Jenna Katerin Moran, previously known as Rebecca Sean Borgstrom and in early publications credited as R. Sean Borgstrom, is an American

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

(RPG) writer and designer, and novelist.

Early life

While in high school, Moran began to play ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

'', and started to write related fantasy fiction. After high school, she attended

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, graduating with a Computer Science bachelor's degree in 1988. She then earned a PhD in Computer Science from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

in 2000.

Role-playing games

Moran began to write supplemental sourcebooks for existing RPGs, including four for

Steve Jackson Games Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...

's urban fantasy RPG ''

In Nomine In Nomine is a title given to a large number of pieces of English polyphonic, predominantly instrumental music, first composed during the 16th century. History This "most conspicuous single form in the early development of English consort musi ...

'', and five for

White Wolf Publishing White Wolf Publishing was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant

's epic fantasy RPG ''

Exalted ''Exalted'' is a high fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally published by White Wolf Publishing in July 2001. The game is currently in its third edition. It was originally created by Robert Hatch, Justin Achilli and Stephan Wieck, and wa ...

''. She also co-authored various RPGs including '' Ex Machina'', and the second and third editions of ''Exalted''. In the late 1990s, Moran began to create her own RPG universe, where she envisioned the

player characters A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

would be powerful servants of the gods who are attempting to save reality from destruction by the mysterious Excrucian Host. In 1999, the resultant diceless

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

RPG ''

Nobilis ''Nobilis'' is a contemporary fantasy tabletop role-playing game created by Jenna K. Moran, writing under the name R. Sean Borgstrom. The player characters are "Sovereign Powers" called ''the Nobilis''; each Noble is the personification of an ...

'' was released as a "print on demand" publication by Pharos Press. ''

Pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

'' called it "Complex, unique, and deeply touching, ''Nobilis'' is one of the most interesting small press RPGs in years." Moran released a second edition in 2002 with Hogshead Publishing, which became affectionately known as the "Great White Book" owing to its unusual 12x12" form factor. In 2005, Moran was the primary author of the '' Weapons of the Gods'' RPG, the first in-house RPG from

Eos Press Eos Press is an American game publisher named for the ancient Greek goddess of the dawn. It was established in 2001 in Seattle, Washington, as "Hawthornn Hobgoblynn Press". Eos has operations in Suzhou (China), Taiwan and Singapore. History Fi ...

. Moran continued to work with Eos, publishing the third edition of ''Nobilis'' in 2011, but it was later removed from sale after Moran and Eos parted ways. A revised version of the third edition was returned to market in 2022 with new layout and art. In 2015, Moran created ''Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine'', an RPG with mechanical and setting links to ''Nobilis'', set in a small pastoral Town stranded in an endless sea of colorful chaos. Many characters and archetypes in ''Chuubo'' are recognizable as characters or creature types that were present in Nobilis, but in a weaker (and often friendlier) form. The rules are also similar to those of its parent game, but include additional narrative mechanisms to help players apportion the spotlight and a "quest" mechanic in which players plot out their character arcs ahead of time, and then seek to move through their lives while hitting practical and thematic milestones written on provided "quest cards.". Player characters are frequently children or young adults, and their stories draw on sources such as the animated films of

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and ha ...

, children's literature and television, and folklore. In 2020, Moran published the diceless RPG ''Glitch: A Story of the Not'', flipping the original ''Nobilis'' plotline by presenting player characters who are retired Strategists of the Excrucian Host, those who were originally trying to destroy Creation, but who have abandoned the war and now seek to build lives for themselves while dealing with the fact that their skillset (as beautiful, terrifying riders of the apocalypse) are ill-suited to leading a normal life. The protagonists of ''Glitch'' are both physically and magically powerful, but often lack the wherewithal to perform normal mundane tasks, leading to ironic situations as they confront the gods themselves but are unable to make themselves breakfast before doing so. The system combines the quest system from ''Chuubo'' with the higher-powered mechanics of ''Nobilis'', but introduces a new "Cost" system that measures a Strategist's power based on her willingness to burn herself out in order to achieve an objective.

Novels

Moran has also written a number of novels, some associated with the ''Nobilis'' setting, while others are associated with her long-form

web fiction Web fiction is written works of literature available primarily or solely on the Internet. A common type of web fiction is the web serial. The term comes from old serial stories that were once published regularly in newspapers and magazines. Unlike ...

''Hitherby Dragons''. *''An Unclean Legacy'' (2011) *''Fable of the Swan'' (2012) *''Jack o'Lantern Girl'' (2012) *''The Night-Bird's Feather'' (2022)

Awards

At Gencon 2003, the second edition of ''Nobilis'' won the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming.

Role-playing bibliography

Ash-Tree Earth

The following three games are considered to exist in a

shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...

and have references to each other within the games.

''
Nobilis ''Nobilis'' is a contemporary fantasy tabletop role-playing game created by Jenna K. Moran, writing under the name R. Sean Borgstrom. The player characters are "Sovereign Powers" called ''the Nobilis''; each Noble is the personification of an ...
''

*''Nobilis: A Roleplaying Game'' (1st edition) *''Nobilis: The Game of Sovereign Powers'' (2nd edition) **''Creatures Clothed in Strangeness'' (2nd edition, supplement) **''Unlikely Flowerings'' (2nd edition, supplement) **''The Game of Powers: The Live-Action Supplement for Nobilis'' *''Nobilis The Essentials Volume 1: Field Guide to the Powers'' (3rd edition) **''Nobilis: Antithesis, Minibook 1i''

''Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine''

*
Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine
' **''Fortitude: By the Docks of Big Lake'' (setting sourcebook) **''Fortitude: The Legendary 139'' (minor campaign book) **''Fortitude: The Glass-Maker's Dragon'' (major campaign book) **''Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine: The Halloween Special'' (adventure) **''Techno Player's Guide'' (sourcebook)

''Glitch''

*
Glitch: A Story of the Not
'

''Exalted''

Moran has authored the following books for the ''

'' role-playing game: *''Exalted: The Sidereals'' *''Exalted: The Outcaste'' *''Exalted: The Fair Folk'' *''Games of Divinity'' *''Savant and Sorcerer'' *''Exalted: Second Edition'' *''Exalted: Third Edition''

''
In Nomine In Nomine is a title given to a large number of pieces of English polyphonic, predominantly instrumental music, first composed during the 16th century. History This "most conspicuous single form in the early development of English consort musi ...
''

Moran wrote the following books for the ''

'' role-playing game: *''In Nomine: Superiors 1 - War & Honor'' *''In Nomine: Ethereal Player's Guide'' *''Liber Castellorum: The Book of Tethers'' *''Liber Servitorum: The Book of Servants''

Other game books

*''Denizens of San Angelo'' *'' Ex Machina'' *''Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game - Manual of Monsters'' *'' Weapons of the Gods'' *''Wisher, Theurgist, Fatalist & Weaver of Their Fates'' (PDF) and the supplement ''That Languidly Dreamt Raif'' (PDF)

References

External links

* * An essay by Moran (writing under Borgstrom) on the formal structure and philosophy of role-playing game design. {{DEFAULTSORT:Moran, Jenna Katerin 1972 births American women writers Georgetown University alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Living people Role-playing game designers Live-action role-playing game designers 21st-century American women