Join us as we chat a little with Julia LaFond (aka Calenmir) as she shares about her journey into content creation for TTRPGs.
Jared: First off tell us a little about yourself.
Julia: My name is Julia LaFond (AKA Calenmir), and I’m a storyteller with eclectic interests. Since completing my master’s in geoscience, I’ve worked primarily as a freelance writer and pro gamemaster, where the word “freelance” is an umbrella term that covers SEO, creative writing (fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction), and TTRPG writing. Of the fun facts about me, the one I’ll share here without context is that there exists a picture of me (reenacting) vacuuming elk bones.
Jared: When and how did you get started in tabletop games?
Julia: As a player, my first introduction to roleplaying games was the then-current 4th edition of D&D. After a few years of playing D&D + some homebrew RPGs with various friend groups, I started shifting toward the role of DM (mostly with original one-shots and adventures), and eventually made the jump to pro GMing on Start Playing. As I started networking with other pro GMs, I also found my way into communities for TTRPG creators (e.g. the Rising Tide Discord), which gave me the last push I needed to get serious about my TTRPG writing. My first writing credit was from my work with Daylight Publications for their DayLITE system; aside from a certain project I’m not yet at liberty to talk about, the rest have been through my brand Calenmir’s RPGs.
Jared: What made you want to make content specifically for tabletop games?
Julia: Given my background with fiction writing and my preference for creating my own scenarios to run, to me, it always felt like a natural extension of the hobby; for example, for a while I was experimenting in creating a rules-light system for emulating bad horror movies. At some point I found out that it was possible to write and sell for DMs Guild, which is when I first considered writing and selling RPG content. After learning more about different RPG systems and getting connected with the broader community, I learned enough about the business side of things to actually follow through on that idea.
Jared: Next tell us about the beginning of Calenmir’s RPGs?
Julia: I was doing some behind-the-scenes planning to begin self-publishing TTRPG adventures and modules—working on projects, setting up the website, that sort of thing—when along came the 2024 One-Page RPG Jam. I decided entering would be good experience for producing and promoting a game, and help pave the path for future releases. That’s how in August 2024, Reference Hopping ended up being the first official release from Calenmir’s RPGs. As expected, I learned a lot in the process of doing all the writing, editing, and layout by myself while on a deadline. I also got to meet and learn from other TTRPG creators while creating and promoting it, not to mention the positive reception from the community (e.g. the glowing review from Tal of The Gamers’ Rest). A strong start overall!
Jared: Where did the name “Calenmir“ come from?
Julia: It’s my gaming tag. When I was brainstorming possibilities, I wanted something that could pass as gender-neutral but had a cool or pretty meaning, and ended up combining the Sindarin words “calen” (green) and “mir” (gem). Before anyone asks, no I don’t know Sindarin, I was just looking up options in various Tolkien appendices.
Jared: What can people expect coming into the website/social medias etc?
Julia: The official website, Calenmir’s RPGs, has a landing page that highlights recent releases, and also has a gallery of links to projects by current and past contributors to Calenmir’s RPGs products (e.g. Roll20 token sets by Dave’s Art Tavern, the illustrator for Unburied). In addition to the About and Contact sections, there’s the official shop where you can buy most of the official Calenmir’s RPGs releases (with the exception of Pay What You Want titles like Reference Hopping, or anything released via an exclusive platform such as DMs Guild). There’s also a blog; for now it’s mainly press around official releases and contributor projects, but I’m planning to start publishing TTRPG articles (e.g. a to-be-released series illustrating character creation in Apocalypse Keys).
In terms of socials and other platforms, Calenmir’s RPGs has an official Facebook group for news about releases, plus presences on Itch and DriveThruRPGs. I also operate a personal Bluesky account under the handle Calenmir (though I do post updates about Calenmir’s RPGs there in addition to my other projects and interests).
Jared: What do you see as the future of Calenmir’s RPGs? Goals?
Julia: Right now I’m focusing on building up my brand by expanding my offerings from one-page and micro-TTRPGs to long-form adventures, supplements, and original systems. As I mentioned before, I’m also thinking of releasing TTRPG articles to both support the community and drum up interest in Calenmir’s RPGs. Once I’ve found the right audience, I’m hoping to build community via Discord and Patreon to give them extra reasons to stick around. I’d also like to engage in more collaborations with awesome artists, writers, and editors to increase the quality of each release. And while this might be more of a dream than a goal, it would be exciting to get to the point where I could release an SRD for an original Calenmir’s RPGs system so that other TTRPG creators could make their own spinoff projects alongside the official product line.
Jared: What projects do you have coming up?
Julia: I’ve got a few big projects I’m focusing on, two of which are in the playtest phase: a system-neutral high fantasy adventure about the party’s favorite NPC getting mistaken for the Chosen One, and a one-shot Apocalypse Keys mystery module (working title Sweet Dreams) that will be released as part of the Omen Project. I’m also collaborating on a D&D module inspired by classic horror films, though that one isn’t as far along as the other two. That said, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that I’ll end up doing some more one-page or micro-TTRPGs in the interim if the timing works out.
Jared: Anything else you would like to add?
Julia: Make sure you add alt text to images in your documents and on social media! It’s an important aspect of accessibility for blind and low-vision users, among others. If you can’t do your own alt text, find someone who can do it for you, or look into volunteer options such as the hashtag #AltForMe. If you’re not sure what alt text is or how to do it, there are plenty of guides available to get you started, such as the article How to Write Alt Text for Memes
Oh, also: For both practical and ethical reasons, I do not use generative AI in any capacity for my writing, and I don’t allow its use in Calenmir’s RPGs releases. All our offerings are human-made, handcrafted games and supplements, with our human contributors listed in the credits and highlighted on the website.
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