We are Penny Arcade's Mike "Gabe" Krahulik and Jerry "Tycho" Holkins and Lone Shark Games's Mike Selinker, Chad Brown, and Tara Theoharis. Ask us anything!

Typo and Babe, what webcomics do you read?

Also, bring back Strip Search?

That's the best meta-typo I've ever seen.

How did you guys end up doing D&D with Chris Perkins, of all people? Did Wizards approach you or the other way around? What did you think of just the opportunity to play with the guy who makes the game, let alone be able to make an amazing ongoing series with him?

Along a similar line, have you guys ever considered recording your own D&D sessions as run by Mike K or Jerry?

Mike and Chad, my family loves Betrayal at House on the Hill. What lead to the inception of such an inventive game?

Answering your last question: Bruce Glassco came up with the basic idea and the first version of it. Rob Daviau and I saw the potential in it, and we made it happen.

Were there any big design hurdles? I imagine balancing the Scenarios was probably pretty difficult, especially considering how many there are.

It's like this.

When are you going to get Kris Straub back into the D&D games? Or at least spinoff that Black Sun campaign you were doing. Increase the Straub!

One cannot beat this with any beating thing.

Mike/Jerry: What was the first moment of your careers when it really hit you that PA is something important to people other than yourselves, and that people connect with it at a very emotional level? Did that change how you think about the comic or your jobs?

Lone Shark Team: How has working on Thornwatch differed substantially from other games where you've worked with people outside your company?

Based on your username, I should answer your question in a 94-page speech.

Anyway, we work with all our friends. That's Lone Shark's M.O., and we have the best friends. On this game, the amount of creative byplay between the teams has been off the charts. Mike and Jerry and my guys make each other better every day.

Given that the game is expected to deliver in September of 2017, how much of a presence at all of the PAX 2017 shows can we expect Thornwatch to have?

In the space between now and when it comes out, we plan to release preview storyboards at PAX Australia and PAX South at least. Seems real likely we'll get to East as well.

At PAX West 2017, expect ALL THE THINGS.

Would you consider an Eyrewood Adventures setting supplement that we could use for stories set in traditional tabletop RPG systems? Or will the Board Game come laden with enough details that we could pull from it as a primary source for telling stories in other systems instead?

Lone Shark's games have a lot of applicability to traditional RPG settings. Apocrypha, for example, can be played with the guide running the game. So I expect that we will have some direction down the line for adding more traditional roleplaying to your Thornwatch game.

I love everything I've seen of the game so far, by the way. But it feels like creating a new homebrew adventure for Thornwatch might be kind of tricky, and I can guarantee my interest in the setting will exceed the stories about it that you can pack into the game box.

Well, I hope so! We want people to write whatever they care to bring to the Eyrewood lore.

Is Mike on fire in that image?

Not just in that image.

Already backed Thornwatch, but I'm wondering what are your plans for selling the game after the Kickstarter? Will we see it in game stores? :)

If I have anything to say about it, you will be able to get it for all time.

Love the work you guys do and I'm incredibly excited for Thornwatch and Eyrewood Adventures as a whole.

Lore question: What happens if a Thornwatch member tries to summon more Thornwatch members through the usual knot-tying means?

P.S: Love the Kickstarter riddles!

Thanks for the riddle love!

What is your favorite dinosaur?

Please tweet to Angela Webber of the Doubleclicks that the correct answer is always the dimetrodon.

But that's not a dinosaur!

This is why I want you to tweet it to her.

Thornwatch will use custom dice - what do you think of a Kickstarter add-on or separate pack to let players buy more Thornwatch dice? It would be great to have enough Hero Dice so everyone at the table can have some.

I wouldn't rule anything out at this point, given how much people seem to like it so far.

There's something that has had me curious since The Tithe that I've never gotten a chance to ask about despite it always being The Question I Have everytime I see Mike and Jerry. The beast in the Tithe refers to Hanna as being 'Woodwise'. I get what 'Woodwise' means from context but is that a title or a class? Is this a reference to the type of magic she excels at and, if so, what other such titles can there be? Thanks!! <3mu

Woodwise has become one of the five skills in Thornwatch, alongside Brawn, Spirit, Mind, and Agility. It's the thing we say when we mean "really good at forest stuff."

Have you fine fellows considered publishing an official version of thornwatch for tabletop simulator?

Opinions on tabletop sumulator in general? I think it has amazing potential, especially if VR proliferates like I hope. I'm not fortunate enough to live close to a population center of ner- tabletop enthusiasts.

We <3 Tabletop Simulator. Too soon to answer that question, tho.

Mostly for the Mikes: What are the mechanical influences for Thornwatch? What other games were/are you playing that made you say "oh, we need to get some of THAT in our game!"?

Much of Thornwatch has been designed under the principle that we take everything we hate in RPGs and overwrite it with something awesome. Most of it has come from new ideas generated around the office, rather than cribbed from our favorite games. But obvs, 4E D&D had a strong influence on Mike, and since I was a creative director on 3E D&D, that has had a strong influence on me. Rodney and Chad brought their own influences. It's a whirlwind of ideas.

What member of The Thornwatch do you prefer playing if you can't be The Judge?

I have had a particularly epic set of sessions as the Briarlock.

So I've been playing Thornwatch at various PAXii since East 2014 (wherein my group literally overheard Mike saying he was looking for an open table at the Westin and we unceremoniously shoved my entire copy of Power Grid off the table in four seconds and did our best to look inviting, yet totally innocent) and it's been super interesting to me to see how far it's come from even that iteration into the current print and play.

For Mike K: Is there any feature, nugget or other part of CardWarriorz that has since been iterated out that you miss?

For Mike S and Chad: Obviously a lot of Jerry and Mike drip off this games' every pore, but was there ever anything you guys had to cut or rework from the game that they felt was part of that unmistakable identity it has?

I don't think so. We've had to set things aside because they haven't worked, but we always get back around to them when they do.

I've been a huge fan of you guys for years and I'm beyond excited for the game!

I am also poor. Will you guys have late backer options for those of us who have to save up?

We will likely have some, but probably not all of these things and probably not at these prices and probably some more probablys.

How much coffee is best to have each day?

I am surprised your base increment is as large as "day."

Hi guys!

I'm a huge fan of Penny Arcade, and I'd like to start out just with a thank you for all of the awesome content over the years!

For Penny Arcade:

Is there any chance we'll ever see an Automata / Silverside game in the future? I'm really looking forward to the Automata series (and the ten stills I'll be getting and framing!).

Any chance we'll ever see Gabe and Tycho action figures / statues? Or alternatively, Acquisitions Inc., action figures / statues? I mean, I don't think Jim Darkmagic would leave that kind of money lying on the table ;)

Any chance we'll get to see more fan fiction? There's some real neat story moments in the Rise of Iron.

Also, I had the opportunity to visit Bungie's HQ, and I was very jealous of the signed poster you guys gave them :D

For Lone Shark Games:

You've made several very H.P. Lovecraft'ish games in the past - is there a H.P. Lovecraft / Cthulhu game you've always wanted to make, but haven't had the chance to? If so, what would it involve?

We have always been lucky enough to have the opportunity to make the games we've wanted to make. For me, Unspeakable Words kind of stands as my unique method of expressing my love for the craft of Lovecraft.

Mike S, I loved The Maze of Games, are you planning on doing something similar again? The way everything was interwoven was brilliant!

Also, how do the 52 scraps of paper match the 52 cards? It's still driving me mad!

Thanks!

I will write a sequel when I have a plot that's as great as the one in the book. I don't have that yet. But I hope someday to.

I cannot answer your second question. But we will have a hint book soon that might have some opinions on that.