Matthew Muth

Online Nicknames

Keeper of Secrets

Introduction and Platform

My name is Matthew Muth and I would like to join the ranks of the ENnies judges as a first-time judge.

I bring a lot to the role, including my vast experience with games and gaming, as well as a true passion for the hobby. I love finding and reviewing games with friends, trying new systems and debating the pros and cons of each one. I would love to share this insight with the gaming community on a broader level.

I have a Master’s degree in History from Marquette University (’97) and a Law degree from the University of Dayton (’00) and currently live in the greater Cincinnati area.

When did you join the RPG hobby and what inspired you to become involved and stay with it? Since you joined the hobby, what roles have you played (e.g. vending, professional writing and publishing, freelancing, reviewing, convention organizing, homebrewing, playing, GMing, etc.)?

I joined the hobby in 1981. I have been a die-hard gamer ever since. The inspiration to stay with the hobby was a result of several things. First, the ability to use imagination, problem- solving skills and socialization to create a shared story with friends. Second, the material being produced by TSR, Chaosium, Victory Games and Games Workshop was truly inspirational and allowed for enough room to create my own worlds and characters. Finally, the hobby was a great way to meet new people who shared similar interests. To this day my best friends are ones who I met through gaming.

I have written professionally, reviewed games, assisted with convention organizing, play-tested, performed demos for companies in the past, formed a gaming club on my college campus, and run games at conventions. I currently host a weekly Supers game in its 20th year and play in a weekly D&D campaign. So there isn’t an aspect I have not been involved with over the many years I have gamed.

The ENnies requires a major commitment of time and mental energy. What resources do you bring that will help you discharge these responsibilities? Will your gaming group or other individuals be assisting you? Does your family support you?

I am prepared to put forth the commitment that the ENnies demand. My years in law school and working as an attorney allowed me to carefully read documents, review them for accuracy, technical specifications and prepare reports on what was needed. The rapid turnaround time required in law is similar to the level of detail – and limits on time – that is required to be an ENnies judge. In addition, my wife, also a member of the gaming community, is highly supportive of my decision to run for ENnies judge.

I am not adverse to asking the opinion of the other judges on their reading of something, or even involving others in analysis and playtesting. But ultimately, the decision and responsibility would be my own – a responsibility that I take very seriously.

Judging requires a great deal of critical thinking skills, communication with other judges, deadline management, organization, and storage space for the product received. What interests, experience, and skills do you bring that will make you a more effective judge?

Again, my experience with the law mirrors this perfectly. There is an enormous amount of critical thinking skills required, as well as a serious commitment to keeping deadlines. Currently, I train attorneys so I have to prepare the material, have to be able to communicate both in written and oral form and analyze training documents on a regular basis.

What styles and genres of RPGs do you enjoy most? Are there any styles or genres that you do not enjoy? Which games best exemplify what you like? Do you consider yourself a particular system’s, publisher’s, or genre’s “fanboy/girl”?

My favorite genres are horror, comedy and supers. Whereas I do not consider myself a ‘fanboy’ of any particular company or system, I have a great admiration of Chaosium as well as tremendous respect for Green Ronin and Paizo. This, of course, would not prevent me from looking at their submissions – or anyone’s submissions – with strict scrutiny as I would for any product I would purchase, recommend purchasing or determining whether a product was an excellent or poor product.

What system do you think is best designed? Is it the one you play most?

There is no one system I feel is the ‘best’ designed system but there are several worth mentioning. Green Ronin’s Mutants & Masterminds does a great job capturing the feel of the supers genre. Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu is excellent for simple conflict resolution, quick game play, and finishing a story in one evening of play. Dread is revolutionary in its simplicity, sheer terror and collaborative storytelling. Pathfinder has elevated an excellent system to one which is even more accessible and retains the spirit of the fantasy elements. Mutants and Masterminds is the one I play most due to my ongoing campaign.

What games have you played in the past year? List up to 10 RPGs you have played the most.

Call of Cthulhu
Mutants & Masterminds
Skullduggery
Dungeons & Dragons (Iron Kingdoms, AD&D, 3.5 and 4th ed)
Pathfinder
Dread
Fiasco
Leverage
Villains & Vigilantes
Shadowrun

Briefly summarize the criteria you will use for judging products in the different categories. How will you deal with comparing products of vastly disparate lengths, medium (PDF vs. print), or mechanics to prose ratios? Will innovation and originality play a major role?

Innovation, originality and usability will all play major roles. Whereas each product should be able to stand on its own and provide a gaming group with useful content, ideally, it would have enough material to interest and entice gamers who do not already have a deep interest in the system, perhaps broadening the scope of the publisher’s audience. Products of disparate lengths, mediums or mechanics have no bearing as to whether the product can meet the initially established criteria of innovation, originality and usability. A solid product is a solid product, regardless of how it is comes into the hands of those who would use it.

How will you judge supplements or adventures for game systems whose core rules you are unfamiliar with or you believe are badly designed? What about for systems that are out of print?

I have a vast library of gaming material and what materials I do not own could be covered by reaching out to friends who have this material, accessing the local game store’s used section or special ordering something if needed.

Obviously, I am not intimately familiar with every game system on the market but there are some ways to work around this. First, any product can be judged on its explanation of material, originality, usefulness to a gaming group, etc. For technical aspects or game mechanics that I may not be familiar with, it would not be difficult to find the time to read it, run a session of it with my gaming group and gain perspective in that sense.

How would you like to see the ENnies change (categories, policies, etc)? What should remain inviolate?

The categories, presently, are solid. There is nothing that requires major change. The only area that I would have wanted to address is seeing ‘new blood’ as a judge. It is important to get new perspectives in the judging – so long as criteria remains the same – but in recent years this has been a major change that seems to have come about on its own.

BONUS: (optional) If you were an RPG, what would it be and would you play it?

I would be Call of Cthulhu. It is simple, highly adaptable, and leads to prolonged insanity; a perfect reflection of myself.