Rodney Thompson: From Star Wars Roleplaying to Cyberpunk Heists

Nick Sampson | December 28th 2025

Rodney Thompson, veteran game designer and founder of Scratchpad Publishing, joined Epic Realms to discuss a career that spans tabletop roleplaying, board games, and video game design. The conversation covered his early love of roleplaying games, his work on Star Wars roleplaying, his approach to making games easier for game masters, and his latest projects including his game Neon City Outlaws.

Rodney’s gaming journey began with roleplaying in junior high. He recalls his first serious campaigns as the formative experiences that shaped his design sensibility. While he did not play many hobby board games as a youth, he did play a lot of D6 Star Wars and Dungeons and Dragons. In college he found a steady group and the time to truly sink into long campaigns, which deepened his appreciation for running games as well as designing them.

A GM at heart, Rodney prefers to run games most of the time. He explained that running games helped him learn how different systems manage the balance between player agency and GM workload. In recent years a rotating weekly group has allowed him to both run and play widely, which he credits for keeping his perspective fresh.

Rodney described his transition from tabletop to video games and how the skill sets overlap. He explains sandbox design in video games as creating the core verbs and tools players use during the 30 seconds of fun when they engage in combat or other core loops. He compared iteration times in video games to tabletop playtests, and said the faster iteration in video games can be a huge advantage while the human and improvisational element of tabletop is irreplaceable.

The interview dug into his time working on well known licensed lines. He reflected on how working with rich universes, such as Star Wars, demands careful handling of lore. Rodney noted an important design lesson learned from working with licensed properties: every time you tightly connect disparate pieces of lore you reduce the possible scope of the setting. He said that well chosen constraints are useful, but over-connecting dots can shrink a world and limit future storytelling.

Rodney also spoke frankly about the role of the game master. He believes designers should prioritize providing tools that reduce GM overhead while preserving player creativity. He praised indie designers who build elegant support for GMs and said that modern roleplaying design is moving in that direction: more support for the person running the game, and less required memorization.

Board game design came into Rodney’s life later, after he moved and found a group in Seattle. He described how working on board game projects such as Lords of Waterdeep taught him to start simple and layer complexity. He said that the physicality of components and the predictable consequences of moves in a board game can teach designers new lessons that then feed back into tabletop roleplaying design.

Scratchpad Publishing is Rodney’s personal imprint for publishing his own games. He described the imprint as his way to get unique ideas to the table, whether as box sets with components or as books and print on demand accessories. His newest project, Neon City Outlaws, is a cyberpunk heist game that grew out of his earlier Dusk City Outlaws. Neon City Outlaws focuses on player driven world building, rapid session prep, and a revolution mechanic that tracks city-wide effects. Rodney highlighted the game’s built in world building workbook which helps groups create a unique city that responds to their actions. He also mentioned a body swapping mechanic that supports cybernetic and digital themes central to the setting.

Rodney closed by reflecting on what keeps him excited: discovering mechanics that spark new player experiences and building systems that help groups find fun quickly. He encouraged designers to play widely, to test mechanics at the table, and to keep an eye on easing GM load while preserving the spark of improvisation.

If you are interested in running or playing Neon City Outlaws or exploring Rodney’s other games, check Scratchpad Publishing for details. - Scratchpad Publishing