Meguey Baker () is a

tabletop role-playing game A tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG or TRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a kind of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech and sometimes movements. Participants d ...

designer, independent publisher and quilt historian. She and her husband

Vincent Baker David Vincent Baker is a designer and theorist of tabletop role-playing games and the owner of indie role-playing games publisher Lumpley Games, which also hosts the archives of The Forge. He and his wife Meguey Baker designed ''Apocalypse World ...

designed

Apocalypse World ''Apocalypse World'' is a post-apocalyptic indie role-playing game by D. Vincent Baker and Meguey Baker, published in 2010 with only an implied setting that is fleshed out by the players in the course of character creation. It was the game for ...

, the first game in the

Powered by the Apocalypse Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) is a tabletop role-playing game design framework developed by Meguey Baker, Meguey and Vincent Baker for the 2010 game ''Apocalypse World'' and later adapted for hundreds of other Indie role-playing game, indie ro ...

system.

Career

Game design

Baker's most prominent work is ''

'' (2010). Apocalypse World is a post-apocalyptic game co-designed with her husband,

, published through

Lumpley Games Lumpley Games is an American game company that produces role-playing games and game supplements. History Vincent Baker began using "lumpley" email addresses and URLs in '' kill puppies for satan'' (2002); Baker had been using the name on online s ...

. ''Apocalypse World'' won multiple awards such as the 2010

Indie RPG Award The Indie RPG Awards were annual, creator-based awards for Indie role-playing games and supplements. They were established in 2002 by Andy Kitkowski. The final round of awards was given in 2017. For the purposes of the Awards, there exists a follow ...

for "Game of the Year" and the 2011

Lucca Comics & Games Lucca Comics & Games is an annual Comic book convention, comic book and gaming convention in Lucca, Italy, traditionally held at the end of October, in conjunction with All Saints' Day. It is the largest comics festival in Europe, and the secon ...

"Best Role-Playing Game" award.

, the game design framework created by the Bakers for ''Apocalypse World'', has made a lasting impact on role-playing game design. Baker is the founding owner of Night Sky Games. ''A Thousand and One Nights'' (2006), published through Night Sky Games, is a role-playing game based on the collection of Arabic stories ''

The Book of One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of History of the Middle East, Middle Eastern List of fairy tales, folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nigh ...

''. According to games scholar Evan Torner, ''A Thousand and One Nights'' includes systems for telling stories within stories, establishing and developing jealousies between characters, and reflecting upon

metatextuality Metatextuality is a form of intertextual discourse in which a text makes critical commentary on itself or on another text. This concept is related to Gérard Genette's concept of transtextuality in which a text changes or expands on the content ...

. Baker has also designed other

indie role-playing game An indie role-playing game is a role-playing game published by individuals or small press publishers, in contrast to games published by large corporations. Indie tabletop role-playing game designers participate in various game distribution netwo ...

s such as ''Miss Schiffer's School for Young Ladies of Quality'' (2006), ''Psi*Run'' (2012) and ''Valiant Girls'' (2013); the latter were Night Sky Games' third and sixth publications respectively. She co-designed with her husband both ''Firebrands'' (2017), a romance TTRPG in a sci-fi setting focused on mobile frame pilots and ''Under Hollow Hills'' (2021), an RPG about fairytales and a traveling circus. Chase Carter for

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

compared ''Firebrands'' to adventure romance television shows ''

Bridgerton ''Bridgerton'' is an American alternative history regency romance television series created by Chris Van Dusen for Netflix. Based on the book series Bridgerton (novel series), of the same name by Julia Quinn, it is Shondaland's first scripted ...

'' and ''

Our Flag Means Death ''Our Flag Means Death'' is an American period romantic comedy television series created by David Jenkins. Set in the early 18th century during the Golden Age of Piracy, the series follows the misadventures of gentleman-turned-pirate Stede Bon ...

''. Baker and Emily Care Boss wrote ''Fair Game'', a blog-style design and

roleplaying Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing ...

theory journal, from 2005 to 2011.

Textiles and quilting

Baker is a quilter and quilt historian, particularly interested in how the history of non-dominant voices gets transmitted in objects and oral tradition rather than the official written history. Baker collects and restores antique and vintage textiles, as well as creates new works. Baker is a Collections Assistant for the Hatfield Historical Museum and is part of the curatorial team for the Historical Society of

Greenfield Greenfield or Greenfields may refer to: Places Canada * Greenfield, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Greenfield, Colchester County, Nova Scotia * Greenfield, Hants County, Nova Scotia * Greenfield, Kings County, Nova Scotia * Greenfield, Q ...

Personal life

Baker studied American History at

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...

with a focus on early American textile history and material culture''.'' Baker highlighted that her first

quilt block In the textile arts, a motif (also called a block or square) is a smaller element in a much larger work. In knitting and crochet, motifs are made one at a time and joined together to create larger works such as afghan blankets or shawls. An ...

was hand sewn at four years old; she wrote, "I checked with my mom. She says I was 4 because my sister was a newborn and sewing helped me keep quiet while she was napping. I'm guessing I did about one seam per nap". Baker and her husband

have three children. In July 2023, Baker was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

. '' CBR'' reported that a

crowdfunding campaign Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance, to fund projects "without standard financial ...

on Meal Train to support Baker "was set with an initial goal of $2,500 and has since shattered that sum with a current total of over $22,800 n August 26, 2023 ..In addition to financial contributions, many TTRPG Game Masters, players, and fans have taken the opportunity to voice their admiration for Baker and all that she has inspired".

Bibliography

Role-playing games

*''A Thousand and One Nights'' (2006) *''Miss Schiffer's School for Young Ladies of Quality'' (2006) * ''The Girl Effect'' * ''

'' (2010) **''Apocalypse World'' 2nd Edition (2016) **''Apocalypse World: the Extended Refbook'' (2019) **''Apocalypse World: Burned Over Hackbook'' (2019) *''Psi-Run Revised'' (2012) *''Valiant Girls'' (2013) *''Firebrands'' (2017) *''The King Is Dead'' (2018) * ''Run For Your Life'' (2019) * ''At the Stroke of Midnight'' (2019) * ''Haunted'' (2019) * ''Does It Fit the Mission'' (2019) * ''The Ghost of Eunice Williams'' (2019) * ''A Branch of May'' (2019) * ''Bless the Seeds'' (2019) * ''In the Company of Birds'' (2019) * ''Nine Pins'' (2019) * ''The Sundered Land'' (2019) * ''The Journey of Half-a-Fool'' (2019) * ''In Dreaming Avalon'' (2019) * ''Murderous Ghosts'' (2019) * ''Space Station Home'' (2020) * ''Unknown Country and Undiscovered Home'' (2020) * ''The Lost Spells of Venus'' (2021) * ''How the Story Ends'' (2021) *''Towns Like Ours'' (2021) *''Under Hollow Hills'' (2021) *''The Wizard's Grimoire'' (serialized: 2021-present) *''Daggerheart'' (2025)

Other

* ''Unframed: The Art of Improvisation for Game Masters'' (2014)

References

External links

Meguey Baker's page on RPG GeekNight Sky Games
, Baker's independent publishing company.
Fair Game
Baker's design and theory journal co-authored by Emily Care Boss. {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Meguey 1971 births American role-playing designers American women game designers Indie role-playing game designers Hampshire College alumni Living people People from Greenfield, Massachusetts Place of birth missing (living people)