Category Archives: appearances

Playing Fiasco With Polygon

In an attempt to work through my vasty backlog of half-finished blogs. I’m going to be posting up a few little short ones here and there.

It’s wild to me when I stop to think that back in the day, I used to post up blogs at the rate of 2-3 a week, whereas now it’s more usual for me to post one every 2-3 months.

Though to be fair, a lot was different back then. It was before I had two kids, back before I was trying to run a charity (as opposed to sometimes just running a fundraiser, which is a big difference.) Back in the beforetimes of covid…

Anyway, one of the things I regret leaving by the wayside is posting up blogs of stuff I’d done that you could access online. That way even folks who didn’t go to a convention could watch the panels I was on. Or even people who don’t subscribe to it, could hear me guest star onto a podcast, or catch me do a writing Q&A or play D&D or some other sort of game.

I feel like over the last 4-5 years, I haven’t shared more than 10% of the stuff here that’s available online.

Like, (Pat said, doing an expert segue) the time I played Fiasco with the folks over at Polygon.

(I’d be angry about this screencap if I hadn’t made it. As it is, I’m just angry about my face.)

If you’ve never heard of Fiasco before…. boy. I don’t know if this is a good introduction to the game or not. It’s a delightful collaborative storytelling environment to be sure, and I *love* me some worldbuilding as you know. But… it kinda went off the rails.

In a good way, I feel. And it was certainly a ton of fun. And it certainly shows how flexible the game is in terms of what you can play. But, as is often the case when I play a game, I kinda push at things to see what I can get away with narratively and creatively. It’s not that I want to break anything, I just get kind of excited full of ideas, and when you get to play with a group of folks as delightful as this….

Let’s just say it was a wild ride…

Also, I would like to go on the record as saying that I didn’t go into this game with *anything* planned. It all happened organically. My hand to glob.

Polygon posted up an article about the game, titled “Fiasco proves how fun it is to role-play without a DM.

They even generously subtitled the article, “Patrick Rothfuss joins us for some collaborative storytelling” instead of something more realistic like, “Rothfuss weirds up our game and then drives us off a narrative cliff.”

But yeah. It was a ton of fun.

Extra points anyone who can guess in the comments below as to where I stole the inspiration for the voice and demeanor of my character….

Later space cowboys,

pat

P.S. We’re slightly more than one week into the Kickstarter, and we’re currently at $247,283. (SO close to cracking a quarter million.) We’ve unlocked a lot of stretch goals, most of which center around making the books cooler and better when we go to press, and the team is actively investigating what else we might be able to add if things keep going this strong.

But yeah. It’s been a delightful launch of the first book from Underthing Press. Thanks so much to all of you who have helped by jumping in and spreading the word.

 

Also posted in Beautiful Games, cool things, gaming, geeking out, meeting famous people, Stories about stories., videos | By Pat30 Responses

Games and Podcasts and Swords and Coins and Cows and Stuff…

So… yeah. That’s my best title to a blog ever. Big wordsmith here….

We’re more than halfway through our big yearly Worldbuilders fundraiser, and we’ve just blown by $750,000 raised.

Statistically, I don’t know if it’s our best fundraiser ever (I’d need to unpack some math before I could say that conclusively) but I do know we’re doing amazingly well even without taking into consideration the fact that there’s a pandemic, economic turmoil, civil unrest, and probably a plague of locusts by the time I manage to finish writing this.

As I hope you know by this point, we’re giving away a bunch of cool things to everyone who donates. I won’t go on and on about it here. But if you want some details about a bunch of the Kingkiller specific stuff, you can head over to my team page and check it out.

 

There are actually way *more* stretch goal prizes that have been unlocked. But we keep hitting them so fast that it’s hard to keep the graphics updated.

I doing a ton of streaming these days too, obviously. Bunch of archived video over there. Panels and me playing games and answering questions.

I’ve also been doing some streaming with the boys, mostly minecraft stuff.Just today we wandered around and showed off a big chunk of what we’ve made in our minecraft world.

 

Oot’s Cow Jar page is doing very well. It’s currently at about $16,000 dollars, and Oot is delighted to have raised enough for over 32 cows. Both he and cutie have painted some pictures they’re giving away on the page.  And we’ve set up a stretch goal where anyone who donates on his page will get access to a special minecraft server where we’ll all play together.

So if that sounds like a good time to you, you can wander over and check that stuff out.

I’ll be streaming for the duration of the fundraiser, including a big D&D game later today that you probably don’t want to miss…

In addition to all of that, I’ve done a couple podcasts lately, and I thought I’d throw you some links in case y’all were interested in checking them out.

Where I’ve been:

  • All My Fantasy Children on the ONE SHOT Podcast Network

Episode 160 – Cradlecatch the Untrod

  • Lawful Stupid

Flash In The Pan – The Episode with Patrick Rothfuss

  • Desert Island Discworld

4.6 Patrick Rothfuss & Thud!

 

There’s a lot more, too. But that’s all I’ve got in me for now. It’s after 4 am, and I’ve got to be up in the morning.

Remember that the fundraiser is over on the 15th, so if you haven’t checked it out yet, you might want to head over there before it’s too late….

More soon,

pat

Also posted in Cutie Snoo, Oot, podcasts, Worldbuilders 2020 | By Pat8 Responses

Unplugged in The City of Brotherly Love

As I write this, the Worldbuilders Fundraiser has raised more than a quarter million dollars in its first three days. Specifically, we’re at $283,000 dollars. Which I have to say, is pretty awesome.

(If you don’t know what I’m talking about, wander over there and have a little look around. The upshot is if you donate to our fundraiser, you get to make the world a better place while having the chance to win a bunch of awesome prizes at the same time. More on that below…)

As I write this, I’m also out in Philadelphia so that I can do some charity rabble-rousing here at PAX Unplugged. And it have to tell you, It feels wild to me to be anywhere but glued to my desk, calling people, having meetings, orchestrating donations, doing livestreams to promote the charity, and refreshing the fundraiser home page like a rat pressing a feeder bar in a psych 101 textbook.

We always have wonderful partners that help us during the fundraiser, and you can visit some of them if you happen to be at Unplugged with me!

First and foremost, we have Brotherwise Games. We’ve worded together several times over the years. Perhaps you know about the Kingkiller Hero Pack they made for their game Boss Monster.

More recently, I got on board when they created Call to Adventure, a storytelling game I absolutely adore. And now that The Name of the Wind Expansion has been released I’m going to be playing it live on stage on Friday. And because they’re awesome people, they’ve started their own fundraiser page for the charity, which has some great stuff on it, including this Worldbuilders-exclusive card.

Another friend of the charity is the fabulous Wyrmwood, which makes the sexiest gaming tables I have ever seen. They’ve come through for us again, and every $10 bucks you donate to the fundraiser gets you a chance to win an amazing Black Walnut Prophecy gaming table.

If you haven’t seen one yet, and you’re here at PAX, you should stop by their booth and drool a little, just please don’t drool onto the table.

(this could be you)

Last but not least, have our awesome collaborations with the D&D community that we debuted at Unplugged last year, and we’re happy to be giving away more of those this year! In fact, donations made to these three teams will during Unplugged will go into special prize drawings that we’ll do on Monday for fabulous bonus prizes!  Of course, all of those donations also enter you into the overall lottery as well.

If you’re looking for me, here’s where I’ll be:

Friday, December 6th

  • 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm Acquisitions Inc Signing
  • 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Patrick Rothfuss and Friends play Call To Adventure at the Main Theater

Saturday, December 7th

  • 11:00 am – 12:00 pm – Signing at Brotherwise, Booth 3037
  • 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm – Signing at Table Titans, Booth 3701
  • 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Signing at Brotherwise, Booth 3037
  • 8:30 pm – 11:30 pm – Acq Inc at the Main Theater

Sunday, December 8th

  • 11:00 am – 12:00 pm – Signing at Table Titans, Booth 3701

Hope to see a bunch of you there.

pat

Also posted in conventions, gaming, Uncategorized, Worldbuilders 2019 | By Pat27 Responses

Events and Booksignings at PAX West Exclamation Point

Hello there.

*clears throat*

The online dictionary I checked defines Seattle as “a port city in West Washington on the Puget Sound”  In this essay I will …..

No, wait. The joke now is TED talk, right?  Please tell me how the youths joke now? I am alone and confused and this city is so large.  How many nickles do I need to buy a hot dog from a street vendor? Are street vendors still a thing? ARE HOT DOGS?

This weekend (when I’m not scrambling to feel connected to the slang of today) I’ll be at PAX West (!(exclamation point)).

Naturally, I’ll be on stage Ding all the D’s with my Acc Inc peeps.

But also, for the first time in a long time, have some booth space with some honest-to goodness merch here at PAX. I’ll be at the Table Titans Booth (7609).

While I go to PAXes fairly regularly, and even do signings there, I can’t remember the last time I actually managed to have books available for people, let alone the sexy new 10th anniversary edition of NOTW…

(We’re getting them shipped in special, and they’ll be showing up tomorrow!)

We’ll also have Tak sets, special capstones, decks of NOTW themed cards, handmade dice… and all manner of books I’ll happily sign for you. It’s a great gatheration of geekery. It slaps.

We’ve got a bunch of other stuff, too. (Like the Rick and Morty Comics) But I do feel I should mention that supplies are limited, so if you’re *really* excited to buy something, you might want to swing by sooner rather than later. People have been asking me to sell books at this show for ages, so now that they’re actually here, they might get snapped up super quick once word gets out.

Here are all my official events for the weekend:

Edit: There was some bad data in the first draft of this blog, specifically the Sunday and Monday hours. The current times and places are correct.

We’ve also included a handy-dandy graphic at the end you can share on the socials if you’d like to help spread the word.

  • Friday, August 30th

Signing at Booth 7609
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM – 6th floor

Acquisitions Incorporated Live
7:30 – 10:30 PM in the Main Theatre

  • Saturday, August 31

Signing at Booth 7609
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM – 6th floor

  • Sunday, September 1

Signing at Booth 7609
4:30 PM – 5:30 AM – 6th floor

  • Monday, September 2

Signing at Booth 7609
10:30 AM – 11:20 AM – 6th floor

Acquisition Inc Signing
11:30 AM – 1:30 PM – Autograph Area

Yeet me there, friends. It’ll be a bop.

pat

 

Also posted in conventions | By Pat49 Responses

Rick & Morty, D&D, and PAX West.

Heya folks,

As I write this, I’m in Seattle, on the cusp of attending PAX, one of the rare places on earth where who don’t know me look in my direction and think: “Hey, a wizard!” and not: “Oh shit, a murder-hobo!”

But before I list off my schedule for those of you who are interested, I thought I’d show these off…

The first of the Rick and Morty D&D crossover comics I’ve been tinkering with for months just came out. I’ve read them before, but oh, it’s nice to actually be able to go to the comic shop and hold them in my hand.

Here’s an alternate cover that shows Morty’s character sheet….

So… yeah. a thing I wrote is out in the world. It feels nice. I’m genuinely proud of some of the banter that I did in there. I don’t write straight-up humor very much these days, so it’s nice to know I can still pull it off when I need to.

Also? I’ve discovered that it’s disturbingly easy for me to write in Rick’s voice. I don’t know how I feel about that, or what it might mean about me, as Rick is, at best, a dangerous sociopath. But I’m not going to lie, it made working on some of the scenes *way* easier.

It’s been a real experience working with a team on a project. My co-writer Jim Zub and Troy Little have been very kind and patient with me and all the delays I cause. To say nothing of the editors, letterers, and the people who actually own and control the IP that I’m writing in. (Cartoon Network and Wizards of the Coast).

Simply said, I’ve learned at *lot* working on this project. And honestly? That’s one of the big reasons I took this gig when I’ve turned down so many other projects that would have been so fun. And of course I got to poke some fun at D&D and Rick and Morty too. Because you can’t *really* mock something properly unless you love it first….

But… yeah. It’s on the shelves now. That said, I’ve heard rumors that copies of the comics have been selling out in a lot of stores, so if you want to grab one, maybe reach out sooner rather than later?

(Here’s a cool link that can help you find a local comic shop, if you don’t know where that might be….)

Okay. And for those of you who are going to be at PAX, here are my panels, events, signings, etc.

  • Friday, August 31

1pm-2pm: An Afternoon with Pat Rothfuss, Main Theatre – Benaroya Hall

(I only just now realized that they’ve put be in the 5000 person, opera hall for my “Afternoon with Pat Rothfuss” so if some of you wanted to show up to that, it would be great.)

Edit: New Event!

4pm-5pm: Signing Comics at the Oni booth, 6th floor. Booth #6305

(There will be comics available there.)

6pm-1am: Top of the World Gaming Event – Columbia Tower

(It’s a charity gig. There are tickets available here: http://www.ftwevents.com/pax2018)

  • Saturday, September 1

2pm – 4pm: Signing at Uncle’s Games in room 214

(They’ll be selling Tak there, too.)

  • Sunday, September 2

6:30pm-9:30pm: Acquisitions Incorporated, Main Theatre – Benaroya Hall

  • Monday, September 3

1pm-3pm: Acquisitions Incorporated Autograph Session, Signing Area – Westin Hotel

(I’m not just signing Acc Inc stuff there. You can bring books (and comics) too.)

I’ll be seeing some of you soon…

pat

Also posted in comics, conventions, cool news, gaming, Nathan Taylor Art | By Pat55 Responses

My Far Travels: JoCo Cruise and Emerald City Comic Con

It used to be that summer was the only time I really traveled.

Lots of conventions happen in the summer, when it’s fun and easier for folks to travel to exotic lands like Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, and Columbus.

But over this last month (Which isn’t the summer, just in case you don’t look out the window very often) I’ve been all over the place for conventions, performances, Hollywood meetings, and, of course, the JoCoCruise…

I’ll talk more about this year’s cruise in another blog post. But for now let me simply say that it was an excellent year, and that next year will be even better:

 

For example, there may or may not have been a huge announcement during the concert in Loreto…

Now is the time to get in on this. There are discounts for paying in full, and for booking before April. There’s a ton of info on their website, and if you want a look at how great the cruise is, you can just look at the #JoCoCruise hashtag on twitter and see a bunch of nerds having a great time, finding 3D printed Pokemon, attending Disney Sing-A-Longs, and generally being awesome.

After the cruise was over, I swung through LA for more Hollywood talk, then came up here to Seattle to talk with Wizards of the Coast about some projects that are still all secrety.

And now? Emerald City Comic Con. A favorite show that I’m attending with the Worldbuilders folks.

They’ve got a booth up in Artist’s Alley, WSCC Level 6 KK1&KK2. (It’s easy to remember: Think “Kingkiller 1 and 2) Swing by and say hi, and check out some of their merch. They’ve got stuff from me, but also stuff from other creators like Kevin Hearne, Myke Cole, Rat Queens, Jim Butcher, Sex Criminals, Bitch Planet, and more…

(Plus, you’ll see Rachel’s smiling face.)

You might be able to catch me there, but if not, here’s where you can be sure to find me…

  • Thursday, March 1

1:15pm-2:15pm: An Evening with Pat Rothfuss, Main Stage – WSCC 4A

This is going to be happening on the ECCC Big Main Stage, so it’ll be livestreamed by them. You can watch it on their website here, just remember that all times are in Pacific Time.

2:30-4:30pm: Autographing, Writer’s Block Table 3

  • Friday, March 2

1:30pm-2:30pm: Telling Stories with Jonathan Coulton, WSCC 611

This panel is with Jonathan Coulton, Molly Lewis, and Anne Wheaton. It’ll be a little slice of JoCo Cruise all over again.

5:50pm-6:45pm: Secret Loves of Geeks Mass Signing, Dark Horse booth #1708

For those of you who don’t know, an old blog of mine was republished in The Secret Loves of Geeks, which came out a little bit ago. It’s a great little anthology about love, sex, and dating, featuring comics AND prose, making it a really cool collection of stories. I’ll be doing a signing with some of the other authors, so if you want to catch me, you can do so there.

7pm-11pm: Worldbuilders Party

The Worldbuilders Party is quickly becoming one of my favorite traditions. The first one we ever held was at Emerald City, and it’s become a big deal out there.

If you’re interested in playing board games with awesome geek celebrities and raising money for Worldbuilders, there are still some seats available. You can buy yours right here.

  • Saturday, March 3

11am-12pm: Geek Geek Revolution, WSCC 603

With R.A Salvatore, Jim Butcher, Ed McDonald, Delilah Dawson, AdriAnne Strickland, & Michael Miller

12:15pm-2:15pm: Autographing, Writers Block Table 4

4pm-4:30pm: Livestreamed interview by Syfy Wire, ECCC Live Stage (Booth #1850)

This short interview will also be livestreamed on the SyFy Wire YouTube channel, so you can watch it here.

* * *

There you have it folks. Be sure to go find the Worldbuilders crew and check out all the awesome merch they have, or even just say Hi. They’ve been shipping lottery prizes like madpeople for a few weeks (it takes a long time to ship out over 5,000 prizes), so they deserve a high-five or two.

Also posted in conventions | By Pat10 Responses

10th Anniversary Edition NOTW: Sneek Peek at Art, Tour Dates, and Events at NYCC

Heya folks…

The 10th Anniversary Edition of the Name of the Wind comes out on Tuesday, (October 3rd.)

What’s that you say? What 10th anniversary edition?

This one:

(I’ve been signing a lot of them for The Tinker’s Packs, lately.)

It’s a pretty, pretty book. And if you think the front cover looks nice, you should see the back….

Now that, my friends, is how you blurb a book. I’m all blushy.

The book has improved, cleaned up text. An introduction, an author’s note (by me), pronunciation guide, and several appendixes about things like the currency systems, the calendar, the Aturan Empire, etc etc.

Also? It has more than 20 illustrations from Dan Dos Santos like this:

And this:

And two new maps from Nathan Taylor like this:

And the appendixes are further illustrated by Nate Taylor like this:
So… yeah. That book. That is the one I’m talking about.
Here’s the dates for the very short book tour I’m doing:
  • Tuesday, October 3: Seattle, WA
7 PM: Reading, Q&A, and Signing with University Bookstore
University Temple United Methodist Church
  • Wednesday, October 4: San Diego, CA
7 PM: Reading, Q&A, and Signing with Mysterious Galaxy
Mysterious Galaxy Book Store
5943 Balboa Ave, Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92111

 

October 6-9: New York, NY for New York Comic Con

 

  • Friday, October 6th
10:30 AM-11:15 AM: The Adventure Zone: ABRA-KA-GRAPHIC NOVEL (Location: 300 W. 36TH ST., HUDSON MERCANTILE)

 

The Worldbuilders Party is an amazing time where you can buy tickets to play board games with cool folks like Naomi Novik, Trin Garritano, Myke Cole, Peter V. Brett, Holly Frey, Amy S. Foster, and lots more.
Tickets are still available over here.
7:45 PM-8:45 PM: An Evening with Pat Rothfuss. Javits, Room 1A06
  • Saturday, October 7th
2:45-3:45 PM: Telling Stories with Patrick Rothfuss, Jonathan Coulton & Friends. Javits, Room 1A06
5 PM-7 PM: Signing in the Autographing Area, Table 23
  • Sunday, October 8th
12:30 PM-2 pm: Signing in the Autographing Area, Table 22
  • Monday, October 9

6 PM: Reading, Q&A, and Signing with Barnes and Noble

Barnes & Noble Tribeca
97 Warren St,
New York, New York 10007
Purchase book in store on the day of the event to receive a wrist band for the signing line.
  • Tuesday, October 10: Pittsburgh, PA
7 PM:Reading, Q&A, and Signing with Barnes and Noble
301S. Hills Village
Pittsburgh, PA 15241
Purchase book in store on the day of the event to receive a wrist band for the signing line.
  • Wednesday, October 11: Boston, MA
7 PM: Reading, Q&A, and Signing with Brookline Booksmith
Brookline Booksmith
279 Harvard Street
Brookline, MA 02446
$5 or purchase of the new book for the 145 available seats in the actual store. An additional signing line will be outside.

*This event has sold out of seated tickets..however you can still sign up to attend the signing here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/patrick-rothfuss-1011-tickets-37891595783#tickets  And while you wait for the signing the reading will be broadcasted on an intercom for all who attend to enjoy.*

That’s all the planned events for now. Sorry if I’m not hitting your hometown, but there’s only so much touring I can do at this point.

If I’m not coming to your neck of the woods, you should contact your local bookstore and pre-order one. (It might work better than just showing up and hoping they have it in stock.) Sometimes bookstores don’t realize how many of you there are, and how enthusiastic y’all are….

Anyway. It’s super late right now. And I’m pretty tired. I need to get to bed.

I’ll see some of you soon….

pat

Also posted in a billion links, conventions, signing books | By Pat50 Responses
  • RSS info

  • Visit Worldbuilders!

  • Our Store

  • Previous Posts

  • Archives



  • Bookmark this Blog!

    (IE and Firefox users only - Safari users, click Command-D)