Good Omens

Richard Taylor is one of the five founders of Good Omens. As Rich has said, Good Omens really started because he and the others were sick of playing in crappy games at conventions and they collectively decided to do something about it. At KublaCon 2006, Rich finished the final installment of his incredibly fun and very popular Buffy series, each game set to the tune of an 80’s movie (Better off Undead, St. Elmo’s Hellfire, and 16 Black Candles to name a few).
Rich is interested in small press games likes Polaris, Capes, and Burning Wheel, particularly those that want to alter the basic dynamic of role-playing without going too far. Because he is the nicest man on the planet has promised to run a Burning Wheel convention game some time in the future.

Rich is also a big fan of some of the better known game systems out there - like the new World of Darkness Storyteller system, Shadowrun, and even tends to have respect for games he doesn’t play or run (like Hero, D20, and GURPS.)

Editors Note: Rich never smiles for pictures, this is as close as I could get.

Game’s Rich has run at recent Conventions:

• DundraCon 2006: “Saint Elmo’s Hellfire” - Buffy The Vampire Slayer
• KublaCon 2006: “Saint Elmo’s Hellfire - Return” - Buffy The Vampire Slayer
• KublaCon 2006: “The Heart of the Matter” - Shadowrun 4th Edition
• ConQuest SF 2006: “Radio Silence” - World of Darkness
• EndGame October 2006: “Look what the Children Brought Home” - Cat
• DundraCon 2007: “Tarot Made Flesh” - World of Darkness (Game written by Bob Kuzmeski)
• DundraCon 2007: “I’ll Be Watching You” - World of Darkness
• KublaCon 2007: “In Space No One Can Hear You Yowl ” - Cat
• KublaCon 2007: “Pixy-Led” - Faery’s Tale
• Good Omens Con 2007: “What Freinds are for” - Big Eyes, Small Mouth - Buffyverse alternate setting
• Conquest SF 2007: “Your Coat is kinda a Brownish Color” - Cat - Serenity Setting
• Conquest SF 2007: “The Missing” - Wild Talents
• EndGame October 2007: “Seven Leagues”
• DundraCon 2008: “Ripped Upon the Thorns ” - Changeling: The Lost

Mike Bogan is the go to GM for high action, over the top stunts, cinematic games. A huge fan of Feng Shui, Mike runs games that are fast paced and intense. His recent In Nomine series of games inspired by the Sandman comics have been a thrill for all of his players. Before that at Conquest there was much fun around the table playing in his Storyboard adaptation of Grave Robbers from Outer Space. Mike’s enthusiasm for gaming shines through both as a GM and a player. One of the founders of Good Omens, Mike has been with us since the beginning.

Games Mike has run at recent Conventions:

• DundraCon 2006: “Between a Heavenly and a Hellish Place” - In Nomine
• Endgame April 2006: “Just Passin’ Through” - Deadlands
• 3DBcon Spring 2006: “The Day It Happened” - All Flesh Must Be Eaten
• KublaCon 2006: “Don’t Call it a Comeback” - In Nomine
• Endgame July 2006: “Death Duel with the Destroyers 2006″ - Truth and Justice
• ConQuest SF 2006: “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” - Storyboard
• ConQuest SF 2006: “The Younglings Strike Back”* - Feng Shui
• DundraCon 2007: “In the Aching Night” - Promethean: The Created
• KublaCon 2007: “The Jusenkyo Curse!” - Big Eyes Small Mouth, 3rd Edition.
• Conquest SF 2007: “Heroes Discovered” - Scion: Hero
• Conquest SF 2007: “Heroes Defined” - Scion: Hero
• EndGame October 2007: “Scion Hero” - Scion: Hero
• DundraCon 2008: “Heroes Ascending” - Scion: Hero

* Young players game

Matthew Gaston has been with Good Omens since the beginning. He runs a variety of settings and styles, including pseudo-sequels to the Star Wars and Matrix movies as they hit theaters, as well as original settings like the time-travelling Earth Eternal, the wild west supers game Ghost Town, and a fantasy world called Dragon Shards. He is probably best known for being the author of the Storyboard rules system (developed by several Good Omens members), and the mega-LARP Game Gods.

Games Matt has run at recent Conventions:

• DunDraCon 2006: “The Knights’ Dread” - Storyboard: Dragon Shards
• KublaCon 2006: “The Poisoned Well” - Storyboard: Dragon Shards
• KublaCon 2006: “Ghost Town Express” - Storyboard: Ghost Town
• ConQuest SF 2006: “World of Fears” - Storyboard: ParaCyberHorrorPunkaNoia
• DundraCon 2007: “A Time to Die” - Storyboard: Earth Eternal
• KublaCon 2007: “All-Empire Games” - Storyboard: Dragon Shards
• Good Omens Con 2007: “Visionaries vs. The Ghuling” - Storyboard: Super-Heroes
• DundraCon 2008: “Visionaries vs. The Terra Cotta Army” - Storyboard: Super-Heroes

Meghan Miller is pretty new to Good Omens. She recently ran a few popular 7th sea games based on the characters from the Princess Bride, and has been threatening to run another, but we’re not sure when. She lives in Fort Bragg, California and teaches middle school students. Yes, some people say she is crazy to do it, but her philosophy is that you should do what you love no matter how painful. She likes running and playing fantasy games mostly, but is also partial to modern action games.

Games Meghan hs run at recent conventoins:

• DundraCon 2006: “The Princess Brides Little Sister” - 7th Sea
• Kublacon 2006: “Dread Pirates of the Caribbean” - 7th Sea
• KublaCon 2007: “The Governor’s Daughter”* - The Princes’ Kingdom

* Young Players Game

Chad Lynch is proof that Good Omens GMs do run d20 games! Chad plays many different systems including Deadlands, Mutants and Masterminds, Ars Magica, 7th Seas, Legends of the Five Rings, and WoD 2.0 to name a few. Genres he enjoys playing include (low) fantasy, superhero, and horror. Chad, says about himself:”I joined up with Good Omens in June 2001 because my Deadlands games supposedly “kicked-ass”. For several years, I mainly ran nothing but Deadlands and started to branchout a couple of years ago with different systems/genres. Although with recent release of ‘Deadlands: Reloaded’, you might see more Deadlands run by me. “Games Chad has run at conventions: Deadlands (many times), Buffy, A Wheel of Time d20, Godlike, A Game of Thrones d20, Mutants and Masterminds.

Games Chad has run at recent conventoins:

• Dundracon 2006 - “A Diamond in the Rough” - Deadlands
• Dundracon 2006 (Co-GM w/ Matt Espinoza) - “Killin’ Time” - Deadlands
• EndGame April 2006 “The New Guys Issue #0″ - Mutants and Masterminds
• Kublacon 2006 - “The Sidekick!” - Mutants and Masterminds
• Kublacon 2006 - “Treading on Thin Ice” - A Game of Thrones d20
• 3DBcon 2006 - “The New Guys Issue #1″ - Mutants and Masterminds
• EndGame July 2006: “Daddy’s Boy” - Deadlands: Reloaded
• EndGame July 2006: “House Call” - Deadlands: Reloaded
• ConQuest SF 2006: “Forgotten Tour” - Tour of Darkness
• ConQuest SF 2006: “Dead Man’s Hand” - Deadlands: Reloaded
• EndGame October 2006: “A Lick and a Promise” - Deadlands: Reloaded
• EndGame January 2007: “Twisted Faery Tales” - Faery’s Tale
• DundraCon 2007: “Spirit of the Brave” - Werewolf: The Forsaken (Game written by Kevan Forbes)
• EndGame April 2007: “The Burdens We Carry” - carry. a game about war
• EndGame April 2007: “For a Mother’s Love” - The Princes’ Kingdom
• KublaCon 2007: “All the King’s Horses and All the King’s Men” - The Princes’ Kingdom
• KublaCon 2007: “Tentacles of the North”* - Cthulhu Live (3rd Ed.)

* Live Actoin Role-playing Game

Matt Espinoza writes “I’m a pretty easy going kind of guy who likes to have fun. I enjoy a game much more if everyone else around me is having fun in the game as well. Good game mastering and being a good player are not that far apart.” He is interested in Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror, Western, Supernatural, and Super Hero games. At conventions he has run D&D 2.0, Deadlands, Shadowrun II, Shadowrun III, WoD.

Games Matt has run at recent conventions:

• Dundracon 2006: “Rats in a Maze” - Deadlands
• Dundracon 2006 (Co-GM w/ Chad Lynch) - “Killin’ Time” - Deadlands
• Kublacon 2006: “The Killers” - The Secret of Zir’An
• ConQuest SF 2006: “When the Dust Settles” - Shadowrun 4th Edition
• DundraCon 2006: “Mount up Gentlemen… we’re in for a hard ride” - Deadlands, Revised
• KublaCon 2007: “All A’Bord” - Deadlands

Jennifer Brozek, chief cat herder of the webzine “The Edge of Propinquity” and the author of the “Tales of the Hucked Tankard,” may be classified as a member of homo geekus and a member of homo gothus. Her attributes include extreme curiosity, a love of reading, favoring dark colors in soft fabrics and a fascination with anime. Her skills include writing, breaking software and gaming. As with many of her species, Jennifer is shy but may be approached with caution and responds favorably to chocolate. She currently writes for Black Gate magazine and is a contract author for Sovereign Press when not working as a geekette of a QA Engineer in her normal 9-5 life. Other hobbies include serving as a kitten foster mom for the Seattle Animal Shelter and being a sidekick character in the webcomic, Casey & Andy.Game systems, genres, or other specifics you are interested in: In the Table Top arena I am fond of 7th Sea, Star Wars, WoD Vampire, Dungeons & Dragons and Dogs in the Vineyard. In the LARP arena, I prefer Call of Cthulhu, Star Wars, Vampire and 7th Sea. Games you have run at Conventions: I usually run 7th Sea in table top or LARP (with Endless Adventures). Occasionally, I will run Buffy the Vampire Slayer or a game based in the “Big Trouble in Little China” universe.

Games Jennifer has run at recent conventions:

• ConQuest SF 2006: “Big Demons in Little China” - Unisystem

Eric Langendorff has been running a Superhero (DC Hero, MEGS) arc at Dundracon for the past five years. He plays Chill, DC-Heroes (a.k.a. MEGS, a.k.a. The Blood of Heroes), Dungeons & Dragons, Hero System and The World of Darkness. He prefers the high action, intrigue, superhero and superspies genres as well as several other non-RPG games (Illuminati, Give Me the Brain, Lord of the Fries and others), with Cosmic Enounter being his all time favorite game. Eric says about himself:”I’ve been an RPG gamer since 1983, and have run several campaigns (mostly superhero or D&D) in that time. I also co-ran a Vampire LARP for about two-an-a-half years. Only recently did I begin to run at
conventions, but those games apparently attracted the attention of Good Omens, and now here I am.”

Games Eric has run at recent Conventions:

• DundraCon 2006: “Invasion!” - DC Heroes (MEGS)

Greg Eichner is interested in Shadowrun, Legend of the 5 Rings, 7th Sea, Aberrant, and the Tri-Stat system. At conventions he has run Storyboard, Shadowrun, Aeon, Aberrant, Exalted, Mage: The Ascension, Legend of the 5 Rings, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and the Tri-Stat system twice.Greg says: “I like to try to integrate music and other media in my games in as non-intrusive a manner as I can. I tend to prefer offering situations where heroics can ensue whether at an epic level or a more personal level of game.”

Games Greg has run at recent conventions:

• DundraCon 2006: “Eclipse” - Tri-Stat d10 System
• Kublacon 2006: “Ill Fortunes III” - Legend of the Five Rings
• ConQuest SF 2006: “Paranoid Eyes” - Shadowrun 4th Edition
• KublaCon 2007: “Ill Fortunes 4 ” - Legend of the Five Rings

Sean Nittner joined Good Omens after just after ConQuest SF 2005. Previously he was known as the GOG (Good Omens Groupie). He was then and still is a huge fan of Good Omens Productions.“I spent years playing tactical, heavy number crunching role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, Champions and Palladium systems wondering why I wasn’t finding the excitement I hoped for in games and how I could tweak the systems to play smoother, faster and richer. After being exposed to more cinematic systems like BtVS and Feng Shui at conventions and listening to numerous game reviews I realized the beauty of this simple statement: ‘Play to a game’s strength.’ Now my interests have turned to lighter systems like Truth & Justice and Feng Shui, systems with mechanics that serve the theme such as Mage: The Awakening, Dogs in the Vineyard, Exalted, Iron Heroes, the Eberron campaign setting and finally several board games that satisfy the number cruncher in me. At ConQuest SF 2006 I found one more exiting role-playing avenue in the young player’s room. I ran a Truth & Justice with a cast of young X-Men and truly had a blast as six kids stomped the butt of Magneto’s brotherhood.“Role-playing is art, its entertainment, it’s the continuation of an otherwise dying oral tradition, its an escape from the doldrums in life and hell, it just a lot of fun.”

Games Sean has run at recent conventions:

• ConQuest SF 2005: “Gnomes Like Us” - Castles & Crusades
• DundraCon 2006: “Condemned” - Mage: The Awakening
• ConQuest Sac 2006: “City on Fire” - Mage: The Awakening
• KublaCon 2006: “City on Fire” (Again) - Mage: The Awakening
• ConQuest SF 2006: “Gnome Impossible!” - Iron Heroes
• ConQuest SF 2006: “X-Kids: Take a Stand”* - Truth & Justice* Young players game
• EndGame January 2007: “Little Sisters” - Panty Explosion
• DundraCon 2007: “Dr. Gnome” - Iron Heroes
• KublaCon 2007: “Office Waste ” - Prime Time Adventures
• Good Omens Con: Operation: Lights Out - Wilderness of Mirrors
• KublaCon 2008: Exalted Unplugged - Wushu/Wuxalted/Exalted
• KublaCon 2008: There is No Spoon - Wushu
• Good Omens Con 2: Jedi in the Vineyard - Dogs in the Vineyard
• Conqeust SF 2008: My Life with Joker - My Life with Master

Kevan Forbes plays 7th Sea, Feng Shui, World of Darkness 2.0, Werewolf: the Forsaken, Mage: the Awakening, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, D20 (Spycraft, Mutants & Masterminds, Iron Heroes, Eberron Campaign Setting), and The Secret of Zir’An. “I am always fascinated by rich settings as well. Examples of what I consider to be a rich setting full
of depth: Agone, Eberron, The Secret of Zir’An, Shadowrun, 7th Sea, Legend of the 5 Rings.” At conventoins Kevan has run D20 Spycraft, D20 Mutants & Masterminds, D20 Forgotten Realms, 7th Sea, Feng Shui, Werewolf: the Forsaken, and Agone. Kevan says”I love this hobby. I am thrilled and inspired by exciting stories that are being told by creative people. One of my greatest joys is to hand a character to a player and watch him run with it. I tend to lean more towards the cinematic action genre when I run games. I like a good fight scene almost more than I like a good story.”

Games Kevan has run at recent conventions:

• ConQuest Sac 2006: “Welcome to the Neighborhood” - Werewolf: The Forsaken
• KublaCon 2006: “Tides of Mystery” - Werewolf: The Forsaken
• ConQuest SF 2006: “Hold the Line” - Werewolf: The Forsaken
• EndGame October 2006: “Graduation Day” - Mutants & Masterminds
• DundraCon 2007: “Spirit of the Brave” - Werewolf: The Forsaken (Run by Chad Lynch)

Catherine Klikoff loves horror, horror well done. “I love Horror and I’m quite a snob about it. Most folks are happy with the cheese or slasher flicks as a substitute for good horror, not me! I will sift through the garbage to find the true gems out there. While stories about Hero’s and High Fantasy have often been done well it is horror that requires the subtlety of a master to truly shine through.” At conventions Catherine has run Call of Cthulu, Feng Shui, Witchcraft,
All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Pulp Adventure, Psy-world, and Villains and Vigilantes. “‘The road less taken’ absolutely describes me. If it’s something new I want to try it and if it’s something that not many people will do I’m there. I’m a Nerd from way way back and I’m a sucker for great conversation.”

Games Catherine has run at recent conventions:

• DundraCon 2006: To Dream the Impossible Dream - Witchcraft
• KublaCon 2006: Whispers of a Nameless Fear - All Flesh Must Be Eaten
• KublaCon 2006: Time after Time - Feng Shui
• ConQuest SF 2006: “Oh What They Bury at the Library” - All Flesh Must Be Eaten
• ConQuest SF 2006: “Little Town on the Pallelli” - Serenity
• DundraCon 2007: “Kindergarten” - Storyboard
• DundraCon 2007: “May I Take Your Coat?” - All Flesh Must Be Eaten

Little did Bob know that when his uncle handed him the original D&D boxed set back in the late 70s, it would change his life forever. That single event has cost him more time (in game prep), more energy (in running games), and more money (in buying books and throat lozenges) than most people will spend on their own children! And he wouldn’t change it for the world.These days, Bob runs a variety of games, including World of Darkness, All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Mutants & Masterminds, Call of Cthulhu, Deadlands, and Shadowrun. He believes that any system will work as long as it can tell a good story. For Bob, role-playing is about interactive storytelling and he likes his players to feel like they’ve just helped craft a story or movie. More often than not, that story is a horror story. Bob loves spooky stuff so much that even his dog is named Cthulhu. Scaring characters is ok, but Bob always seeks to leave the players a little creeped out as well.

Games Bob has run at recent conventions:

• ConQuest 2006 - “The Hand That’s Dealt” - World of Darkness
• EndGame Minicon April 2006 - “The Hand That’s Dealt” - World of Darkness
• EndGame Minicon October 2006 - Night of the Reich - Mutants & Masterminds
• DundraCon 2007: “Tarot Made Flesh” - World of Darkness (Run by Richard Taylor)
• EndGame Minicon April 2007: “Rock, Meet Hard Place” - Serenity

Michael Parker is one of the newest members to GO, and he still has a while to perfect his GMing skills, being the youngest member at 20. Michael was started on Old World of Darkness at 14, Mage the Ascension, he continues to like the classics in Mage and Changeling, and the newer WoD as well. Michael is a conspiracy theory buff, and loves to include mystery, intrigue, and misinformation into all of his games. He is also die hard Star Wars Fan Boy. He also loves the Wild West genre, and is a big fan of Deadlands Classic and the Reloaded reprint. He loves any game with cinimatic game play and belives in characters looking cool and being heroic. “If the GM and/or the players are not having fun with the story and characters, something is wrong…”, says Michael, who wants everyone around a table to have fun rolling their dice.
Resently Michael has been on a small press kick, where he has fallen in love with Spirit of the Century.

Games Michael has run at recent conventions:

• ConQuest SF 2006: “New York, New York” - Chosen
• EndGame October 2006: “Surreal Reality: An Illuminati Odyssey” - d6 Adventure
• EndGame January 2007: “Fist Full of Credits” - True20: StarWars
• DunDraCon 2007: “Clue-thulhu” - Call of Cathulhu
• Endgame April 2007: “Life Day” - True20: StarWars
• KublaCon 2007: “The Edge of the Earth” - Spirit of the Century
• KublaCon 2007: “Spirit of the 24th Century” - Spirit of the Century

I started gaming in 1980, with D&D. I eventually moved on to Champions, and still prefer the Hero System for campaigns. Mage: the Ascension, which has a magic system that’s similarly “effects based,” was also a favorite for a while. I was asked to join Good Omens after running a Werewolf game called “In the Shadows by the Firelight,” I forget exactly when, it was some years back. Lately, I’ve been favoring slightly humorous, fun scenarios, using older systems for nostalgia and “Murphy’s Rules” value.

Games Tony has run at recent conventions:

• DunDraCon 2004: “Party Like it’s 1993″ - Mage: the Ascension 1st Ed
• DunDraCon 2005: “The Third Horseman ” - Mage: the Ascension NPE
• DunDraCon 2006: “Danger in Lect City” - Gamma World 1st Ed
• DunDraCon 2007: “Devil in the Dark” - Dungeons and Dragons (3.5)

I have been gaming since I was about 16 and I started out with D&D 2nd edition. While I know many who started out with the original box set, you know, the one that came with the dice, but suffice it to say that was a bit before my time. Since then, I have branched out with many different gaming systems, including SLA Industries, In Nomine, Godlike, Cyberpunk, Whitewolf of many varieties, Firefly (table top and LARP), Cat, Buffy, and more.I generally tend to shy away from D20 these days as a result of my irrational disdain for 3rd Edition due to an evil GM and a forced retirement (you know who you are). While I have been attending Con almost as long as I have been gaming, I recently took a brief hiatus. Now, I am once again running at Con and plan to attend as many as my tight pocketbook will allow.

I joined Good Omens in 2003, somewhat before the group took on a bit of organization, and I still love being a part of this group and feel the GMs here are top notch. I make my attempts to live up to GO’s reputation in every way I can, if at all possible, and simply try to make my games as fun as they can be for everyone.

My GM style is that the rule books are more guidelines then rules and the story comes first. I am not a “roll” player. While I do feel that the GM’s word is law (regardless of who the GM happens to be), I am always open to intelligent debate on rules and fairness (after all, there has to be at least some structure in order for the game to progress).

So, now that I have been incredibly long winded, I shall end the suffering with my hope that whoever’s eyeballs are perusing these words will someday see my name on a Con program and say to themselves, “self, I should sign up for her game cause she was terribly eloquent in her Good Omens bio, and she must be just as fantastic in person” and the hope that I can live up to that expectation.

Games Rasilind has run at recent conventions:

• KublaCon 2007: “Mystery Men” -Godlike

He believes that the goal of any game is to enjoy yourselves and have fun. If the game accomplishes this, then it is a success. His tends to focus on high adventure with a focus on the characters involvement in grand heroic events. He has been running games for 17 years on a fairly continual basis and runs a regular gaming group every other week out of Berkeley currently. He has been running games at conventions for close to 7 years.

Josiah enjoys Dungeons & Dragons, Shadowrun, 7th Sea, Legend of the 5 Rings, Rifts, Cyberpunk, and Whitewolf. He tends to focus on running d20 games involving Dungeons & Dragons, but incorporates such diverse elements as Rifts, Whitewolf, Arcana Evolved, and Bastion’s Oathbound elements. His games tend to be ones with a high amount of fantasy elements in them, but also sometimes branch into detective mystery and intrigue.

Josiah joined Good Omens in 2008 and looks forward to learning and sharing with other GMs to develope style and increase skills at running games.

Games Josiah has run at recent DundraCon and Kublacon Conventions:

• “Killing the Dragon was only the beginning” - Eberron D&D 3.5
• “The Play is the Thing - Closing Curtain” - Eberron D&D 3.5
• “The Play is the Thing - Twilight Falls” - Eberron D&D 3.5
• “The Play is the Thing - Dark Star Rising” - Eberron D&D 3.5
• “The Play is the Thing” - Eberron D&D 3.5
• “The Temple of Tymora” - Forgotten Realms D&D 3.5
• “A Turn of Fate” - Forgotten Realms D&D 3.5

Howdy, I’m Justin. To me, games are stories waiting to be told. When I sit down at the gaming table with people, I believe we are all there to entertain each other and make each other look awesome. We do that by shining the spotlight on each other, being heroes and kicking ass. With that in mind I’ve recently been interested in the Indie/Story Game scene and really enjoy working with game systems that enable and encourage players to interact. I also enjoy tearing those systems apart, combining them again in new ways and shocking them to life to go ravaging through the countryside.

I’ve been gaming since I was 8…which is like 20 *cough*7*cough* years ago. I was hooked when I entered my first 5 foot by 20 foot stone hallway and somebody asked me:
Them: “What do you do?”
Me: “What can I do?”
Them: “Anything.”

Games Justin has run at recent conventions:

• Dundracon 2008: “Firefly: Stolen Goods” - Fate/Spirit of the Century
• Kublacon 2008: “Firefly: Stolen Goods” - Fate/Spirit of the Century
• Kublacon 2008: “Roanoke” - Wushu