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Austin Conrad on Muck Rack

Austin Conrad

Minnesota, United States
As seen in: MSN, MSN Canada, Flipboard, DualShockers, SFWA Blog, Fleet Equipment Magazine, Author Magazine, Rascal.News
Covers:  Gaming, Video Games, Tabletop Games, Fiction, Fantasy, Myth, Culture, Anthropology, History, Writing
I'm a freelance writer, editor & graphic designer mostly working in TTRPGs. I tweet things I find interesting. Oh, and pictures of The Fluffy Bastard.

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Austin Conrad’s Biography

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Austin is a full-time writer and editor best known for his work in the tabletop games industry. He is the author of To Hunt a God and the primary writer & editor for the Treasures of Glorantha series, both for Chaosium's TTRPG RuneQuest. His work for Dungeons & Dragons 5E has been published by Menagerie Press and EN Publishing. Austin's also a member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), where he volunteers on the Game Writing committee. He also contributes to SFWA's blog…

Austin Conrad’s Journalist Portfolio

Perceiving the Wind: Finding Magic in the Mundane - SFWA

Perceiving the Wind: Finding Magic in the Mundane - SFWA

As advice, “write what you know” is nearly as hackneyed as “show, don’t tell.” Both pieces of advice are esse…

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Metaphysics & Matter: Should Elves Have Atoms? - SFWA

Metaphysics & Matter: Should Elves Have Atoms? - SFWA

Fantasy's enduring appeal stems from our imaginative exploration of the impossible.

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Discovery Writing Through Gaming - SFWA

Discovery Writing Through Gaming - SFWA

How do you move forward when stuck on telling a story? Sometimes the best way is to play your story at the ga…

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Art Direction on a Budget - SFWA

Art Direction on a Budget - SFWA

In the tabletop games industry, the audience expects not just a well-written, but also a well-presented produ…

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Sourcing Art on a Budget - SFWA

Sourcing Art on a Budget - SFWA

High-quality art plays an important role in creating tabletop games, but commissioning bespoke art can be exp…

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Articles

10 JRPGs That Respect Your Time (No Grinding Required)

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By Austin Conrad
| DualShockers Verified
Everybody loves JRPGs. There's nothing better than exploring ridiculous dungeons, progressing through over-the-top melodrama and inevitably fighting the big boss at the top of a castle. Yet so many great games in the genre expect you to gain XP and treasure through grinding the same levels over and over. Related 10 Best Long-Running JRPG Franchises Ranked If the gameplay is good, the grind can be fun, but even if it's entertaining, what if you don't have the time?
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Quartet Review

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By Austin Conrad
| DualShockers Verified
It's no surprise when you get Chrono Trigger vibes from an indie JRPG. Even if the devs don't outright state it, iconic games in any genre almost always have their fingerprints on indie homages. In Quartet, however, this comparison is particularly apt. Centered on four characters across parallel worlds, events in one world affect the others. The narrative winds these characters closer and closer together from four separate origins to tell a single story.
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10 Fantasy Books That Would Make Great RPGs

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By Austin Conrad
| DualShockers Verified
If you're looking to get totally immersed in a fantasy world, there's no better medium than a novel. But what if you want to be the one making narrative choices within that world? Then, you'll want an RPG—the king for a long, deep dive into magical stories and settings. Related 10 Best Video Games For Book Lovers Plenty of popular fantasy series are supported by good games (Heck, new games are made even for disappointments, like A Song of Ice and Fire).
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Interview

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What was your first job as a journalist?

Independent criticism

Have you ever used a typewriter?

Nope.

How is social media changing news?

Most substantial element is reduced attention span—news is now transmitted in short bites, not hour-long shows.