Be sure to read about my cracker-barrel chat with Stefan Surratt over at Dragon Peak Publishing about Whistlepig Breakdown. I've been a fan of Stefan's work for a while and have been enjoying reading through his campaign book, The Conquest of Chaos. I recommend subscribing to Stefan's substack, if you haven't already.
In the interview, Stefan asks me about the inspiration for Whistlepig Breakdown, my pitch for roleplaying in the Shudder Mountains, and a whole lot more. I won't repeat any of the interview here, since I know you'll read it if you're interested, but I will add a few thoughts on what I said there about the Shudder Mountains as a setting.
The pitch I made to Stefan was really the argument I would make to someone (like most of us) with a history of gaming in a mostly Tolkeinesque or similar settings with dragons and knights. The pitch to someone new to tabletop RPGs is a little different. Some folks who just aren't sure how to roleplay a dwarf or a cleric, will throw themselves into the character of a hearty mountain man or a smilin' fast-talkin' preacher. It's about familiarity. You don't need to know anything more than you already know to have fun in a Shudder Mountains game. So, even if you didn't grow up trading dog-eared novels from Appendix N with your friends, you probably know the Appalachian or Americana tropes of the Shudder Mountains.
So, gather some friends for an evening of good 'ol Shudder Mountians story-tellin'. Whether they've been at the table a hundred times or this is their first, the Shudders will fit like a pair of well-worn boots.
