Published Credits
Michael L. Fiegel
Seattle, WA 98125
aeon@aeforge.com
Published Books:
Ninja Burger
• Honorable Employee Handbook
ISBN 978-0806527963, Kensington/Citadel
• The RPG, 2nd Edition
ISBN 978-0979319600, aethereal FORGE
• The RPG, No Honor Edition
ISBN 978-0979319617, aethereal FORGE
Published Reviews:
Extreme Magazine
• Miscellaneous CD/concert reviews
Online Rock
• Behold CD review
• The Blakes CD review
• Breech CD review
• Brightblack Morning Light CD review
• Chris Bruni CD review
• Dandy Warhols CD review
• DiGiacomo CD review
• El Perro del Mar CD review
• Elder Statesmen CD review
• Paul Epic CD review
• Fluttr Effect CD review
• Gifted Children CD review
• Heaven Shall Burn CD review
• Howlin Rain CD review
• Ida CD review
• Inner Surge CD review
• Mercury Rev CD review
• Michael Kelsey CD review
• Langhorne Slim CD review
• Nyles Lannon CD review
• LEK CD review
• Halie Loren CD review
• M83 CD review
• Stephen Malkmus CD review
• Paula Maya CD review
• Olga CD review
• Repo: The Genetic Opera Soundtrack CD review
• Greg Roth CD review
• Silver Jews CD review
• Silvermen CD review
• SSLYBY CD review
• Swampdawamp CD review
• Kyle Tucker Band CD review
• Mike Vasas and the Beasts of Burden CD review
• Winterpills CD review
• Wye Oak CD review
Slashdot
• 30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of D&D. 2/10
• Character Design for Mobile Devices. 6/10
• Digital People: From Bionic Humans to Androids. 7/10
• Dungeons & Desktops. 7/10
• Game Creation and Careers. 4/10
• Game Writing. 9/10
• The Indie Developer's Guide to Selling Games. 7/10
• The Information Revolution. 5/10
• Level Design For Games. 10/10
• The Ninja Handbook. 9/10
• Patterns in Game Design. 4/10
• Planet Simpson. 7/10
• The Pocket and the Pendant. 5/10
• Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing. 10/10
• Quests: Design, Theory, and History in Games and Narratives 8/10
• Reading Comics. 7/10
• Second Person 9/10
Skotos/RPG.net
• Life With the Dice Bag DVD. (Style: 3 / Substance: 4)
• Ninja Burger: The Role-Playing Game. (Style: 4 / Substance: 5)
• The Dungeons & Dragons Experience DVD. (Style: 5 / Substance: 4)
• The Gamers DVD. (Style: 5 / Substance: 5)
• Uber Goober DVD. (Style: 4 / Substance: 4)
Gamegrene
• 30 Years of Adventure: A "Celebration" of Dungeons & Dragons
• The Gamers DVD
• The Dungeons & Dragons Experience DVD
• Life With the Dice Bag DVD
• Uber Goober DVD
• It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's... You!
• Brotherhood of the Wolf Shows Its Fangs
• One Film to Rule Them All - Lord of the Rings
• The Onkyo GXW-5.1 Digital Theater Station
• Harry Potter Casts a Magic Miss-le
• Lions & Tigers & Rabbits, Oh My -The Forgotten Gamma World
• Ride, Cowboy, Ride - The Forgotten Boot Hill
• Dungeons and Dragons Movie Trailer Review
• First Impressions, Third Edition
Miscellaneous Articles:
Writing About Archetypes
• Lightsaber article on The Escapist
• Rhapsody article (about MMO Quest Formulas) on The Escapist (also see Kotaku.com
• Archetypology column on RPG.net
• Getting Personal column on Gamegrene.com
• Five Man Band Trope on TVTropes.org
• PVN article on HoboTrashCan.com
Gamegrene Interviews
• Cyberpunk 203X: A Chat With Mike Pondsmith
• Exploring Elfwood With Thomas Abrahamsson & Eliza Leahy
• d20 Questions with Eden Studios
• d20 Questions with Maggie Vining
• The ABC's of Game Design With Jeff Dee
• d20 Questions With Avalanche Press
• Interview With a 9th Level Kobold
Miscellaneous Miscellany
• Essay on MMORPG.com
• Articles Written for "The Creative"
• Radio Commercials written for Kiss 98.5 and WGR 55
Electronic Game Credits:
Perpetual Entertainment
• Writer and content designer for Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising, a AAA MMORPG set in ancient Rome. The game was put on indefinite hold on October 9, 2007. An article about one of the areas I wrote for and helped design can be found here: ( link )
Iconoclast
• Lead writer and designer for Iconoclast, a Cyberpunk MUD/online RPG set in the year 2100. Consistently ranked best Sci-fi Role-playing MUD in major listings. MUD of the month, Jan '98 ( link ) Writing included
descriptions/building of over 10,000 virtual rooms, drafting of a background
and support material, and fiction ( link )
RPG Writing/Design Credits:
Dog Soul Publishing
• Writer of How Archaic Things Work. ( link )
• Writer of Folkloric: Baba Yaga, nominated in 2006 for ENnie Award for Best Writing, winner of ENnie Award for Best Electronic Book. ( link )
Dragon Magazine/Paizo Publishing
• Writer of various pieces, on an ongoing freelance basis, including a 4-page article on the new Dragonlance movie in the July 2007 issue. ( link )
Eden Studios
• Writer (~5000 words) of four pieces in Waysides: Book of Taverns. ( link )
The Escapist
• Writer of Rhapsody, an article about quest formulas in MMORPGs. ( link )
Gamegrene
• Writer of numerous columns for Gamegrene.com. Longest-running series is on Fantasy Films and their use in Role-Playing scenarios. ( link )
• As Gamegrene's co-editor, I work with Morbus Iff to promote and maintain the website, which has been featured on Fark, RPG.net, Slashdot and in Dragon Magazine (Spring 2005). ( link )
Khepera Publishing
• Co-designer, Co-publisher, Writer and Editor for Hellas: Worlds of Sun and Stone, a science-fiction RPG influenced by Greek history and mythology. ( link )
• Writer (20,000+ words) and Editor for GODSEND Agenda 2nd Edition, alternate high-powered supers sourcebook for the d6 system. ( link )
• Writer (7,500 words) and Editor for GODSEND Agenda: Mythos, supplement for GODSEND Agenda. ( link )
• Editor for d6 Powers, supplement for GODSEND Agenda. ( link )
Minion Games/RPGNow
• Writer (5,000 words) of "Mall of the Titans", article on PDF Publishing and the RPG E-Tailing phenomenon. Originally appeared in d20 Weekly and is now featured as part of Minion Games' E-Publisher Guide. ( link )
• Writer (27,500+ words) for the ePublisher PDF Creator, a guide to PDF layout and design for RPG publishers. ( link )
9th Level Games
• Writer, Editor, Concept for Ninja Burger: The RPG, winner of the 2001 RPG.NET Award for the Most Ridiculous Meta-Plot. ( link )
• Editor, Concept for Iron Ninja, Burger Monkey, Teenage Mutant Ninja Burger and BURGERTECH, supplements for Ninja Burger: The RPG. ( link )
Politically Incorrect Games (formerly Spectre Press)
• Writer (50,000+ words) and Editor of, and Maps and Graphics for, Rune Stryders, a fantasy/steampunk sourcebook. ( link )
• Graphics for Rune Companion, supplement for Rune Stryders. ( link )
R. Talsorian Games
• Editor for Cyberpunk 203X, the long-awaited third edition of the Cyberpunk game. ( link )
• Writer of C-4, a 24-part series documenting the history of Cyberpunk films and fiction from 1981 to 2001. Early emphasis was on game material, but reader feedback caused a later shift to higher-level theory. ( link )
Silven Publishing
• Writer of Light on Rules, Big on Flavor, an article for the Silven Trumpeter covering the state of rules-light gaming ( link )
Skotos/RPG.net
• Writer of Archetypology, a 12-part column exploring the historical and mythological roots of fantasy racial and class archetypes. (
link )
• As RPG.net's Lead Columns Editor from 2002-2005, I worked with columnists to get their columns developed, written, edited and posted. ( link )
Steve Jackson Games
• Concept for the Ninja Burger card game. ( link )
• Concept for the Sumo-Size Me!, the first supplement for the Ninja Burger card game. ( link )
Self-Published Work:
As Myself
• Cyberpunk & the New Myth ( link )
My college senior thesis, exploring the general topic of Cyberpunk as it
relates to Northrop Frye's mythic cycle. Ultimately concluded that the
Cyberpunk protagonist represents not a mere anti-hero, but a return to the
realm of the mythic. Gave me a chance to chat with some of the big names in
the field, including Rudy Rucker, Pat Cadigan and Bruce Sterling.
As aethereal FORGE ( link )
• Decay ( link )
Presently a website fiction repository, planned as a Horror MUD/RPG set in
an alternate 1945 where Vodun necromancers, their zombie minions and US
soldiers battle. Writing includes a detailed alternate history/timeline with
an emphasis on historical accuracy (with "What if?"s thrown in), fiction, a
1000 room MUD, and a port for the Arcanum PC game.
• Ninja Burger ( link )
Website for the world's only fast food delivery service run by ninja. The
concept was licensed as an RPG by 9th Level Games (
link ) and a card game by Steve Jackson Games ( link ). Writing includes everything on the site, game material for the RPG, storyboarding for the comic, an employee handbook ( link) and a screenplay.
• Power Grrrl ( link )
Teen superhero RPG documenting the Power Grrrl TV series, set in a near
future where teens have super powers that they lose when they become adults.
The twist - the TV series never actually existed. Hardly revolutionary in
metaplot, it focuses on biting sarcasm and satire of the genre. Writing
includes episode guides, a detailed fan FAQ, and material for the RPG.
• POW! ( link )
Rules-light, d6-based game engine designed for use with plug-in Worldbooks
(including Decay, Power Grrrl, Iconoclast, etc.).