Line #26 Creator/PhilMasters


1	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0d81639674a45a9c9ba00b415cb0628d.jpg]]
2	Phil Masters (born 1959) is a British [[TabletopGames roleplaying games]] writer and editor, He began publishing in the RPG field in 1981, in ''Magazine/WhiteDwarf'' magazine, and his first book was ''Kingdom of Champions'' for ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'' in 1990, but he is most often associated with the ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' game line, and in particular with the [[TabletopGame/DiscworldRolePlayingGame Discworld RPG]] adaptation. He has also worked on licensed GURPS adaptations of ''TabletopGame/CastleFalkenstein'', the ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'' comic books, and the ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'', and a large number of other books and magazine articles for several different [[GameSystem rule systems]]. In 2015, he self-published an RPG of his own, ''TabletopGame/TheSmallFolk''.
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4	Masters has also written on fantastical themes for British company Osprey Publishing, and had a few short stories published, three of them in ''Magazine/{{Interzone}}'' magazine. His Web page is [[http://www.philmasters.org.uk/ here.]]
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6	!!Works by Phil Masters with pages on [=TV Tropes:=]
7	[[index]]
8	* ''TabletopGame/{{Banestorm}}''
9	* The ''TabletopGame/DiscworldRolePlayingGame''
10	* ''TabletopGame/GURPSDragons''
11	* ''TabletopGame/GURPSInfiniteWorldsBritannica6''
12	* ''TabletopGame/GURPSSteampunkSettingTheBrokenClockworkWorld''
13	* ''TabletopGame/GURPSThaumatology''
14	* ''TabletopGame/GURPSThaumatologyAgeOfGold''
15	* ''TabletopGame/GURPSThaumatologyAlchemicalBaroque''
16	* ''TabletopGame/TheSmallFolk''
17	[[/index]]
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19	----
20	!Tropes associated with Phil Masters include:
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22	* ArabianNightsDays: Masters's first ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' book was ''GURPS Arabian Nights'', and he also wrote ''GURPS Castle Falkenstein: The Ottoman Empire'', ''The Sands of Time'' for [=BlackWyrm=] Publishing, ''Sinbad the Sailor'' for Osprey Books and [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Al-Ybi]] in ''GURPS Discworld Also''. See also his story, [[http://www.philmasters.org.uk/SF/Stories/CadiDervishGhuls.pdf "The Matter of the Cadi, the Dervish, and the Ghûls".]]
23	* {{Atlantis}}: Masters first tackled this theme in ''GURPS Places of Mystery'', and expanded on that work in ''GURPS Atlantis'', and in ''The Wars of Atlantis'' for Osprey Books. See also his short story, [[http://www.philmasters.org.uk/SF/Stories/PlatonicSolid.htm "Platonic Solid".]]
24	* CaptainEthnic: Played with but just about averted in ''Kingdom of Champions'' (which has a large section on British superheroes) and ''The Sands of Time'' (which features a Middle Eastern Muslim superhero team). Both try to avoid at least the obvious stereotypes while making characters somewhat plausible for their cultural context.
25	* {{Clockpunk}}: Masters wrote material for Creator/WhiteWolf's ''Mage: The Sorcerers' Crusade'' (the Renaissance-period historical spin-off from ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension''), including ''The Artisan's Handbook'', which covered the setting's substantial clockpunk elements in additional detail. The trope is also discussed in his ''GURPS Steampunk 1: Settings and Style.''
26	* TheDragonsComeBack: Not surprisingly, Masters' ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} Dragons'', a whole book about dragons of all sorts for that game system, deals with most of the wide range of DragonTropes. In particular, the main sample campaign setting in the book and some of the briefer example setting descriptions are built around the idea of dragons re-emerging out of myth into the modern world.
27	* FairyTale: Approached from very different angles in ''Faerie Stories'' for ''TabletopGame/ArsMagica'', ''TabletopGame/GURPSThaumatologyAlchemicalBaroque'', and ''TabletopGame/TheSmallFolk''.
28	* NamedLikeMyName: No, he isn't actually [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppet_Master_(Marvel_Comics) a Marvel Comics villain.]] There's only one "L" in his name.
29	* OurGoblinsAreDifferent: In ''GURPS Fantasy Folk: Goblins and Hobgoblins'', Masters reviews the range of goblinoids from legend, fantasy, and games, and details four types of goblin, some drawn from previous GURPS books (the "mean" dungeon fantasy type, the smart type from ''Banestorm'', dim-witted but nigh-indestructible comedy goblins, and quite formidable, quasi-folkloric "spirit" goblins) and two types of hobgoblin (another "mean" dungeon fantasy type and the surly versions from ''TabletopGame/{{Banestorm}}'').
30	* OurKoboldsAreDifferent: Masters' ''GURPS Fantasy Folk: Kobolds'' reviews kobolds' legendary origins and evolution through tabletop games, and details three types (with variants): the quite formidable folkloric type (basically a small earth elemental), a "mean" dungeon fantasy species with a taste for traps, and the ''TabletopGame/{{Banestorm}}'' race of downtrodden, highly annoying practical jokers.
31	* {{Parody}}: Masters has parodied the TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness more than once, in ''TabletopGame/TheSmallFolk'' and in "Clanbook: Perky" and "Clanbook: Mopey", PrintBonus inserts he wrote for ''Webcomic/DorkTower''.
32	* {{Steampunk}}: Aside from his ''TabletopGame/CastleFalkenstein''-related work, Masters has written steampunk-related material for other lines, such as his ''TabletopGame/GURPSInfiniteWorldsBritannica6'' -- and from 2016 on, he wrote a series of PDF steampunk supplements for ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' 4th edition, starting with ''GURPS Steampunk 1: Settings and Style.'' See also his short story, [[http://www.philmasters.org.uk/SF/Stories/Captain_Bale.htm "The Last Flight of Captain Bale".]]
33	* {{Transhumanism}}: Masters is the line editor for the ''TabletopGame/TranshumanSpace'' game line, and has written a number of books and articles for the setting. He has also contributed to the ''TabletopGame/EclipsePhase'' line from Posthuman Studios.
34	* UrbanFantasy: ''TabletopGame/TheSmallFolk'' is definitely in the genre.

Context Creator / PhilMasters