The Founder

Hi, I'm Will. I've spent over 20 years building web software at scale, from a scrappy engineering startup in San Antonio to senior leadership at public and private companies across B2B, B2C, and traditional retail ecommerce. Through all of it, I kept playing RPGs.

Not casually. The kind of playing where you know your character's backstory better than your own resume, where you're thinking about the campaign on your commute, where a cancelled session doesn't just sting but compounds, because it's never really just one session. It's the arc, the story you were building together across months, that never gets its ending.

A few years ago I stepped off the corporate track and started Studio Lybrand, and I spent two years deep in generative AI, building the kinds of systems that take advantage of whatever is cutting edge and innovative. I kept circling back to a hobby that feels constantly out of reach, gaming. But I wanted to build something new and innovative, needing the types of solutions AI can easily solve for, but without the sacrifices AI usually forces on you.

So I pulled out my role playing books and got started. Could an oracle system powered by a software engine, coupled with AI for narration, create an amazing role playing experience? That felt like a solvable problem, and I had the engineering background, the obsession, and enough unfinished campaigns to fuel the motivation.

So I built Wanderhold, a solo narrative RPG platform where the campaign evolves based on your choices, and remembers everything for you, without all the complex rulesets. It's built on real mechanics, generating story that responds to your history. It isn't a replacement for the table. It's a way to keep the story alive when the table isn't available.

I built it for every player who ever had to put their character away half-finished. I hope you finally get to your ending.

Get In Touch

Feedback and questions welcome at support@playwanderhold.com.