Mentorship in RPGs: Blightfall
The invaluable guidance that brought me from novice to game designer.
In March 2025, I ran the first playtest of Blightfall, an original system for a GM and 3-5 players, designed to tell tragic stories of cursed villagers sacrificing their humanity for the power to protect their home. On Feb 2nd, 2026, Blightfall’s crowdfund launches on BackerKit as part of Zinetopia. The process has been both turbulent and joyful, and I can confidently say I would not be here without mentorship from others in the space.
Blightfall Trailer by Zach Havenlok
Nearly a year to craft a unique system, playtest, layout, artbash, and do all the legwork was certainly a challenge, but the guidance I received is part of the reason I could move at such a brisk pace (that and unhealthy obsession).
I stumbled upon a mentorship opportunity through Unpub’s Tabletop Mentorship Program. I had never heard of Unpub up to that point, but was desperate for any guidance and investigated. Unpub is The Unpublished Games Network, a “non-profit organization serving the tabletop community to build better games together through playtesting events, mentorship, and education programs.”
It seemed to have a greater emphasis on board games over roleplaying games, but I figured that the worst that could happen was a succinct “no” to my application. Happily, I was accepted into the program and paired with an experienced game designer in roleplaying games, Alex Sprague of Wannabe Games.
I met weekly with Alex to discuss Blightfall and my goal of publishing. He (and sometimes his partner at Wannabe Games, Jess Geyer) provided invaluable guidance on the path forward. The mentorship was supposed to be an every other week meeting for 12 weeks, but Alex volunteered to meet with me weekly, and even after the mentorship ended, we still communicate. He has gone above and beyond, and I’m truly thankful for his generosity.
I asked Alex his thoughts on mentorship. “Honestly, I think mentoring does two things. The first is helping someone focus on the important parts of creation. I don't think for a minute you wouldn't have finished this project without me there; what I do think is that you would have spent twice the time you did looking for resources and mired in self-doubt. The second thing it does is create a schedule with someone that makes you not want to show up without progress. If everyone got just some work finished every week we would see so many projects in a year it would crush the hobby economy.”
Those thoughts certainly ring true to me, especially the part about self-doubt; a question that constantly plagued me through the early creation of Blightfall was whether the game was ‘good’.
One of my favorite moments in RPGs came from playing a game where we forgot to implement any of the mechanics. Absolutely no “gameplay” was involved, just roleplaying. I would heartily recommend the game to anyone … but we didn’t need it for a good time. Maybe it was the chemistry between players, the excellent GM, or those elusive vibes. And while that memory is cherished, it left me with a daunting question: what if people had fun with Blightfall despite it being poorly-designed? What if I was the best GM in the world and my roleplaying skills were acting as a crutch for my game? It was certainly possible (it was not).
Yet again, the mentorship of the RPG community came to my rescue. I attended a gathering hosted by ATLRPG, an organization in Atlanta dedicated to running all manner of games. This meeting focused on game design and publishing, and for some reason I was the only person with questions, so it essentially became a conversation between me and veteran designers in the industry.
The amount of knowledge shared was incredible and I’m thankful for the designers and the ATLRPG community that volunteered their time and effort. Did it cure my self-doubt and anxiety? Pshhh, no. But their wisdom made it more tolerable.
Yes, this is an announcement of my game, but it’s also a message to our community. Without your kindness and generosity, I would not be here at this moment. There are more of you that freely gave your time and wisdom than I could possibly name. I hope to pay it forward.
Blightfall is a game that combines collaborative-worldbuilding, narrative-shattering player abilities, and strategic risk/reward combat to tell stories of community and loss. It launches February 2nd on BackerKit as part of their Zinetopia event.
Find Matthew Ayers at https://bsky.app/profile/matthewayers.bsky.social
To learn more about Blightfall, visit the campaign page!
