Mandatory Fun Club Spotlight: Ryan Windeknecht

by Michael G. Barford, Keeper of the Eternal Chime

This series of articles will serve as an introduction to the participants of the September 2018 round of Mandatory Fun Club. These Gauntleteers are preparing to start offering fresh events for Gauntlet Hangouts; be on the lookout for their games!

Hello Ryan! Welcome to Mandatory Fun Club! My first question for you is: How did you hear about the Gauntlet community?
I first heard about the Gauntlet community by listening to Discern Realities. It was the summer of 2017, and, in a matter of days, I’d gone through the entire catalog. I was hooked! So, I started listening to +1 Forward, the Gauntlet Podcast, and Fear of a Black Dragon. After that, becoming a member on Patreon was a no-brainer.

What kind of experience do you have facilitating TTRPGs?
I don’t have much experience facilitating TTRPGs – which is one of the reasons that I jumped at Mandatory Fun Club! Back in the 90s, I ran some AD&D, Vampire: The Masquerade, and Shadowrun. Then, for a couple of decades, I didn’t run or play anything. Over the past few years, I’ve started back up again, usually running PbtA stuff (Dungeon World, Urban Shadows, Epyllion).

What kind of experience do you have playing TTRPGs online?
Like facilitating, I don't have much experience playing TTRPGs online. Aside from some play-by-post, all my experience comes from Gauntlet Hangouts. I’ve had some very generous facilitators (David Rothfeder, Mikael Tysvær, Richard Ruane, Maxime Lacoste, Christo Meid), as well as fellow players (too many to list – you know who you are), welcome me to the Gauntlet community. Not to mention Michael G. Barford, who has put together a motley crew for MFC. I’m indebted to you all!

What made you decide to jump in and start facilitating games for Gauntlet Hangouts?
I decided to start facilitating games for Gauntlet Hangouts for a couple of reasons. One, I don’t get many chances to do it, and, when I do, I don’t really know what I’m doing, but running games is fun! Two – this will sound cheesy, but I really do mean it – the Gauntlet community is awesome, and I want to do whatever I can to support it.

Tell us about the game you're planning to facilitate for MFC! Why did you choose it?
I’m embarrassed to write this, but I chose to facilitate Urban Shadows for MFC because I’m lazy. I was already preparing to run it for Magpie Games at Gen Con, and I figured I could run it again for MFC without too much effort. Did I mention I’m also running it for Gauntlet Con? Laziness aside, it’s an awesome game that takes me back to playing Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Mage: The Ascension, and all that WoD goodness!

What other games would you be interested in facilitating for Gauntlet Hangouts in the future?
I’ve got a hard drive full of games that I’ve backed on Kickstarter, and I’d love to facilitate any one of them for Gauntlet Hangouts! I’m always down for running PbtA stuff. AND … I’ve got a kernel of an idea for a signature event (Philosophy Fridays) that I hope will germinate and grow and see the light of day in the not-too-distant future.

Is there anything non-gaming-related that you'd like people to know about you?
Here are three non-gaming-related things about me. One (taking a page from Jim Crocker’s MFC Spotlight), I turned 39 years old last month, and this month marks 17 years as a vegetarian. Two, I live in Knoxville, TN, with my brilliant, beautiful, all-around-awesome wife, and our two dogs. Three, I get paid to teach philosophy using TTRPGs (okay, that one is gaming-related, but I’m proud of it, sorry!).

Where can people go to hear more from you?
If you want to hear more for me, I’ve got the usual social media presence:
https://twitter.com/DR_W_UT
https://www.facebook.com/ryan.windeknecht

I’ve also got a crappy blog, which I haven’t updated in years. But, maybe if I talk about it, I’ll actually start updating it!
https://ryan-windeknecht.squarespace.com/