Paul Hoeffer uses the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) role playing game system to power his own adventure modules filled with mice. A hit with players of the popular game, his Alchemical Press began in 2024 with a successful Kickstarter. Since then, he has attended numerous conventions and built a strong fan base for his tiny adventurers.

Today there are multiple modules, an adventure atlas, a gamemaster’s screen, and a campaign setting guide available for purchase at https://alchemicalpress.io/. 

After meeting Hoeffer at the Worldcon in Seattle this summer, we followed up with some questions about how this Northwest game publisher got started.

Q: Please tell us a little about Mice of Legends and how you started publishing game modules?

Mice of Legend is Dungeons & Dragons played from a mouse’s point of view. Unlike Redwall it’s not fairy-tale mice; it’s the same swords, spells, and dungeon crawls you’d expect from traditional D&D, only reframed through new proportions, dangers, and cultures.  

It began as a way to let existing D&D parties visit the “mouse world” for a time, undertake an adventure, and return home, so everything was built to work seamlessly with familiar D&D rules. Over time, that single adventure grew into a full campaign spanning eight modules, a setting guide, and a growing range of miniatures

It actually started as a discussion between my cousin and I, as we wanted to get back into playing D&D after a long hiatus.  He suggested playing D&D as mice, and asked if I could write up a one-shot. That single idea grew fast, and the next thing I knew, I had 180 pages and a dozen maps created. What was supposed to be a single module became a full eight-part campaign.

I launched the first Kickstarter in the summer of 2024. Since then, I’ve released the setting guide, adventure modules M1 through M5 and a side adventure in module N1, so six in total with more in the works.

Q: Mice of Legends is a family affair. How did your daughter contribute to the books? Other family members?

My daughter did a lot of editing on the early drafts for the first few modules and also created the titles for all of them except Road Trip. My mom actually created the concept for module M6 and the key NPCs, and she even inspired the Great Duck who appears in module M5 and M6.

A huge thanks also goes to my former college classmate, Steve, who playtested the early modules with his 5e group and contributed excellent, insightful feedback on several of the modules and how to better tie them into the main story arc.

Q: Your modules are based on Dungeons & Dragons RPG published by Wizards of the Coast. Can you explain how independent publishers can use this IP (intellectual property) in your own work?

You can absolutely build adventures inspired by D&D systems like AD&D, OSE, or Shadowdark. The key bit is reading through the licensing agreement, including the licensing text in your publications, and clearly designate what’s your own IP from what belongs to those systems. 

The open license system makes it possible for small publishers like me to create original settings that remain compatible with popular rules. I’m in the middle of doing the Shadowdark RPG conversions now because it’s a fun, flexible ruleset that helps reach new players.

Q: Are there any particular challenges in manufacturing your modules?

At first, the biggest hurdle was understanding the various publishing options that are out there in terms of print-on-demand (POD) as there are a lot of options to wade through. Once that was ironed out, it has been pretty smooth sailing since.  Two issues I do hope to overcome in the future are having a better source for POD in the UK, and also to be able to more easily offer Mixam print copies as a POD option to retail stores at an economic price point.

Q: How do you reach your audience?

Slowly, unfortunately.  When I meet people at conferences and in person, everyone really likes the concept, adventures, and the quality of the writing and art.  Building an audience as an indie creator is, as it turns out, the hardest part.

Q: How important is having booths at events like Worldcon or Norwescon? 

Attending cons such as WorldCon and Norwescon are critical, not only because you get a chance to meet with gamers who may be interested in Mice of Legend, but also in meeting other indie content creators and exchanging ideas, or mapping out how to collaborate together. I met Cailon from The Nail Realm at Norwescon, and we’ve since collaborated on several minfigs and a soon to be released module that highlights their creations. I met Rihana of PurrnelKitty Studio, at DragonFlight, and we are also now working on a collaboration. 

These are just two examples of the professional relationships that have come from having a booth at a con.  And, as a gamer, I like attending them and, when time allows, play some RPGs myself.

Q: What is next for Mice of Legend?

Lots! The Pantheon for Mice of Legend is in art and was a lot of fun to create, and I wrote it in such a way you can easily use them in your own campaign even without the mouse hook. Modules M6 and M7 are written and in play-test, so if there is anyone who wants to join the group of testers I’d love to hear from you.  

I’m also porting the entire series to Shadowdark and am keen to get people who enjoy playing that rule system to help test that out as well. It’s been an incredible first year for Mice of Legend, and there’s still plenty of adventure ahead.

Photos: (Top) Publisher Paul Hoeffer explains his modules to customers at Worldcon 2025 in Seattle. (Bottom) Mice of Legends modules and information at the publisher’s booth. Photos by Rosemary Jones.

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