Interview: Joey Royale's Weird Heroes of Public Access

Something special and something beautifully weird

Weird Heroes of Public Access is a game that lets you and your friends step into the shoes of quirky public access TV personalities battling monsters, angry moms, and juvenile delinquents to save your beloved town of Fairhaven. I’ve had a ton of fun playing this game and my only regret is that I don’t have time to play it way more often.

It uses a simple d6-pool system to quickly get into the action. Time is of the essence as you race to uncover Fairhaven's darkest secrets and protect your show from being canceled! The new hardcover core rulebook contains:

• The complete Weird Heroes of Public Access game rules

• Selections from Tales from Fairhaven 1 & 2

• The WHPA Station Manager's Guide

• Over 20 pages of brand new, unreleased content!

But first, this post is brought to you by the DCC/MCC/WF Spooktober bundle! Get titles like Cats of Rahtlü, The Last Will & Testamet of Obediah Felkner, Wide-Eyed Terror, and more! Get these titles for up to 50% off!

I'm curious how Weird Heroes of Public Access began. Can you recall the very first WHPA game that you ran?

That was a very special game. It was during the beginning of Covid and, despite the isolation, I was able to find some like-minded game creators, who eventually became my best friends. Without too many breadcrumbs, they just “got it“ and turned what would be some throwaway NPCs into Fairhaven canon. What I remember most is the climax of the game, when the heroes were able to shut down the carnivals graviton ride and defeat the encroaching aliens with super soakers filled with milk. In the middle of this one of the heroes was able to make good with his mulleted stepdad, making us all a little misty eyed. It was beautiful.

So this book compiles much of the existing zines to create a "core book" but also have a bunch of adventure hooks, mysteries, and strange figures around the town of Fairhaven. But there's also some brand new material. Can you tell us a little about that?

The new material originally was to be part of a zine called Analog Arcana, a bit of a deeper dive into Fairhaven’s more distant past. It contains some very strange tables- sort of a divination tool for making adventures. There’s also a collection of Fairhaven creatures, legends, and aliens. The aliens were illustrated by my 14-year-old son, Elvis, so I’m very excited to share those with the world.

WHPA does a great job at making the tone of the writing match up with the layout style. There are mysteries that interweave in different sections, making it so the reader goes on a journey of discovering more about the town of Fairhaven as they go on. Does that come naturally to your mind during layout? What's your process there?

Tone and layout feed off each other. I simultaneously write and layout a section when an idea strikes me. As I figure out how to visually represent the situation, more details for writing will appear in my mind.

The interweaving is another one of the great mysteries of Fairhaven. I'm not sure how this happens, but the connections are there and they are important. Perhaps it's because this town and its inhabitants are so real in my mind, that connections and overlap happen organically. I see the citizens of Fairhaven in their daily routines and imagine what mundane interactions would look like and where they would run into each other. It's not a big town, so they must encounter each other every so often.

Also, I never flesh any mystery or hook to "completion". I want players to make Fairhaven their own so I leave a lot of room for breathing. As a result, I think we naturally make connections between things that seem familiar or related.

Who is behind that mask?

The game has always felt like it invites all the players to create the town of Fairhaven uniquely for their own group, so I imagine seeing 3rd-party creators start to join in is really exciting. Any advice to folks for creating their own content, whether it's just for their table or for possible publication?

I love the contributions of 3rd-party creators. Everyone grew up somewhere, and I can guarantee that the individual "somewhere" had a couple of strange things going on. These 3rd-party creations allow me to look into the experiences of their creators and I feed off that energy like a vampire. They inspire me for further adventures. Fairhaven is everywhere.

My advice to those who want to create their own content: Go out for a walk. Go behind the places you normally only see the front of. Something will be waiting for you there. Stand still. Look and listen until you feel it. Write it down.

Thank you so much for sharing with us! Anything else that you want folks to know about?

I appreciate all those who have joined in the community to defend Fairhaven from the darkness lurking in the shadows. I love to hear everyone's experiences and I encourage them to reach out to me. It has become a wonderful, creative community where I have made some special friends. Stay Weird!

Remember to look at the DCC/MCC/WF Spooktober bundle so that you’re ready to run games this Halloween season!

Hope your ready back WHPA and get weird with us! What would your public access show be about?

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