DC Bradshaw is a creative powerhouse with a vast arsenal of TTRPG and nerd knowledge and we caught up with him ahead of our upcoming collaboration. His past in education bolsters his passion for creating fun and accessible learning tools for children of all ages, to help them find the creative safe space to play games without judgment.
A proud yet permanently exhausted father, DC created the best-selling game Little but Fierce with an aim to introduce children (specifically his own daughter) to the hobby. He has also created numerous D&D supplements, various pun-inspired short TTRPGs and, somehow, finds the time to produce and host a bite-sized interview show, Shought Thorts.
Mash: You’re such a talented and creative person, do you think you can pin-point the one thing that inspired you to start creating?
DC: Oh you cut that out right now. I’m definitely something of a jack-of-all-trades creatively (and I leave it up to the reader to decide whether I deserve the end of that quotation or not) and something of a contradiction in that sense. By my nature I’m quite introverted but I also did a lot of amateur dramatics in my teens and late twenties. Similarly, back when I was a teacher I was qualified in Mathematics and Computing and yet I did extracurricular activity directing school pantomimes and co-directing the Shakespeare company. So there’s a lot of creative energy bouncing around in me that is just trying to find an outlet.
As to the first thing? I don’t know. I’ve had a few novels on the backburner for a while, but I honestly think it was the discovery of DMs Guild as an online marketplace, combined with my discovering Critical Role at the same time, that really led me to start writing TTRPGs.
Mash: Critical Role has certainly led the way for many TTRPGer’s looking to share their games online. How do you feel about the rise in Actual Play streams and shows in online spaces?
DC: Ooo that’s a tricky one. I think it’s amazing that folks feel inspired not only to play their games online but to share them with the world. However, I do think there’s a misconception still lingering that streaming your home game can catapult you into Critical Role levels of success.
Also, and this may be controversial, I’m generally of the opinion that unless your actual play involves an element of audience interaction, there’s no need to actually live stream it – pre-record, trim out any fat, tweak the audio levels (and subtitles) and then share online. And that can still be over Twitch/YouTube so everyone can enjoy the go-live together, but trying to make all that magic happen, unedited and live, is not only tough but it’s not necessarily the best thing for your audience…
Mash: Do you feel the landscape has changed since the end of lockdown, with people returning from working at home?
DC: Oh 100%. Lockdown was massive on a number of levels, but it certainly opened the eyes of non-techy people to the fact that’s it’s not actually that tricky to jump on a video call. So while the world has opened up more, it’s great that people are able to take those new skills and apply them to their hobbies. It’s especially good for those people who just can’t physically meet up for geographical, disability, parental responsibility and/or other reasons.
DC Bradshaw hosts Shought Thorts and regular streams on Twitch and YouTube showcasing many talented people from within the online TTRPG communities and wider gaming industry. His passion for role-playing games and tabletop board games led to a decision to start streaming with his standard fixtures being regular Lunch Chats to talk about current nerdy events and also play some casual board games at the same time.
Mash: You’ve had some incredible guests on your show. Was there anyone who you were excited/starstruck to interview?
DC: Without being too cheesy, I’ve genuinely been excited by all of them and I’m so pleased every time someone agrees to be a guest. Some of them are folks I’ve known for a while, both through social media and face-to-face, but, yeah, there are a few who I was more than a little nervous about asking and was over the moon when they agreed.
B. Dave Walters is a definite example of that. I knew I wanted to kick off the show with a big guest (as in presence in the community, but B. Dave also manages it in stature as well!) and I was genuinely nervous to join the Zoom call to record it. But he’s such a nice guy, incredibly generous with his time and really set the tone for the show.
Mash: Do you have a favourite TTRPG system?
DC: The one I’ve played the most is certainly D&D 5th Edition but that wasn’t the question. I have a real nostalgic fondness for the games that got me into TTRPGs as a teenager, so that’d be Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and the Advanced Fighting Fantasy books. I think a lot of what I try to do when running or writing a game is to recapture that chaotic energy I had in my youth playing those games with my brother and our school friends.
DC Bradshaw is one of the authors joining us for the TYG short story anthology An Adventurer’s Guide to Love, Life & Villainy. His story Vows is powerful and emotional, following a grieving widower as he reflects on the love he has lost.
Mash: Your story is so poignant, I’m almost afraid to ask what the inspiration was!
DC: Yeah, sorry about that! Honestly, romantasy is a genre I don’t have a lot of experience with so the moment I offered to write something, I knew I had a challenge ahead of me. As I said I’ve done quite a bit of theatre work so the notion of turning this into one big, heavy-hitting scene was appealing and there’s something very Shakespearian about a conversation with a dead body.
As to the specifics, I don’t want to spoil the end too much, but the twist is something that had been bouncing around my head for a while now (and I have to wonder if it’s something the D&D creators had considered when they were designing the spells), but then the final words of the story came to me in the shower of all things (apparently it was a particularly emo shower that day…). Then I just had to work backwards to write a story that took us to that moment.
Mash: Would you say that’s your usual writing process? Working backwards, not just singing in the shower!
DC: I never mentioned singing… but yes. Seriously, I am definitely a fan of working backwards from a clear moment. When I’m writing fiction, I definitely write it out of chronological order, filling in those moments that are absolutely crystal clear, generally with some bullet-pointed notes highlighted in yellow for “Future Dave” to flesh out how the hell we got here.
Mash: Is there anything you are currently working towards?
DC: Oh so much. Far too many projects being juggled and even more on the backburner… which is a weird and potentially hazardous mashed up analogy. TTRPG-wise I’m currently writing the full version of Little but Fierce, which I’m currently calling the “Hero Edition” – this will be the version that gets crowdfunded for a physical release.
At the time of this interview, I’m wrapping up the last few episodes of Shought Thorts season 2 until I take another hiatus until the summer. And I do actually have a novel that I’ve been working on, on and off, for several years. I desperately want to do a final push to complete a first draft and then eventually get the finished version into the world…
Mash: Thank you very much for sitting down with us for a wee chat. I am really looking forward to seeing what else you create and hopefully we can collaborate more in the future!
If you are not already, please do give DC Bradshaw a follow online. You can find him on most social media pages and find more information on all of his works on his website https://dcbradshaw.com/
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