Tell me a little about Dungeon Dome! What excites you about it?
The Dungeon Dome is a new actual play project that I’m hoping to produce through Kickstarter. The basic Idea is D&D meets professional wrestling. Players take on the role of fantasy gladiators fighting for wealth and glory in an arena full of deadly traps.
There is a lot that excites me about this project. Actual Play is rapidly becoming a major part of the RPG landscape. Shows like The Adventure Zone, Critical Role, and to a lesser extent my own ONE SHOT have shown that you can indeed export the experience of RPGs to a mass audience. So far, actual play games have been traditional, just putting a mic or camera in front of a normal game. I’ve reached a point with my audience where I feel comfortable messing with the formula.
The Dungeon Dome is the type of campaign that wouldn’t really work without an audience. The players are disconnected, the story is primarily moved through one type of play, PVP is usually only fun for the winning parties, and the only person playing who experiences the whole thing is the DM. With an audience, these disconnected stories play out in a way that other people can experience. Having people observe play heightens the drama inherent to combat. The PVP element is fun win or lose because in wrestling a lose can be as beneficial to a character as a win. I can also use competitive challenges that would feel out of place in a traditional game.
I’m also folding in mechanics that allow the audience to actively participate in the game. By cheering on the team they support that can grant that team special abilities to use in the game. This is a chance for me to experiment with the form of observed play, a style I think we will see more of in design over the next few years.
Also, on a more personal note, if The Dungeon Dome funds, it will allow me to pursue game design and performance gaming full time. That would be rad!
How have you developed the initial project – setting, concept, and so on?
I drew inspiration from a few places. Primarily the WWE and Yuri on Ice.
For the past few years I have been lightly getting back into wrestling. I watched a little when I was 10, but I wasn’t a die hard fan, eventually I grew out of it. However, a lot of the podcasters I listen to are huge wrestling fans, and there are a surprising number of wrestling fans in nerdy spaces. More accurately it surprised me initially. Now the parallels between wrestling, superhero comics, LARP, and improv are glaringly obvious to me. I guess I was pretty mired in the perception of wrestling as “low art” which is really stupid.
Anyway, after watching some matches I saw a lot of things that I could appreciate, and a lot of things that frustrated me. There is still a lot of old fashioned misogyny and toxic masculinity in big company wrestling. To the point that I can’t really watch it regularly. I see that it has merit, and understand what people enjoy, but there is a lot that grates on me. I also don’t see enough of the kind of theatrical experimentation in televised wrestling. Like, Lucha Underground comes really close but I want really wild storytelling. I want to see Shakespeare plays told through wrestling matches. Mainstream wrestling, understandably, was not going to do that.
Competition is one of the main levers in traditional games. Crunch games really show off the wargaming DNA in RPGs, and war gaming is really competitive. People who know my work know I don’t feature a ton of tactical, crunchy games. I think ONE SHOT, for the most part, doesn’t lend itself to those games. Yuri on Ice, among other things, is a really good sports story. You love almost everyone in it, they are all driven and fierce, and in the end only one of them can win. Even as a written thing it had beautiful, surprising highs and lows. It was so good it made me long for competition drama at the table.
The Dungeon Dome became a way for me to explore competitive games, sports narratives, and the things I like in wrestling.
One final note, after I started work on this I discovered X Crawl through the podcast. It was another attempt at arena Dungeon Punk competition. It was neat there there were similar ideas in game design. We’re in slightly different places but I want to give them a nod.
What tech will you be using to bring Dungeon Dome to the people in accessible ways?
ONE SHOT has a production studio in Chicago outfitted with a four camera setup, good audio equipment, and decent lighting. I think we have one of the best-looking setups on twitch, at least for the space we can afford. I really wanted to have solid audio quality be cause it was important to me that folks be able to hear us clearly. We’re exporting all of our episodes to backers as podcasts as well, so folk how prefer/need to listen don’t need to bother with video files.
Ideally, I want to have some sort of replay transcript, but this might have to be a down the road priority. It bothers me that hearing impaired listeners don’t have access to so much of what we do. Stuff like subtitles and transcripts are a priority if we go far enough over our funding.
Elaborate a little on your reasons for liking actual play. What are your personal reasons for liking it, and your reasons as a creator? How do you think it’s influencing the heart of games?
Actual play excites me for so many reasons. The best way to grow the roleplaying hobby has always been to show people how much fun it is. The problem has always been that the experience of an RPG is difficult to show off. Games usually serve smaller groups, and explaining them has a “you had to be there” element for a lot of people. With actual play, people can actually be there. It’s experiencing RPGs second hand, but you still get to experience them. It completely changes the way the hobby grows.
On a personal and somewhat selfish level, games are the form of artistic expression that works best for me. I have Dyslexia and ADD as a result, I write very slowly. On top of that, just about everything I produce takes a lot of editing. I love storytelling, but writing has a major prohibitive barrier for me. A ton of traditional storytelling mediums require heavy writing: novels, films, TV, plays, ect. For someone in my position, that sucks.
Stories in games flow naturally for me. The improvisational nature of gaming drops all of those barriers. The performance aspect plays to one of my other strengths. At the table I feel confident and excited, it feels effortless. At times it feels like my ADD is an asset more than a liability. Actual play means that a games are viable performance space. Thanks to actual play my creative outlet is a career. I cannot express how huge that is.
How do you handle tone and support players when it comes to content in a game that’s effectively live? What happens when there is a “no”?
This is something that Kat (my best friend and business partner) and I have talked about this. Right now the plan is to just have an X Card. So far we haven’t run into X Card issues. TheDungeon Dome falls into a much more cartoony depiction of violence and triggering subjects. However you never know. Like, if a player has a phobia and a monster exhibits qualities of that phobia we’ll be in a tough spot. Especially if the monster is audience submitted. Thankfully games are flexible, so you can make changes on the fly.
For those who are curious, if an X Card shows up, we will say we have an X Card and explain what it means to the stream. Normally, you don’t do this. You don’t call attention to that sort of thing to protect the player. ONE SHOT is in a different position than normal games though. People look up to the network as community leaders. So If we get an X Card I want to show the audience how it is used. I want players advocating for X Card at their tables to be able to point to us and say “ONE SHOT does it.” We won’t force people to tell us why we need to change what we are changing, just show of that it is happening and the method we’re using to organize it.
Last thing – tell me about these audience participation mechanics. How do they work? Just how much can one person influence the game?
Boy howdy this is a good question! The Dungeon Dome is part performance, part live playtest. I fully expect The way The Dungeon Dome operates episode 1 of season one to be different than the way it works episode 15. We will testing out, adding, and changing audience participation mechanics throughout Season 1 if we fund.
Right now we have a few ways we know the audience can influence the story:
Backers can buy the right to directly collaborate with me on monsters, traps, items, and NPCs that will show up in The Dungeon Dome and directly affect matches, the overall story, and the game’s world.
During streams the audience can grant the team or performer they support Inspiration (a D&D 5e mechanic.) Normally inspiration is something the DM awards, but I have taken it completely out of my hands. I won’t be able to do it even if I want to.
In The Dungeon Dome games I ran before the Kickstarter, folks did this by spamming the chat with team hashtags. Now we are Twitch Affiliates, so we have access to Bits and Cheer. These are a gamified currency Twitch uses to allow a viewing audience to tip streamers. For The Dungeon Dome it could be a more effective and noticeable way for folks to influence the stream live.
Also in the pre-KS Dungeon Dome if a character dropped below 0 HP the audience could vote whether that character succeeded or failed on their Death Save. 3 failures would kill a character permanently. The audience still has this power and I think it’s pretty buck wild how much this could change the story.
That’s what we know. I fully expect to create more avenues for interaction but I need to experiment in order to find them.
So, would you mind giving me a brief pitch for your Patreon? Tell me about some of your creations. My Patreon is what I use to fund my endeavors and gather attention for the games I make: a lot of great people there give me incredible feedback and promote my games, and the financial support I get helps take some of the stress off my living requirements, so all in all Patreon is what’s keeping my work going right now! I create small, short-ish games about sex, kink, communication, and connecting to others.
My game “A Real Game” won an award at GenCon! That and Our Radios are Dying are probably what people know of me best. It’s a game about taking an actual printed copy of the game and interacting with the pages, sometimes transforming or modifying them, as the game itself becomes sentient and speaks to you, unsure of its right to exist. It’s certainly gained the most attention, with a lot of different interpretations, which is always interesting to see!
Our Radios are Dying is a game about two space lesbians who got separated from their spaceship and are now drifting through space with only an hour left before they die. They have nothing else to do but talk about their relationship and their problems and who they are. You play it by sitting on rolling office chairs and actually spinning and floating around on them, as if moving through space, and I quite like it.
Kirigami Dominatrix Display Simulator is a game about domme-ing a sheet of paper. You take on the role of an alien dominatrix and do kinky things to the paper using common stationary tools, using this to immerse yourself in and symbolize BDSM play. I think it’s my most clever game, and it’s informed a lot of the rest of what I do.
Screenshot from inside Kirigami Dominatrix Display Simulator.
I’ve read Kirigami Dominatrix Display Simulator, and it’s a freaking fantastic game. I loved the design, and the use of paper and scissors and other modification of the paper is a gorgeous idea. It also includes some extra rules on how to simulate BDSM and orgasms in other games, which I loved, and it’s one of the most innovative and respectful games I’ve seen involving sex.
Tell me a little about your process for creating games. Do you brainstorm? Do you use any specific techniques? Is it pure Caitie goodness? How do you do it? Typically I think of something I wish I saw in games or a particularly trope or idea I want to fiddle with, and I’ll just keep that idea floating around in the back of my head. At the same time, I’ll think of characters or situations or plots that I like and keep those floating around in the back of my head as well. At some point, there’s a marriage, and then I make a game!
Sometimes two ideas click instantly, sometimes it takes forever. There’s stuff on my computer that’s been waiting years to get used, and maybe it never well. Eventually they work though, and I write out what I think is the best part of that system, slowly building up ideas while daydreaming at work. Then once I have it written out, I mercilessly edit and cut everything I can until it’s distilled down into what I think is the simplest and most fun version of that idea possible.
One of her better known games, bugfuck, is about bugs fucking. Like, for real. It’s amazing.
What is your background in games? How did you become a designer?
I grew up around people that were roleplaying and I never understood it, but I always wanted to figure it out and play. I did a little bit in middle school, but then sort of got into it proper in high school. I kept trying different games and different ways to play because I got bored after a while of just playing only one game, and so I got experienced with different mechanics and different playstyles. As I played with more people and as I started to dig into the indie publishing scene, I tried to make houserules that I wished were in the games I played – and then eventually after years of that, I had a more defined sense of how I liked to roleplay, but didn’t find very many games that experimented with it, so I made my own!
What helps you decide the medium to use for your games, the mechanics, and so on?
Basically editing. I slap together a game that I think will accomplish what I want, and after exploring it some, I realize it doesn’t do what I want at all, and then I search for what will. The first drafts of most of my games are very traditionally game-y: dice, character sheets, processes. It’s by seeing how those ideas don’t allow me to achieve the story I want that I open myself up to what does. It’s just ruthlessly cutting everything away until I only have the barest idea left.
What do you do to draw in more players and customers?
Oh, I wish I knew. advertise monthly or bi-monthly on social media, I enter a lot of contests, I get hired to do Kickstarter stuff and so on, eventually hoping that people will recognize my name and like what I do and seek me out. I just design a lot and spread out a lot and try to be as visible as I can.
How would you define your “brand” as a designer?
I angle for weird, sad, beautiful, and sexy, pick maybe 2 or 3. It’s just stuff I like to see in stories. Strange things and strange stories are fascinating to me and I love seeing games with quirky mechanics and ideas. I like and aim for stories that feature hot sex or heartbreak or life-affirming beauty or just invasive weirdness, so that’s what I try to make!
—
Thanks so much to Caitlynn for the interview and the opportunity to check out her process and work! Up next Caitlynn will be releasing a game in #Feminism 2nd Edition, and has been doing work on a fair number of Kickstarters, so keep an eye out for her name when a new product comes out! Remember to check out her Patreon to support her work and her website for more games!
This post was supported by the community on patreon.com/briecs. Tell your friends!
Tell me a little about The Warring Kingdoms. What excites you about it?
The Warring Kingdoms Nostria and Andergast are part of The Dark Eye’s core setting, the continent Aventuria. They are two smaller realms caught in a hateful struggle that has been going on for generations. Taking a toll on the countries, depriving them of economic and social growth. Neither Nostria nor Andergast are in the focus of sweeping metaplot events or the plans of bigger realms. They are very much focused on each other. The setting very much is a down to earth approach to fantasy, going for a middle ages feel. It feels grounded, lived in and true to life and human experience. It is a setting where nature, history and magic have their own mysteries and where war has a real cost. But without going grim dark with it. There is room to be heroic and for good people to succeed in the end, even if not everything is black and white and there is room for moral choices to be made. This medieval fantasy feel is showing in the artwork and the text, making Nostria and Andergast into specific places and not just pastiche.
There are a lot of elements and plothooks in the setting that I am really excited about. Like the city of Nostria ravaged by a plague a few years ago and in decline since, with empty rows of houses that serve as home to gangs of criminals. The labyrinthine castle above the city home to the educated Queen Yolande, trying to be a wise ruler to her backwards country. The storm swept coast, where free farmers are holding back the sea by building dykes. Something that speaks to the northern German in me. The deep and endless forests and what might lurk within, places where nature makes all manmade borders obsolete and the woods themselves are the true sovereign of the land.Personally I also like how The Warring Kingdoms as a setting allows us to examine accepted fantasy tropes. There is a lot that sounds very familiar here. A feudal order, knights, kingdoms in endless conflict. But the way it is portraited [portrayed] and rooted in the setting gives it weight and allows to ask questions. The feudal order is just as playable from the peasant perspective and what it means for them. The wars take their toll, yeomen are recruited to fight, farms and castles are damaged. Conquered villagers have to swear fealty to a new liege. But there also is an emotional cost. The inherited hate and prejudice after generations of fighting, even if in the borderlands only the rulers are changing and cultures are mixing. Where often picking a site in the conflict would be the only way to go, striving for peace, however uneasy it might be, and an understanding between cultures is portraited [portrayed] as just as viable as becoming a war hero. War itself is, unsurprisingly with a title like The Warring Kingdoms, one of the big themes. It will never be truly won or over. The war is as much a force of nature and creeping background threat as a sandbox to play in. But to give a heroic fantasy aspect to it there is a totemistic aspect to the war as well. An ancient quarrel between Animal Kings, the firstborn of their species and a mythic Root of Hatred the players can engage and appease. But even if they succeed there still is the resentment of generations at war, looping back again and grounding it in human experience.
Another trope that gets examined is gender roles in the tropes of medieval fantasy. Aventuria as a setting has been explicitly equal rights since it’s development in the 80s. Allowing for female fighters, rulers and artisans on the same footing as their male counterparts. Andergast however is one of the few patriarchies on the continent. Which culturally isolates them from their neighbors. By putting them next to and in conflict with Nostria it put “medieval” gender roles in contrast with a emancipated society and shows their injustice. But without painting every Andergastan as an evil cliché. It is an aspect of their culture, that is hard to unlearn and without contact to others not often question. Cultures are an important part of a The Dark Eye character and have weight in the rules on equal footing with their species and profession. So you are not a human fighter but an Andergastan Forest Knight and the Warring Kingdoms gives this culture weight and a setting to use it in.
As a supplement, how does The Warring Kingdoms integrate into The Dark Eye? What makes it unique beyond other settings and supplements?
With Nostria and Andergast focused on each other and the region providing a lot self-contained of hooks and conflicts while on the surface level fitting the European flavored take on a medieval fantasy setting, The Warring Kingdoms work well as the first regional supplement. Before this we had the core rules and the Aventurian Almanac, describing the whole continent, in less detail for each of the regions of course. With The Warring Kingdoms we are zooming in on this two realms and the setting they provide. They are not only geographically in the same place but united by narrative themes and a similar feel. You will just need the corebook and to a lesser extend the Almanac to get full enjoyment from The Warring Kingdoms, everything that you need to know and all rules to play in the setting are collected in the setting supplement. But the setting book is not the only thing that we offer. In the Kickstarter it comes with a adventure modules for the region and playing into the themes. New Bonds and Ancient Quarrel for example is about securing an uneasy peace, starting with a political marriage. We also provide a novella and a comic set in the Warring Kingdoms and, if our backers are generous, a soundtrack album. So there is material to engage with the setting in a lot of ways. The setting book being the core and working on it’s own. So within The Dark Eye you are getting a lovingly detailed and ready to play setting.
I would say the european, specifically german perspective on a grounded, sometimes fairytale like medieval fantasy setting. Written by people who just need to walk a few steps to get a view on a real life castle. We are inspired by different landscapes, our own culture and history, when writing fantasy and I think it shows in a lot of small details.
more below the cut!
How have you made The Warring Kingdoms mechanically interesting, beyond just being part of The Dark Eye? Are there new items, new roles to play?
The Warring Kingdoms are introducing rules that support and reward thinking about your character’s culture. There are traits you can pick that give you a little bonus and a little drawback for something that is typical of your culture. Using this rules we are also giving an identity to the culture of smaller regions within the Warring Kingdoms. While the core rules only featured Nostria and Andergast as a whole. That way the verbose Nostrians can lose time when a skill check involves talking but depending on fishing for a living they get a small bonus for that. While Andergasters from the eastern Steppes are not just stubborn than the rest of their culture they also deal with horses for a living and get some bonus there, but their rough homeland and dealing with orcs gives them less courtly manners. So small mechanical benefits that also tell you something about what life in that character’s homeland is like.
We are also featuring new schools of magic for mages and new familiars for witches supported with some new spells. If you want to throw exploding fireballs as an Andergastan battlemage or if you want an owl friend as a witch of the Silent Sisterhood, this book has you covered. As a faction important to the setting we are introducing druids as a new school of magic with their own set of rituals, spells and tradition. Our druids, called Sumes in the Warring Kingdoms because they worship the earth goddess Sumu, are more like the priest of celtic and pagan Europe than the shapeshifters of D&D.
New items are featured with all the rules to use it and some description in the sourcebook. But if you want even more details we also offer the Armory of the Warring Kingdoms with illustrations for each piece of equipment and some optional additional rules and some deeper descriptions. There are of course weapons typical for the Warring Kingdoms. Like the Nostrian long bow or the Andergaster, a 7ft long two handed sword. But there are everyday items as well, like clothing typical for the Kingdoms, tools to build a dyke or works of art.
What inspiration have you used to develop the setting of The Warring Kingdoms?
We had a history to build on, since the setting, like most for The Dark Eye, has been around for some decades. People used it before, first as a setting for novels and later adventures. There has been another sourcebook describing it, as well as the computer game series Chains of Satinav. So we could build from there and expand on those ideas. But of course we did set the focus to support the themes we found interesting and wanted to put a spotlight on. Another goal was to describe those things that enhanced the play experience foremost.
As a feudal setting with knights, longstanding feuds and wars we of course took inspiration from classic tales about knights. So even if the setting is not Arthurian there is some inspiration to be found. We of course couldn’t ignore Game of Thrones. But Grimm’s fairytales and Ottfried Preußler’s Krabatt and Astrid Lindgren’s Ronja the Robber’s Daughter did lend a lot of inspiration as well. European history and the image we have of the middle ages as well as real historical research also played a big role. Some sources on inspired certain elements of the setting. You can find a lot of the hanseatic city of Bremen and its harbor Bremerhaven in the trading hub Salta and Slaterhaven for example. While the steppes of Teshkal in Andergast are in a lot of ways draw inspiration from Rohan in the lord of the rings, which is not as big an influence on the rest of the setting.
Do you think that there are significant differences between The Dark Eye and USian games like Dungeons & Dragons, and that this has influenced The Warring Kingdoms?
I think there is a difference in playstyle that developed over the years and influenced the design decisions that went into creating the rules for subsequent editions of The Dark Eye. TDE is less combat and encounter focused in it’s scenarios. Instead pushing for engaging with the background, it’s lore and NPCs. There are a lot of social challenges in adventures for the dark eye as well as a big metaplot that often is featured and engaged in published scenarios. But there is also room to just experience the world, featuring scenes of exploration, fluff and sight-seeing. Which is something our players enjoy. There are of course American settings that do similar things Glorantha comes to mind as a setting with very deep lore and the World of Darkness featured a metaplot. But The Dark Eye as the defining game of the market it changed what mainstream assumptions look like in Germany and is it’s own mixture of stylistic elements.
Players of The Dark Eye usually enjoy to have their character’s backstory and connection to the world of Aventuria represented on their character sheet. So there are mechanical representations of mundane things, that mostly offer flavor. They of course can feature in scenarios. We offer mechanics that allow players to zoom in as deep as they like. For some players it is okay to know their character is from Nostria. Others take one of the cultural personality traits, others arrange their stats to have their fighter be good at fishing or their mage to know how to build a dyke. Making the stats tell a story about your character is something the system has to do and something we expanded on in The Warring Kingdoms. Of course it still has to be able to also handle fights in a balanced way and all the other things a traditional rpg design demands. A character who learned how to build a dyke will be rewarded in a scenario where that plays a role, that is delivered with the Kickstarter. Even if it will not come up too often, it still feels important then. But it might define what the character is like, even if it never is the skill that saves the day. To allow for builds like this TDE has a pointbuy system with roles defined by the setting. Similar to Shadowrun I would say. [Beau says: Shadowrun 3e point buy is my favorite crunchy game build ever so this like, is totally my jam.]
Of course this influenced The Warring Kingdoms. To provide a working metaplot you have to give players room to do their thing and be the most important people in the setting, at their table at least. But you also have to give a few hints at what can happen in the future. So we have to decide what to hand over to the players and never touch again, so they are free to use it and what to point out as something that we will pick up in the future. We are marking NPCs with chess pieces for example. A pawn we will not mention again, a knight will remain in the setting but can for the plot be easily replaced with any npc the GM likes, a king will be important later on and it is important for later developments that this person show up in this scenario. So metaplot considerations featured into designing the setting. Within The Dark Eye the setting is trending towards being less metaplot heavy and leaving a lot in the GMs hands. We still put in a few hints that will keep people interested in what the future holds.
The description of the setting is providing plot details as well as challenges and conflicts as well as a lot of cultural details and interesting fluff. Necessary to explore and feel the setting through your characters perspective or to give a deep background to your character, even if you play them in another culture. So The Warring Kingdoms is not only describing a field to play in, a destination to travel, a series of storyhooks or a set of difficulties to measure up against but also a lens through which a character can experience the world.
What do you mechanically to handle social interaction in The Dark Eye, and how is it reflected in The Warring Kingdoms? What influence does the setting have on the understanding on the mechanics for social situations?
It can be done done as a skill check, where we have a variety of skills divided by approach. Either as a contested check between two characters (PC or NPC), just going for a success and seeing how good you rolled or a long time task, where you are accumulating points, till you reach certain milestones for a full or partial success. Each of these three core mechanics are there for every skill check. They can be applied to social interaction depending on what your goal is. The quick roll for a success works best if it isn’t too important how long a task takes and what the other character is doing. The contested roll is important if you want a defense and to compare two characters against one another. It is used between player characters or between player characters and important NPC. The long term task works well if you want to convince people over time, turn asking around for information into a montage or do other long term things like counseling someone in a time of grief.
There also is a ladder of attitudes people can have towards each other ranging from bitter enemies to unconditional love. You can roll to move people along that scale or to just get them to do something. Which gives more of a choice and makes a difference between long and short term goals. Those rules are covered more in depth in the Compendium, which is not yet released in English.
Your social status and other traits modify your roles or sometimes allow you to roll for things you otherwise wouldn’t be allowed to roll for. In The Warring Kingdoms it is important where you stand in the feudal hierarchy. A peasant will have trouble addressing the Queen in a forthright manner and it would be a harder roll for the player. But if the peasant plays into his lower status and pleads instead of demanding, that might make the roll easier. On the other hand the Queen will not have it easy if she is trying to speak with the peasant as equals or if she attempted to mingle with criminals to gather information. It is a medieval world, with distinct social classes, which is reflected in the mechanics. But we also allow characters to rise above that system and interact as people. There are a few scenarios where looking beyond the feudal system and showing compassion for both sides will lead to the best outcome. Still feudal rule is normal for most of Aventuria and certainly The Warring Kingdoms.
For The Warring Kingdoms specifically we used some mechanics to have the rules interact with the themes of resentment and enmity between Nostria and Andergast. The cultural personality traits we talked about can provide hints how to play a character from a certain region, also having a small mechanical impact. One trait you can pick up for any Nostrian or Andergastan is the inherited hatred between them. So interacting peacefully with someone from the other country gets a bit harder. There is a “animosity track” you can use to see how much a character is influenced by hate and to reduce it or raise it in steps by using social rolls. You can tie this into the mystical background of the Root of Hatred as well.
There are a lot of modifiers and use cases for the rules described in the core book that come from The Warring Kingdoms but the core mechanics remain. Rather traditional skill check, social class, culture and approach matter. There are a few ways to have more than binary success, like the animosity track, long-term tasks or the attitude scale.
Tell me more about the schools of magic! What can you tell me about new familiars and druids? How do they interact with the setting and mechanics?
The background of The Dark Eye determines what approaches there are to magic. There are different of traditions that shape how your character casts their spells. Shaping the general outlook a spellcaster has as well as some of the flavor of casting spells. Like if they need incantations, gestures or just force of will.
The guild mages have a scientific approach to spellcasting, write books and have academies. There are three recognized guilds of mages, all with protection by the laws. Except in Andergast, where those laws never were established. Still there is an academy in Andergast, the Combat Seminary. The mages trained there are ready for war and the rough manners of a rough land. They do not seem like your typical bookworm, instead often serving with the Andergastan troops, using their staff and magic as weapons in the skirmishes against Nostria. They have some of the most destructive spells in the system in their grimoire. So an Andergastan Guild Mage is a good pick for a fighting adventurer.
Nostrian mages are very different. Supported by Queen Yolande, who graduated from this school, they study the history and hidden magic of the land. Called the Academy of Light and Darkness they use magic of both as well as magic that transforms objects and the environment. The worldview taught at the Academy is one of strict dualism and a divide between good and evil. They are a good choice to play an academic character in the backwards Warring Kingdoms and someone whose assumptions about the world will be challenged outside the university walls.
The tradition of the witches is more guided by intuition, being in tune with your familiar and the sisterhood of witches that share the affinity to your type of animal. A witch can conjure curses on people they dislike, they can fly on a wooden item (not necessarily a broom) and of course cast spells. They lack the protection by the laws but in Nostria they are not persecuted or anything but respected as advisors and a power factor. We introduce the Serpent Witches in The Warring Kingdoms. A member of the Sisterhood of Knowledge they have snake for familiars and are hungry for knowledge, sometimes dangerous knowledge and known for knowing a lot of secrets. They have snake, divining and disruptive magic.
The owl witches of the Silent Sisterhood are secretive, at home in the wide forests of the warring Kingdoms and sworn protectors of all witches. They do hunt down witch hunters and other enemies of their tradition. They are seen as the best fighters amongst the witches and their magic supports this a lot it buffing her abilities in combat. Growing claws, running up trees or making branches attack their enemies.
The witches are the most important tradition in Nostria. Attuned to the land and revered by it’s inhabitants. Witches being predominantly female, even if other gender identities are found in their ranks, they are a good counterweight to the Andergastan patriarchy.
Andergast’s most important tradition are the druids or “Sumes”,as they are called in the Warring Kingdoms, they influence and advise the king and are seen on par with clerics of the gods, speaking for the earth goddess Sumu. They can influence people’s mind with rituals and use magical obsidian daggers in their spellcasting. Still their magic is attuned to the forests of their homelands which they protect. The Sumes speak for the forest and can decide if trees are to be cut down or animals to be hunted. A privilege that can get them in conflict with nobility.
There are two factions of druids in Andgergast, the servants of Sumu, who are like I just described them, whose magic is of the forstes and the elements. They usually genuinely want to protect the land and keep Sumu, who they see as a dying goddess alive.
The Augmenters of Power are different, in method and often motivation. They still are Sumes and seen as envoys of nature but their magic is more about influencing people. They can tell if someone is lying and cause fear or confusion. Most of their spells take control of someones body or reactions without outright dominating their thoughts. Their workings and intrigues are a big part of the setting and tied to the Root of Hatred. Even if they still try to save the land, most heroes will question their methods.
Hi all! Today I have an interview with Alex Hakobian on the new game Broadsword, which is currently on Kickstarter! It looks like a fun romp and I wanted to give you all the opportunity to check it out. See Alex’s responses to my questions below!
—
Illustration by Gary Chalk (originally drawn for (IINM) Lone Wolf and licensed for reuse in Broadsword)
Tell me a little about Broadsword. What excites you about it?
Broadsword is a tactical adventure game in the format of a hybrid boardgame/RPG – a “roleplaying boardgame,” if you will. It’s about a group of valiant Heroes working together to defeat the evil forces of the Abyss.
What excites me about it most is the foundation on which it was conceived and built. Although Broadsword takes evident inspiration from many sources ranging different genre, its greatest asset is its direct bloodline to the classic 1989 Milton Bradley/Games Workshop boardgame HeroQuest.
Like many youngsters in those days, I have very fond memories of the game. It was, in fact, my personal gateway drug to D&D and similar roleplaying games later in life. It was only natural that some of that deeply engrained experience bleed though into Broadsword.
What are the aspects of HeroQuest you found valuable enough and important enough to bring forward into Broadsword?
In the most basic of terms, Broadsword is my love letter to HeroQuest. As such, it was important to me that the spirit of the game stayed intact. I wanted you to come away from a session feeling like, “Wow, that was just like the original. But better!” Thankfully, this was easily done in great part because my game originally started out as an expansion on the original, but quickly grew into its own entity.
Speaking specifically, I knew I had to keep some of the key boardgamey elements. Foremost among these were the custom pictographic dice, known as Combat Dice. I felt these were the backbone to the whole thing. Remove the dice and the entire thing falls apart, severing its legacy bloodline.
Going hand in hand with that was the tactical, grid-based combat. It simply wouldn’t be itself if I were to, for example, have it use narrative, storygame or “theater of the mind” type rules.
There are a couple other, much smaller assets or concepts brought forward, but the two mentioned above are far and away the ones that carry the most weight.
Illustration by Gary Chalk (originally drawn for (IINM) Lone Wolf and licensed for reuse in Broadsword)
How are you venturing out into different genres and sources, both mechanically and flavor-wise?
I’m not sure I would qualify it as “venturing out” into different genres and sources so much as experiencing them, internalizing them, then funneling it through into the game. For example, if you hear “Fireball,” “Lightning Bolt,” or better yet, “Magic Missile,” you are going to think “classic D&D Wizard spell.” So I consider: What makes them so great? Once I believe I’m come up with the essence of the answer in mechanical terms, I can then move forward with including it in some form in the game in a way that makes sense for the system, mechanics, and flavor.
Let’s take “Fireball” as an example. The Pyromancer class has a spell called “Explosion.” The flavor text reads, “A massive fireball explodes, doing great damage.” Mechanically, that translates to: “Any figure on one square you can see takes 2 Body Points of damage. All figures in the surrounding squares each take 1 Body Point of damage. Elite monsters defend the attack normally.”
Now, when compared to other systems where PCs or monsters will have Hit Points typically reaching double digits or beyond, a paltry 2 points of damage seems like nothing. But for Broadsword, that’s really quite tremendous. Even the beefiest classes in the game only top out around 8 Body Points. And that most monsters in the game generally only have half that. Seen in that light, “Explosion” can easily completely eliminate or severely damage a crowded room of monsters.
Getting back to the question at hand, however, I extend this same process to aspects of games from other genres and systems – video games, books, what have you.
Can you tell me a little about the classes in Broadsword and how they interact with the core mechanic and the game itself?
Sure. The game starts with a dozen different classes (with more being supplemented in the near future). In order to provide niche protection to keep the core theme of each class as unsullied as possible, I came up with a system of keywords that I applied to each piece of equipment. I then took each class and sussed out which keywords would make sense for that class to be restricted from using. This process quickly gave way to the need for categorization of the classes themselves, eventually ending with 3 categories of classes.
There are 5 Fighter classes (Berserker, Hunter, Paladin, Ranger, Warrior), who have the least keyword restrictions and can use the most types of gear. Each of the Fighter classes also have their own Class Ability, a talent unique to that class. 5 Caster classes (Aeromancer, Geomancer, Hydromancer, Necromancer, Pyromancer) have the highest restrictions on usable gear. (This is, of course, balanced by the fact that Casters have lots of spells.) And 2 Hybrid classes (Cleric, Druid), who dabble in both melee combat as well as a little magic usage, but they can’t use the very best weapons and armor, nor can they cast as many spells as often as their Caster counterparts.
Your choice of class determines what gear you start with (and by extension, how many Combat Dice you can attack and defend with), what your spell list looks like, and what types of items you are restricted from using. It also provides the baseline for your Body and Mind Points – which may be modified slightly by your choice of race.
What are the experiences and discoveries you have enjoyed most about designing Broadsword?
I found that, despite there being a number of different systems interacting with each other at any one time, the game remains incredibly simple to pick up and learn. This is good, because while I did indeed want to add some granularity and “crunch” on the RPG side of things, I also wanted to keep it streamlined, with a low barrier to entry.
Running the playtests were also a lot of fun, and I don’t believe the level and quality of fun I had ever really diminished through the process, even while testing some new mechanic I wasn’t sure of. It certainly helped that my playtesters were HeroQuest junkies themselves! They quickly learned the ins and outs of the game nearly as well as I did, so it was painless to run a half-baked idea by them before putting anything down on paper and see if it was an idea worth pursuing.
Illustration by David Lewis Johnson
—
Thanks all for reading, and thanks to Alex for answering my questions! I hope you all will check out the Kickstarter for Broadsword and share this around in case anyone else might enjoy it!
This post was supported by the community on patreon.com/briecs. Tell your friends!
Hi all, I had the chance to speak to Danielle Lauzon about her work at John Wick Presents, and wanted to share with you what she had to say. Danielle is a staff developer and design lead for the 7th Sea live-action roleplaying game, which is at Gen Con this year and should have a few spots left!. Danielle shared with me some of her background, too, so get to know her below!
—
Danielle Lauzon
Tell me a little about yourself! What is your background in games, non-game work, and what do you love about what you do?
I’ve been playing RPGs since I was a kid. First trying to get my older brother to let me play AD&D or Magic: The Gathering with him, and then playing Nintendo with my mom. I finally got someone to play a tabletop with me in high school, which is also where I was introduced to Vampire: The Masquerade. When I got to college, I played in my first larp, and well, I’ve been playing pretty much whatever I can get my hands on ever since. I have played in, run, and organized games on every level from small table-tops to large larp events.
I have a Master’s degree in Animal Nutrition and worked as a neuroscientist for the past eight years, until I slowly transitioned to writing for games full time. I had originally wanted to go to Veterinary School, but when faced with a decision between Graduate School and Vet School, I jumped at research. I loved it, except no one told me that if I wanted to really practice my degree, I’d have to move to the Midwest. Let’s talk about how when I lived in Dallas, the place was too cold and dry for me. Anyway, I made due and put my research capabilities to work anyway. The rest I learned as I went. Now I use my degree to tell my friends why the new fad diet they are on is probably no good for them.
To say that I love what I do now is pretty much an understatement. My hobby has become my life, and it’s pretty damned cool. I get into high level game design discussions with people, and they actually take what I say with gravity. I get to go to larps all across the country as research for my job. I mean, other than the isolation of working from home as a fully fledged extrovert, it’s pretty cool.
It isn’t all fun and games though. Deadlines cause a lot of stress, and anyone who has ever written can tell you that writing every day is really a job.
What is happening with the 7th Sea larp? You have a broad plan for it, and I’d love to hear more.
Oh man, I’m so excited about the 7th Sea larp. We’re looking to create a multi-chapter Chronicle that can run for several years. Our goal is to create a meta-plot that incorporates the actions of individuals in different cities to steer it and give it life through over-arcing Stories. These Stories will be high level decisions that generally take place between games, something like inviting an important character into town, or directing troop movements. This isn’t something the characters do immediately, but their immediate support will go towards influencing the outcome of the Story. Some Stories will only be locally focused, but many will tie into that overarching meta-plot.
For the basic gameplay, we’re marrying some American Freeform/Nordic styles with some of 7th Sea Second Edition’s player facing action. I.E. the players mediate actions between themselves as much as they can. And when it comes to characters taking actions against Game Master threats or characters, they simply do, just like in the tabletop. The indecision comes from how the other players may react to what you do, or how your actions push the story forward, and not from whether or not you can do a thing. Of course you can do the thing, you’re a Hero!
As far as setting, I’ll have to refrain from saying too much, other than it’s going to be set mostly in Theah. Though, characters from other areas of Terra may be allowed in the future.
What exactly does a staff developer do in a games company? What is rewarding about it?
You ever wonder how a game book goes from a seed of thought in someone’s head to that beautiful 208 page, full-color supplement sitting in your hands? Well, that’s what I do. Developers in general take the seed of an idea, figure out how it looks in book form, outline the book including giving direction on themes, moods, and overarching story. Then I hire writers to take my ideas and direction and make them into chapters. Then I work with an editor to polish that writing. Then I work with the layout artist to make sure that stuff looks good on the physical page. I work with the art director to make sure the art they ask for fits the themes and mood of the book. Mostly, I’m like a project manager, I take the book from project to project and work with the person doing the work to make sure it fits the vision. If there’s a hole that needs filling, I write it. If there’s a question about the project, I answer it. If there’s feedback from the thousands of Kickstarter backers, I go through and incorporate it into the book, or cry about how I can’t rewrite the whole book to accommodate it.
As a staff developer, I do this for multiple books at a time. I also get to wear the unofficial hat of “Theah expert” here at John Wick Presents. Which really just means that I know where to find that piece of information about what year Eisen tried to invade Ussura and failed miserably.
What’s rewarding about it? Well, these books are like my babies. I get to see them out in the world, and people exclaiming over parts they love, and lamenting on how I cut out their sacred cows from the First Edition. (Something I’ll admit gives me great joy.) But really? I get to work with so many talented people each time I develop one of these books. I get an insight into so many different people’s writing styles and thought processes, and then I get to take the best parts of that and teach them to everyone else. Everyone learns, grows, and as I do more and work with these same people, I get to see them grow as professionals. That is by far the most rewarding part of my job.
What challenges do you encounter working over multiple projects and just keeping it all together?
Oh man, there are all sorts of challenges associated with it. The first being that it’s really hard to switch gears in a single day. I try to schedule stuff so that I can work on something different each day, but sometimes a lot of things come up in one day. I have two methods. The first is bullet journaling, where I make a monthly and daily task list and try to keep up with it as best I can. The other is spreadsheets. I keep project deadlines and schedules in spreadsheets so I don’t lose track. Between that and google calendar, which sends reminders for me (yay!), I am keeping it together. For the most part. Though sometimes things slip through the cracks. :/
Are there specific techniques, software, habits, and/or methods you use to go through the larp design process and separately, the development process?
Google Docs is a great invention that lets me share working projects with other people to get input. Larp writing is a collaborative process, no matter what anyone says. And beyond just converting rules into something larpable, I’m always coming up with scenarios for running the actual larps. And that need collaboration. The same is true with development. I use Dropbox and Google Drive the most for collaborative work, and word or excel files for stuff I keep locally.
As far as habits? Man, that one’s harder. I try to work when I can. Some days I get really distracted, or I can’t concentrate. On those days I make lists of stuff that need to get done to help me organize myself. I may make shopping list for larp props, and I might crowdsource questions I’m having problems solving on my own. Other days, I put my nose to the grindstone and write, edit, and create.
Have you ever had your background education and experience lead to a “whoa, this does not work!” moment when doing development work?
Never directly. I’ve had some moments where I think “science doesn’t work like this” and I might correct something small. For the most part, working with 7th Sea, I don’t have to worry about that. They weren’t known for their scientific genius so much during the Renaissance. Especially not in the fields of nutrition or neuroscience.
—
Thanks so much to Danielle for answering questions and sharing so much about her work with me. Remember to check Gen Con schedules for the 7th Sea larp and watch for more from John Wick Presents!
This post was supported by the community on patreon.com/briecs. Tell your friends!
Today I have an interview with Robin Laws on his new game,The Yellow King. The Yellow King is currently on Kickstarter, and looks absolutely fascinating. I asked Robin some questions about how he’ll be handling content and how the mechanics flow with fiction – check out his responses below!
—
Books and slipcover
Tell me a little about The Yellow King. What excites you about it?
The four slim stories that make up Robert W. Chambers’ King in Yellow cycle offer a rich, elegantly creepy starting point for an ambitious new game of literary horror. We’re used to seeing his work through the lens of Lovecraft, who championed these stories, and later expanders of the Mythos like August Derleth. Tackled on their own, they present an shockingly contemporary set of themes. Central to the stories are a visual symbols and a work of art that, once you are exposed to them, break you down and change you. In this game I take that a step further and explore the idea that reality itself is coming apart.
I’ve always come at Lovecraftian themes and cosmic horror as a whole from a diagonal, because the themes of “insanity” and “breakdowns” are ones I’m intimately familiar with. How do you address this in The Yellow King? What are you including in the game to both carry the gravity of the impact of cosmic horror, and are you examining real-life trauma parallels?
When you remove the Lovecraftian overlay from Chambers, it ceases to be cosmic horror and, especially in YKRPG’s take on him, becomes what we’re calling reality horror. Lovecraft proposes that when you really see humankind’s absolute insignificance in a vast and utterly random universe, the mind cracks, plunging you into insanity. The King in Yellow cycle by contrast focuses on an idea, an artistic expression, that can rewrite people’s personalities and sense of reality—but can also change objective reality itself.
This allows me to lean away from the idea that the characters are becoming literally mentally ill, or that sanity is a resource you lose over time. There are no insane cultists, but rather people who have been altered or compelled by the exposure to the play The King in Yellow or the sight of the Yellow Sign.
As characters you encounter Mental Hazards, rolling your Composure ability to resist them or take a lesser effect. Rather than losing Sanity or Stability points you get Shock cards, which you try to get rid of as play continues. When you have 3 Shock cards, your character loses her bearings and leaves play, to be replaced by another.
In framing the text, particularly of the Shock cards, I’m steering away from the real life terminology of mental illness. So there’s no Shock card that tells you you’ve suddenly developed, say, paranoid schizophrenia or clinical depression. Nor is there an indication that becoming mentally ill turns people evil or violent.
Now it’s entirely possible that folks who struggle with mental health issues either directly or through the experiences of the people around them still won’t want to explore reality horror at the gaming table. And if it’s not fun, you shouldn’t do it. But a great function of pop culture is as a vehicle to safely process life’s horrors and traumas through a protective veil of outlandishness and the fantastic. Godzilla movies help audiences come at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 9/11 reverberated through comics and spy movies. SF TV shows or a movie like Get Out can get at racial hierarchies in a disarming and metaphorical way. When constructing the treatment of trauma in YKRPG I aspire for it to work in a like fashion.
Ultimately though it all comes down to personal tastes and limits, which can differ even for one person over time. What you might be into at one point in your life could be too close too the knuckle in another.
Aftermath interiors
What are the elements of the new combat system, and how do they influence player interaction with the setting?
Combat is fast and player-facing, meaning that each player rolls only once and the GM never rolls anything, just establishes a difficulty for the foe at hand and modifiers for the situation.
Before starting you decide what your goal is—which might be to kill your foes, but could also be capturing one of them and running away, driving them off, getting through them, and so on. If your Fighting roll fails to overcome the opponent’s difficulty, which varies based on your objective, you take on either a minor or major Injury card. Even as victor you might take a minor Injury if you decline to pay a toll in Athletics, Health or Fighting points. Like the Shock cards Injuries have various ongoing effects, and conditions allowing you to discard them. These often require you to do something in the narrative. Here’s an example (note that the published versions will look much better than my primitive graphic design abilities allow for):
Example Injury
As with Shocks, having 3 Injuries in hand requires you to permanently retire your character.
Tell me a little about each of the books. What makes them unique in theme, and what were their inspirations?
Like two of the Chambers stories, Paris takes place in the City of Lights in 1895. It gives you your classic historical horror experience of interacting with the rich details and personalities of a classic time period, in this case the Belle Epoque, as you deal with supernatural menace.
The Wars follows one of the stories in my collection New Tales of the Yellow Sign by setting itself in a fractured timeline caused by the influence of the play. It’s 1947 and the Continental War rages across Europe. Characters play a squad of soldiers whose military assignments draw them into weird mysteries. They must duck not only monsters from Carcosa but bizarre Jules Verne war machines.
Aftermath, again based on a story from NTYS, proposes that the bizarre then-future described in “Repairer of Reputations” was the basis of an actual reality. A century after the events described in that story, you play revolutionaries in an alternate present who have just toppled the tyrannical and supernaturally-backed Castaigne regime in America. Your investigations confront you with eerie holdovers of the old regime. At the same time you choose a way to help rebuild your nation, involving yourself in post-revolutionary politics.
Finally, This is Normal Now is our modern day, with an emphasis on the glittering, the new, and a horrific spin on contemporary trends. It brings the cycle back to basics, and in full campaign mode, leads you to connect and wrap up the big arc resolving the parallels between your characters from the four settings.
Four books, so many stories to tell!
I’m somewhat familiar with GUMSHOE, and I know that there is a lot of mutability, but it can be challenging to really hammer out the best final decisions. What has your development process been like for The Yellow King? Did you have any moments of clarity that you appreciated?
The key revelation where mechanics are concerned came from
the desire to take the Problem and Edge cards from the GUMSHOE One-2-One engine from in Cthulhu Confidential and translate them back into multiplayer GUMSHOE.
a longstanding Pelgrane goal of making combat player-facing, as discussed above
Since then it’s been a matter of refinement, which is ongoing as I move from the preview draft backers get as soon as they join to a version ready for out-of-house playtest.
—
Thanks so much to Robin for the interview! I hope you all enjoyed reading about what’s coming withThe Yellow King! Make sure to check it out on Kickstarter & tell your friends!
This post was supported by the community on patreon.com/briecs. Tell your friends!
Hi all! Today I have an interview with Robert Bohl on his current Kickstarter, Misspent Youth! I asked Rob about taking a game people were familiar with and formalizing and publishing it, and more – check it out!
—
Tell me a little about Misspent Youth. What excites you about it?
Misspent Youth is a game about teenaged rebellion in a fucked-up future. You tell the stories of a handful of friends who are the only ones who can defeat an Authority who’s about to destroy everything that matters to you. It’s a rules-light story game with a session structure that leads to telling a story with a beginning, middle, and end, in every session. It also has a structure to end the overarching story of the YOs (Youthful Offenders; the protagonists) that you’re telling with your sessions.
As for what excites me: I love irreverent characters. I love people who try to change the world. I love heroes who stand up to bullies, put it all on the line, and are willing to burn themselves out to make the world a better place.
I love the way the book looks. Joshua AC Newman took direction from the halfassed ashcan version I laid out myself, and produced a beautifully crude and defiant and hilarious book (in this case, I separate my text from all the metatext that Joshua procured and created).
And I’m excited for the way the game has improved my life in countless ways.
What were the inspirations for Misspent Youth?
There’s a media inspirations section in the game, partially replicated on the site, but they include dystopian fiction, folk/punk/rap music, political movements, and stories about childhood friendships (like The Goonies).
The game has a few core game design inspirations. The core Struggle (conflict) system is a form of craps highly influenced heavily by Vincent Baker’s groundbreaking game about Mormonoid paladins in the Old West that never was, Dogs in the Vineyard. The Authority as a concept, and its creation process, owes a lot to Paul Czege’s game of one Frankenstein and many Igors, My Life with Master, and character creation steals a little (three choices of five options each) from the World of Darkness games. Friendship questions (where you ask questions about your friendship at the start of each episode) is adapted from the “things you carry” step in Nathan Paoletta’s carry: a game about war.
Finally, for the big influences on central, important mechanics, is Matt Wilson’s excellent Primetime Adventures (where you play out episodes of a tv show that doesn’t exist), which was my inspiration for the vitally-important scene framing mechanic, which turned the game into something I love running, from its previously-to-this-rule having been increasingly a chore. Giving everyone the (distributed) responsibility to say what happens next does a lot to shake players out of a reactive, passion-killing zone, shifting them toward leaning into the story and making sure shit gets done.
I should also add that Rob Donoghue and Fred Hicks of Evil Hat Productions played a very early playtest, and helped me fix a broken Struggle system (everything had been being decided in a single roll, which was unsatisfying). And Fred made a terrific suggestion that became the name of the game.
How do you structure gameplay in Misspent Youth? What are the mechanics and themes like?
The mechanics and themes are both, intrinsically and in union, telling a story about struggle against power, friendship, and the question of what you’re willing to sacrifice to change the world for the better.
MY has a scene structure, such that in every episode, you tell a story that has a beginning, middle, and end, with a question each episode is trying to answer. Each scene has a purpose or a thing that happens in the story; for example, in “Scene 5: We’re Fucked,” the YOs suffer an awful setback, and an earlier story beat reintroduced, referenced, or contrasted. When a scene is framed, each player (including The Authority) says what’s going on as the scene begins, and names an Authority Figure (a villain, or force that serves them, that you create at the start of the episode) or a friendship question for the scene to be about. You play through the scene with the scene’s story requirements, and when The Authority is ready, she introduces something that the clique has to respond to, and the Struggle begins.
The Struggle involves defining The Authority’s objective (what she gets if she wins) and the clique’s hope (same), then you take turns, with The Authority saying terrible things that are happening, and asking, “Who’s gonna stand up?” which then prompts YO players to grab the dice and roll. They claim numbers on a 2-to-12 playmat when they roll, and The Authority doesn’t roll (a design choice that predates Apocalypse World :)), but automatically claims numbers on her turn.
When someone rolls a number that has been claimed, if it’s one of the YOs’ numbers, they win. If it’s The Authority’s number, they either lose, or the YO can choose whether to sell out one of his convictions. If he does, he describes doing something terrible and awful that permanently changes one of his convictions from free (example Means: Tough) to sold-out (example: Means: Vicious). You’re permanently a more-scumbaggy-person, but you beat The Authority.
Misspent Youth is familiar to a fair number of people. How has it grown and changed since it was first seen?
Its first published-for-sale version was in 2008; its ashcan edition. Almost every term was more-generic, there were a bunch of unnecessary rules, and it was way uglier (not in the uglypretty way Joshua AC Newman manages in the later editions). I wrote a Google Plus post where I lay out all the terminology changes. I playtested the game from 2006 to 2010 (far too long) before publishing the final version. But that meant that it became a really solid design.
This latest edition, “issue 1.2,” was prompted by Wil Wheaton taking an interest in my game and choosing to play it on his YouTube show, TableTop. For this edition, I made a few small editing and layout fixes, but I also added five sample settings that you can use with your group, or use as inspiration when you make your own dystopia. We’ll be Kickstarting this edition along with a supplement, called Misspent Youth: Sell Out with Me. This is a collection of 18 settings and 2 rules hacks by other people to give lots of new takes on the game.
—
Thanks to Robert for answering my questions! I hope you all enjoyed reading and that you’ll check out the Kickstarter, and forward this on to your friends!
This post was supported by the community on patreon.com/briecs. Tell your friends!
Tell me a little about Clink. What excites you about it?
The official pitch: “Clink is a coin-based non-linear RPG about mysterious drifters”. However to me it is a balm for GMs.
I’ve GMed a lot of games, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. Too many games offload most of the rules and burden of play onto the GM. They design the story, the dungeons, the encounters, the monster, remind players of the rules, etc. As much as I love that stuff, I’m always on the lookout for games that give the GM tools and make their job easier.
I’ve played in games where the players will write pages of epic backstory, but contribute very little during the game. Some of this can be solved with good communication and helpful guidance from the GM. But that’s just one more thing the GM must initiate and work through. Clink simply cuts backstory out entirely. The game requires players to make a blank character with no history and discover their character as they play.
Everyone discovers it together. The players get the spotlight to come up with interesting tales, and the game automatically works it into the narrative. In fact, the GM doesn’t even need a good story. A cliched plot will still offer chances for the players to tell interesting stories and have fun. I love that.
Clink is a game I want to play, sure, but it’s mostly a game I want to GM. It takes a lot of the narrative burden and expectation off of my shoulders. I get to sit back and watch players come up with their own interesting stories. And after playing, I’ve found that players carry those lessons into future games of other systems. They are better about speaking up and contributing to the story during the game, rather than waiting for GM exposition.
The western/noir/shonin theme is perfect for this sort of mysterious history roleplaying. It’s like a movie; you learn the characters as you watch. You don’t need to read a novel before watching Fistful of Dollars; things are explained during the movie itself. Clink aims to replicate that same method, and I’ve seen it succeed wonderfully during playtests.
I’m excited for people to try it out, and I hope it provides some much needed relief to GMs and players who struggle with backstories and narrative.
How do characters start in Clink? You say they are blank, but what do players and the GM know to start with – names, skills, etc.?
Every Drifter begins with:
Name : This probably isn’t their real name, but something that reflects their appearance or personality (Dusty, Pearl, Gruff, Hope, etc) Creed : A driving goal or motivation. Creeds are shared by the entire group. They can be simple like, “The Dusty Riders will pay”, or more complex like, “We will defeat Mordin to close the portal and save Haven.” 2-3 Mementos : Special objects from their past that can be used to inspire memories later. 2 Triggers: These are personality quirks that can get your Drifter into trouble. For example: “When someone tried to reward me, I rudely refuse, mumbling something about honor.” or “Whenever I enter a new town, I head for the bar and get a drink before doing anything else.”
As they play Drifters will gain Flashbacks (helpful memories or skills) and they will gain Scars (Dark moments, trauma) to describe their past and define their Drifter further.
What are the base mechanics for action like?
Clink’s mechanics revolve around coins. This is partly in keeping with the western theme, but also means anyone can play it, anywhere.
Players can spend coins to gain helpful Flashbacks, and then use these flashbacks to automatically succeed at difficult actions. The danger of using Flashbacks is that they will sometimes remind your Drifter of the darker parts of their history, giving them a Scar.
If your Drifter doesn’t have a useful Flashback then the coinflips involve escalation. Situations often begin simple and straightforward. Your Drifter is trying to talk their way past the guard. They flip a coin. If successful, then they get past the guard with little trouble. If the flip fails, then another player describes how the situation gets worse and your Drifter flips again with this worse situation.
There’s a little more to it, but the coin-flips can trap your Drifter in an ever worsening situation until a resolution is chosen. This escalation keeps the action moving and lets everyone contribute to what’s happening.
You call Clink nonlinear. Expand on that – how is it nonlinear? What does that look like at the table?
Clink is a game of telling stories; not only as a group but also individually. Inspired by classic campfire tales and spaghetti westerns, Drifters often gain Flashbacks and Scars from their past. Whenever this happens the player gets the spotlight and tells a short tale about what happened and why.
As I mentioned earlier this takes a lot of the narrative weight from the GM and lets each player hog the spotlight and tell some fun stories. I love all of the chances to tell stories of my own and hear stories from other players.
Finally, what responsibilities remain for the GM? How do they influence the game?
The GM’s primary responsibility is to provide obstacles for the players. Drifters can’t die, they don’t have HP, so a traditional dungeon crawl/resource management gameplan doesn’t really work. But Drifters do have a timer. When Drifters have gained more Scars than Flashbacks, then they are in danger of losing their Creed.
The more obstacles the GM adds, the most Flashbacks, coins, and Scars will be spent and gained, bringing Drifters closer to their limit.
The coin-flips make it easier to determine the outcomes, and the escalation mechanic provides dangers and obstacles automatically.
(Okay, finally-finally) What words of advice or encouragement do you have for players sitting down to flip a coin in Clink?
Let the coins fall where they may. Don’t plan ahead. Backstory and character content can be extremely fun and addicting, but Clink promises a different kind of fun. You may not end up with the character you dreamed of playing, instead you’ll end up with a character you didn’t fully expect; that’s fun!
—
Thanks so much David for the interview! I hope y’all will check out the Clink Kickstarter and share the interview around with your friends. Enjoy!
This post was supported by the community on patreon.com/briecs. Tell your friends!
Hi all! Today I have an interview with Megan and Sean Jaffe from Nerdy City on their new game, Rememorex, which is currently on Kickstarter! It’s a modern game with an 80s theme and sounds like a really good time. Check it out!
—
Tell me a little about Rememorex. What excites you about it?
Sean:Rememorex is a passion project that grew out of a massive lightning-bolt of inspiration. My wife and I are both old-school gamers, and we watched Stranger Things while constantly repeating how this story itself works like a tabletop game. My wife and I actually created Clearfield on the road from NJ to Chicago, and named Clearfield, DE ,after the town we were passing through on I-80. Out of idle curiosity, I asked some friends online if anyone would be interested in doing tabletop game set in the mid-‘80s, and the response was very positive. The game became an institution on our Jersey City Tuesday nights, and from there, things just gained momentum. My wife and I are very much 80’s kids: I’m a NJ Metalhead, and she’s a Chicago New Wave girl, so we cover a lot of ground.
There’s no denying that ‘80s are hot right now. I think it’s because Gen X is starting to produce a lot of entertainment so we’re lionizing our pasts the way the Boomers did for us (Seriously, how many of our Saturday Morning Cartoons were about letter jackets and drive-ins? What the hell did that have to with Q-bert of Galaxy High school? Now cartoons all have cassette players and Nintendos in the background.) So I guess we got lucky. Still, things are so garbage right now that any escapism seems to be welcomed by people. I get it. As for Nerdy City, well, we just wanted to go back to a time when there were still music videos on TV and the Transformers actually looked like something. Horror and mystery are just more fun when you can’t immediately look up what kind of asylum used to stand where your house was built, or call the cops when you’re the middle of the woods.
What are the mechanics like in Rememorex? How did you match the mechanics side of the game with the fiction?
Sean: Mechanics are intentionally simple and light. Characters are based on three simple stats: Type (Who you are), Training (What you know), and Talent (What makes you unique.). Dice are rolled, totaled, and compared against a target number. Action is super fast and easy. A fun mechanic we have is the “Tracking Error,” wherein players who’s characters aren’t present in the scene can affect their friends characters by changing things in it, helping or hindering things as they see fit!
Megan: Sean developed the Omnisystem a few years ago, I don’t even remember the original setting, but then decided it went well with this time travel idea he’d had, and that became Tempus Omni. It’s a very freeform, rules light system. You do roll dice, but your stats aren’t things like dexterity or charisma, it’s something that describes your character; a short sentence or even a phrase. We have a player who has stats as “The Actual Worst.” The rules that were added were both to keep on theme (nothing more 80s than a Montage) and also to both up the immersion and to help a larger than usual tabletop group work together. Tracking Errors is the best example of this; you have to roll a handful of dice, but not for the numbers, just for the sound, to alert the other players. Then even though your character is not in the scene, you can affect it in different ways. It helps to keep a larger group involved with the ongoing story, when they feel they can have some agency.
What are some cool experiences you’ve had while testing and developing? Is there something that really sticks out as really “on theme” for the game?
Sean: In Jersey City, we’ve had a Tuesday night Rememorex game for over six months and everyone in it is just brilliant. it’s really like a TV show- hell, I’m running it and *I* can’t wait to see what happens next. One of my players introduced a new mechanic when he had an unexpected bug show up in Orlando during a Tracking Error. Another started a running gag about glow-in-the-dark ninja stars. Megan and I carefully develop a playlist of synthwave and retro hits for each game, and that really helps maintain immersion. Some of my players have started games of their own, creating new towns full of weirdness in Jersey, Arizona, Ohio, and Minnesota, and I can’t wait to explore what they’ve created.
Megan: One of the non-mechanical mechanics that I love best about Rememorex games is the opening. Every time a game is run, the lights are dimmed, and everyone puts their phones away and gets quiet as the Special Presentation video plays, and then the theme song starts. It provides a sense of separation from the world outside the game, and a more visceral pull into the setting. Sean then went further and cut a credits video, with the player’s names as actors and he and I as directors. We played it for them for the first time in an actual movie theatre, and watching their faces and hearing the cheers as each name came up was really special.
In the Kickstarter, you talk about some of your inspirations. How did you choose what you’d draw from specifically? What themes really called to you?
Sean: Well, like I said in the KS, Stranger Things was obviously a huge influence, but I also took a lot from some of the more forgotten films of the “80s kids vs. the world” genre. Everyone remembers ET and Gremlins, for example, but The Last Starfighter (an underrated gem) and The Wraith (a deeply cheesy b-movie with some really interesting ideas) are really worth checking out. Hell, even Labyrinth fits into the genre, although it’s sort of a subversion of the theme. Rather than the supernatural coming to the suburbs, the suburban girl comes to a world of impossible wonders. In all of these stories, kids win out against impossible odds through teamwork, determination, and heart. How goofy is that? It was bizarre, growing up in a time that almost seemed to idealize itself while it was happening. There was no shame in being unabashedly sincere or even cheesy. It just felt like cynicism hadn’t… metastasized yet, you know?
Megan:Obviously Stranger Things. Many of the classics of dread; Twilight Zone, Creepypasta, YouTube horror. Then the whole pantheon of 80’s movies we love; music from the time, tv, etcetera. Every single named business and most of the notable town personages are some deep deep cut of an 80s reference. That’s one of my favorite memories from our first burst of inspiration on that long drive; the laughing and excitement as we tried to outdo and stump each other with subtle name-checks.
As far as the more serious themes, paranoia is definitely a strong thread. In this current age, there is a pervasive, day to day dread that is affecting a lot of people. The lens of the Cold War as seen through by kids and teens puts you in that same place, where something is WRONG, and even though you are seemingly powerless, it’s still up to you to do something to save the day.
How do relationships work in Rememorex?
Sean: There is a table of connections. The first player on the right rolls a die to determine the type of relationship, and the first on the left rolls what it is, on down the line until everyone is connected. Your character might secretly be dating one person, share a shift at the Video store with another, and carpool with a third, but you’re embarrassed to be seen with them for some reason. You’re a kid, so your social life is much sloppier and more full of unnecessary drama. When junior high school is your dungeon, secret crushes, bullies,and best, best friends are your traps, monsters, and treasure. Rememorex doesn’t underestimate this.
Megan:There is an entire relationship mechanic in Rememorex, meant to intertwine people before the game even starts. It was heavily influenced by Fiasco, which is a game we both really enjoy, and also by older games where you roll to set up your character history.
Once the initial rolling is done, relationships continue organically.
— Thank you very much for doing this interview, Megan and Sean! I hope you all enjoyed reading the interview and that you’ll check out Rememorex on Kickstarter now!
This post was supported by the community on patreon.com/briecs. Tell your friends!
I had a chance to talk with Sean Nittner on the subject of Big Bad Con, which is currently Kickstarting, and we got his whole crew in one big Google Doc to answer questions about the con.
This is a VERY LONG interview, so it’s behind a cut after the introductions.
—
Tell me a little about yourself and how you’re involved with Big Bad Con. What’s your role? What’s important to you?
SL: I’m Sophie Lagacé and I’m the Event Coordinator. That means working with other staff organizing specific event tracks like tabletop and live-action role-playing (RPGs and LARPs), Games on Demand, workshops and panels, and this year board games as well. I’m there to bridge the gaps and make sure the convention events come together as one big well-timed volley of fireworks.
What’s important to me is to help support and improve our community, whether we mean by that the gaming community or the local Bay Area community. I want more new people to feel welcome, to try and enjoy our hobby; and I want gamers to have an exceptional experience — as I do every time — at Big Bad Con.
I started gaming as a teen and I have the hobby to thank for some of the best things in my life, starting with my friends and family but also extending to practical skills as a facilitator, speaker, project manager, writer, and so forth. I want others to reap the same joys and benefits I have.
KT: I’m Karen Twelves, editor and marketing assistant. I review most of the communications that Big Bad Con puts out on the blog, emails, and through Kickstarter. I also do a lot of work on the convention programs–editing the game descriptions down to size, cross-checking the schedule. Con-wise what’s important to me is making sure that people get all the information they need, clearly and concisely.
I’ve been gaming since high school and love that BBC makes it so easy to play a variety of games and meet new people. Everyone’s just really excited to be there and committed to having a good time.
ED: I’m Ezra Denney, I am helping coordinate boardgames at BBC. I’m thrilled to be involved with my favorite con, and psyched to be giving back to a con that has given me so much. I really want to put boardgames on people’s calendar at BBC, and share my love of all games with the attendees.
Table at Big Bad Con 2016
YK: I am Yann Kherian, simple volunteer at BBC. I have been attending since the first year. I now give a hand on the event, move tables, help people, smooth the games-on-demand dispatching, make the participants feel good. I love BBC as it has a different vibe than other cons, more indies games, and a very friendly community.
SN: Sean Nittner here. I wear a few hats for Big Bad Con. Last year we incorporated as a non-profit organization and I became the president of the board, which means I get cool moves like opening a board meeting and calling for votes (yes, our board meetings are powered by the apocalypse as well). The boards primary concern once the convention is underway, is the growth of our programs outside the con, specifically our outreach program to run games in schools. At the con itself, I work with all our coordinators to ensure we have a great list of games and events, and a hotel to play them all in.
I started running one-day conventions for Good Omens over a decade ago. I remember the first one felt like it was my birthday, Christmas, and Thanksgiving all rolled up into one day. I love watching people game and enjoy their time together. Over the years though, my focus has shifted from creating a place where we play great games to creating a place where everyone feels welcome and safe playing great games.
BH: I’m Bryanna Hitchcock and I help run the Big Bad Gauntlet. BBG is a flagship event with an interesting history. It started as a competitive event and has turned into a multi-table, shared RPG experience. In addition to the gauntlet, BBC always has an amazing schedule of excellent indie games run by designers and great local GMs.
But beyond the games there is another layer to BBC. It’s also a place where queerness and gender variance are accepted and even welcomed. I love that the community code of conduct is posted around the con. I feel safe there. I’m a trans woman and the BBC community has given me a place where both my hobby and identity feel welcome.
RO: My name is Ryan Ossum, and I am your Reigning, Defending, and Undisputed Champion of the Tell Me About Your Character Booth. Oh, I also run some games here, and maybe play in some, and stuff. My role is… Honestly, insignificant. I (for one shift or so a year since I learned of the Booth) stick myself in it and raise money for Doctors Without Borders by being that ear that wishes to hear your tales. The tales your friends are TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT. I haven’t heard them! I may… repurpose them… for nefarious plans later in games I’ll run elsewhere, but I want to know about it, and you. I want you to want to tell me more, because it’s $5 for 5 minutes of my therapy. Let me hear those tales of your gaming, for good and for justice!
AM: I’m Adrienne Mueller, Data Editor. For BBC 2016 I proofed and cross-referenced data from BackerKit, the BBC website and other sources to make sure all the information was accurate.
I offered to help out with BBC because I wanted to relieve some of the overhead for my friends, who were already devoting a ton of time and effort to make the con happen. It’s important to me that the good people who organize the con have support!
KS: I’m Kristin Sullivan and I am Present at the convention. I’d like to think I’m the back-up jack of all trades to the powerhouse that is Sean Nittner, but that’s giving myself way too much credit. Beforehand I bake for Little Red’s Basket. During the convention you can find me loitering behind or near the reg desk, heading up Games on Demand, or bopping between game rooms. I’m the person who can solve your problem and if I’m not, I’ll know just who can help us.
I love what Big Bad has become without sacrificing what it set out to do. From the beginning, we’ve been home to primarily indie and small press games, those games we collect and fall in love with but can’t get the damn home group to play. There’s no lack of confidence when I say Big Bad offers the best spread of RPGs on the west coast. Couple that with the welcoming atmosphere the con provides, arms outstretched to welcome every flavor of participant, and it’s a premiere convention, unmatched by any other I’ve attended.
Also, see Ryan in the booth. He truly is legendary. Is it even braggadocio if it’s so damn true?
NB: Hello, I’m Nathan Black. I’m the Community Coordinator for Big Bad Con. I wrote the Community Standards under Sean’s careful supervision. Big Bad Con 2015 was my first trip to BBC, and I fell in love immediately. Everyone was kind and welcoming and playing weird and interesting games. My role on site is more of a support role, checking with people and making sure that everyone is doing ok.
It is very important to me to protect and nurture our community. We have a great cross section of people at Big Bad. Our diversity and inclusiveness is our strength.
Ryan may be the champion of the booth, but Nathan sure as heck makes it look good.
SM: I am Shantih Moriarty, the chick who wanted board games. I harassed Sean earlier this year about having a proper board game track, and he said that would be great if someone would organise it.. And I grabbed Ezra :D.
CF: I’m Colin Fahrion, a graphic designer, gamer, immersive performance artist, experience designer, and royal portrait photographer for Prince Wrinkles Nonesuch (my cat who has way more my Instagram followers than I do). I have since I was young loved games, art, and design, and I am fascinated by those places where they all intersect.
I’ve been going to Big Bad Con for five years both as a player and a GM running games. Last year, I joined on as the head of marketing and the website — bringing my design, front-end web, and communications skills to the team. I decided to join on as I really love the Big Bad Con community, the staff, and all that they do to create a welcoming event that encourages creative play!
What are you most looking forward to about Big Bad Con? Is there anything that’s happened before or that’s new that’s really piqued your enthusiasm?
SL: Big Bad Con is my favourite weekend of the year, it’s my Christmas. I have been there since the first edition in 2011. Some of the best memories I have over its six years of existence include exciting adventures with excellent people — in the Asteroid Belt, near Loch Ness, in the ‘Verse, in Aldea, on Coruscant, or above Stalingrad — and shared meals and drinks, peppered with gaming tales. The player caliber is amazing. The people who come to Big Bad Con are there to try new things and they are so enthusiastic about jumping into the story!
KT: I love seeing what larps are going on; there’s always something cool and fun that I’ve never heard of before. It’s really exciting to try out new RPGs—sometimes run by the designers!—or see a well-loved classic get some attention.
Editing the schedule can be so hard sometimes because after reading each and every game description, I have such a hard time deciding what to sign up for!
ED: I think the renewed focus on boardgames at BBC is pretty exciting. We have more gaming space than ever before, great games that you can play to win, and 2 staff people focused on making your time in the boardgame room awesome.
YK: With the time we know the participants and shared many adventures. Nowadays at each table there is always someone I played with in the past. I also love the public here, they are very eager to try new stuff, I use BBC to bring strange games, and run some europeans game RPG gems. Maybe one day will I wake up early to run with the wolf.
SN: This year we’re moving Games on Demand and improving our staffing level there. I’m also encouraging more GMs to submit games and I hope to have a really robust track. We’re adding board games as well. I have so many good friends who love their Thurn & Taxis more than their Dungeons & Dragons, so I’m really happy to be adding that to! But most excited…seeing old friends and welcoming new peeps to the con, it’s the best part every year!
BH: I’m always really excited for the Big Bad Gauntlet. I love playing and running games, especially Fate and Monster of the Week. At BBC I get to do that with a bunch of brilliant, open-minded people.
An off-kilter table at Big Bad Con 2016. 😉
RO: What am I most looking forward to? Honestly, it’s two things equally. First is the Tell Me About Your Character Booth, because I bought myself a championship belt I plan on wearing during my shift to hopefully draw more attention to the booth and what it’s there for in general. Second, and again, equally important to me, is that I’m running three games this year at Big Bad Con. Each of these games I am planning on running have the same THEME, but do not have the same setting. I want to see just how differently my groups of players play the same scenario (which can be explained upon request) but in three wildly different settings. Those settings are 1) A Sailor Moon-esque high school, 2) A Star Wars Padawan Training Facility, and 3) Xavier’s School For The Gifted from the X-Men universe. Those two sets of activities combined are what I’m more excited about.
AM: Playing new games and meeting new people! BBC always offers a huge range of games, and I love getting to try out new systems and settings. Also, BBC has been expanding a lot and I think it will have even higher attendance in 2017. I love gaming with friends I seldom get to see, but I also love getting to play with amazing strangers. The caliber of BBC attendees is really high, and some of my favourite games have been one-shots with people I’ve never met before.
Games on Demand is being expanded! The first BBC I attended I hadn’t signed up for any games and GoD games were the only games I got to play. They’re one of my favourite parts of gaming conventions and I’m really happy that BBC’s GoD is getting even bigger and better.
KS: Seriously, Ryan bought a championship belt? I’ve deleted all my answers to just say I’m looking forward to that.
Honestly, I love the people. Now, if you know me, you’ll cough obscene words behind your hand when I say that, mostly referencing the waste of a male bovine, but it’s still true. Big Bad provides my favorite injection of beautiful humanity every single year. I find it invigorating. The vast majority of these attendees I only see once a year, in October, at the convention, and the truth of that is that it’s a shame. But if that’s what I can get, I’ll take it.
I think that’s why I love being at or near the reg desk. I love watching everybody come through, being the first to greet return attendees and meet newcomers. It’s like keeping two fingers on the pulse of the con and finding comfort in the steady flow.
This year, I think I’d like to actually sign up for a game. That’d be a first…ha!
NB: Of course Ryan has a championship belt. HE IS A CHAMPION.
I’m looking forward to seeing friends old and new.
Last year we introduced a convention-wide game reinforcing our shared values called Big Bad World. Everyone gets to pick a playbook when they get to the convention and gets experience points for doing nice things for each other. It’s a fun way to remind people that we are all together in this and playing to make a better community. I am really proud of what we are doing at BBC and it is totally a highlight of the year.
SM: BBC is so fun because you get an INCREDIBLE amount of systems, and people who are excited about them. They invite you into their worlds, and you get to play in them. I am also a HUGE fan of the sign up system, and am excited about some of the possible changes to make it better this year. I am also looking forward to having the snot beat out of me in terraforming Mars.
CF: My staff role with Big Bad Con is mostly all pre-con, so once the con starts it’s time to get my game on! Every year, I look forward to seeing what unique and interesting games people run. And every year, I look forward to running games myself because there are so many amazing creative people bringing their all to the table!
Last year, I co-produced and co-ran a “wide-con” game of the Warren with Jason Morningstar, Steve Segey, and Jeese Coombs — 4 GMs, 4 tables, 4 players per table all “playing to see what happens” in their Grand Warren rabbit society. I was thrilled see all the individual stories at each table of each rabbit clan and I was riveted by the larger Grand Warren story that was shaped as the action spilled out to the other tables! It was certainly an intense game with so much going on and honestly afterwards I was exhausted, but happily so! Unique play experiences such as this are what makes me keep coming back to Big Bad Con.
tiny kitties!
For coordinators:
What challenges do you encounter arranging the games, events, and overall setup of the con, and what do you find exciting about making them happen?
SL: I work with GMs to schedule solid events which we hope will interest players, and with event coordinators to arrange this into a coherent whole. I love the feeling I get when I can help find effective solutions for problems (I usually exclaim to myself: “Zoidberg helped!”), when I have a good idea for a special event, and when I manage to make someone’s job easier.
KT: We always have a badge-stuffing party with some of the volunteers (and people who got into town early and are crashing at our place) the night before the con. We order a ton of yummy food and put badges into badge-holders, fold and staple programs, and tackle any other last-minute tasks that might need doing. It can be a little hectic but with friends there it’s so much fun.
SN: Getting everyone into as many games as they want is always the great tetris game we play. First it’s a matter of making sure we have the games available. We do a lot of GM recruiting up front and then when a game fills up quickly we’ll often ask the GM if they want to run another session, or find other GMs who are known for running the same system. We also have the Games on Demand Track that’s specifically meant for folks who don’t want to plan out their games before the con, or who have an open slot they want to fill when they arrive.
The other side of making our games run smoothly is addressing cancellations. When game cancellations happen, especially last minute, we look for replacement options for the players. Either other games they can get into, or replacement GMs to run the game (or something similar). We’re so fortunate to have a host of great GMs, many of which have stepped up in the last minute to run a game. And when players aren’t able to make a game, we post the opening to try and find another person to take their place. In the past that has been through a manual sign up sheet on the wall, but we’ve always found those sheets hard to navigate. Too many games, too small font, and no way to guarantee that if someone cancelled a game online, we’d update the sheets in time for someone else to see the opening. This year we’re going to keep open our digital sign ups throughout the con so players can see what’s open real time and sign up for games either from their mobile devices or from Kiosks at the registration desk.
For marketing:
How do you market a con that’s got so much energy, so much going on, and capture it all – both word of mouth and official communication?
KT: We do a lot of word of mouth marketing for sure. We’ve got a lot of supporters who volunteer to promote it while at other conventions, or pass out fliers where appropriate. What’s very touching for me is the praise for the con I see on social media that’s completely unsolicited–people really love Big Bad Con and want to spread the word!
CF: The plethora of games themselves do a lot to promote the con. Big Bad Con attracts a lot of really creative people running great games. As a result, a lot of our promotion of the con is actually promotion of the game masters and designers themselves. The list of games for Big Bad Con has just started to fill in as people submit their games. But already it is filled with some really unique and interesting games including some playtests. Once the games list fills up there with be something for everybody. Actually, one of the common “complaints” from people is that there are so many great games that they wish they had a clone so that they can play all the games they want to play. It’s a good problem to have!
Specifically for those coordinating games:
How do you filter or choose what games get scheduled? Do you have criteria, and if so, what?
SL: Because Big Bad Con places its priorities on creating an amazing, welcoming experience at the individual level rather than based on number of attendees, it requires tasks that resemble more a game day event than a typical game convention. In particular, we actively recruit GMs who we know are particularly good, and we work with them individually to present their game in the most attractive fashion we can. Since we’ve been inviting attendee feedback since year one, we now have a pretty solid roster of people who return to run excellent games that receive player acclaim.
As far as criteria, we mostly leave it to what GMs feel like running; however, we also create our own wish list of hot new games and perennial favourite titles, and if people ask us for suggestions, we draw from it. If there is something that really seems to be missing by the time we’re approaching online game signups, we recruit among a pool of GMs who are often willing to pitch in to run something new.
SN: Sophie has it all!
Fall of Magic in action.
For anyone:
What excites you about Big Bad Teens and Outreach? How do you get involved?
KT: When promoting Big Bad Teens for its first run 2016, we reached out to a lot of gaming clubs at local middle schools and high schools to let them know about the con. I enjoyed connecting with Bay Area teachers and am really excited about our plans to bring more games to young players outside of the convention weekend.
SN: Outreach is our chance to introduce locals both to Big Bad Con and to tabletop gaming! We’re still developing the curriculum, but I’m very excited about running games for teens in the Bay Area, and hopefully having some of them out at Big Bad Con after that!
How does the scholarship program work?
KT: The Scholarship Fund supports women, people of color, and disabled or lgbtqia+ individuals in need of a little extra assistance to attend the con. It goes towards travel, hotel, and badge fees, for as many applicants as we have the funds for. The application for the Scholarship Fund is over on our website (http://www.bigbadcon.com/big-bad-con-scholarship-fund/) and people can contribute to the Fund through the Kickstarter!
What are bonus things — rewards, recognition — that people can take away from the con?
SL: On the tangible side, there are the various pins you can collect for the various to pitch in — GMing, volunteering, chipping in on the Kickstarter campaign, donating to the food bank or to Doctors Without Borders, and so forth. You can also collect playbooks for our meta-game, Big Bad World. Some game companies also provide prizes for those who try their games at the convention.
But to me the real reward that stays with me the rest of the year is playing and hanging out with great people and, the next time I see them, thinking “Oh, I know them, they’re so great to play with!” I keep relationships online, at game day events, at other conventions, and in regular campaigns.
—
Thanks so much to everyone for participating in the interview! It was great to hear about the con and everything involved. The Big Bad Con Kickstarter still has a little longer to go – don’t miss out on backing if it sounds like a good time to you! Note: I don’t currently have notes for who took these photos, but I will check with Sean to see if I can update this with those names!
This post was supported by the community on patreon.com/briecs. Tell your friends!
