Author Spotlight: Jennifer Brozek

This is part of our series of posts focusing on the authors and guest authors of the game. Our author this week is the guest-writer: Jennifer Brozek.

Jennifer Brozek is a freelance author, award winning game design writer, award winning editor, and small press publisher. She has worked with titles as Shadowrun, Battletech, and Arkham Horror, so she knows how to handle a license

There is a click as the ground beneath you disappears. Tumbling hard, your world becomes darkness as the sound of rock closes above you. There is nothing but the panting of your breath and the beat of your heart. Cold stone meets every touch of the walls and floor. You are in an oubliette: a place where people and things are put to be forgotten.

Jennifer on writing for Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: The Adventure Game:

Guest Author: Jennifer Brozek for Labyrinth: The Adventure Game by River Horse

I have loved the movie Labyrinth for more than three decades. It’s still in my top five movies of all-time. It was the first movie I watched in my teen years where the girl was allowed to rescue herself. It was a marvel to see Sarah take control of her fate, to face down Jareth, and to declare “You have no power over me.”

When I was asked to be a guest author for the new Labyrinth RPG by River Horse Games, I had to say yes. I liked the way the RPG is set up to help new gamemasters run the game while giving old pros all kinds of options to play with. Using the new ruleset, I had to think my way around the scenario I set up—an oubliette scene, of course. It appealed to my creepy sensibility.

I’ve thought about Labyrinth over the years, remembering how it influenced me and, eventually, my writing. Sarah is not a perfect character. She’s flawed in a very human way, but she’s allowed to grow while on her hero’s journey. This is something I keep in mind as I write. A perfect character is boring. One who can work through their flaws and make new mistakes is interesting and much more relatable.

I look forward to seeing what the new players to the Labyrinth RPG do with the set up and new play system they’ve been given. I hope it brings new fans to the movie and old fans into gaming. I think it’s the best of both worlds.