An Immeasurable Loss of a Gaming Giant

Celtic Wheel

I don’t know how to talk about the sudden and staggering loss of Stewart Wieck, if only because we started working together after he founded Nocturnal Media on Prince Valiant and Scarred Lands1. Of all the people in the industry, he has been a gentle bug in my ear, continually prompting me to put out my own game. Stew was incredibly kind and thoughtful, the type of person you wanted to work with. I will remember Stew for being enthusiastic about games and, more importantly, the people in it.

You’ll forgive me if I cut this post short, but I feel that whatever else I might say would be insufficient compared to those who knew him longer and better than I did. To better understand this tragedy, Rich Thomas from Onyx Path Publishing has put together a post called Goodbye, My Friend about Stew and their time together at White Wolf and beyond.

1. If you’ve come to this post seeking news about Scarred Lands, please know that this is a difficult time filled with grieving and decisions that have to be made by the family. The parties involved will make additional announcements as soon as they are able to. For my part, I am finishing up the development for Ring of Spiragos as planned, to round out the three adventures.

Mood: Indescribable. We’ve lost far too many in the RPG industry these past few years, and Stew was far too young.
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Enough that I had a caffeine withdrawal today.
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Hunting Pokemon
In My Ears: Harry Potter marathon
Game Last Played: Pokemon Go
Book Last Read: Epic Fantasy anthology
Movie/TV Show Last Viewed: Hunger Games.
Latest Artistic Project: Make Art Not War 2017 Challenge and Rules
Latest Releases: In Volo’s Wake for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Unknown Armies Books 1-3, and Kobold Guide to Gamemastering.
Current State of Projects: Read my latest project update. New project update coming when I get time.






Monica Valentinelli is an author, artist, and narrative designer who writes about magic, mystery, and mayhem. Her portfolio includes stories, games, comics, essays, and pop culture books.

In addition to her own worlds, she has worked on a number of different properties including Vampire: the Masquerade, Shadowrun, Hunter: the Vigil, Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, and Robert E. Howard’s Conan.

Looking for Monica’s books and games that are still in print? Visit Monica Valentinelli on Amazon’s Author Central or a bookstore near you.

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