Creator Interview - John “Hambone” McGuire
5 months ago
– Tue, Nov 04, 2025 at 02:14:00 PM
Ten Questions with John “Hambone” McGuire!
Hambone! If you would, please introduce yourself and let us know what you are best known for in the TTRPG space.
Ahoy! My name is John “Hambone” McGuire and I am an independent publisher, writer, and game designer. I am best known as the co-creator of 321RPG and the co-host of The Vintage RPG Podcast.
How did you get your start in RPGs?
I started playing TTRPGs in 2004 at the ripe old age of 25. Stu Horvath (Mr. Vintage RPG himself) and my creative partner Geo Collazo got me to the table for the first time and one hit was all it took.
16 years and countless sessions later, I finally took a swing at writing and publishing my own adventures. With Geo in tow, created 321RPG (formely known as 3,2,1…Action!) and released our first “zine,” Rocket To Russia for Zine Quest 3.
With all of that said, you were a huge part of getting me started in the hobby. Where most would never share information, you selflessly mentored me and taught me everything you knew. I have been paying it forward to newer creators ever since.
Since this project is all about the bad guys, what do you like best about writing them?
I have always loved the hero’s journey. The quests they are compelled to partake in, the challenges they must overcome. It has always spoken to me. With that said, the other side of the coin has always been, for me, that it takes a great villain to make a good hero.
While I adore Spider-Man’s C-list villains like Stilt-man, Leap-Frog, and the rest of the Hostess Fruit Pies gang, they don’t call it Kraven’s Last Hunt for nothing.
It is always the villains that push the hero to their absolute limit that bring out the best in a hero, and I believe that creating them and finding ways to make them captivating brings out the best in a writer.
What makes a good “weird” or offbeat villain, like the ones we set out to make together in this book?
It is funny that you mention that after I referenced the Fruit Pies Gang but the weird ones are the ones people remember. Swinging back to Spider-Man, eve non-comic fans can rattle names like Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, and Vemom off the top of their head because of where they land in our current cultural cinematic zeitgeist.
But for people who would pick up this book, dropping a name like Big Wheel, The Living Brain or even Swarm would spark a deeper conversation.
With Chainsaw Wizards, we set out to take those offbeat villains and turn them up to eleven. Make them memorable and dangerous as hell.
Which villain did you create and what inspired them?
Oh man, I was having a conversation with a buddy around the time I got the Chainsaw Wizards assignment and we were talking about how the Rust Monster has become old hat in dungeons, right? Like nobody is going to fall for it at this point. So I said, “But what if it had a human brain and was actively hunting you?” and so Heinrich Harlowe: The Rust Revanant was born.
An evil Sorcerer named Yachtu-Ul used his body for experiments after he was left behind by his adventuring party. So now he is a Frankenstein’s Monster-esque creature with the hide of a Rust Monster covering his fleshy bits, a Chungus’ Anti-Magic Eye at his core and a massive chip on his shoulder.
He’s basically a mean S.O.B. with a penchant for killing adventurers which he does with panache. I would hate to run afoul of him in a dungeon.
In pop culture, who are your all-time favorite villlains? What makes them top-tier?
I have been reading an obscene amount of Batman lately, so they might not be my all time but, off the top of my head, I would say Bane, Ra’s Al Ghul, and modern-era Riddler. The one commonality they have is that they make a man referred to as “The World’s Greatest Detective” earn the title. Constantly.
In your opinion, who is the most underrated villain in pop culture? Why do they deserve top billing?
Millie Frock from Bob’s Burgers. She is downright nefarious!
After years of playing tabletop roleplaying games, what is your favorite villainous moment in a game you’ve either played in or run for others?
Oh man, I don’t want to say because it would be a massive spoiler for Days of Future Fairhaven. But I will allude to a moment where something happens to one of the villains that gets a massive reaction out of every table I have run it at. You gotta pay to see it though.
What is the one big thing that some creators can take a wrong turn with when attempting to create interesting villains?
Making a villain’s personality too edgy for the sake of being edgy. There is nothing compelling about killing for funsies or wanton torture. Give me a great “why”.
What is your favorite component of an interesting villain… and why?
I have always enjoyed the moral quandary a villain faces between committing acts they know are wrong versus the dime they’d have to turn on to change. The answer is always so simple, per se. We as readers and viewers see it and we experience the moment when they see it too. The hiccup always comes from knowing they’d have to abandon an ideology that they’ve dyed into the wool that makes it feel so far out of reach.
Do you have anything in the works? What can we expect to see from you next?
Currently, we are wrapping a crowdfunding campaign for Under the Shadow of the Noon Day Witch, a 3PP for Sickest Witch RPG. Then we are going to fulfill Death by Dino for 321RPG followed by a Rule Book and Avon by the Sea. I’ve got another Zombie Braineaters! for 5Alive RPG in the works and Fairhaven Ladies of Wrestling for WHPA with my wife Sally. I think I am forgetting one, I’m always working on something.
A huge thanks to Hambone for the interview and his contributions to the project. When you know you got the right guy, you just know!
See you guys next week!
-Levi, Planet X Games