia and Beyond, our first setting supplement for the new 7th edition Cthulhu Invictus; and will soon be writing a scenario for Tales of the Pacific, a 1920s scenario collection set across the Pacific islands).

TARA: What at Carnage are you excited about this year?

OSCAR: Getting away from my day to day grind, to relax gaming with great people on a mountain top resort in Vermont. What’s not to get excited about?  I’m also doing a live performance of Glimpses into the Empire on Friday night. That’s my fan-contributed segment on the ENnie Award-winning Miskatonic University Podcast, where I share amazing stories from the ancient world. There is also the Extra Life charity raffle, which we love supporting and participating in.

TARA: What’s your favorite thing about going to game conventions?

OSCAR: For gamers like me, it’s a safe place to be yourself, because this is my community. I’ve been going to gaming conventions since 1984, and it’s become a huge part of who I am. This is where people understand what I do, why I love it, and don’t judge me for it. That was true when I was 13, and it’s still true today. Gaming conventions are where I’ve made most of my friends. It’s where I found amazing people to work with in this industry, who helped me found Golden Goblin Press, and continue to help run it with me. In a cold and brutal world, gaming conventions are the warm glow of a window, the smell of a hot meal, and the soft bed of coming home. Sorry if I wax poetic, it’s kind of my thing.

To get in touch with Oscar, you can visit Golden Goblin Press’ official website and their Facebook page.

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