Mike is a long-time freelancer designer who has slaved away over many Raging Swan Press books. His most recent book for Raging Swan Press—Village Backdrop: Beacon Promontory—is now available in 5e, OSR, Pathfinder 1 and Pathfinder 2 editions.

We recently had the opportunity to ask Mike a couple of questions!

What was your first gaming book?

I received the D&D Basic Set (blue box!) for my birthday. The first book I bought with my own allowance money was the Fiend Folio.

If you could pick one module to play again for the first time which would it be?

I still enjoy Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, which was such a fun genre mashup.

Recommend a gaming book, adventure or supplement you’ve read in the last year.

The Porphyra Roleplaying Game, which is to Pathfinder 1st edition what Pathfinder 1e was to D&D 3rd edition.

Beyond the obvious (books, dice and so on), what do you make sure you’ve got with you when you game?

My youngest child convinced me to buy a moose “backpack,” which serves as my dice bag.

Other than where you normally play, where would you love to game?

If money were no object, I’d love to game in a combination staffed café and library. The library would contain not only a variety of role-playing supplements, but also historical texts and other sources of inspiration. Ideally, the café/library would have roaming (tame) badgers too.

Who has inspired you most in your design career?

So, I’ve got a sappy answer (with all actual due respect to the giants who made RPGs what they are, and to the contemporaries who have incredible designs and cleverly expand on the game design boundaries): my family. My wife encourages me even though RPGs aren’t her thing, my dad was a cheerleader for my work and often talked up my work for the college students he taught, and my children, especially my youngest, serve as sounding boards for some of my wacky ideas or when I’m stuck on something.

Choose five words to describe your last design project.

Unannounced 5e Monster Project: Challenging, fun, gloopy, instructive, plethora.

Where do you do most of your design?

I do most of my design at my desk. However, I must admit when I’m stuck on a particular design issue, a good shower dislodges ideas.

Where can people learn more about your work?

I irregularly publish monsters on a friend’s gaming blog. I also have a monthly column expanding on the monsters in Kobold Press’s Creature Codex.

About Mike

Mike Welham has been gaming since just before the second breakfast of RPG history. He enjoys making monsters and occasionally dabbles in adventure design, usually as a showcase for the monsters he creates. He lives with his wife Cheryl in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Their children have moved on to have adventures of their own, so the dog and four cats have taken over the home.