Tiffany Rose Nickel Talks Writing, Game Design, and Creating Chaos at the Table

By Nick Sampson | September 16, 2026

Tiffany Rose Nickel Talks Writing, Game Design, and Creating Chaos at the Table

Author and game designer Tiffany Rose Nickel talks writing, game design, and creating chaos at the table on the Epic Realms podcast.

Nick and Tiffany have crossed paths at conventions and gaming events over the years, making this conversation a chance to dig deeper into her career as an independent creator and the projects that continue to shape her work.

From Tabletop Player to Professional Creator

Tiffany's path into the creative side of tabletop gaming began with a love of playing games and telling stories. She recalled discovering Call of Cthulhu while she was in high school before later getting into Dungeons & Dragons and creating her first character, Zalia.

That character eventually became the inspiration for Light of Evanora, a manuscript Tiffany originally wrote without plans to publish. The world she created continued to grow, eventually becoming the Legends of Lemuria series and helping launch her career as a professional writer.

For Tiffany, writing is more than simply another part of the job. She describes it as the place where she can enter a flow state, particularly when working through the mechanics and structure of a game or story.

She also discussed the realities of being an independent creator. Game design can require learning everything from mechanics and editing to layout and production, while juggling multiple ideas and projects at the same time.

Finding Her Place in Game Design

One of the major milestones Tiffany discussed was landing her first contract with Chaosium. While Nick initially referenced Call of Cthulhu since that was where Tiffany first was introduce to RPGs, Tiffany clarified that her work was actually for RuneQuest.

For Tiffany, the Chaosium contract represented an important turning point. It was the moment when she felt she had earned her place in the gaming industry and that others were recognizing the value of what she could create.

That work has since contributed to opportunities with other projects, while Tiffany continues to balance freelance work with her own independent game development.

One Page Dice Dungeons

Tiffany also talked about one of her best-known game design projects, One Page Dice Dungeons.

The concept grew out of a practical problem. Tiffany was working with a goblin-themed setting that did not yet have a rules system, and the only die available was a D4. Rather than let that stop the game, she created a simple system in roughly ten minutes.

That idea eventually developed into One Page Dice Dungeons, with different systems built around different dice. Each version features its own character creation, mechanics, and approach to running the game, while maintaining the goal of providing something players can pick up and play quickly.

The project also reflects something Tiffany enjoys about game design: finding ways to create unexpected situations and encourage players to become fully invested in the game.

Embracing the Chaos

Tiffany's approach to Game Mastering was another major part of the conversation.

Rather than treating the GM as the sole author of a story, she views tabletop RPGs as collaborative experiences. The GM provides the framework, narration, and interpretation, but the players should have the freedom to take the story somewhere unexpected.

That philosophy carries into her streaming games as well. Tiffany described how her Twitch community can influence her campaigns by suggesting twists and complications, leaving her to figure out how to incorporate those ideas into the ongoing story.

For Tiffany, that kind of improvisation is part of the fun. The unexpected moments are not problems to be avoided. They are opportunities to see where the story can go.

Resident Evil, Streaming, and What's Next

Tiffany has also returned to streaming via Twitch after spending years away from YouTube and streaming. One of her current projects is a Resident Evil Actual Play, set during the events surrounding Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 in 1998.

The campaign is designed to capture the atmosphere and experience of the video games while allowing the tabletop group to create its own story within that setting.

Beyond streaming, Tiffany has several projects in development. She discussed The Crossover, a novella co-written with Joe Prozit, as well as Daughters of Myrrah, the fourth book in the Legends of Lemuria series.

She is also developing Gods at Hunger, a dark fantasy RPG system that she is currently playtesting on Twitch. The game is connected to a planned dark fantasy novel series, bringing together two of Tiffany's major creative interests: writing and game design.

Some of her other upcoming work remains under wraps, including a project involving well known game companies that she could not yet discuss in detail during the interview.

From novels and RPG systems to streaming and Actual Play, Tiffany Rose Nickel continues to build a career around the things that first drew her into tabletop gaming: creating worlds, telling stories, and giving players the opportunity to make those stories their own.

You can hear the full conversation with Tiffany Rose Nickel on the latest episode of Epic Realms. Check out Tiffany Rose Nickel's website Here!