✦ The Person Behind the Dice

About & Contact

Who runs Serious Wizard, why it exists, and how to reach the wizard in question.

The Serious Wizard

Hello. I'm Mike.

Welcome to Serious Wizard — a name chosen specifically because it sounds like it should be a law firm but isn't. This site is where I document the design, development, and occasional spectacular failure of The Middle Lands, a fantasy TTRPG I have been building, breaking, and rebuilding for about three years.

I've been playing tabletop RPGs since I was old enough to lose a character to a gelatinous cube. I started designing systems when I grew tired of homebrewing on top of existing games and decided it would be easier to just write my own. It was not easier. But it was more interesting, and that's close enough.

The Middle Lands is a serious project, despite the name of this blog. It draws from decades of playing D&D 5e, OSR games (OSRIC, Dolmenwood, Cairn), and grimdark games (Warhammer Fantasy, Zweihänder, Forbidden Lands). The goal is a system that feels dangerous the way those games do, but with enough character depth that losing someone actually stings.

I write design notes about the decisions I make and the ones I reverse three weeks later. I post session recaps so the playtest record exists somewhere. I attend conventions and run the game for strangers, which is the best feedback mechanism money cannot buy.

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Design Influences

  • D&D 5e The floor. Breadth of content, player accessibility, the cultural lingua franca of the hobby.
  • OSR / Cairn / Dolmenwood The ceiling of lethality. "The dungeon does not care about your backstory."
  • Forbidden Lands The push mechanic. The elegant brutality of Year Zero Engine.
  • Warhammer Fantasy RPG The tone. Corruption as a mechanic. The sense that the world is losing.
  • Zweihänder Career-based growth rethought as point-buy. Character mortality as design feature.
  • Ironsworn Journaling as play record. Moves that feel like decisions, not procedures.

Frequently Asked

When it's done. I know that's a frustrating answer. The honest version is: I'm targeting a public playtest release in late 2026, with a full PDF release after that. I would rather be late than release something I'm not proud of. The Discord will have the earliest access.
Yes — eventually. I'm running a small closed playtest group right now. When I open the wider playtest, subscribers to The Dispatch newsletter will hear first. Sign up at the bottom of any page.
The quick-start and playtest materials will be free. The full rulebook will be pay-what-you-want with a suggested price. I'm not trying to get rich — I'm trying to cover layout costs and feed the artists who keep making combat art this good.
It's a joke about how the games I love take themselves extremely seriously while also featuring wizards. The painting that serves as the logo is a portrait of this tension: a wizard in a business suit, at a cosmic rave, very committed to the bit. That's the energy. That's the blog.
Reach out via the contact form below. For art enquiries, include a portfolio link. For writing, a sample of something you've written for games. For playtesting, just say hello — I'm friendly. The wizard is serious, but I am not.

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Design notes and lore drops — whenever something is actually worth sending. No spam. Probably.