This weekend I’ll be attending the Calgary Expo. If you’d like to find me, I’m schedule to be hanging out at the Gaming Demo Area in the Big Four building at the following times…
FRIDAY: 2 PM – 6 PM
SATURDAY: 11 AM – 3 PM
SUNDAY: 11 AM – 2 PM, and see below!
I’ll also be at my Booth (O 02) in Artist’s Alley from 4 PM – 6 PM on Saturday!
I have a new Gloom expansion that needs playtesting, so I’ll certainly be running that there; aside from that, who knows?
I know a lot of interesting people. Some I’ve worked with, some I’ve met while traveling the world, some just owe me money. My name may be on the website, but it seems kind of boring if I’m the only person whose voice is heard here. So I’m bringing some of my friends to the site, as time permits. I’m not a podcasty kind of guy, so I’m keeping things simple: one guest, six questions.
I met CHRISTOPHER BADELL on a secret island in the Caribbean (well, OK, not so secret), but I’d encountered his brainchild Sentinels of the Multiverse well before that. Sentinels is a cooperative card game in which players take on the role of a superhero team working together to bring down a nefarious master villain. One of the things I really enjoy about the game is its attention to continuity. The flavor text of the cards is made up of quotes from the various comics featuring these heroes… except, of course, that none of these comics actually exist (yet). With just these quotes, Sentinels manages to suggest a rich backstory for the characters and world, which makes it far more interesting to play the characters; as a comic nerd, I also appreciate the many homages found throughout this universe. But here’s Christopher…
What’s your secret origin?
Three decades ago, on a dark stormy night in Maracaibo, Venezuela, a dark-eyed child was born. It’s pretty much all been downhill since then. I got taller and beadier and fought crime!
Really, the interesting origin story is that of Greater Than Games, which is what happens when three friends, each of whom excels in their particular field, get together and make a thing happen. I’ve always told stories and made up games for my friends to play, Adam is a fantastic artist who has been growing in his drawing as long as I’ve known him (which is a LONG time), and Paul is a clever businessman who loves games and gaming and works damn hard to make our dreams become realities. The lines that crossed to bring this company about are pretty crazy, and without the coincidences that brought us together, none of this would have ever happened.
But I’ve said too much already. I don’t want to make it too easy on our greatest nemeses!
Tell me about Sentinels of the Multiverse. What inspired you, both in tone and design? What do you consider the greatest strengths of the design? What would you change if you were starting over from scratch?
As I’d hinted in our origin story, Sentinels of the Multiverse is only possible because of the cooperative synergies between Adam, Paul, and I. Which is appropriate for what came out of that, really. Adam and I have been friends for almost 20 years, and we’ve always been into comic books and games – especially cooperative games! So, a few years ago, we were hanging out and bemoaning the fact that we had never played a good superhero tabletop game. We wanted something that made you really feel like you were playing as a hero of epic proportions! And then we wrote one. It was pretty quick from initial concept to execution. Shortly after making the game on index cards, just for us to play with friends, I played the game with my friend Paul, and the rest is history.
As to the inspiration, it really came down to loving the stories told in our favorite comic books and wanting to recreate that feeling in a game form. Stories of group of heroes working together against a terrible foe in a bizarre environment, like we would read in stories of the X-Men or the Avengers. The best part of those teams is the ensemble cast and how they interact with each other, which is what I love about Sentinels. I am proud of how much we captured the feeling of the team being more than just the sum of its parts. The synergies and the unfolding stories at the table as well as the gameplay that really puts you in the place of a super-powered hero are what I was shooting for – and I feel like we hit it square on the head.
If I were starting over from scratch…? I’d make the Enhanced Edition of Sentinels of the Multiverse the first time. The Sentinels of the Multiverse community is super awesome and let us rebuild the game only a year after it came out, which was good and necessary, but that rebuild definitely did all the things I wanted to do in the first place. We learned a LOT in that first year and a half, and I think the products we make now really reflect that quick learning curve.
You’re sentenced to be trapped in the Phantom Zone for eternity. What three graphic novels do you take with you?
Oof. Yikes. Hmmm, let’s say the Dark Phoenix Saga, Batman: The Killing Joke, and House of M. But then, I’d also sneak a pile of notebooks and pens with me. Really, as long as I could write infinitely, I’d have plenty of stories to keep me company.
You’ve just launched a Kickstarter for an entirely new game, Galactic Strike Force. Tell me about it.
It’s SUPER EXCITING! With Sentinels of the Multiverse, the players all take the roles of heroes facing a powerful villain in a crazy environment. Galactic Strike Force is a group of scoundrels, such as smugglers, bounty hunters, and space pirates, all joining forces against an overwhelming opposition force in a science-fantasy setting. This poor rag-tag team is the last ditch effort to save the galaxy – you have very few resources and fewer friends, and if you’re going to save the galaxy, you’ve gotta work together! The story that makes it go is a blast, and the characters and ships we’ve put together are a ton of fun.
The gameplay is card based, but it feels like the unholy child of a deck building game and a tactical wargame, as you’re upgrading your ship and learning new tricks, but then taking that ship and those tricks into battle against opposition ships. It’s really a ton of fun, especially with more players! One thing that I was very interested in was making the gameplay equally enjoyable for any number of players. With just two, you get the feeling of a couple of wingmates taking down an opposing fleet through hit and run maneuvers. However, if you have a table of six, you can really go head to head, and different people can take different roles, like scouting, tanking, etc. That said, the Opposition forces scale well, and they’re MEAN.
We’ve got lots of updates going on over on the Kickstarter, so definitely go check it out!
You’re a scarred veteran of many Kickstarter campaigns. What lessons have you learned? Any advice for people planning to launch a campaign of their own?
Find your audience before launching your campaign. Be open with your information – make sure people know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Build a community.
Have a plan for how you will run your campaign. Make use of the entire time. Don’t blow it all on the main page on day 1. You have thirty days (don’t run a campaign for longer than thirty days without a damn good reason) and you should use all of those days. Update often, and make your updates beefy.
Make what you love because you love to make it, not because you want to monetize it. Be passionate about it, and share that passion with anyone and everyone.
What’s next after Galactic Strike Force?
Well, immediately after Galactic Strike Force, we go full-bore into production of Sentinels of the Multiverse: Vengeance, which we teased a good deal with our Shattered Timelines Kickstarter. It’s not just another expansion to Sentinels of the Multiverse – it’s a standalone game that can be played with the existing SotM stuff, but also adds a lot of new things. New heroes, villains, and environments in fancy box that will supplement the Enhanced Edition box nicely, and it gives you a whole new way to play Sentinels of the Multiverse!
Also, we’re going to Australia this summer for PAX AUS, and Germany again this fall for Essen! Not to mention Origins and Gen Con and PAX Prime… whew! Convention season is nearly upon us!
Oh, and on top of all that, we’ve got a few other Secret Projects that we’ll be talking about later this year. And even more plans for next year!
Editor? Writer? Game designer? Power behind the scenes? MONICA VALENTINELLI is all of these things and more. She wears so many hats it’s sometimes hard to see her beneath them. Recently, she added a new hat to the collection when she took on the role of brand manager (and writer) for MWP’s new Firefly RPG. Somehow she found time in her busy schedule to answer six questions!
What was the first roleplaying game you played? How did you get from there to where you are today?
The first roleplaying game I played was Shadowrun. From there, I went on to a few other games like Vampire: the Masquerade and a lot of board, card, and video games. I didn’t really get back into RPGs until I re-discovered them through small press games like Obsidian: the Age of Judgement and A/State. That’s how I got started writing for games; I edited and wrote some fiction for Obsidian, then I went on to write a few frenetic, ethereal pieces for Noumenon, which is a game inspired by Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. I loved the variety that small press/independently-owned games had to offer and it was a good way for me to learn the business and figure out what I wanted to do next – much like I’ve done with fiction. The other thing that really helped, was reading, reviewing, and playing lots and lots of games for FlamesRising.com. Critiques are a great way of studying the medium you’re writing for; I highly recommend it.
My work with small presses has been a mixed bag. I’ve dived into really fun projects, but over a half dozen or so have never seen the light of day – some bigger than others, too. All the while, I was balancing day job concerns. I’m guessing that’s a familiar story for anyone who’s ever written a story or designed games. There are the things you want to do, and then there’s the jobs you have to take. So, the work I’ve done in the industry has been married to what I had time to do, what matched my skill set and, eventually, who I wanted to work for. I started writing for White Wolf after I won a fiction contest and put together a one-scene scenario for the new World of Darkness. I put some feelers out to write other game fiction with other, larger companies, but right now my games plate is full.
You’re the Firefly brand manager for Margaret Weis Productions. MWP released the Serenity RPG in 2005. How will the Firefly game differ from Serenity? Why are you excited to be working on the line?
This is a hilarious question. I just wrote about this in a blog post titled “Ain’t No Better Place In The ‘Verse…” for Creative Directions. I’m going to be giving semi-regular updates there to keep people apprised of what’s happening for the line. Here’s what I said about the differences between the two games:
“The new Firefly RPG, which is based on the hit Fox television series by Joss Whedon, is scheduled for a 2013 release; the system(s) are currently in development. Margaret Weis Productions did put out a game based on the Serenity movie produced by Universal Studios in 2005. The system for that game was a science fiction flavor of Cortex Classic.”
Why am I excited to be working on the line? Besides the fact that it’s Firefly? 🙂 I’ve been working on this property as a consultant now for six months or so. In every conversation we’ve had, the fans and the show have been at the forefront of those discussions. How do we create a game that’s uniquely Firefly? How do we make Cortex fans of new and classic systems happy? How do we balance business and licensing aspects with creativity? Working on this line is like putting a puzzle together, to best serve a multitude of audiences, address concerns, and produce a great game. The nerd in me is very happy that I have such a beautiful Gordian knot to untangle.
What makes the ‘Verse an interesting setting for games?
In my opinion, the ‘Verse resonates with fans because even though the stories occur in a science fiction context – it’s a very human place to be. We don’t really see the devastation caused by the Unification War, but we know it happened and witness its effects on the characters, much like many of us may not remember World War II, but understand or feel its long-term ramifications. Using that as an example, though, it’s not necessarily the ‘Verse by itself that’s compelling, it’s the characters and how they work together to survive regardless of where they live. If you live in the Core, maybe things aren’t as great as they seem. Once we get out into the Black, we’re not fighting aliens, we’re facing each other.
At the end of the day, though, no matter how gorgeous any setting is, I feel good games always recognize that both the player and the group need to have something to do. It’s not just about what character you play, it’s also about why your crew is together. What’s the point of sitting around the table if you’re not connected? In my mind, this is why Firefly is perfect for gaming, because the further the crew ventures out into the ‘Verse, the more jobs they take, and the more they need each other to make it through.
When you’re not creating and editing games, you write fiction. What inspires you as a writer? What’s your favorite story you’ve written?
I was a storyteller long, long before I discovered gaming. I started writing fiction when I was 9 and specialized in writing while at university. The possibility of all the stories out there and the gift they provide us is what inspires me. The potpourri of cultures, of different lifestyles and ways to be, the history of what has come before and the potential of what will be – there is no end to what can be done or how or why. I love, love, love, love to build worlds and write about characters that resonate within these environments, highlighting the best and worst in all of us, whether that’s to frighten, inform, or entertain.
My favorite story is the one that I haven’t written yet. I realize this is a non-answer and somewhat meta, but as someone who’s obsessed with her art, it’s an honest statement. I never stop honing my craft and, while I need motivation and a cheering section like many writers out there, I’m always looking forward to what’s new.
If I had to pick one, though, I’d say I had a ton of fun with a vampire noir tale edited by Robin Laws dubbed “Fangs and Formaldehyde.” You see, in my vampire world, if the bloodsuckers get too emotional? They die. In point of fact, it’s very messy and involves blowy uppy noises and large splatters. Cue evil laughter in 3… 2… 1… Anyway, this story appeared in an anthology titled New Hero Volume 1, and that book is available from Stone Skin Press.
Tell me about The Queen of Crows, and where you want to go with it.
The Queen of Crows was one of the first enhanced e-books published with reader extras. It takes place in the late 1850s right before the Civil War and is a story about a Navajo shaman who must make a terrible choice. Because it was an experiment, I stuck to a short story instead of a novel, to see what readers thought. I was pleasantly surprised by the very positive reception, because writing about Native Americans, even in an alternate history context, is taboo – especially for, as one reader put it, a “blonde woman.” But, this story is a teeny, tiny piece of a much larger world of magic, mystery, and intrigue. I built that world on a timeline reaching back to the dawn of time. This story here is the origin of a key player in the Violet War to come. Not only do I have an urban fantasy novel set in modern day times, but I also have several pieces of short fiction and an outline for an RPG.
So what happened? Well, remember that time versus money thing I told you about? Yep, that was part of the reason why this project stalled. Living up to my namesake, the Queen of Perfect Timing, the release preceded the iPad by a few months. Needless to say, formatting images for the iBookstore and eBooks was part of the challenge, as the technology physically couldn’t match my vision at the time. Even now, it’d have to be an app or require a lot of programming to make it fit. That’s the downside to coming up with something cool; once you make it, limitations will throw you off-kilter.
Confession time. When I’m worried about work, my creativity is swallowed up by a plethora of bad Cthulhu jokes and abysmal reality checks. Now that I’m having fun? I’m diving in with abandon and can visit make-believe land more often. Business plan was activated in January; I’ve got a great group of readers and a ton of initiatives in the works like updating the VioletWar.com website, etc.
It’s scary, sure, but I’m really hoping people will dig these stories and this world in particular.
What are you looking forward to in the months ahead?
I’m trying not to! I’m really grateful I have the projects I do, because I had a dry spell (coupled with nights ending in obligatory fist shaking at the universe) and it turned me into a sea slug. I don’t think there is anything harder for someone who wants to make something – no matter what that “thing” is – for a living. The fiscal realities, coupled with the knowledge and time involved, can cause a person to go mad. At the same time, I don’t want to focus on that aspect with my readers, either, because that undervalues them. My job is to give them the best stories and games I can, and give them a reason to revisit my work again.
I know a lot of interesting people. Some I’ve worked with, some I’ve met while traveling the world, some just owe me money. My name may be on the website, but it seems kind of boring if I’m the only person whose voice is heard here. So I’m bringing some of my friends to the site, as time permits. I’m not a podcasty kind of guy, so I’m keeping things simple: one guest, six questions.
KENNETH HITE is a man of many talents, and a keeper of secrets no one should know. You may have played one of his many games, read one of his books, or listened to him and Robin D. Laws talk about stuff. If not, you should do all of these things, right now. Here’s the man himself…
You’ve been creating games for over thirty years. How did you fall into the dragon-eat-dungeon world of RPG design? What do you consider to be your finest piece of work?
I started out creating games, as you note, for my own game group: D&D and then CALL OF CTHULHU, which became my One True Love. I ran lots of other stuff, too, but those were the bigs. One of my old CALL OF CTHULHU players, Don Dennis, eventually got a gig at Iron Crown, which got him a playtest copy of the first draft of Chaosium’s magical-conspiracy NEPHILIM RPG. He thought to himself: “You know who should see this? Mister Magical Conspiracy CALL OF CTHULHU Doofus.” and sent it to me. I sent Chaosium around 10,000 words of back-sass and got the response: “Is it okay to include your comments in the next draft? And what’s the next book you want to write for us?” That response, by the way, was from Greg Stafford His Own Damn Self.
So that started me off. Right around then, Steve Jackson bought the proposal for GURPS ALTERNATE EARTHS that I’d been badgering him about at GenCon for the last four years or so, and suddenly I was a twice-published author with two hungry game lines to feed.
My finest piece of work? They’re all beautiful and I love them all very much, of course, but I certainly hope my finest piece of work is my most recent one: NIGHT’S BLACK AGENTS, my vampire spy thriller RPG from Pelgrane Press. That said, the original-series STAR TREK RPG from Last Unicorn was my own perfect nine-toed baby. It looked like it fell through a thirty-year time warp from 1968. Oh, now see what you’ve done. You’ve made DAY AFTER RAGNAROK cry. There, there, little setting book. I won’t let the bad man in the hat hurt you.
Your Cthulhu 101 is an excellent introduction to the Cthulhu mythos. Where The Deep Ones Are and The Antarctic Express introduce children to cosmic horror. Trail of Cthulhu is an award-winning roleplaying game that draws players into the world of H.P. Lovecraft. What draws you to Lovecraft’s work?
First and foremost, he’s just an amazingly good writer. The power of his mythology, and the sure-footedness with which he constructs his stories, get me every time. But I think Lovecraft enjoyed, and I enjoy, seeing the world in the same way: as pieces and fragments of a larger story, one by turns terrifying and wondrous. Lovecraft called this feeling “adventurous expectancy,” and I get that same feeling from both Lovecraft and from things he enjoyed like astrophysics, or travel, or urban life, or research. I feel a great sort of sympathy to Lovecraft, in terms of how his brain determined story and fantasy to work, and on other levels as well. We both love architecture, and both feel stark terror at the modernist sublime. We’re both autodidacts, and share our tribe’s love of the weird fact that confounds and reveals in equal measure. Obviously, we have our differences, too — he didn’t drink and he had weird dirigiste politics, for example — but as writers and readers of the weird I think we’re simpatico.
Lovecraft said that the strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. Unlike Lovecraft’s typical protagonists, the people who play Lovecraftian RPGs are often well-versed in the Mythos… and they are expecting frightening things to happen. What advice do you have for GMs trying to bring real suspense to their horror campaign?
I should send you to a page ref in GURPS HORROR for this, if I really wanted to move product. (Roughly pp. 131-134.) But to put it another, less four-pages-long way, the key to suspense is, precisely, that your audience expects frightening things to happen. Hitchcock used the example of a bomb going off after ten minutes of talk about baseball. You’re watching a movie, the guys are talking baseball, a bomb goes off — that’s shock. Same exact movie, but you add a minute of footage ahead of time showing a bomb being planted under the table — now, it’s suspense. Your audience — in this case, your players — need to know something horrible is happening in order to sense the horror either in the uncanny events around them OR in the absence of such events. With completely unfamiliar horrors, you’re a little bit lost; this is why HPL stories have such long, detailed buildups so that you can get completely into the head of the protagonist. With a very familiar horror, it can lose some of its strength (although even a vampire can still be terrifying — LET THE RIGHT ONE IN demonstrates that) but that same familiarity can allow the players to sense the horror’s approach. The Mythos, right now, is at the perfect point: just familiar enough that you can spook the players with familiar spoor, but just unknown enough that really, almost anything might be inside that abandoned barn.
You have seven thousand books in your personal library. What are a few books you think every gamer should read?
Every gamer? Regardless of genre or style of play? I’d say they should read Thucydides’ PELOPONNESIAN WAR, to get a sense of how history, politics, and war work, and how to turn them into a compelling story. They should read Northrop Frye’s ANATOMY OF CRITICISM, to get a sense of how to break down stories and symbols, core elements of RPGs. And they should read Jane Austen’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, because everyone should read it, it being the best novel in English. Also, it illuminates characters, dialogue, social engagement, and how to depict killing-free crises.
All that said, Charles Nicoll’s THE RECKONING, about the murder of playwright-spy-occultist Christopher Marlowe, is the greatest-ever RPG sourcebook that doesn’t actually happen to be an RPG sourcebook, so check that out, too.
Tell me about Night’s Black Agents. What makes an evening of Night’s Black Agents different from playing in the World of Darkness or Delta Green?
In NIGHT’S BLACK AGENTS, you play burned spies in today’s shadow world who discover a vampire conspiracy — and worse, it discovers that you’ve discovered it. So it’s hunt or be hunted, kill or be killed, as you use your training and tradecraft to find, hunt, and destroy the vampires while running from their own pawns, Renfields, and monsters. The elevator pitch I use is “It’s the Bourne trilogy if Treadstone were vampires.”
The difference between NIGHT’S BLACK AGENTS and the World of Darkness is that you don’t play the monster, you play the good guys. Also, while the stereotypical WoD game is about maneuvering for position inside a shadow world of monsters, the standard NIGHT’S BLACK AGENTS game is about maneuvering to destroy a shadow world of monsters. I except, of course, HUNTER: THE VIGIL, which differs from NIGHT’S BLACK AGENTS primarily in not assuming that the main heroes are really, really badass.
As far as DELTA GREEN goes, its primary difference with NIGHT’S BLACK AGENTS is the difference between Lovecraft and Howard: doom versus daring. There are also surface differences: DG agents are usually still government operatives, while the default NBA game assumes the agents are freelancers. But given that NIGHT’S BLACK AGENTS, like TRAIL OF CTHULHU, is a GUMSHOE game, you could certainly play a DELTA GREEN game with the NIGHT’S BLACK AGENTS rules and use TRAIL OF CTHULHU for the Mythos component. (There’s a drift in the back of the NBA corebook designed to let you play spies vs. Mythos games, in fact.)
The phone rings. A producer with $100 million and the connections to get any actors you want is ready to make a movie based on Night’s Black Agents, but you have to lay out the story in the next five minutes. What’s the plot, and who are your stars?
Mossad sniper Natalie Portman and her hacker/sidekick have an operation in the Syrian desert go very wrong when the guy she’s supposed to shoot doesn’t die and suddenly Mossad isn’t taking her calls and someone who knows the Mossad recognition codes tries to kill her and does kill her sidekick by biting his throat out. So she has to recruit help from other sources: an intuitive-eidetic MI5 analyst (Benedict Cumberbatch), a versatile techie thief (Clive Owen), and a badass fighter (Priyanka Chopra), each of whom she assists in defeating vampires in a thrilling set-piece. From clues gathered at each set-piece, the analyst figures out that the vampires are all working for “The Old Man,” a legend in the former KGB, his old archnemesis during the last bit of the Cold War. So they mount a big operation to take down “The Old Man,” who is of course a vampire lord (Max von Sydow) living in obscene luxury somewhere in Eastern Europe. After killing like a million of his army of Renfields, and losing Clive and Priyanka in the fight, Natalie puts a Clive-designed vampire-killing round through the Old Man — only to be betrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch at the last. He, of course, was the Old Man’s rival vampire — his analytical skills come from centuries of practice. Natalie somehow survives (dives into a big tank of blood, masking her scent) and the last scene is her, racking another anti-vampire round into her rifle, sighted in on Benedict Cumberbatch.
Happy TableTop Day! Atlas Games and I produced a special set of promo cards for the day, and if you’d like to see them in action, now’s your chance! I had a chance to play a game with Molly Lewis and The Doubleclicks, and the video highlights are here.
One question that may come up is just how to work Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day, or Doctor Hannah into your regular Gloom narrative. Perhaps it’s a wacky Gothic episode of the Guild. Perhaps it all takes place on the holodeck. In our game, we took a different approach and set our game at GloomCon, the most miserable convention in the world. When you’re Pestered By Poltergeists, well, it’s probably a Poltergeist marathon; and when you’re Put Into Prison, it’s obviously that Klingon charity prison. Gloom has a generally Victorian flavor, but it’s all about the story you make together; if your group comes up with a different backdrop, it can make for a very different experience.
If you’re in Portland, I’ll be at Rainy Day Games at 2 PM and Things From Another World at 3:30 PM. Wherever you are, I hope you have a fantastic TableTop Day!
We’re just a few days away from International TableTop Day. Games are afoot! Afeet! Whatever! I’ve learned a number of new games this month – Agents of SMERSH, Unexploded Cow, Emperor’s New Clothes, Deadwood Studios – and I hope I’ll learn a few new ones this weekend. Of course, I also plan on playing one of MY games…
Atlas Games and I put this set of cards together to say “Thank you” to TableTop for introducing new people to so many games that we love. It’s going to be available at as a free promo at TableTop Day events that are receiving support from Geek & Sundry. If you go to the Event Locator, if the event has a star, then they should have this promo set… though, of course, supplies are very limited and it’s up to the event managers to decide how to distribute the cards.
This TableTop set includes Stories and Guests, two types of cards that aren’t found in the standard Gloom deck. Guests appear in the expansions Unwelcome Guests and Unpleasant Dreams, while stories are found in Cthulhu Gloom. The pack includes rules for using the cards, but I wanted to show you how they work. With that in mind, I invited Molly Lewis and The Doubleclicks over to play a game with the TableTop cards. I’ll be posting the video highlights of the game soon, so you can be prepared when you get your hands on your very own Gloomy Wil!
The Doubleclicks are awesome, but the real star of the show is the photobombing Mister Pants.
Meanwhile, if you live in Portland, you’ve got a few chances to play Gloom with me on TableTop Day. I’ll be at Rainy Day Games from 2-3 PM, and then I’ll be at Things From Another World on Broadway at 3:30 PM. I hope I’ll see you there. And if not, have a Gloomy and Awesome TableTop Day!
Check back tomorrow to see the video!
At the moment, most of my attention is focused on Gloom. With TableTop Day and the special promo release approaching, I’ve been working on a variety of support; you’ll be seeing a number of Gloom videos and articles over the next few weeks. However, I recently answered these two questions and figured I’d share them with you. The Archivist question is a fairly obscure topic, but there’s some interesting story potential even if you don’t use the Archivist class. As always, these answers are my personal opinion and may contradict canon sources.
Check back tomorrow for more Gloom news!
Of all the lands across Eberron, the one that I find most mysterious is the vast underground realm of Khyber. I have read about the Underdark of Forgotten Realms and the Darklands of Pathfinder. There is not much detail about the realms. Nothing about its terrain, lifeforms, other denizens etc. Will these be addressed in upcoming future?
Khyber is a fundamentally different place than the Underdark. Here’s a quote from the Eye on Eberron article “The Inner Sun”:
Walk through the typical cave, and you’ll find what you expect to find: slick rock, stalagmites and stalactites, molds and insects. But there is more to Khyber than mundane matter. The proper passage in Khyber can take you to the Abyss, or to the furnaces of Fernia. The Vale of the Inner Sun is a similar place, a pocket of space loosely connected to the material world. The heart of the vale is only about a hundred miles in diameter, but it’s possible that the entire place is larger than Khorvaire.
Khyber isn’t just a set of caves; it is a different layer of reality. What you find going through one passage to Khyber may be completely different from what I find down a different tunnel just a dozen miles away. In the Forgotten Realms, the Underdark is a country that happens to be under the map. Khyber has a few of those—the lost kingdom of the dwarves destroyed by the Daelkyr, the realm of the Umbragen, the home of the Kech Ghaalrac—but you could still take a fork in the road and find something entirely different.
In other words, there’s not a lot of information about the terrain and lifeforms found in Khyber because there’s an almost endless array of it. You can find the realms of the Daelkyr and their aberrant hordes. You can find the Umbragen drow. You can find devious Derro in the ruins of Noldrunhold, or the Vale of the Inner Sun. The catch is that you can’t walk from the Vale of the Inner Sun TO Noldrunhold without passing back through Eberron; the two are on different planar layers.
Essentially, as opposed to being one more country, Khyber is a sandbox that can contain whatever the story calls for. The Vale of the Inner Sun in Dragon 414 is an example of one of the realms of Khyber… but you can make one that’s entirely different.
Will there be more information released about Khyber? I’d love to write a supplement containing a number of different layers of Khyber, and expanding on the Daelkyr, the Umbragen, the lost empire, and other Khyberians we’ve already discussed. However, at the moment I’m not aware of any plans for future Eberron support, so I wouldn’t get your hopes up.
I’m sorry if this question is out of left field, but it’s always been kinda difficult for me and my game groups to answer in a way that satisfies and I would welcome your opinion. How do Archivists (from Heroes of Horror) fit in? Archivists seem to treat divine magic the way that wizards and artificers treat arcane magic: they approach it like a science. Yet I’ve read in some of your previous posts that in Eberron, the fact that divine magic can’t be treated like science is what makes it distinct.
If you’re not familiar with the Archivist class, you can find it online here.
In introducing Archivists to an Eberron campaign, I think that the first question you need to ask is whether the class is in fact employing divine magic. It is the case that I see arcane magic as being driven by a scientific approach to the manipulation of magical force, while divine magic is driven by faith and, theoretically, some element of divine intervention. As such, if an archivist is truly capable of casting divine spells without faith, I would argue that it’s not a divine class; rather, it is an arcane class that is duplicating the effects of divine spells through arcane means. I’d actually consider their spells to be arcane for any purpose that distinguishes between arcane and divine, even though they are duplicating the effect of divine spells.
With that said, I think it’s quite possible to use the archivist as a divine class. Just looking at the description of the class itself…
While most archivists are religious, it is fundamentally their way to put more stock in the power of the divine than in the divine itself… Some hunt down the secrets of ages past to exalt the greater glory of their deity, while others seek only to safeguard sacred lore from falling into the wrong hands. Still others see very little connection between their personal devotion and the work they do, aside from perceiving their continued success as evidence of their god’s favor.
So per the class description, most archivists are devout; they simply approach the working of divine miracles in a scholarly way as opposed to fervent supplication.
I think there’s a very obvious path for the divine archivist. Aureon is the Sovereign of Law and Lore. He is the patron god of wizards, who teaches the value of science and its ability to shape reality. Now take this and add it to the syncretistic approach of the Sovereign Host, whose followers maintain that ALL religions are simply worshipping the Sovereigns by different names. Many faiths are quite obviously doing that, such as the giants of Xen’drik. In the past, I’ve suggested that when new cleric spells are added by new supplements, rather than making them instantly available, DMs should find a way to introduce them organically into the campaign—so in exploring the Grand Temple of Ourelon in Xen’drik, an enormous prayerbook written by giants may reveal a new way to invoke Aureon that leads to the new spell. Which brings us to the Archivist: A divine scholar who studies other cultures and delves into ruins in search of new ways to reach the Sovereigns. It could well be that a new prayer CAN’T be instantly accessed by a traditional priest; rather, the Archivist identifies it, copies it, masters it, and then finds a way to translate it into a ritual that modern priests can use. So I could see the Archivists of Aureon being a highly respected order of priests.
The same approach could apply to the Silver Flame; an Archivist of the Silver Flame could study serpent cults, fight alongside the Ghaash’kala, and venture into the ruins of Khalesh to find the ways in which other cultures have drawn on the power of the Silver Flame, and translate those rituals into a form that works for the modern church. In so doing they further understanding of the Flame and its mission; they could also be charged to catalog the Overlords of the First Age and other fiends bound by the Flame.
While such an Archivist is trained to perform their rituals in an academic manner, they are still driven by a core of faith, and it’s that belief that allows them to recognize and master the key elements of a new ritual. As I said, I think such Archivists would be treated with respect and awe by others who share their religion; they are expanding our understanding of the faith.
The reason I’d take this approach is that it plays to the idea of the Archivist as explorer. This isn’t work you can do from a library. You must find the ruins of other cultures that shared your faith, or interact with other cultures that practice your religion through a different lens. If you stay at home, you can only touch the gods in the ways you already know; the Archivist ventures out into the world to learn new ways to reach the divine. It’s not “scientific” in a way that defies faith; it’s a quest to broaden the concept of what can be accomplished with faith. It ties to the idea that the core religions have been practiced by many different cultures, and that each one may have different techniques. I think it’s a great idea for an adventurer. But to me, the Archivist is still driven by his faith, and the idea that we can always learn more about the divine.
If you’re fixed on the idea of the Archivist as a faithless individual who approaches magic from a purely abstract and scientific place, as I said I’d make that character and his magic arcane instead of divine. I’d also make it an entirely new thing, not an established order; it represents a new, entirely modern approach to magical theory that isn’t reflected by society as it stands. Both the Arcane Congress and the Twelve would be likely sponsors, depending on whether the character is affiliated with the dragonmarked houses or the Five Nations. Both the Arcane Congress and the Twelve have considerable resources and are striving to expand the potential of arcane science. Of course, the Twelve will ultimately put these discoveries to industrial use, while the Arcane Congress will use them to support Aundair and the rest of the Five Nations… but finding a way for arcanists to reproduce divine effects would certainly strengthen Aundair and weaken Thrane.
If you go with the Twelve, House Sivis is actually the house that immediately comes to my mind. Phiarlan is certainly about chronicling history, but Sivis is the one that is looking at the power of the word, and which would be most inclined to look to a prayer as a linguistic tool that channels magical energy.
What kinds of interactions would an archivist provoke from clerics and druids?
A divine Archivist such as I’ve described above would be respected by clerics, because they are seeking to expand understanding of the faith, not to undermine it. An arcane Archivist—a faithless individual seeking to pillage the blessings of the divine for secular use—would likely receive a very negative reaction from people of faith. Divine magic is a blessing; for you to try and harness it purely for personal gain is deeply offensive.
As for druids, it will definitely depend on the sect. I wouldn’t expect any druidic sect to be thrilled by a faithless scholar trying to learn their secrets… and the Ashbound in particular would likely have a very violent response to the idea.
Would any other houses employ them as an alternative to other divine casters? How might this affect Jorasco and their business?
Personally, I don’t see Archivists as being an alternative to divine casters. First off, ALL PC classes are rare. You don’t generally hire a cleric; you hire an adept or magewright. And I’d consider an Archivist to be far rarer than a cleric. Again, as I see it, at the core of the thing an Archivist is an explorer; an Archivist who just goes to work at a Jorasco house of healing is abandoning his quest for knowledge. How is a person who gives up so easily for a little gold going to have the drive to become an Archivist in the first place? I think it’s more likely that the arcane Archivist would work for the Twelve, seeking to break down the barrier between the arcane and the divine so that magewrights can learn healing magic and work for the houses.
As far as how it would impact Jorasco’s business, bear in mind that most of Jorasco’s business actually involves mundane treatment. Adventurers aside, people don’t generally go to a Jorasco house for Cure Light Wounds or even Cure Disease (which is available but expensive); they go to be treated by experts in the Heal skill. The spells and rituals are available through dragonshard focuses or house adepts, when needed. If some archivist sought to set up a new secular healing service, it would be as though someone started selling airships than don’t require the Mark of Storms, and would likely be treated the same way. The houses have the power they have because they are monopolies. If this new business truly looks like it could pose a threat—as opposed to being one single healing house in a continent filled with Jorasco houses—they could attack it in any number of ways, from spreading slander and scandalous rumors to employing Thuranni assassins to take out the Archivist.
Given the strict control of arcane magic in Riedra, would archivists be viewed in the same light?
Unless they are acting in the service of the Inspired, absolutely.
In a recent thread on the WoTC site you said that the Silver Flame is not a god, and in these posts you mentioned that while not being an impersonal force it is not an anthropocentric deity. I think (but may be wrong) that Faiths of Eberron said that the SF is a god. I was wondering if this is one of those aspects, as the mourning, left for the DM to decide, and that thus the SF can or cannot be a god created by the sacrifice of the Couatls depending on each DM. Otherwise, if it is not a god, could it be a force that is ultimately serving a good deity, perhaps a major one that is not even from the Sovereign Host but a benign more powerful being?
EVERYTHING in Eberron is left for the DM to decide. “Canon” is simply inspiration. With the Mourning, we don’t even GIVE you an answer… but you can always change anything you’d like. What you have hear is an example of that. Faiths of Eberron is technically a canon source. However, I disagree with a number of key elements of its depiction of the Silver Flame, and run things differently at my table. It’s always up to you to do what you want to do. So moving on, let me explain why I do what I do.
The Silver Flame is fundamentally different from the deities of the Sovereign Host. The followers of the Host assert that their deities are omnipresent and shape all things. Any time a smith picks up a hammer, Onatar is with him. Any time a soldier draws a sword, the Three Faces of War are watching. How do you KNOW Onatar is with the smith? Because he produced good work. So essentially, the Sovereigns are omnipresent, but there is no concrete PROOF of their existence; it’s a matter of faith.
The existence of the Silver Flame isn’t a matter of faith. We know with absolutely certainty that it exists, because if it didn’t the Overlords would be rampaging across the world. The SIlver Flame is an energy field that holds fiends at bay. It was created by the sacrifice of the Couatl, and according to the articles of the faith, strengthened ever since then by noble mortal souls. Mortal champions of the faith can draw on the power of the Flame to perform divine magic. Essentially, this is like a Jedi Knight and the Force. There’s no question as to whether the Force exists; it’s just a matter of whether you are personally capable of touching it and harnessing its power. And similarly, the Force isn’t something that acts on its own; it empowers the Jedi Knights to serve as champions, but it can’t stop the Jedi from being hunted down or from falling to the dark side. It can guide and it can strengthen… but it can’t MAKE anything happen on its own.
Beyond this is the question of what it even “wants”. Because it’s not an anthropomorphic entity. It’s not one being; it’s the souls of hundreds of thousands of beings merged together. They are united by basic beliefs – defend the innocent from harm – but they aren’t ONE MIND. This is the idea of the Voices of the Silver Flame. You can’t have a conversation with the Silver Flame, because the Silver Flame isn’t an individual entity. So a Voice of the Flame is a soul that doesn’t merge with the Flame as fully as most; instead it retains enough identity that it CAN directly interact and guide the faithful on some level. Tira is the Voice to the modern church; in my opinion, every branch of the faithful – from the Ghaash’kala to the Khaleshites – have their own voices. But Tira ISN’T the Silver Flame; she’s like an ambassador. She’s not infallible. She’s not even divine. She’s a mortal soul who gave up her life to defend the innocent from evil. Essentially, she’s a saint. It’s Tira who whispers in your conscience, and Tira who answers commune. But she’s not a god. She can’t affect reality on her own. She can only offer guidance.
Which comes to your next question: “could it be a force that is ultimately serving a good deity?” The Silver Flame can’t serve anything, because that implies that it is capable of independent action. The Silver Flame is a resource. It’s a wall that stands between us and cosmic horror, and a well that virtuous people can learn to draw from. But again, it’s like the Jedi: the Force is the tool that the Knight uses to do good, but if there are no Knights, it can’t act on its own.
Tied to this is the point that Tira Miron was herself a paladin of Dol Arrah. In dedicating herself to the Silver Flame, she wasn’t breaking some sort of vow to Dol Arrah. The existence of the Silver Flame doesn’t in any way contradict or oppose the existence of Dol Arrah; it’s simply operating on a different level. Trust me, the priests of Dol Arrah do say that the Silver Flame is simply a manifestation of Dol Arrah’s divine light; the priests of the Silver Flame simply take the view that the Flame is a concrete force while Dol Arrah is an abstract one. Generally, followers of Dol Arrah and the Silver Flame work well together; the followers of the Flame are simply more pragmatic, if you will.
This ties to my second disagreement with Faiths of Eberron: The idea that the struggle against evil can be “won.” I’ve discussed this before, but to sum up: as I see it, the Silver Flame is a concrete, real force that protects us from darkness and grants its champions the strength to carry on that fight in the present day. There will always be evil; even if you completely eliminated it, all it takes is one new person thinking an evil thought to bring it back into the world. Unlike the Blood of Vol – whose followers think Death can be destroyed – the followers of the Flame don’t fight because they believe the battle can be WON; they fight because it is by fighting that they make the world a better place. Perhaps we can reach a world where no one need fear evil, where no one is endangered by it – but we will always need those who remain vigilant for new dangers, and who are prepared to fight them. Looking again to the Jedi, the Empire can be defeated… but that doesn’t mean that there will NEVER BE EVIL AGAIN, it just means that for the moment the universe is a better place.
I know a lot of interesting people. Some I’ve worked with, some I’ve met while traveling the world, some just owe me money. My name may be on the website, but it seems kind of boring if I’m the only person whose voice is heard here. So I’m bringing some of my friends to the site, as time permits. I’m not a podcasty kind of guy, so I’m just keeping things simple: one guest, six questions.
I met JONATHAN LIU while working on The Doom That Came To Atlantic City. Jonathan writes for Wired’s GeekDad blog,which examines everything from games to stellar phenomena – after all, when is the best time to tell your children about the inevitable heat death of the universe? Recently Jonathan put up a Kickstarter for a game of his own… a Kickstarter that’s slightly unusual in that he warns you to think twice about supporting it.
So Jonathan… What’s your secret origin? How did you get to be the geek… and dad… you are today?
Well, I read a lot as a kid. That’s probably the biggest contribution to my geekiness; that and ’80s cartoons. I didn’t grow up playing D&D because it wasn’t allowed, but I did make up my own “mazes” on graph paper and led my friends through them. They were based entirely on my own very limited knowledge of what RPGs actually involved. Fast forward to a few years ago, and a friend introduced me to Settlers of Catan and Carcassonne, and I was hooked. I dove into the world of modern board games and haven’t looked back.
As for the “dad” part: I’ve been a dad for just over nine years now. When we first moved to Portland for my wife’s residency, I quit my job(s) and had about six months to prepare to be a full-time dad and house-husband. I’ve been doing it ever since, and it’s a great gig. We’ve got two daughters now and a third one on the way.
Tell me about GeekDad. What does “Geek” mean to you? What are your goals with the blog?
For me, being a geek means being really passionate about things. Sometimes that means taking things a little too far or a little too seriously, but a geek loves to dig into things and explore the world. I personally tend to have broad interests rather than deep interests, which may be less “typically” geeky. I like a little taste of everything, but it means that on any given topic I may not be as informed as others. It’s that whole Jack-of-all-trades thing.
GeekDad has been a really fun way to share my passions, particularly books and board games. I could talk about those two topics forever, it seems. When I joined the GeekDad team I hadn’t seen a lot of board game coverage on the site already, and I’m very pleased to have added board game coverage as a pretty regular part of the site now. What I love about GeekDad is that, beyond being a blog, it’s a community of geeky parents that I’ve gotten to know both online and in real life. I love being able to share with both them and our readers things that I think are really cool. While I do cover releases from major publishers, I also love having a platform to highlight lesser-known projects by people who don’t have a huge marketing budget and name recognition.
As a reviewer for GeekDad, you’ve played more games than I can shake a stick at. You introduced me to Geistes Blitz and Flowerfall. What are a few of your favorite games?
I’m always hesitant to pick favorites, because there are SO many that I enjoy. But for the past few years I’ve tried to compile lists (with the help of my fellow GeekDad writers) of our favorites reviewed on the site. A few of my favorites from the past few years are Catacombs, which combines a dungeon crawl with a disc-flicking dexterity game; and Escape, a real-time cooperative game about getting out of a cursed temple before it collapses. For thematic “Ameritrash” games, my favorite is the Last Night on Earth series, and for multi-hour Eurostyle, I’d probably go with Agricola. And Carcassonne, one of the games that re-ignited my interest in board games, is still one that I play the most, albeit on the iPad usually.
Here’s a few of GeekDad’s best of lists…
As a Geek DAD, what do you look for in a game? What are some games that you like as a Geek, but fail the test as a dad?
Well, my kids are 9 and 6 now, and that three years can make a big difference in the sorts of games they can play. For instance, the 6 year old is still working on reading but the 9 year old has no trouble with it. On the other hand, we’ve found that my younger daughter is pretty good at basic arithmetic and can keep up with her sister there. For my kids I’m usually looking for games that have a shorter rulebook, something that I can explain quickly so we can get down to playing, rather than a long list of details—they love playing games, but they’ll lose interest in a long explanation.
I also love cooperative games with kids—it teaches a different type of gameplay. I do think it’s important for kids to learn not to take competition personally, but with younger kids it’s harder to separate the gameplay from the non-game relationship. (Heck, it’s hard for some adults, too.) Cooperative games let everyone play to win without bashing the other players, which can be really refreshing for family games.
I think playing games can be educational in itself, so I don’t feel that a game has to be overtly “educational” to have value. Certainly I don’t mind if there’s a bit of math and reading involved, but games that are marketed as educational are often more like flash cards or trivia questions with a thin veneer of game. I’d rather play things that are fun, and then figure out what lessons arise from the gameplay.
As for things that I like that don’t pass the dad test … honestly I think for the most part it’s just a matter of waiting until the kids are old enough to appreciate the game or when I feel they can handle a particular theme. For instance, I’m not going to play as many games that have a lot of backstabbing and “take that” because they’re not quite mature enough for that yet. But when I see that they can be good sports about it, then I’ll break those out. Likewise, they don’t mind games with some monsters (like Castle Panic, for instance) but the more realistically-depicted they are the less they enjoy them. While they don’t mind a zombie-themed game like Zombie Dice, Last Night on Earth would freak them out because of all the photos in the game.
You don’t just play games, you’re making one. You’re running a Kickstarter for a game called Emperor’s New Clothes. What’s the game about? Why should I lay my money down?
The game is based on the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale, about a vain Emperor who gets fooled by a couple of swindlers. Eventually the entire town is roped into the hoax, pretending to see something that isn’t there, until a child points out that the Emperor, in fact, has no clothes. I wanted to create a game that paralleled the story, one that incorporates a scam that works because other players agree to play along. Although it’s not exactly a role-playing game, it does rely heavily on storytelling and imagination rather than being simply a matter of rolling dice and playing cards. Our gimmick is our special printing process, Regulated Optical Operator Screenprinting (ROOS), which makes the game appear invisible to those who probably won’t enjoy the game. Thus, the game is sort of self-selecting: players who can see the ROOS to play the game will enjoy it; players who can’t see the ROOS can ignore it.
For that reason, my Kickstarter campaign is rare in that I’m not encouraging everyone to pledge for it. I want everyone to check it out, and then see for themselves if the game is right for them. If it looks blank to you in the photos, then it will most likely look blank to you when it arrives, so you should probably hold off. However, if you enjoy the photos of the game and gameplay video, then you’ll probably have a very good time playing the game.
What are you looking forward to in 2013?
I’m looking forward to the end of the emotional roller coaster that is a Kickstarter campaign! I’m also excited about (in no particular order): the upcoming birth of our third child, my first trip to Gen Con, and finding time to actually play all of these Kickstarter-funded board games that are starting to show up on my doorstep.
If you’ve been coming to the site for a while, you might be thinking “Hey, isn’t Keith working on a new fantasy setting? Why haven’t we heard more about that?”
I am indeed developing a new world, under the working title of Codex. And I planned to post more about it. However, I’ve suddenly had a host of other projects attack; at the moment I am working on six different gaming projects, including a new (non-Gloom) card game and an entirely new roleplaying game. Beyond that, I’ve been working on projects for International TableTop Day and preparing for Gamestorm.
Codex is something that’s very important to me. I’m still working on it, and you’ll here more about it soon. But it’s not something I want to rush. I’ve started running adventures in the world of Codex. I’m continuing to add depth to the world and to evaluate different systems. So it’s still in motion – I just don’t want to start talking about it in earnest until I’m on a clear track to production.
However, if you want to hear more about Codex RIGHT NOW, there is a way to do it: catch me at Gamestorm in Vancouver this weekend. I’m scheduled for the following events:
Friday, noon: WORLD BUILDING 101. A general discussion of approaches to World Design. Other panelists include Henry Lopez, Alex Flagg, Rhiannon Louve, and Paul Vorvick.
Friday, 4 PM: EBERRON AND BEYOND.If you’ve got burning Eberron questions or want to hear more about Codex, this is the time for it!
Saturday, 9 AM: GUIDING THROUGH DESIGN.This panel looks at the way that the design of a game influences the way that people play it. Other panelists include Lisa Steenson, Alex Flagg, and Paul Vorvick.
Saturday, Noon: WORLD BUILDING 102 – DESIGNING RELIGIOUS SYSTEMS. Religion and the divine have a tremendous impact on the shape of a setting and the sorts of stories you can tell there. What goes into developing the divine? Other panelists include Henry Lopez, Joseph Carriker, Anthony Pryor, and Rhiannon Louve.
Sunday, 2 PM: GAME MASTERING TIPS.Just what it says on the tin. Other panelists include Anthony Pryor, Rhiannon Louve, Scott Woodard, and Joseph Carriker.
If you’re interested in talking about my games but can’t make it to the Friday Q&A session, comment below. I may set up an informal discussion sometime Friday evening… or grab lunch with anyone who’s interested on Saturday afternoon!
Today I’m talking with JOHN KOVALIC. If you don’t know who John is, you are clearly a Cylon spy; please report to the nearest airlock. John has illustrated over a hundred games, including hits like Apples to Apples and Munchkin. His comics include Dork Tower and Doctor Blink: Superhero Shrink. He’s even appeared in The National Enquirer. He is a living legend, at least if it’s a legend about a cartoonist accidentally ending up in an embarrassing story in the Enquirer. But I’ll let him speak for himself.
You’ve been producing Dork Tower for over fifteen years. In addition to chronicling the experiences of a community of gamers, Dork Tower has introduced the world to the milliwheaton and revealed the horrifying truth behind Dinosaur Train. How did Dork Tower get started, and how has it changed over the years?
Dork Tower began in 1996, when I was talking with Shadis magazine editor DJ Trindle at GenCon. I’ve been a gamer since the mid-1970s. By the mid-90s, I was working for the Wisconsin State Journal, sneaking in games reviews when I could. I even talked my way into going to GenCon on their dime.
Knights of the Dinner Table had just left Shadis, and DJ said they needed a new comic strip. A geeky gamer comic strip. Needed skill sets don’t come more gift-wrapped than that.
Over the years, Dork Tower changed in about the same way that gaming itself has changed. The characters still represent the same basic Gaming Types that they always have. But their fandoms have grown. Along with mine. I suppose it’s a bit harder, these days, as the basic “Oh my god! GAMERS!” trope has been done to death. But the challenge is enjoyable.
A close friend is moving to McMurdo Station, and the only thing he can take to keep his spirits up are three Dork Tower strips. Which three do you recommend?
Oh, lord. “You have thousands of children. Which is your favorite?” OK. You get the first three off the top of my head, then.
ONE: The “Hey, Marcia! Come and see the Satanist” strip from the early days is one people love, but I always considered the “Are Dark Elves into Leather” strip more of a personal favorite because it defined Igor’s character early on and set the tone for Dork Tower.
TWO: “Matt and Gilly’s Big Date,” from the “Dork Covenant” collection. This won an Origins award, and I’ve always thought it was sort of a sweet little story.
THREE: I’ve been trying different formats out with the online comic strip, recently. And it’s been a lot of fun. If you know what Dinosaur Train is, I’d go with this one. If not, here’s one with “Gilly the Perky Goth on Fake Geek Girls” I was really happy with.
Confession: I know that wasn’t, technically, three.
Carson the Muskrat first appeared in Wild Life, the comic you created for the Daily Cardinal. What was the story behind Wild Life, and what’s your personal affinity for muskrats?
Wild Life actually didn’t start in the Cardinal. By the time I got to the UW-Madison, it had already appeared in the Millfield Newspaper, the Queen Mary College- London newspaper and the UW-Parkside Ranger. After I graduated from the UW, it went on to run in the Wisconsin State Journal in the late 80s, and was picked up for national syndication by Chronicle Features in the early 90s.
My mom had written a comic strip for a kids’ paper back in the States called My Weekly Reader. I’d grown up on comics and learned to read with comic books. I was always sketching, and writing comics in the back of my school notebooks. When we moved back to England, I just decided to show these to the school newspaper, as it seemed the sort of thing a cartoonist should do. School newspapers are seldom picky, and the rest is history.
Little-known fact: “Wild Life” was named after the old Wings album of the same name. I’ve no idea why I did this: it’s not a favorite album by any means. The 1970s were odd.
As to why a muskrat, I also have no idea. In the early days, Carson looked more like a badly-drawn sheep. “Muskrat” sounded funny, though. I finally saw a muskrat when I moved to Wisconsin. It is hugely inconvenient of them not to look like Carson at all.
Another little-known fact: Carson is named after Johnny Carson. Nobody ever asks that, anymore, as “Carson” seems to have become a common first name, possibly after entire generations named their kids after the Tonight Show host. But there you have it.
You’ve created the art for dozens of games, from Apples to Apples and Munchkin to Kobolds Ate My Baby! What was the first game you ever played? What do you enjoy playing today?
My first real gaming love was when I was in England. School friends played World War II wargames with 1/72nd scale Airfix kits and figures, and I was hooked. At a model shop in Bristol, I stumbled across a copy of SPI’s Panzer 44. That called to me immediately and I was soon seeking out all sorts of wargames. It was on a trip to Games Workshop – then a small general gaming store in London – that I discovered the fabled Little White Box set of Dungeons and Dragons.
I try and play as much as I can, but the traditional wargames get the shortest shrift anymore: I simply don’t have time for them. As far as roleplaying goes, I think Pathfinder is magnificent (thus the upcoming Munchkin Pathfinder fills me with fanboy glee). But, if I have to be honest, Call of Cthulhu’s still my main love. I should also mention I’m finding Kenneth Hite’s Trail of Cthulhu brilliant, though! I’m hoping Marc Miller’s Traveller Kickstarter returns that RPG to its former glory. In all of gaming, the Traveller Imperium is my hands-down favorite.
I play a lot of Euro-style games and party games, too.
Castle Panic, Forbidden Island, and X-Wing were three games I played a lot last year. As far as miniatures gaming is concerned, it’s Flames of War, Bolt Action, Man-O-War and Warhammer Fantasy are my mainstays this year.
Of course, I still love playing Munchkin. I’ve only ever won one game of it, though. The latest Out of the Box games, like FAUXcabulary and Snake Oil, are terrific returns to form.
Speaking of Kobolds Ate My Baby!, you’re currently involved in the Kickstarter campaign for the new color edition of KAMB. What’s your favorite thing about working with kobolds? Can you give us any hints as to what Kovalicness may lurk behind the secret doors KAMB’s stretch goals?
By far and away, my favorite thing about the Kobolds is that they’re just so darned fun to draw. I was very happy with how they turned out: I don’t often get to redesign characters from the ground up. Chris and Dan, of 9th Level Games, are terrific to work with, as well.
As far as hints go, we have tremendous secret guests lined up, and some stretch goals that will take the Kobolds into 3-D deliciousness. Posibly pewter. Possibly plushie.
The first huge stretch goal – the “More Things to Kill and Eat” supplement – was unlocked after only a few days. Jim Zub (of the Skullkickers and Pathfinder comics fame) was also announced as a guest writer for another stretch-goal that was met.
There’s a hugely cool collaboration with another company we may be able to announce, soon. It’s all very exciting. There’s so much fun stuff happening, it’s breathtaking. But hard to keep track of. We were just thrilled to see the new edition fund in the first day: everything else is gravy. Incredibly, mind-blowingly cool gravy.
What are you looking forward to in 2013?
Time off?
Other than that…everything! I’m working on four big projects that take me well away from my comfort zone. The first has already been announced and is being released in May: ROFL!, my new party game, is being published by Cryptozoic. I think it’s the best I’ve ever designed. Plus, the folks at Cryptozoic just fab. If you ever get a chance to work with them, I’d highly recommend it.
I can’t really talk about the other big projects yet, though I may have dropped a hint or two on my Twitter feed. Puppets may be involved in one of them.
Then, of course, there’s the regular stuff: the new Dork Tower trade paperback, Munchkin Pathfinder, Out of the Box new releases, a graphic redesign for a game I love from a Dutch company, and other things I’m certainly forgetting. Hum. 2013 seems busier than it did five minutes ago…