Welcome back. I haven’t done an interview in a while. Regular readers will know I’ve been doing a series of interviews with Boricua creators, but I want to expand to other creators, indie voices, new designers, and more. I put out the call, and Michael answered.
I’m happy he did! I have been in the mood for vampires lately, and Michael shared his game, Bloodstarved. I am definitely a fan and wholeheartedly recommend it. It’s simple to understand and run, but with plenty of nuance for playing at the table. I liked it so much I backed his current Kickstarter. You can learn more about all of this in the interview below.
Oh, but before we get to that, this interview is debuting the name I’ll be using for interviews from now on. I’ve been thinking about using a standard set of titles and icons for my posts here on the blog and across social media, so you know exactly what I’m writing and what to expect. I’m thrilled to use it for the first time today.
Let’s get to the interview.
Introduce yourself! Who are you, and what do you create?
Hi. I’m Michael Medaglia, creator of the vampire TTRPG Bloodstarved. I’m based in the Pacific Northwest, where the lack of sun is somewhat vampire-appropriate.
How would you describe your art or creative endeavor?
I come from a background in screenwriting and film, so storytelling plays a big role in the games and adventures I create. With TTRPGs, the players determine the plot, of course. But I find that some screenwriting techniques still apply. For example, PCs need a call to action, and important NPCs need motives and goals. A one-dimensional villain makes for a boring game, just like it makes for a boring movie.
How did you discover TTRPGs?
I started in junior high (ancient history). My friend’s mother was the dean of a local high school, and her office hours overlapped with the high school’s D&D club. She talked the club into letting us play with them. For her, I think it was like free babysitting. Ironically, she knew these kids because they were often sent to her for misbehaving! She was a pretty cool mom.
Do you actively play TTRPGs? What are you playing?
Yes, I’m both running and playing. I love running horror one-shots. They’re really conducive to go-for-broke moments. You can typically find me running Call of Cthulhu, Weird Heroes of Public Access, Mothership, and of course Bloodstarved. As a player, I’m active in some long-running fantasy campaigns of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and D&D. I enjoy trying different systems. There’s so much out there.
What do you want to play next?
I’d love to try Green Oaks, a game where you play a senior citizen and, apparently, fight supernatural evil in your living center. I need to practice for when I reach my twilight years!
I also want to play Green Oaks! What projects are available, and what are you working on next?
The Snake Pit is on Kickstarter and will be out in February 2027. Bloodstarved is available in stores now. As for what else is on the front burner, I’ve just started on a short vampire one-shot that I plan to make freely available.
Tell us more about Bloodstarved.
Bloodstarved is a rules-light system where you play a vampire. It’s designed to be quick to learn and quick to play. The essential rules fit on the back of the character sheet, and it works with regular polyhedral dice you already have. I wanted the story and action to take a
It also follows fairly closely the vampire lore that we all know from movies and books, so new players aren’t struggling to learn about various factions and history just to play a game.
You currently have a Kickstarter running for The Snake Pit, which is a system-neutral vampire one-shot. The setup of vampire crooks surviving a botched heist during a killer dust storm in 1999 Arizona is a very distinct vibe. What were your main inspirations for this scenario?
The inspiration came from one of my favorite films, Key Largo (1948), which takes place at a hotel in the Florida Keys during a hurricane. It creates so much tension while (mostly) remaining inside the hotel. The Snake Pit takes place in a desert roadhouse casino during a dust storm. But you can see the resemblance. In the film, the storm has a real presence, and I tried to capture that in Snake Pit as well.
Writing a system-neutral adventure has its own challenges, especially in a genre where mechanics handle vampirism very differently across games. How did you approach the design to ensure it works just as well for Bloodstarved as it does for something like Vampire: The Masquerade?
It’s definitely challenging. When writing, I tried to focus on basic elements, like “Is there a good hook?” “When does player buy-in occur?”, and “Who are the key NPCs, and what do they want?” None of these are tied to any one system. Once I felt like it stood on its own, I investigated how it would work for specific systems, like VtM.
What else is on the horizon for Handbasket Games?
Ha ha, Handbasket Games (as in, ‘going to hell in one’) is just me. In the near future, I plan to focus on scenario creation (rather than entirely new rule systems). I’m also collaborating on other people’s projects as a contributing writer on a DCC scenario and as a contributing illustrator on a great you-play-the-monster system called Into the Night.
Where can people get your books?
If you’re looking for physical copies, Dark Future and Knave of Cups carry it. For digital, RPGTrader and DrivethruRPG carry it.
As a thank you to Stargazers World readers, you can get $2 off Bloodstarved on RPGTrader with the code strgzr-bsm32 through the end of 2026.
That is very generous, thank you! Any closing thoughts?
Thanks for these questions. I truly appreciate Stargazers World for spotlighting indie games and game makers. Bloodstarved and The Snake Pit are a labor of love and wouldn’t be possible without all the support the gaming community has provided. And if you want to spend a tense night in a dusty roadhouse casino, you know where to find us.
Thank you, Michael, for your time and for your generosity with the blog. Wishing you much success in your current and future endeavors. If you want to follow Michael, check him out on Instagram or visit bloodstarved.com. Don’t forget to check out The Snake Pit – A Vampire One-Shot Scenario Kickstarter!
