Fiona Katherine Taylor Howat

Online Nickname: FKTH

Introduction 

My name is Fiona K.T. Howat, (She/Her). I am a British improviser, Actual Play performer and the host of What Am I Rolling? A Twice Monthly RPG One Shot Podcast which showcases different roleplaying systems and conducting interviews with game designers. To date, I have run over 100 different roleplaying systems, with the aim of teaching folks how to create good collaborative stories, regardless of background or experience level.

Along with my other TTRPG related projects (The DM’s Book Club – a book club/discussion style podcast, The RPGeeks – an nerdy TTRPG actual play show, TL:DR TTRPGs – a read along stream), I have a lot of experience in reviewing and discussing TTRPGs, knowledgeable on upcoming game releases and current TTRPG discourse, giving me a solid sense of what makes a good system/product.

As someone who worked in higher education online course curriculum creation prior to becoming freelance, I have an extensive background in critique content against a set criteria. I often would present detailed constructive feedback in meetings with fellow academics, highlighting elements which make the subject stand out compared to other products in the same field.

As well as looking for high quality and engaging features, I always look at the accessibility of a subject under review, both in physical and online formats, as it is a topic I hold dear to my heart. All of these, I feel, make me an excellent candidate for a ENNIES judge.

Why do you play/run RPGs?

I both run and play roleplaying games for the same reason – I love creating stories and want to become better at telling them with different groups of people. TTRPGs are powerful tools for anyone, regardless of age, background or experience, to be a great storyteller, a role which is invaluable when it comes to many aspects of life today.

I know folks always joke about how roleplaying games give you so many transferable skills such as active listening, mental arithmetic and critical thinking, but it’s so much more than that! I know I have become a much better person from running and playing games; a better facilitator, a better performer, a better team player. And I want to be able to share that knowledge and experience with others where I can!

The ENNIES requires a major commitment of time and energy. What resources do you have that will help you discharge these responsibilities? Will your gaming group or other individuals be assisting you? Does your family support you?

I am currently freelance since moving to the US so I have a flexible schedule in which to review and critique submissions. I have a good computer set up with strong internet connection, I am and familiar with the main VTT platforms so I can easily review and run electronic submissions as needed.

I also have good connections to a diverse group of TTRPG folks who are based in UK/EU/US timezones, who are always willing to try out new games or supplements that pique my interest, including folks at the One Shot Podcast Network (where my own podcast What Am I Rolling? is a member).

In addition to all this, I have a local group of friends who, whilst newer to the TTRPG scene, are nonetheless willing to try games in person. My partner is also a seasoned game master who will be supporting me should my application be accepted.

Judging requires a great deal of critical thinking skills, communication with other judges, deadline management, organization, and storage space for the product received. What interests, experience, and skills do you bring that will make you a more effective judge?

Outside of my work in TTRPGs, I am improviser who has facilitated a number of online and in person workshops which encourages students to create unusual scenes and heightened characters outside of their comfort zone.

In these sessions, I would run the class through a number of different exercises then give constructive notes on the participants’ choices after each one, as well as asking them what they discovered whilst playing through the exercises. After each workshop, I would send out feedback surveys to gauge how well my own teaching was received and how I could improve my session and make it more accessible for different learners.

I have a fondness for boardgames, especially social deduction games such as Blood on the Clocktower, Two Rooms And A Boom, Ultimate Werewolf, Avalon and many more. Nothing gives me more joy than trying to work out the bigger overall picture using context clues and gathering information, all whilst trying to convince the rest of the players to listen my theories about who is what role and what our next move is. We play Blood on the Clocktower on the RPGeeks on a monthly basis and I always look forward to it, regardless of the script being played or which team I am on.

Recently, I have been getting into Magic the Gathering and been playing Commander regularly with my local pod. I enjoy seeing other people’s decks in action and, in response, having to make adjustments to my own strategies and making sudden judgement calls as the game unfolds. Whilst I am no expert, getting to grips with an ever changing board state keeps me on my toes as a player.

What styles and genres of RPGs do you enjoy most? Are there any styles or genres that you do not enjoy? Which games best exemplify what you like? Do you consider yourself a fan of a particular system, publisher, or genre?

I love Horror in TTRPGs. I strongly feel that everyone should play in or run a horror game at some point in their RPG experience. You can you tell all kinds of different stories with such broad genre (body horror, cosmic horror, dark fantasy, folk horror, ghost stories, gothic horror and many more!). Horror challenges you (both as a facilitator and a player) to create a gripping narrative, pushes you to make morally gray choices which are often outside of your normal comfort zone (all whilst abiding by an established horror contract/boundaries implemented by safety tools and, of course, full consent by all parties involved at the table).

In addition, I do tend to prefer narrative first games over mechanics game due to my focus as a TTRPG actual play performer making streamed and audio content but, that said, I have yet to find a style or genre of game which I did not enjoy.

I always try to find some game design element of every system I read or play to appreciate, especially when I am producing ‘TL:DR TTRPG’: an accountability TTRPG read along stream where I analyze an RPG QuickStart or rule book within two hours. By doing so, I gain a better understanding of not only the design principles for a particular system or tropes for a genre, but also how I could apply such principles and tropes to a scenario that I want to run.

List (up to 5) games you’ve played in the last 2 years. What drew you to playing them? Which did you like best and why?

Have you been a game master in the past 2 years? If yes, what games have you run? What made you decide to run those games?

Yes, I have been a ‘Forever GM’ for a long time now but it is a title I hold on to proudly. As I have said previously, many of the games I have run have been mostly for content, meaning I have had to become very familiar with the rulesets and lore/campaign settings which have come with it, usually under tight time restraints.

In addition to the games mentioned in the previous answer, I have also recently run a number of horror themes games for an upcoming anthology podcast project, Last Line Rewind, that I am hoping to launch later this year. These include: Vampire the Masquerade by Renegade Games, Alien 2nd Edition by Free League Publishing, The Zone by Raph D’Amico, Call of Cthulhu by Chaosium and Candela Obscura by Darrington Press.

As previously mentioned, I look for RPGs which showcase different kinds of stories and unusual game mechanics when creating content for my own shows. For these particular games mentioned above, myself and the other members of the Last Rewind podcast team discussed at length what games we would want to feature which also had a strong brand or identity, a decent community following and, most importantly, the ability to tell a satisfying story arc in 4 or less episodes.

Summarize the criteria you would use to determine if a game deserves to be nominated for Best Game.

For me, a nominee for Best Game needs to accomplish 3 things:
1. A clearly identifiable and engaging game concept i.e. Who, What, Where, How and Why? which makes it stand out from other TTRPGs.
2. Allows everyone at the table to create fun rememberable stories with easy to follow mechanics in one game session.
3. Has given clear considerations in terms of Accessibility i.e. any essential game materials can be easily used in both in person and remote games without alterations, Alt text is included for graphics, the core text and mechanic is readable by screen readers, safe color blind combinations used to highlight information, audio only/text only versions available of the core text, safety tools discussion and content warnings for sensitive themes.

Naturally, there will be other criteria such has use of layout, font, illustration and supporting audio/visual media to communicate the main tenants of a ruleset, setting, genre or key elements of a game, but those top 3 principles are what I would use as a jumping off point to start my critique for any submission.

How will you judge supplements or adventures for game systems whose core rules you are unfamiliar with or you believe are badly designed?

I always try to find something I like in a RPG regardless of whether I am unfamiliar with the rules or unsure of what the game designers’ intentions are. I will endeavor to read and play through the materials to the best of my ability, as well as look to do my own research around that game system/supplement as needed (i.e. through watching how to/discussion videos on YouTube or threads in that specific RPG related forums or Reddit Threads) so I gain a better understanding of the rules context.

I also have a number of connections in the TTRPG community who have extensive experience and knowledge of games I am unfamiliar with that I could consult with and ask questions of (whilst baring in mind any subjective biases they may have).

Ultimately though, I will aim to judge a TTRPG supplement or scenario by their narrative focus, unique game features and accessibility considerations independently of the system it uses where I can. A great supplement can be modified and adapted to fit in the story the players are telling, regardless of the rules.

How would you like to see the ENNIEs change? What should remain inviolate?

The main change I would like with the ENNIES to see is the way the awards handles announcements, including regular communication of opportunities and social media graphics. Whilst I appreciate social media is difficult, I think it is the best way to get people interested and involved. I only saw this opportunity because I happened to be on the ENNIES website at the right time – there was no announcement about the 2026 judge applications opening on the official ENNIES Twitter/X account (which I would also suggest be removed due to both the lack of use on the platform itself and because of the current owner’s politics).

Moreover, I would like to see more logistical thought and preparation going into the award ceremony itself in terms of the livestream at GenCon. Again, as someone who has organised liveshow events at Dragonmeet, I know how difficult it can be to livestream from a convention, but there are ways to make it easier i.e. a dedicated volunteer who regularly maintains the stream overlays and another updating the socials with graphics and tagging the winners would make the awards more accessible and engaging.

The other change I would like to see is an expansion of the ‘Best Streaming Content’ category in to sub categories i.e. Best Show: Discussion’, ‘Best Show: Actual Play’ as such a category does not fit such a broad area of viable RPG content/expertise. What judging criteria can we simultaneously apply to an actual play show AND discussion podcast?. Such separation of categories would almost certainly require a separate judging panel of experts which I would 100% be for. Furthermore, a specific rule that previous winners of this category cannot be considered as nominees again needs to be implemented. The only elements I would say should remain inviolate as part of the ENNIES are the No AI usage policy (as implemented this year going forward) and no submission which promote hate, violence and discrimination against any minorities will be considered.