I met Travis Legge, one of the most prolific individuals in tabletop gaming today, when I interviewed CJ Hurtt about Glimpse the Beyond 2e (written by CJ, developed by Travis and published through his Aegis Studios). Since then I’ve been friends with Travis and seen the number of games he creates (over 300 entries on DriveThruRPG). Recently, Travis announced that, after crafting community content through Onyx Path Publishing’s Slarecian Vault, he’s achieved what many creators aim for when he was asked to freelance on an official OPP Scarred Lands product. What follows are Travis’ thoughts on what he’s done to get to where he’s at and what’s next for him.
EGG EMBRY (EGG): You've climbed the mountain, so to speak, and seen your labors in the Slarecian Vault community content program rewarded with a freelancing gig on the Scarred Lands for Onyx Path Publishing. Let me start by congratulating you, then let’s break it down: What attracted you to write community content for the Scarred Lands as opposed to another game?
TRAVIS LEGGE (TL): Thank you very much for your kind words. I’ve climbed to the base of a very large and steep mountain at best. Still a way to go, I would think, but yes, I had the opportunity to act as developer on the Scarred Lands 5e Game Master’s Screen, which is a HUGE opportunity and I am incredibly grateful for. Hopefully the first of many with Onyx Path. As far as what attracted me to write community content for Scarred Lands, I simply love the setting. Since the release of Creature Collection, I have been a fan of the world. I actually used some of the open game content from Creature Collection back when I was building the revised edition of Contagion. I think the lore and the creatures are brilliant, the takes on magic and the divine are unique and cool in a way I have heard described as grimbright, which is aesthetically right up my alley. It’s like everything that drew me to fantasy as a kid writ large and dialed up to eleven, so when the Slarecian Vault opened to new writers I knew I had to jump on right away. I would hasten to point out, though, that I did not write for Slarecian Vault at the expense of writing for another community content program. At the same time, I have been releasing regularly on the DMs Guild as well as Canis Minor and the Storytellers Vault. With a little discipline and dedication, you can explore and enjoy multiple worlds right now in the community content sphere, which I think is positively incredible.
EGG: What products have you produced in the Slarecian Vault?
TL: Blood & Ink: Tattoo Magic which expands on the idea of tattoo magic presented in the Scarred Lands corebook and provides a new Bard subclass, the College of the Needles, which focuses on tattoo magic. Encounters in the Calastian Hegemony Volume 1 and Encounters in the Calastian Hegemony Volume 2 which each provide drop in encounters for Game Masters to use, with a focus on events and locations under the iron fisted rule of King Virduk. The encounters are designed for characters of levels 1-4, and you may see some of them pop up on my forthcoming Scarred Lands Twitch stream. Love-Scorned Soul and Worse than Death each adapt undead creatures from previous Scarred Lands materials for use with 5e. Master of the Scaled and Rangers of Ghelspad each provide new subclass options, drawn forth from the lore of the previous edition. Wracklings introduces the concept of Dragonborn to the Scarred Lands, adding a new playable race with an inherent tie to the unusual nature of dragons in the world of Scarn. I also have developed the Game Master Companion and Adventures for Slarecian Vault, which I plan to release once the Game Master Screen is out. This Companion includes three new playable races, additional quick-reference charts and tables, magic items, spells, and some adventure conversions from the Scarred Lands 3e GM Screen companion, so I am pretty excited about getting that out there.
EGG: Have you produced any other products for the DMsGuild, Storytellers Vault, 7th Sea’s Explorer’s Society, Cypher System Creator program, W.O.I.N. Community Publishing Syndicate, or any of the other community content programs that allow you to create and sell sanctioned content based on official games/settings?
TL: Yes, I have published extensively on the DMsGuild and Storytellers Vault. I’ve recently had the honor and pleasure of being asked to put together release day material for a few of the new lines as they come out at the Storytellers Vault, which has been exciting! I have created a fair amount of content for the Hero Kids Compatible License from Hero Forge Games and, of course, I’ve published quite a bit for Canis Minor.
EGG: Beyond those programs, what other games have you produced?
TL: Under the Aegis Studios banner, I have produced three editions of Contagion including a Savage Worlds port, two editions of Glimpse the Beyond, the Crazy 8s system, which is now in the capable hands of Composite Games LTD. Citizens Divided for Savage Worlds, and Choe Pho, my 5e dark fantasy setting.
EGG: While I’m sure the 340 entries [as of this writing] you have on DriveThruRPG helped, what was the Slarecian Vault product that put you over the top and opened the door to the Scarred Lands?
TL: That’s a really good question. I’m not exactly sure. I don’t think it was so much one project as it was consistently creating quality supplements that got the attention of the folks at Onyx Path. I was also not shy about communicating my interest in working with them.
EGG: What have you been contracted to create for Onyx Path Publishing?
TL: Presently I have completed work on the Scarred Lands 5e Game Master Screen and am working on Pirates of Pugmire with Onyx Path/Pugsteady. Unless something surprising pops up I think that will fill out the rest of this year, then we will see how the relationship goes from there. I’d be happy to work on anything they might give me, so here’s hoping they like my work!
EGG: Do you see this leading to more Scarred Lands work?
TL: I certainly hope so. The world is so rich and amazing, and I expect they will have more opportunities in the near future. I know they intend to draw more freelancers from the Community Content creator pool going forward, which is another reason I would recommend creators to get in on the fun and make some content for the Slarecian Vault.
EGG: For creators working in one of the community content programs, what advice would you give them to get their work noticed by the gaming community, and the canon publisher?
TL: Publish consistently. Set a personal bar for your quality and don’t ever fail to meet it. Utilize the tools provided by the publishers when creating your materials. Engage with the community in a positive fashion. Collaborate. Make cool stuff, be nice to people.
EGG: Former freelancers that worked for Onyx Path Publishing have publicly stated that they were not fairly compensated for their work. Do you have any concerns about that?
TL: Not in the least.
EGG: Obviously you’ve touched on a lot of games, what are some or your favorites? What are you working on right now?
TL: I have fallen very much in love with 5e. I am enraptured with its elegance of design and have found a lot of love for settings that I missed out on the first time around. I also have had World of Darkness ideas rattling around in my head for nearly three decades that I aim to purge at the Storytellers Vault. In terms of original material, I will be upgrading all of my existing Savage Worlds releases to be in line with the new edition, which will likely eat up a bit of time. I am also considering a few options for the next edition of Contagion, but have no solid plans at this time. I have a couple other irons in the fire that it is a little too early to talk about, but I am excited for. I am also doing a fair bit of streaming these days with a Scarred Lands stream Mondays at 2pm CST, Extreme Drowess every other Wednesday at 8pm CST, and Calculated Risks: An Eberron Adventure Fridays at 10 AM CST on Twitch. I also have a talk show on Mondays called the DMs Guildhall where I meet with community content creators to talk shop, and I am putting out weekly Creator Tips videos for community content creators.
EGG: Thanks for answering these questions. For fans interested in following your work, where can they learn more about you?
TL: Thanks so much for having me. I can be found at
This article was contributed by Egg Embry as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. Please note that Egg is a participant in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to DriveThruRPG. If you enjoy the daily news and articles from EN World, please consider contributing to our Patreon!
EGG EMBRY (EGG): You've climbed the mountain, so to speak, and seen your labors in the Slarecian Vault community content program rewarded with a freelancing gig on the Scarred Lands for Onyx Path Publishing. Let me start by congratulating you, then let’s break it down: What attracted you to write community content for the Scarred Lands as opposed to another game?
TRAVIS LEGGE (TL): Thank you very much for your kind words. I’ve climbed to the base of a very large and steep mountain at best. Still a way to go, I would think, but yes, I had the opportunity to act as developer on the Scarred Lands 5e Game Master’s Screen, which is a HUGE opportunity and I am incredibly grateful for. Hopefully the first of many with Onyx Path. As far as what attracted me to write community content for Scarred Lands, I simply love the setting. Since the release of Creature Collection, I have been a fan of the world. I actually used some of the open game content from Creature Collection back when I was building the revised edition of Contagion. I think the lore and the creatures are brilliant, the takes on magic and the divine are unique and cool in a way I have heard described as grimbright, which is aesthetically right up my alley. It’s like everything that drew me to fantasy as a kid writ large and dialed up to eleven, so when the Slarecian Vault opened to new writers I knew I had to jump on right away. I would hasten to point out, though, that I did not write for Slarecian Vault at the expense of writing for another community content program. At the same time, I have been releasing regularly on the DMs Guild as well as Canis Minor and the Storytellers Vault. With a little discipline and dedication, you can explore and enjoy multiple worlds right now in the community content sphere, which I think is positively incredible.
EGG: What products have you produced in the Slarecian Vault?
TL: Blood & Ink: Tattoo Magic which expands on the idea of tattoo magic presented in the Scarred Lands corebook and provides a new Bard subclass, the College of the Needles, which focuses on tattoo magic. Encounters in the Calastian Hegemony Volume 1 and Encounters in the Calastian Hegemony Volume 2 which each provide drop in encounters for Game Masters to use, with a focus on events and locations under the iron fisted rule of King Virduk. The encounters are designed for characters of levels 1-4, and you may see some of them pop up on my forthcoming Scarred Lands Twitch stream. Love-Scorned Soul and Worse than Death each adapt undead creatures from previous Scarred Lands materials for use with 5e. Master of the Scaled and Rangers of Ghelspad each provide new subclass options, drawn forth from the lore of the previous edition. Wracklings introduces the concept of Dragonborn to the Scarred Lands, adding a new playable race with an inherent tie to the unusual nature of dragons in the world of Scarn. I also have developed the Game Master Companion and Adventures for Slarecian Vault, which I plan to release once the Game Master Screen is out. This Companion includes three new playable races, additional quick-reference charts and tables, magic items, spells, and some adventure conversions from the Scarred Lands 3e GM Screen companion, so I am pretty excited about getting that out there.
EGG: Have you produced any other products for the DMsGuild, Storytellers Vault, 7th Sea’s Explorer’s Society, Cypher System Creator program, W.O.I.N. Community Publishing Syndicate, or any of the other community content programs that allow you to create and sell sanctioned content based on official games/settings?
TL: Yes, I have published extensively on the DMsGuild and Storytellers Vault. I’ve recently had the honor and pleasure of being asked to put together release day material for a few of the new lines as they come out at the Storytellers Vault, which has been exciting! I have created a fair amount of content for the Hero Kids Compatible License from Hero Forge Games and, of course, I’ve published quite a bit for Canis Minor.
EGG: Beyond those programs, what other games have you produced?
TL: Under the Aegis Studios banner, I have produced three editions of Contagion including a Savage Worlds port, two editions of Glimpse the Beyond, the Crazy 8s system, which is now in the capable hands of Composite Games LTD. Citizens Divided for Savage Worlds, and Choe Pho, my 5e dark fantasy setting.
EGG: While I’m sure the 340 entries [as of this writing] you have on DriveThruRPG helped, what was the Slarecian Vault product that put you over the top and opened the door to the Scarred Lands?
TL: That’s a really good question. I’m not exactly sure. I don’t think it was so much one project as it was consistently creating quality supplements that got the attention of the folks at Onyx Path. I was also not shy about communicating my interest in working with them.
EGG: What have you been contracted to create for Onyx Path Publishing?
TL: Presently I have completed work on the Scarred Lands 5e Game Master Screen and am working on Pirates of Pugmire with Onyx Path/Pugsteady. Unless something surprising pops up I think that will fill out the rest of this year, then we will see how the relationship goes from there. I’d be happy to work on anything they might give me, so here’s hoping they like my work!
EGG: Do you see this leading to more Scarred Lands work?
TL: I certainly hope so. The world is so rich and amazing, and I expect they will have more opportunities in the near future. I know they intend to draw more freelancers from the Community Content creator pool going forward, which is another reason I would recommend creators to get in on the fun and make some content for the Slarecian Vault.
EGG: For creators working in one of the community content programs, what advice would you give them to get their work noticed by the gaming community, and the canon publisher?
TL: Publish consistently. Set a personal bar for your quality and don’t ever fail to meet it. Utilize the tools provided by the publishers when creating your materials. Engage with the community in a positive fashion. Collaborate. Make cool stuff, be nice to people.
EGG: Former freelancers that worked for Onyx Path Publishing have publicly stated that they were not fairly compensated for their work. Do you have any concerns about that?
TL: Not in the least.
EGG: Obviously you’ve touched on a lot of games, what are some or your favorites? What are you working on right now?
TL: I have fallen very much in love with 5e. I am enraptured with its elegance of design and have found a lot of love for settings that I missed out on the first time around. I also have had World of Darkness ideas rattling around in my head for nearly three decades that I aim to purge at the Storytellers Vault. In terms of original material, I will be upgrading all of my existing Savage Worlds releases to be in line with the new edition, which will likely eat up a bit of time. I am also considering a few options for the next edition of Contagion, but have no solid plans at this time. I have a couple other irons in the fire that it is a little too early to talk about, but I am excited for. I am also doing a fair bit of streaming these days with a Scarred Lands stream Mondays at 2pm CST, Extreme Drowess every other Wednesday at 8pm CST, and Calculated Risks: An Eberron Adventure Fridays at 10 AM CST on Twitch. I also have a talk show on Mondays called the DMs Guildhall where I meet with community content creators to talk shop, and I am putting out weekly Creator Tips videos for community content creators.
EGG: Thanks for answering these questions. For fans interested in following your work, where can they learn more about you?
TL: Thanks so much for having me. I can be found at
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TravisLegge
- Instagram: @TravisLegge
- Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TravisLegge
- Snapchat: travislegge
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TravisLegge
- Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/plasticageplays
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TravisLeggePlasticAge
- And, of course, DriveThruRPG, Storytellers Vault and DMsGuild!
This article was contributed by Egg Embry as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. Please note that Egg is a participant in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to DriveThruRPG. If you enjoy the daily news and articles from EN World, please consider contributing to our Patreon!
