When he’s not redefining what “small press” can mean, he’s out there building the future one rulebook at a time. Give it up for the hat-tipping hero himself, Fred Hicks!

Please welcome the unflappable, unstoppable Cam Banks!

Next, he’s the co-founder of Evil Hat, one of the wizards who bottled lightning and called it Fate. He turned indie passion into publishing power and proved you can run a company on creativity and caffeine

He’s the Kiwi conjurer who helped create the Cortex System, which has been used on everything from Firefly to Marvel. He’s made the rules that make the stories sing, and he’s living proof that spreadsheets and sorcery can coexist.

I wish I got to talk to him about the Saga edition of Star Wars. He was also one of the guys working on Project Sigil for Wizards until it was essentially strangled in its cradle by the company earlier this year. Now please behold a brilliant designer and a real mensch, Andy Collins!
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He’s a designer, a worldbuilder, and a relentless innovator in tabletop roleplaying games.

Joining us as well is Andy Collins, a multi-tour veteran of the Wizards of the Coast. Andy, along with Rob and Jim Wyatt, was co-creator of D&D 4th edition, but his design credits don’t stop there.

First up, we have Rob Heinsoo, one of the leading minds behind Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. He’s also the co-creator of 13th Age, a system that blends narrative freedom with crunchy mechanics in amazing ways.

These two were on the team responsible for taking the words of the writers and the art of the artists and turning them into a physical book. What do they have to say about where Wizards was and where it’s going?

And don’t sleep on Steve Winter — a living D&D legend. From sneaking into TSR through a second-story window to shaping 2e, 3e, and beyond, Steve has been part of D&D’s DNA for decades.

Tune in. Nerd out. 🎲🔥

He’s the mind behind Knave 2e and the force behind Questing Beast, your portal to the wild, weird wonders of old-school RPGs. If you like sharp rules, deadly dungeons, and freedom at the table, Ben’s your guy.

Let’s recognize that, and arrange the government around counties and not around states.

What that looks like though, I have no clue.

And of course I could be wrong about all this, but I hope I’m not, because every other version of the future I look at is worse than this one.

I think the next constitution needs to keep money out of politics and probably have a looser federal union based on your county not your state, because the great divide in America today is rural-urban.

Right now, I only have two thoughts about a new American constitution. (I’m just a teacher and a writer after all.)

This is a road to authoritarianism, perhaps even a leftist one depending on 2028, and eventually civil violence.

Or we jump to the end of that road and make a new constitution.

You may think the Supreme Court will stop her, but courts do not have a strong track record of curbing kings (or queens).

This new presidency is much more like an elected king than a chief executive.

Now if you like Trump, you may love all this. But imagine these powers in the hands of President AOC. Imagine what she could do.

Congress could impeach and remove the president, but the past half century has proven that to be a hollow threat.

If the president breaks the law, but does so in the course of doing their job as president, the Supreme Court has ruled they cannot be prosecuted for it.

Look at the checks on the president.

Apparently, the president does not need to follow the instructions of Congress when it funds an agency the president doesn’t like, such as the Department of Education or USAID.