Westgate Adventures! was the first published title for Johnny Rook Games under our original corporate entity which ran from 2010-2014. We published only five modules during this time in both physical and pdf versions. While we had an ambitious plan for the series, personal life matters forced us to slow production and eventually shutter our first company.

In 2022, we re-opened Johnny Rook Games as an LLC and have since started re-publishing the original Westgate Adventures! modules through Kickstarter and the support of hundreds of happy backers. The new re-prints are also revised and expanded, giving a much fuller experience to the originals that we first published. The original 2010-2012 versions of the modules are available only in a pdf format, we will not be re-publishing them. There is a chance that we could offer print-on-demand versions in the future, but for now, only pdfs are available. If you back a Kickstarter, you get the originals for free.

The History and Concept of Westgate Adventures!

Westgate Adventures! began as a pet project of mine to compile all of the rules for my home AD&D game into one place for my players. I started the project in college back in 1996. The project merged together rules from 1e, 2e, BECMI, and several of my own creations and some ideas from around the internet (new at that time) into a complete system in a single book. This included completely new systems for psionics and wild magic, a weapon mastery system for 2e-style play, improved initiative rules, and a one-stop collection of every race, class, and kit in the game at that time. I developed and used this compilation for over a decade. In 2010, I discovered that I could potentially get these rules published into a DIY book for myself and my table for private use. While researching that, I discovered OSRIC and my compilation idea took a hard turn – in a new, but fantastic direction.

With OSRIC, I did not need to create this massive rules system because they did it already. My expanded stuff could be added as expansions at a later date and I could focus on one thing that I did not see with the OSRIC material: a campaign setting. OSRIC was only rules. Although there were many modules being made by fans and other companies, I remember seeing only two setting-based games. I decided that the community needed that and started developing what I called Westgate Adventures!

The name, “Westgate” came about because for over a decade, I lived on a street called West Ridge. It was a major destination for anyone interested in role-playing. At one time, I was running four games a week, each with 12+ players and lasting around 8-12 hours per session. Ah, the good ol’ days… I digress. I decided that I needed a name that sounded like TSR’s “Threshold” but was more relevant to me. I combined West + Gate to give that feeling of a gateway to adventure, and thus, Westgate Adventures! was born! I did not, however, do much research on the title.

Anyone that knows me knows how much I despise a certain campaign setting made by a certain mega-corporation. Because of this, I did not know that a very famous town by the name “Westgate” already existed in the minds of many thousands of role-players around the world. As we published, I got some interesting emails that I didn’t quite understand. It wasn’t until the last module was published, Hunger and Lies, that I received an email that clued me to the name problem. Hunger and Lies was advertised as having “the first look at Westgate!”. In an email, a customer wrote us a little confused saying something to the effect of, “A first look? There’s a lot already published including a map. Did you revise it?” After reading the email, I was suddenly concerned. I happened to be sitting next to a pile of papers for my next game night and noticed, right on top, was a map of Westgate from the aforementioned campaign setting. I was using a general map of the already-published Westgate for a different town in my personal game! A double-whammy of “whoops”. My face was palmed so hard, it would not dislodge for hours.

I decided to cease publishing new books until a new name could be found. Unfortunately, life curve-balled us shortly thereafter and although we remained a business for a couple more years, no books at all were every published again.

What was Westgate Adventures! About?

As a setting, Westgate Adventures! was meant to be about as generic as the OSRIC game that it supported. It was meant to be a framework setting in which any rules could be added or subtracted by any GM at any time. It was medieval medium-fantasy to the hilt!

Other than that, there isn’t much else to say about it as not much else was created for it. I made some large-scale maps and an entire planet rough sketch, but I had some technological limitations and was unable to make anything truly grand. I had outlined many different books and accessories but only filled in a few of the “blanks”. So, “sketchy” was maybe the best term for it all?

Where is Westgate Headed?

Short answer: Rebranding!

Our current Kickstarter reprints are admittedly for marketing purposes. We want to get some books out there again and show the world what we can do with limited resources. Westgate Adventures! will no longer be published under that title but it is instead being rebranded into an entirely new game that is near completion and we hope it will be released sometime in 2024 or 2025. All of the Westgate modules are designed to be compatible with the new game although we may re-publish them one more time for completion sake. Our wish is to not have anyone buy every version, unless you are a collector and just feel the need to. I was a comic book collector for years and one of my biggest pet peeves was buying the same comic with 2-10 different covers. I never want to do that to my customers. If we re-print a thing, we will do so with either complete compatibility in mind, a conversion supplemental free product, or at least with enough new content to make it feel like an entirely new product.