Interview with Emmapanada of "All The Witches"

Something special today.  I had the chance to talk to Emma, aka Emmapanada, the lead designer of the RPG "All the Witches" that is Kickstarting today.  What is "All the Witches?"  Well, let us find out!

All the Witches

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/allthewitches/all-the-witches?ref=theotherside

Tim Brannan/The Other Side: It is my pleasure today to be interviewing the team that is currently Kickstaring a new Witch-based RPG, “All The Witches.” Which you can find here, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/allthewitches/all-the-witches

Today I am talking with Lead Designer Emma for today’s launch. 

Before we get into all the questions, please introduce yourself and tell us all what your role is on this team.

Emma: My name is Emma, also known as Emmapanada! I use they/she pronouns and I’m the Creator, Lead Developer, Lead Game Designer for All the Witches. I’ve been playing TTRPGs for a little over 10 years now, and I started creating systems in September of 2020. I’ve been working on All the Witches since about December 2021, and I’m incredibly excited to have it finally come to Kickstarter!

TB/TOS: What are some of your favorite games? Why?

Emma: Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition has a special place in my heart, because it was the first TTRPG I played long term. My friends and I would play every Saturday in College for 12-14 hours, and it was an absolute blast. Dnd 5e was starting to get playtested when we were playing, so we were way behind the times, but it was a ton of fun. Once I started playing more systems, I really fell in love with Kids on Bikes because sneaking around town hunting for ghosts and cryptids is really fun and stressful, and World of Darkness holds a special place in my heart because it was the first game I played with my partner. 

TB/TOS: That is great, I also rather enjoyed the World of Darkness, as well, and Kids on Bikes is great fun. Tell us a bit about this game and what backers should look forward to when they get it.

Emma:  Absolutely! All the Witches is an original Tabletop Roleplaying Game with some deck-building mechanics utilizing the standard array of dice except for the D100. In the system, you have 5 attributes that any skill checks made during gameplay will fall under. Those attributes are Power, Agility, Soul, Mind, and Endurance. When you try to make a check, your GM will tell you what attribute they think that check relates to, and then they'll tell you to roll a certain die. In this system, the die you roll determines the difficulty of the check, and you succeed on the check if you roll at or below the corresponding attribute's rank. So if your GM tells you to make a D10 Agility check, and your Agility is rank 4, then you succeed on rolling a 4 or below. As you play the game, your Attributes will rank up, and over time you'll automatically pass certain levels of difficulties for checks because you Attribute rank is higher than the value of the die. 

The deck building comes into play during encounters. Your deck is made up of number cards from either the Minor Arcana of a Tarot Deck, or from a deck of playing cards. At the start of the game, you'll have 5 cards in your deck that numerically equate to each of your Attributes' ranks. When you enter an encounter, you'll draw three cards from your deck and when it's your turn, you'll play a card from your hand. The card you play determines the number of Actions you get in that turn. If you play a 4 of Swords, then you have 4 actions that turn. You can use actions to cast spells, move, interact with objects, attack, or use abilities. As you play the game you'll add more numbered cards to your deck, some special face cards that give you special abilities on your turn, and as you reach certain parts of the game the suits of the cards you play will come into effect. 

Our goal as a team is not to create an entire world in All the Witches. Instead, our plan is to feature 3 regions of the world and flesh them each out with rich detail. Groups that play All the Witches can start off in one of these regions and have entire adventures there, they can go and travel to the other regions to explore, or they can collectively imagine what the rest of this world might look like and build things together to make their stories truly theirs. 

The three regions that All the Witches will feature are:

-Tane: A dense forest region that once thrived with life and beauty. Long ago, some adventurers slew a great spirit that resided in Tane, and its death sent the entire region into a spiral of corruption and Discordance. Not many live there now because the region is extremely toxic and dangerous, but those that do rely heavily on Witches to keep their towns free of corruption, poison, and dangerous creatures. Groups that start here will often find themselves fighting against the very nature around them in order to survive. 

-The Golden Islands: A large chain of islands that house two civilizations that couldn't be more opposite to one another. The United Islands of Sunder are a free people that use magic to sail the seas, explore the unknown, and keep the treasures they find. Darkhammer on the other hand is a society with strict rules that uses magic to strengthen and protect their ships and trading routes. These two come into conflict often, and groups that start here will find themselves fighting people from either civilization in order to survive. 

-Cyllynys: A verdant gem in the northern seas, Cyllynys is a small nation with a big impact on the world at large. Settled long ago by a diverse array of peoples, its earliest history is shrouded in myth and legend; ancient monuments of mysterious origin dot the landscape. The people of Cyllynys have, since their earliest days, put a tremendous value upon knowledge and wisdom, and this led to their development of steam technology. Now, that same technology threatens to take over the traditions and ancient monuments that once meant so much. Groups that start here will face a changing nation, and the tensions that arise because of that change.

We're committed to being a digital-only product with our Kickstarter launch for a number of reasons:

1. We're a small TTRPG project and printing generally takes up about a third of a project's entire budget. In a COVID world where a lot of groups are currently playing digitally, we think that money can be better spent on accessibility resources to help people learn and play our game. We're hoping to build a website to help people with character creation and upkeep, to incorporate links into our PDF that lead to short, professionally produced videos explaining certain portions of the rules for people that struggle learning systems just from reading text, and more.

2. Due to the world wide paper shortage the past few years, a number of TTRPG projects have been delayed, and we think that as a small project we should do what we can to encourage others to seek a paperless route. We hope to show the TTRPG industry what all can be done with your project when you aren't focused on physical prints of your books.

3. Because we're focusing on a digital product, we'll be able to include a lot more to enhance the player experience. With each purchase of All the Witches, we'll be including various music files, portraits for NPCs and Characters, digital maps, and more. 

Since this is a digital product where everyone will get all the resources that are made, there will only be a few pledge levels on the Kickstarter itself. The main pledge level will be $30, and that will get you the PDF as well as all other digital resources such as musical tracks, character and NPC portraits, maps, stream overlays, stream assets, emotes, and more. There will be a $50 pledge level that's for those that want to support the book a little more, and for those that pledge at that level there will be thank you pages dedicated to them at the back of the book with fun art. Then there will be a $200 pledge level that will get a personalized thank you at the back of the book, and a Character/NPC portrait will be made based on them. 

TB/TOS: What do you all feel makes All The Witches different from games currently on the market? What do you say makes it special? Or, bottom line, why should people want to buy this game?

Emma: On top of having a unique rule system that I think will surprise a lot of people, our commitment to being a wholly digital game gives us the opportunity to do a lot that other games aren’t doing. With the release of our game, we’re also sending backers tools to help enhance their online roleplaying experience including original orchestrations that tables can use in their games, NPC and Character tokens, emotes, stream overlays and assets, and professionally produced videos to help people learn our system who have a hard time learning just by reading. Additionally, since we’re digital, after release we can continue making new content for All the Witches and releasing it for free in content patches to the PDF. I like to think of All the Witches as a living TTRPG, because I have plans to keep updating it after release at no additional cost to those who have already purchased the book. 

TB/TOS: Tell me a bit more about the deck-building mechanic. This is a feature of a few games, but not really a lot.

Emma:  I talked a bit about the deck-building mechanics above, but it’s a really hard system to incorporate into a TTRPG without those mechanics becoming the sole-identity of the rules. I wanted to find a way to have deck building, but also have it be balanced with the rest of the system without stealing the spotlight from the other mechanics. It took me a long time to figure out, but I think I found a really great way to do it, and I’m excited for everyone to see the ways deck building influences the entire system and what it brings to it as a whole. 

TB/TOS: What sorts of games do you see others playing with these rules? In other words, what can players do in this game?

Emma: There are so many different kinds of games that people can play with All the Witches. Groups can use All the Witches to have a magical school simulator where you live as students, recruit new professors to your schools, meet new students, establish new traditions, and more. They can use the system to play an entire campaign centered around the magical sport that we’ve created called Ryndarost. They can follow a traditional story of adventure and fighting monsters that have been brought about due to the corruption in the world. They can even become heroes that ease the corruption in the world through a special mechanic called a Harmonization Ceremony! The goal is to build a system full enough that a group can take it and use it for any kind of story that they’d like to explore about Witches, and I think we’ve got a really amazing team in order to bring that vision together. 

TB/TOS: The art so far in All the Witches looks amazing. What is the diving vision here on the art and how does that influence the game design and vice-versa?

Emma:  That’s incredibly kind of you to say! I think art is one of the most important things for an indie TTRPG, and it absolutely helps bring life to the world. I’m not an artist, but working with artists causes me to think about how things look visually, because they ask me a lot of questions, and that causes me to have to make a lot of stylistic decisions about the system that have an impact on everything. Do Witches use a staff or a wand? What do they look like and what are they made of? Do Witches have to have them in order to cast magic? What benefits does using a staff or wand give to a Witch that they wouldn’t have normally? One simple question often branches off into so much more, which helps our team develop a fuller and more cohesive game. 

Because I’m not an artist, I’ve been working alone for a lot of this pre-Kickstarter process to pull together cool images to help give life to All the Witches. But hiring Nala Wu has been incredibly helpful, and they’re expertise has already proven invaluable. They’re going to start working fully on all the art for All the Witches after the Kickstarter, but they helped me put the cover and the landscape pieces together, and those pieces bring so much life and character to our game that I’m excited to see what we’re able to make together next once we have our funding. 

TB/TOS: Who would you say All the Witches is for?

Emma:  All the Witches is a game made for those who grew up escaping into worlds of fantasy and magic that have felt abandoned by those world’s creators. We are here to give you the tools and resources to explore a world full of magic and adventure with stories built by you and those you love. Escape into a new world of fantasy and magic built by a team of Queer and BIPOC writers and designers.

TB/TOS: What are your future plans for this game?

Emma:  If all goes according to plan and we successfully fund and are able to fully create and release All the Witches, the plan is that I’ll periodically keep updating the game with new content that will be released for free to everyone who owns a copy of the PDF while I continue working on my next two unannounced TTRPG projects. 

TB/TOS: And, for the benefit of my audience, well, and me (!), who are all of your favorite witches or magic-using characters?

Emma:  I grew up on Final Fantasy games and RPGs, so Vivi from Final Fantasy IX will always have a special place in my heart on top of Morrigan from Dragon Age: Origins! 

TB: And finally, where can we find you all on the internet?

Emma:  You can find us on Twitter @allthewitches_ to keep updated on everything going on, and you can find my personal account @emmapanada! 

--

All the Witches is Kickstarting right now! Check it out.

Kickstart Your Weekend and Interview: Roderic Waibel of Chromatic Dungeons

Today I am talking with Roderic Waibel the creator of Chromatic Dungeons which is in the middle of its Kickstarter. Which you can find here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1693797308/chromatic-dungeons?theotherside

Tim Brannan/The Other Side:  Let’s start at the beginning, who are you and what do you do?

Roderic Waibel:  I started gaming in 1981 with the Basic Set, and quickly fell in love and moved to AD&D.  Been involved in RPGs every day since, from the first map I drew as a kid, to my first game I wrote in 1986 (I still have a copy of that, and it’s...nothing to be proud of lol).  I’m a project manager as a day job, but have been an indie publisher officially for the past 10 years or so.

TB/TOS: You mention in your bio you have been writing RPGs since 1986.  Anything, in particular, you want to share? What are some of your past hits?

RW:  My biggest commercial success would have to be Compact Heroes.  During my time in the military, portability was a big thing.  It’s one of the reasons why MtG took off for servicepeople; you could easily take it with you while full rulebooks were hard to do that.  So I created a card game that played like a traditional role-playing game.  That won DieHard Gamefan’s Best New Game of the Year in 2011 when it came out.  There are other things I’ve created that I like, but most of those were homebrew systems that never took off.  Let’s be honest, most never do.  Why would someone who doesn’t know me want to play a homebrew system when they have so many officially supported systems out there.  They were all pretty much vanity games.  The only other product that has done pretty well is the megadungeon: Depths of Felk Mor.  I wrote that right when the 5e playtests came out, and is 5e compatible.  It’s written in an old school aesthetic, and chock full of 80s pop culture references lol. Kind of a mix between Cthulhu and 80s cartoon hour.  Yes, that’s a thing lol.

TB/TOS: What are some of your favorite games? Why?

RW:  RPGs are my all-time favorite because I’ve always been very creative and love to imagine things.  Strategy games probably come in second place.  I always have a fond soft spot for Axis&Allies in the non-RPG genre.

TB/TOS: Fantastic. Now tell everyone a little bit about your game Chromatic Dungeons.

RW:  Old school D&D was and is my favorite edition.  Not just for nostalgia (admittedly that is part of it, but a small part), but also because of the kind of experience it lends to.  Rulings over rules, speed of play, zero to hero, player creativity and strategy (you can’t assume every encounter should be winnable which is something I see a lot in modern games), etc.  However, it was a product of its time.  That is, catered and marketed to white young males.  As a young white male myself at the time, of course I never noticed anything problematic.  This isn’t a dig at any of the creators of the game, or any of the players of the game.  It was what it was at the time with what we considered socially OK.  But as we’ve grown as a community over the years, we’ve become incredibly diverse.  That diversity should be represented and included.  People other than straight white men like myself should be able to pick up the game and see themselves represented in it.  Studies have shown, over and over, how a diverse group is much more efficient and beneficial than a monocultural one.  I’ve hired a lot of diverse freelancers and editors for this, and I can tell you that the game is much better for it.  

Then you’ve got lessons learned mechanically over the past decades we can rely on that should be applied.  Things like ascending armor class that are more intuitive rules.

These two factors together were the driving force behind Chromatic Dungeons.  Currently there is a lot of drama going on regarding comments some of the folks who call themselves OSR or old school have made with the new re-branding of TSR.  But that isn’t what caused Chromatic Dungeons to come about.  Comments like those folks are making the news now because they are big names, but the fact is that for a long time, the OSR community has had to deal with a large portion of fans who have been espousing exclusionary opinions.  I firmly do NOT believe the OSR itself is like that, or that most fans are like that.  But it’s a problem that needs to be addressed because there is a reputation the OSR is getting, and it’s not good.  We can’t deny that.  And as a fan of the OSR, I will do what I can to show how the OSR can also be welcoming and inclusive.  

Thus, about six months ago, Chromatic Dungeons was born in its first iterations.  It’s basically a game that captures the best things about B/X, 1e, and 2e, while applying modern sensibilities and lessons learned since then, and being presented in an old-school aesthetic that represents how diverse our gaming hobby has become.

TB/TOS: What do you feel makes Chromatic Dungeons a step above or better than say current Clones on the market now?  What do you think makes it special?  Or bottom line, why should people want to buy this game?

RW:  Having fun is the best reason to play a game, right?  That’s the ultimate goal?  Many clones out there try to replicate the rules of those older versions extremely closely.  But as anyone who played back then will tell you, many of the rules got in the way.  We simply ignored them.  Chromatic Dungeons applies some mechanical changes to help alleviate that.  The first and most obvious is the move to ascending Armor Class.  But then you’ve also got a revision to alignment, making it much less impactful in regards to driving a PC’s behavior or moral code.  It’s a cosmic force that acts as an influence, not a strict moral code you have to follow.  Traditional racial traits have been re-done as well.  Now those choices only give a few traits, but there is a heritage system instead that anyone can choose that gives you traditional racial bonuses.  For example, you can choose to play a human with the fey heritage (let’s say they grew up in an elven city), so they can gain resistance to sleep and charm, two traits traditionally reserved only for elves.  Another change is getting rid of dead levels.  While not being a robust customized able system like feats were in 3e (that would defeat the purpose of having a streamlined system like b/x), each class does offer something other than a hit point gain at most levels.

And then of course there’s the presentation.  The game is presented to be welcoming and inclusive of everyone.  Making everyone welcome is always a good thing, as it grows our hobby and keeps it alive. 

TB/TOS: You list a few differences from older games on the Kickstarter site.  What was your driving motivation behind these?

RW: I guess I answered that above.  I tend to ramble lol.  The key goal is to capture the feel of gaming back then, but rules changes can be made as long as that goal isn’t compromised.  You should be able to pick up an old module from the 80s and play Chromatic Dungeons with very little conversion.  You should be able to do it on the fly, actually.  That’s important for me to keep.  People have a plethora of material from the old days, and they should absolutely be able to use it with Chromatic Dungeons. 

TB/TOS: The Character sheet looks fantastic and has a great old-school feel to it.  What things from the older games did you want to retain?

RW: The most important is speed of play and player skill.  Players shouldn’t feel discouraged from attempting something with their PC if they don’t have a skill for it.  The less a player references a character sheet, and the more they go to their imagination to describe what they want, the better.  Keeping players engaged is important. However, if players don’t prefer to use player skill for whatever reason, they can fall back on a skill system that is incredibly simple.  It’s a roll under ability system.  If your PC wants to jump up to the chandelier and swing across the room, they don’t need an acrobatics skill to do that.  Simply roll the d20 and if it’s under your Dexterity score, congrats!  This system also makes every point in an ability count.  A gripe of mine from the current system is that there is no difference between a 14 and 15 ability score.

TB/TOS: What sorts of games do you see others playing with these rules?

RW:  Like all old-school games, I see people taking bits and pieces of this and applying it to their own games.  Most old-school gamers are also big into homebrewing.  Back in the day, we all created our own worlds and adventures, and I don’t see that as much now.  So I can easily see someone taking an old adventure module and playing Chromatic Dungeons with it.  Or taking the heritage system out of CD and using it for their OSE game.

TB/TOS: Who would you say Chromatic Dungeons is for?

RW:  Everyone.  I know that sounds cliche, but it’s true.  It’s a big driver behind the whole project.  Everyone should feel like they can play this.  However, and there’s always a however, I fully understand that some folks might not find the appeal.  And that’s totally OK.  We all have different preferences, and there is no one-true-way to play the game.   For example, because the game is streamlined, optimizers might not be drawn to it because there isn’t the level of customization options as 3e.  If you were to force me to answer, I’d say this game is especially for those who want a classic feel of gaming with modern design sensibilities, and who were traditionally not represented in those older games.  But really, anyone who enjoys the style of old school gaming, regardless of the diversity or lack thereof, should enjoy this game.  Because the game makes a point to represent people of every demographic doesn’t mean it excludes the traditional straight white male (I would be excluding myself!).  Yes, I’ve heard that complaint as well.

I will add this:  Because no intelligent mundane humanoid has a default alignment in Chromatic Dungeons, there are several people who I’ve heard say this game excludes people who just want the old way of doing things, where all orcs are evil.  I want to be very clear that in CD, you absolutely can still do that.  I’m not showing up to anyone’s house to “cancel” them.  It’s just not the default assumption anymore.  But you as a GM can do whatever you want, and play them however your table feels like.  That’s still a perfectly valid way to play the game. 

TB/TOS: What are your future plans for this game?

RW:  The immediate plans are to put out a monthly Zine that offers new material.  Think of it like a mini-Dragon magazine from back in the day.  The first four are already done, and part of the Kickstarter as a matter of fact.  Writing the fifth one now (really expanding on orcs, their various cultures, etc).

TB/TOS: And finally, for the benefit of my audience, well and me, who is your favorite witch or magic-using character?

RW:  The second fantasy novel I read after the Book of Three was Sword of Shannara.  So Allanon has always had a soft spot in my heart.

I want to add one final note regarding this campaign.  It’s important for me to walk the talk.  It’s one reason why I made it a point to hire diverse freelancers and editors.  This isn’t mentioned on the Kickstarter page because Kickstarter cannot be used as a fundraiser for charities, but I have committed to matching 25% of net profits and donating that to The Trevor Project.  That’s a great charity that helps at-risk LGBTQ youth, and to give them the support they need.  So by supporting this project, you’re not just getting a great RPG, you’re helping at-risk youth who deserve to be treated better than our society does. 

Links

Chromatic Dungeons Kickstarter

Izegrim Creations

• Blog

DriveThruRPG

• Izegrim Creations
• Roderic Waibel, author

Kickstart Your Weekend and Interview: Christopher Grey and the Great American Witch

Today I am talking with Christopher Grey, designer of The Great American Novel and The Great American Witch (Games) and author of Goddamn F*cking Dragons, Will Shakespeare and the Ships of Solomon. (Novels)

Christopher is currently coming to the end of his latest Kickstarter for The Great American Witch.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/greyauthor/the-great-american-witch?ref=theotherside

Tim Brannan/The Other Side: Let’s start at the beginning, who are you and what do you do?
Christopher Grey: I’m Christopher Grey and I’m a game designer and novelist. I created The Happiest Apocalypse on Earth, an ENnie-nominated PBTA game about an evil children’s theme park, and The Great American Novel RPG, which was recently nominated for the Indie Groundbreaker Award.

TB: How did you get into gaming?
CG: It’s hard to pinpoint a starting place, I feel like I’ve always been gaming. When I was eight I was making board games on my dad’s file folders. My first RPG design happened somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 or 16. In the early days I played AD&D 2e, then graduated to Rifts, then hobbled over to World of Darkness. I think it’s fair to say I’ve been playing some sort of RPG for at least thirty years.

TB: What are some of your favorite games? Why?
CG: It’s so hard to choose! And it changes fairly regularly. I basically love anything Free League puts out and their latest game Vaesen I think is a masterpiece. The game system is slick and easy and the setting/content is perfection. But they get lots of love, so I’d like to point out some of my favorite indy games. I’m a big fan of Monkeyfun Studios and they are close friends--Bedlam Hall is still on my list of all-time favorite games. I mean you basically get to play Downton Abbey meets The Addams Family. I think Kimi Hughes’ Decuma is a huge innovation in gaming and I shamelessly robbed her approach for a game concept of my own. I’m a big fan of world-building games like Dialect and Microscope. Ten Candles is also top of my list. Oh! And Icarus… that kind of lands in the world-building category. For the Queen changed my understanding of game design. Really loving Lighthearted by Kurt and Kate Potts. I should probably stop. I love so many games.

TB: Very cool! Let’s get into what is important! What is The Great American Witch?
CG: The Great American Witch is an RPG where you get to play in the secret world of witches as they protect humanity from supernatural threats and secret societies. It was built on The Great American Novel chassis so it is story and character-focused. It is designed for campaign play of the kind you see from World of Darkness games.

TB: What sorts of games do you see others playing with these rules?
CG: The rules are highly tuned into the Great American Witch setting and experience. I think folks will have a tough time playing something other than powerful secret witches with the ruleset. However, it was adapted from a generic rule system that has a lot of flexibility. I do intend to expand this rule set into other categories of the GAW fictional universe. So stay tuned on that!

TB: How does it relate to your earlier game, the Great American Novel, and can the two be used together?
CG: Great American Witch adapted the GAN rule-set heavily in order to create an experience unique to it. They aren’t really compatible as they are working toward different things. GAN is designed for one-shots or short campaigns of a literary nature (the sorts of slow-moving narratives you find in classic literature), whereas GAW is designed for extended play that creates cinematic experiences (like the dramatic tension you find from your favorite streaming shows). However, if you’ve played GAN you’ll find a familiar approach to game design--one that focuses on characters and motivations, not on attack rolls or skills.

TB: Of course while the title is clearly an homage to your earlier game, I have to ask are you a Rob Zombie fan? And was the title inspired by his “American Witch”?
CG: I almost didn’t go that direction in order to differentiate it from American Witch. I do like Rob Zombie, but this experience is more like American Horror Story: Coven, the Craft, or True Blood. Ultimately I couldn’t resist calling back GAN since that is the primary engine running it. Plus, it has a nice ring to it.

TB: I loved American Horror Story: Coven and The Craft! What are your future plans for this game?
CG: Oh so much. I intend to work in this system and setting for quite some time. I’ve already started supplements for GAW that will include more play options (such as covens and crafts) as well as additional settings within the same world. I’m also working on other types of games for the setting, such as a story-prompt card game that is already in the editing phase. Eventually, I will expand to other supernatural groups, like the Illuminati, vampires, werewolves, etc. Frankly, I’ll be doing this for a while.

TB: Nice. That sounds great. And for me and my audience here. Who is your favorite wizard, witch, or magic-user?
CG: Considering the amazing examples of magic-users throughout recorded history, this is a hard one. Ultimately, I’d have to say Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service. I just absolutely love that movie and character.

TB: I adore Kiki! She is fantastic. Finally, where can we find you on the internet?
CG: Best place is my site christopher.world where I keep all my stuff and links to my social channels.

Links:
https://www.christopher.world/
https://twitter.com/greyauthor
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/12812/Christopher-Grey

Kickstart Your Weekend: Queen of the Damned: Velrath's Vampires

The weekend is on the way so you know what that means! Time to Kickstart Your Weekend.  And do I have something special today!

You know my fascination obsession with the Queen of Vampires?  Well, Cass Suwinski gets me.
Here is his new Kickstarter and I hope you will find it as much fun as I do.

Queen of the Damned: Velrath's Vampires

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tombguardians/queen-of-the-damned-velraths-vampires?ref=theotherside

Here are the Queen and some of her court.

Of course, they come unpainted, but that is expected.
I also got a chance to talk to Cass a bit.

For the benefit of the audience, could you please introduce yourself?  
My name is Cass and I'm the owner of Tomb Guardians, Inc.

How did you end up starting Tomb Guardians Miniatures?  
Tomb Guardians was started in June 2018.  After my son and I went to Origins as we do every year, my son came home and told his mom how popular our game we run every year and how many people wanted to join.  My wife the next day told me I should write the rule to our Dungeon crawl and adventure module.  I thought about it and agreed to do just that.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize how much work it takes and the depth of writing the rules.  As the rules proceeded, my wife again asked me if we had miniatures to match the characters in the game and I said no.  She then said why don't you create your own miniatures and I thought about it and thought it was a great idea.  I then reached out to some of the people I knew in the field and that lead us too Jason Wiebe, Bobby Jackson, and Patrick Keith.  Of which we hired all three to create miniatures for our company.  The first miniatures created was a set of 13 Dwarven heroes and 17 monsters.  They were released in December of 2018 to a very positive action.

Could you tell us more about the Kickstarter for Queen of the Damned - Velrath's Vampires, and your involvement with the project?  
The Vampires heroes is one of the 8 factions within our world.  Queen Velrath's was created and sculpted after my wife.  We used her wedding dress as the dress she wears. That was my thank you to my wife for her support and encouragement.  The back story too Queen Velrath was she was the wife of Telamir, the original leader of the Templars, and left the Kingdom of Rasa with him when he was expelled.  She very much desired to learn the ways of attunement with the moon’s power, but she was forbidden from learning it because she was a woman.  Angry at the snub, she started secretly exploring this herself, but instead of attuning with Wecarus, she found it much more beneficial to bask in the eerie darkened glow of Delaura.  When Telamir discovered what she was up to, she was burned as a heretic, and dumped in a nearby swamp.  But fortunately for her, Delaura was full on that evening, and with her strong attunement with it, she was reborn as the pinnacle of all undead beings, the vampire.  Since that day, she has been enlarging her undead ranks, while punishing any Templars or male citizens of Rasa by enslaving them to do her bidding.  Today her followers have strongholds in nearly every swamp in Elkarim, and they all hold a special hatred for the Templars. There are 10 Vampire heroes, Queen, Mage, Cleric, Anti-Paladin, 2 Grave Spirits and 4 male slaves.

How did you assemble sculptors and other artists for Queen of the Damned?  
I try and use the best sculptors in the world, Jason Wiebe, Bobby Jackson, and Patrick Keith along with painter Mary Profitt.  They do amazing work and keep my vision for the miniatures on key.  I couldn't ask for anything better.

Would you say Queen of the Damned - Velrath's Vampires is open to newcomers? Or is it for people with prior knowledge of Tomb Guardians' work?: 
Queen of the Damned - Velrath's Vampires is a collection of 21 28mm miniatures, of which there are 10 Vampires and 11 monster miniatures and accessory pieces.  The miniatures are cast in metal and come with a 5 year guarantee.  If someone breaks the miniature all they have to do is mail it too us and we will replace it no questions asked.   Queen of the Damned is not a game.

What has it been like working with Jason Wiebe, Bobby Jackson, Patrick Keith, and Mary Profitt?: 
All our sculptures and painters are amazing and very easy to work with.  I'm very happy to have them part of our team.

Could you describe your history with Kickstarter?:  
Tomb Guardians had one other Kickstarter last year and that was our first.  We learned a lot from that Kickstarter, unfortunately, we canceled the Kickstarter prior to its completion on December 5th, 2018.  However, even though we canceled the Kickstarter we did get an investor which allowed us to take pre-orders starting on December 7th, 2018.  This was with the understanding that the miniatures would ship in late February/early March.  We started shipping these orders 2 weeks ago and will finish those orders by the middle of March.  Offering Pre-Orders was a huge success and surpassed my expectations.

Do you plan to attend Origins this year? If so, will this be your first time at Origins after starting Tomb Guardians, and do you plan to promote your company as an exhibitor there?  
Yes, we will be at Origins, demoing our game that we are releasing in the fall.  This game is a RPG/dungeon crawl with an adventure module.  A group of players selects a party of heroes and has to accomplish certain objectives within each level of the dungeon.  We will be demoing this game all week.  More details later on the game itself, but all the miniatures we are creating will be used in our game!

AND I just got this announcement this morning.

Tomb Guardians is excited to announce that we are doubling your stretch goal awards. That means you will get 2 sets of all our stretch goals hit in our campaign! Anyone that pledges the “All In” pledge or upgrades will get not just 1 set but we will double that stretch goal set and you get 2 sets! That means if we hit all our goals you would get 22 free miniatures!!! The total set goes from 41 miniatures to a possible 63 miniatures. That works out to be $5.87 per miniature! This is an outstanding offer, you would get our Black Dragon that retails for $89.95 for $5.87!!! This offer applies to everyone, including those that have already pledged or if you upgrade your pledge. Don’t miss out on this incredible offer. We would like to thank everyone again for there support and trust in us.

Pretty cool if you ask me.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tombguardians/queen-of-the-damned-velraths-vampires?ref=theotherside

Featured Artist: Emma Kubert

Something a little different today.  I have been talking with Emma Kubert about her Kickstarter for Willowbrook and in the process found some really fun and wonderful art!

So for today's Featured Artist, I will give you some art and an interview with Emma about her Kickstarter and art.

The Other Side: Tell everyone who you are and a bit about your art.

Emma Kubert: I am Emma Kubert, I recently graduated from the Kubert School! I have been drawing ever since I could hold a pencil, but I didn’t seriously get into comic art until I started at the Kubert School. From this educational experience, I found that I don’t just have a love for traditional superhero comics. I can create any kind of story I want with any kind of medium, which is really quite exciting!

TOS: Kubert School of Art.  That can't be a coincidence, right? ;)
EK: It is no coincidence! :) I am the daughter of Andy Kubert, niece of Adam Kubert and granddaughter of Joe Kubert.

TOS: So this gives you a bit of solid art history.  Is everyone in your family artistic?
EK: Not everyone in my family is artistic. I think what sets us Kubert’s apart from other families isn’t being artistic, but having a relentless determination, pursuing what we want to do with our lives and doing it well. Some of us just happened to fall in love with art and others are successful in other ways.

TOS: Now tell us about Willowbrook.  I love the idea and the art grabbed me right away.
EK: Willowbrook is about a small fictional town in upstate New York, where magical creatures run amuck, and the main character is now on a track to go and find them to protect the people of the town. It is a young adult fantasy comic, but fun for all ages!

TOS: Tell me more about Eliza Anderson.  What little I have read and seen of here she sounds like a great character.
EK: Eliza Anderson is a teenager who grew up away from regular social norms and studied magic. She is very positive, goofy, wacky, and incredibly curious about normal teen stuff, but doesn’t quite understand it, so this is where her ignorance for regular human interaction can be humorous!

TOS: And Willbrook, the town itself?  Looks like a fun place if you like weirdness (and I do!)
EK: Willowbrook has that backwoods, small town, you only stumble upon it if you are lost, kind of feel to it. The place is scattered with magical creatures that have escaped from an unfound portal that leads to other worlds. Eliza’s job is to rid this town of said creatures :)

TOS: What is the future for Willowbrook?
EK: Right now, we are about to end our Kickstarter for the first issue. My hope is to send it to publishers and hopefully make it into a long ongoing series, but for now, we focus on the first introduction issue, so people get a good feel for the project.

TOS: Finally, a question I always ask here at the Other Side.  Who is your favorite witch/wizard and why?
EK: Oh wow that is a tough question! There are so many to choose from! I obviously love Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (if you couldn’t tell) but I am a huge fan of Melissa Joan Hart’s Sabrina in Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I also love Ginny Weasley and Lily Potter from the Harry Potter books. Sorry, couldn’t just choose one! :)

You can find Emma's Willowbrook #1 Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/emmakubert/willowbrook-1

It looks like a lot of fun and I can't wait to see it out.

And elsewhere on the net:

• https://www.behance.net/emmakubert
• https://www.instagram.com/emmakubert
• https://twitter.com/emmakubert
• https://www.artstation.com/emmakubert

Uncle Matt's D&D Studio, Part 2 Adventure Design

Whole family was sick over the weekend so no gaming.
But part 2 of my interview with +Matt Finch is up over at Uncle Matt's D&D Studio.

In this one we discuss adventure design.  I talk about my three different D&D games, developing adventures for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ghosts of Albion and where do I get ideas.



Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe to his Youtube channel!

Uncle Matt's D&D Studio

+Matt Finch, of Swords & Wizardry fame, has a YouTube channel where he discusses Old School games. Uncle Matt's D&D Studio.

He has some great videos and interviews with various folks in the OSR game sphere.  He has interviews with Dave Donohoo, Alyssa Faden, Jim Raggi and now me!



In this first of two videos, we chat about my blend of 5th edition and 1st edition and my start in the publishing world.

It was a blast. I had a great time chatting with Matt.

Check out his channel. In addition to interviews, he has tips and tricks like How to Use the OGL and a lot of OSR topics.   Make sure you hit that Subscribe button too.

Kickstart Your Weekend: Interview with Kris Lippert

Today I want to share an interview I had with Witches Trine creator Kris Lippert.

His Kickstart, Witches Trine, is now up and looks like a lot of fun, but it has a bit to go yet.

Tim:  Hello, my name is Tim Brannan and this is my blog The  Other Side.
If there is one thing I love talking about its witches.  If there is a second thing it’s comics.  So when a new witch comic book comes around, well you have my attention.  So today it is my pleasure to talk with Kris Lippert creator of the new comic Witches  Trine.
So Kris, please introduce yourself and tell us about your creation.

Kris: Hello everyone, and thank you for this opportunity, Tim.
Born and raised in Hungary, I started my career in banking and risk management, eventually founding and building two successful companies of my own in the field, before moving on to my lifelong passion: films.
I currently live in Perth, Western Australia, and work as a writer/producer, focusing my efforts on thriller/horror projects, with an eye towards fantasy and supernatural elements.
My feature credits include horror comedy Gingerclown, featuring Tim Curry, and supernatural thriller Foreshadow made entirely in WA (Western Australia).

Witches Trine is my first graphic novel, and it's the centuries-spanning story of three immortal witches: Olivia, the Scholar; Eva, the Healer; and Victoria, the Warrior.

I usually write feature films, but when I started working on Witches Trine, it felt like the story called for a different medium. I considered writing it as a TV series first, but then I realised that it would work great as a comic. And ultimately it’s always been about telling my story, no matter the medium. I've found that actually there are a lot of similarities between moviemaking and creating a comic book: both rely on visual storytelling and both are extremely collaborative. I've managed to put together a professional and experienced creative team that includes penciler Hugh Vogt, inker Jeff Austin, colorist Teo Gonzalez and letterer Bram Meehan.

This project is a labor of love that I have nurtured for the past two years and it feels great to have the chance to share it with others.

Tim: Witches Trine features some great characters. Tell me a bit more about your witches.

Kris: My witches are three young women at first glance, but what makes them unique is that they are witches with mystical powers, who don’t grow old and die.

VICTORIA is the oldest, born in ancient Babylon. She is well-travelled and has martial arts skills second to none. She is a physical being using her seductive skills, sexual prowess and fighting ability to overcome problems. Her beauty is legendary and she has a body to die for. When we first meet in her in present day L.A., she seems like a wild girl hanging with her biker boyfriend Sean, but she soon has to step up and get her act together.

OLIVIA is the youngest of the three women at 150. Born and raised in a small rural community in Northern England, she fled to the US with Victoria when a mob lynched Eva. She currently works at UCLA researching medieval occult history and while she has a keen intellect, when it comes to people her skills are somewhat lacking. She has immense knowledge of spells and mythology, and approaches problems intellectually. She is ‘Spock’ to Victoria’s ‘Kirk’.

EVA, a master of potion making and a healer from Byzantine Greece, missed the last 100 years on account of being dead. She does play a part in their past lives, though, where we see that she provides emotional support for Olivia and a moral compass to Victoria.

Tim: I think Olivia is my favorite so far, but I have a feeling that Victoria might give her a run for her money later on.  What inspirations did you draw on from for your characters and story?

Kris: Monika, my wife, was actually the inspiration behind Witches Trine in a way. She is deeply immersed in the world of holistic healing and nutrition, and astrology. She is also always on the lookout for new methods and ideas, some of which she would adopt after much research. And in turn, she tries to educate me in the ways of the “witch doctors”. One of her accounts about discovering an interesting herbalist shop gave me the idea to write about modern day witches.

But since my daughter’s favorite comic book is The Walking Dead, my perception about the preferences of female audiences and heroes is slightly skewed. I wanted to have kick-ass witches who are sexy, smart, courageous, and full of attitude, and a story that balances fast-paced, visceral action with character development.

And as I usually played magic user characters in D&D growing up, magic was always going to be a significant part of the world.

Tim: Same here, I played a lot ow magic-users, wizards and witches over the years. What can readers hope to see in Witches Trine?

Kris: My goal has always been to keep the story grounded and more of a thriller rather than a superhero story. Witches Trine combines supernatural vibe with modern kick-ass action. Witchcraft, martial arts, and sexual seduction are all parts of the equation.
The narrative spans two time frames as we watch the witches deal with life in 19th century England, and a whole different set of perils in modern day L.A.

The witches have minimal magical abilities in the beginning and will have to achieve ‘unity’ and become Trine to attain their full powers. You want magic to be present in a story about witches, of course, but if your protagonist can use it with a flick of the wrist, it lessens its impact. I wanted magic to be present in Witches Trine without being overwhelming, and it is a fine balancing act.
The women’s struggles are mostly realistic, they rely more on wits, cunning and physical prowess than magic to solve problems.

Tim: Having read the first two comics I love the shift between the two times. What are your future plans for this story?

Kris: I wanted to rethink the modern-day witch genre by making it less soapy, more thriller-like, darker, and more grounded in reality. I want readers to feel that what they see could be happening in their own backyards.
The first four chapters set up the three main characters and their world, and the next four will have them deal with an immediate threat, and test their abilities and ‘unity’.

Tim: I can't wait to read it. And finally, where can we find you on the internet?

Kris: Our Kickstarter campaign is currently live: http://bit.ly/2qEDoLo
You can also check out the Witches Trine website at http://www.witchestrine.com
like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/witchestrine/
or follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/witches_trine

Tim: Last question, something I always ask.  Who is your favorite witch, wizard or magic-user and why?

Kris: It has to be Gandalf for me.
As English is not my first language, I will always have fond memories of the first English language book I ever read, Lord of the Rings.

Tim: Excellent choice!

The Witches Trine Kickstarter is happening right now.

Kickstart Your Weekend: Interview with Debra Hoenig Parizek

Debra Hoenig Parizek is working on bringing here late husband's dream to life, The Everyverse RPG.

I thought I would spend some time with her to talk about the Everyverse RPG.

Tim Brannan/The Other Side:  Let’s start at the beginning,  who are you and what is the Everyverse RPG?
Debra Hoenig Parizek: I am the widow of the author now, production and marketing director for EVERYVERSE RPG. Both the author, Dennis, and I grew up in Iowa and graduated from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, IA. I spent 34 years in IT. Since being laid off in Dec, 2014, I have been working in online marketing. I was nudged to bring EVERYVERSE RPG to market after a long weekend gaming session with friends at the end of last June.

EVERYVERSE RPG is a universal system that may be applied to any setting.

TB: How long did your late husband work on this game?
DHP: At least 10 years

TB: How did you get into gaming?
DHP: I got into gaming because my late husband was a gamer. I believe the first scenarios he and I played were Star Wars based using an early version of what is now EVERYVERSE RPG. Later, I joined his gaming group of college friends. That group started meeting again with the 2nd generation (i.e. sons of 2 members) playing with us old timers.

TB: What are some of your favorite games? Why?
DHP: I've played Cyberpunk and AD&D. To be honest, I've been spoiled by playing EVERYVERSE RPG.

TB: What is one of your favorite features about Everyverse?
DHP: I think using The Attempt to resolve all outcomes. The structure of The Attempt is simple -- what action is performed, applicable character attribute score or skill cascade score, modifiers. That's basically it then roll your 4D10.

TB: What is Everyverse to set it off from other multi-genre games?
DHP: It features 5 methods of character generation, uses the Bell curve (the curve used in real-world IQ measurement) where a score of 100 is average for a population in character attributes and skills scores for more meaningful information at a glance, has skills cascades to describe a skill set from general to more specific and uses a single method, The Attempt, to resolve all outcomes.  Also, it presents tables for conversion from other systems to EVERYVERSE RPG.

TB:  What sort of games/stories do you expect that people will use this for?
DHP: Most recently, it was used by folks who play online to do a supernatural hunters scenario. We have used it to play low-tech, high-tech, Star Wars, Highlander. I believe we will be doing a Harry Potter scenario for a podcast next weekend.

TB: What are your future plans for this game?
DHP: The basic rules are available now and I am prepping a supplement on Paranormality. Then, there is a High-Tech Equipment supplement and a Future History supplement. I also want to expand some adventure scenarios into modules for sale.

TB: And finally where can we find you on the internet?
DHP: my website is http://rpg.parizekdevelopmentllc.com
my facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/Everyverse-RPG-907277846032063/
my kickstarter is https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1945825895/to-realize-a-dream-everyverse-rpg

TB: Ok last question and this is for my own benefit. Who is your favorite wizard, witch or magic-user
DHP: Harry Potter

--

There are a lot of really great things that Debra is giving away for this game.  It would be nice to this game make it.

Kickstart Your Weekend: Elizabeth Chaipraditkul Interview

I want to spend some more time talking about WITCH today with the developer Elizabeth Chaipraditkul, +Liz C. 
WITCH is getting a lot more attention and I wanted learn more about the game.

To say I am looking forward to this is an understatement.

Tim Brannan/The Other Side:  Let’s start at the beginning,  who are you and what is Angry Hamster Publishing?

Elizabeth Chaipraditkul/Angry Hamster: My name is Liz and I am the co-founder of Angry Hamster publishing. I’ve written WITCH and it is our flagship game for Angry Hamster Publishing. I’ve written for the Living Forgotten realms before and I am currently working on a project for Onyx Path Publishing.

TB: How did you get into gaming?
Liz: I was a very solitary kid, the kind of girl who spent all her time in her room playing with her Barbies and making up stories, so the moment I found out about gaming I jumped on it. I thought it was fantastic that there were other people out there that wanted to make-pretend as much as I did. I started out with form rpgs when I was in middle school and then in highschool I was introduced to D&D 3.5 and it took off from there.

TB: What are some of your favorite games? Why?
Liz: TTRPG-wise I would have to say Vampire the Masquerade. I love how gritty it is, the romance and the tragedy of an immortal existence. I blame Anne Rice and Joss Whedon for this. I also love Numenera and Monster Hearts. Numenera because it is unique and wonderful, I love adventure and this game is pure adventure. Monster Hearts holds a special place in my heart, because it is a game that perfectly encapsulates all the angsty supernatural/teen TV shows I love.

TB: Now the good stuff.  What is “WITCH”?
Liz: WITCH is a dark, modern fantasy role play game where you play a member of the Fated a witch or warlock who has sold their soul to a demon for power. The game is set in our world, but then if we had all the cool stuff like magic and monsters. The game deals heavily with how characters will find a way to survive and triumph over their personal storylines and demons. This rather dark theme is set in a world that is utterly fantastical. The world of WITCH, unlike the lives of the Fated, is not dark at all. In fact is it wondrous, magical, and begging to be explored.

TB: What is here in WITCH to set it off from other Modern Supernatural games?
Liz: We place a large importance on character’s stories and their interactions with their personal demons. When I created this game I wanted the character’s lives to be as much a part of the main plot as whatever cool story the GM had cooked up. With the Fated constantly having to deal with their demons the game does that just that. In order for the Fated to gain more power they must summon their demon and make a new deal with them, demons are real characters who have wants and needs, and they will (probably) as the Fated to do something they are not comfortable with. How the Fated deal with their demons and how they still survive in their own lives is a unique feature in our game.

TB: Tell me more about the magic system in WITCH
Liz: Mechanics wise, our magic system is very unique. We don’t put a limit on how much magic players can use, they are able to use as much magic a day as they want, however, it comes at a price. Players can also do things such as Magic Alteration, changing the look and feel of their Spell, at will. This means that players can customise their characters without a penalty and each character’s magic will be unique.

TB:  What sort of games/stories do you expect that people will use this for?
Liz: I’d like to say the two themes I love most in games and that is - adventure and drama. There is nothing like your coven recovering an ancient artefact just for one of you to give it to your demon for power power is there? I love exploring places that beg to be explored and interacting with a world completely foreign to you. However, as a player I am also very selfish. I want a personal story and I want drama. I always hope my GM is going to pick apart my backstory and find something crazy to run with. I believe that is what WITCH allows GMs to do.

TB: Going on the drama bit for a second.  Would it be possible to do a Monster Hearts-like (a game I love) game with WITCH?
Liz: For sure! The setting isn’t limited to adventure, horror, etc. Often, in the WITCH games I run the player’s lives end up taking center stage, their relationships etc. The story I have in mind is always second and woven deeply into who the characters are. I also think that the Fated and their demons could have interesting relationships together. We have a story in the book of a woman named Mary, she was a Pagan and actually ended up married to her devil. I would not call their relationship love… actually the exact opposite, but how fantastic would that type of drama be in a story?

TB: Your Kickstarter is doing great.  You are funded and heading into stretch goals.  What what you like to do this with these funds?  (the Cape Town and Athens additions)
Liz: Well, our most recent stretch goal is one of my most beloved and that is the Devil’s Deck. The Devil’s Deck is an altered Major Arcana of a tarot deck that the fated use to divine the future. It features heavily in our game and if we get 100 more euros in our campaign we unlock it for our players! Each one of our backers will get the digital PNP files for the Devil’s Deck. The next stretch goal after that is getting all our backers (who have pledges for a physical copy of the book) a hard copy of the deck. I really hope we get there!

TB: Cool so a Tarot set to go along with the Witch board!  Any other goodies you would like to do?
Liz: Oh yeah! The next rewards is for sure going to be a GM screen or what I like to call - 4 page cardboard excuse to showcase the amazing art we have! I never use my GM screens as actual screens, but I love handy quick references and the art is always so amazing! Also, if the last two days go crazy I have also sourced custom dice, but we’ll see if we get there :D.

TB: What are your future plans for this game?
Liz: I have a companion that is half on paper and half in my mind. It will give players more options for higher Spell Levels and also introduce two new Fates. It will basically contain a lot of content that didn’t make it into the CRB. I am also working on a few adventures and I would love to get to write more about the Fates.

TB: Ok last question and this is for my own benefit. Who is your favorite wizard, witch or magic-user?
Liz: Argh! Just one? Okay, I am going to pick two - Tara (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Halaster . I love Tara, because she is perfect and wonderful in every way. I love Halaster, because he is crazy. Haha, I actually can’t describe him more than that.
TB: I absolutely LOVE Tara!  Would it be possible to play Willow and Tara in WITCH?
Liz: YES! Well, I want to say no, because we know where the relationship ends up - but yes! Also, dark Willow would make such a cool higher Spell Level witch. In our game when you get to higher Spell levels you get to focus your magic into either redemption or utter damnation (and more, but see my answer above about wanting to write more books ^^). I totally see a tragic dark Willow and redeemed Tara story. Ahhhhh!
TB: Well Tara is alive and well in my games, so I will have to try stating them up!
Liz: I want to see that ^^.

TB: And finally where can we find you on the internet?
Liz: You can find more about WITCH at angryhamsterpublishing.com and follow us on Twitter @angryhamsterrpg. I also have a personal blog, which is epicxcloth.blogspot.com

--

In the process of talking to Liz I decided EXACTLY what my first WITCH game is going to be.

I am going to abandon the Fate version of my American Horror Story: Coven game I was playing around with and do it all under WITCH instead.

AND of course I need to stat up Willow and Tara as soon as I can.

Of Dreams and Magics RPG

Recently a new Kickstarter/Company was brought to my attention and I decided to look into them a bit more.

The games is Of Dreams and Magics RPG and it looks very, very intriguing to me.  The publishing company, ODAM Publishing, also looks good.   I recently spoke with the guys behind ODAM, John and Matt and this is what they had to say.

Tim Brannan/The Other Side:  Let’s start at the beginning,  who are you and what is ODAM Publishing?

Matt: I’m Matt

John: And I’m John, and we are founders of ODAM Publishing.

Matt: ODAM Publishing seeks to make a full line of high-quality RPG products and other tabletop games. Having been lifelong gamers and fans of the hobby in general, we decided to marry our passion with our experience in business in order to provide outstanding games for anyone to enjoy.

TB: How did you get into gaming?

Matt: I’ll always remember picking up the Vampire 3rd Edition book and being fascinated with it. I had a close friend who played Vampire with a group, which John was the storyteller for, and from that moment on I was hooked.

John: I had a friend in school who knew I Ioved to write. One day he just flat out asked me if I had ever heard of a roleplaying game and insisted I’d love the concept if I gave it a shot.  He was correct, and a lifetime of fond memories followed.

TB: What are some of your favorite games? Why?

Matt: As I mentioned, Vampire the Masquerade was a book that I would read over and over again before ever even playing it or knowing what an RPG was. More than anything, I hope that our books will make someone feel the same way I felt when I first saw that book. My other favorite game would have to be Shadowrun, going back to the 3rd edition. It’s my favorite setting - I only wish I had more chances to play it with my regular group, as I think the 3rd edition book was a bit harder to get into. The short Shadowrun stories I did get to tell do remain my favorites to this day, though.

John: Some of my fav’s are AD&D 2nd and 3d editions, white wolfs Vampire the Masquerade, and Star wars by West End Games.  I have a very wide range of tastes so I’d get my fantasy kicks from D&D, my horror from white wolf, and my sci fi from Star Wars.  There were many others along the way but those probably got the most play out of me.

TB: I can certainly relate to those, though I am a bigger Unisystem fan. Now the good stuff.  What is “Of Dreams and Magic?”

John:  It’s an RPG about being a dreamer who can affect our world by carrying the magic of their dreams into reality.  Honestly being an RPG fan is a lot like being a character from “Of Dreams and Magic”.  Every gamer has these great stories and experiences they live through with their playgroup but to the rest of the world its just a dream.  The concept of the game is that an omnipresent force called the Doubt causes people to not believe in “magic” or anything extraordinary.  These few dreamers learn the truth and are forced to face the Doubt, their nightmares, and a host of other antagonists.  Fortunately for them they can summon the power of their favorite dreamself to face their enemies.  Just imagine if you learned that at a moments notice you could really do some of the things your characters could in the many games you’ve played - then you’d have an idea what this game is all about.

TB: You describe ODAM as Modern Fantasy? Elaborate a bit on that.

Matt: Not only does ODAM take place in the here and now in the literal sense, I think it’s a game ABOUT the here and now. A lot of people are facing hard times and dream of a better life, which seems to be out of reach. When I think of someone creating magic, I think of ordinary people who are out there doing things they’ve been told they can’t. While they may not be able to summon a cybernetic handgun to their hand, they’re definitely battling the Doubt.

John: There’s definitely a bit of allegory here.  Of Dreams and Magic is designed to peel back the veil separating a gamer from their game.  The players themselves were always the lynchpin that tied all of their gaming experiences together.  Now we’ve written a game where that player can be one character in the modern world and tie all of his many game experiences together - all within a single system.  The modern fantasy description pertains to that real world character now playing in not only his many dream settings, but then also playing in the real world with what he gained from them.

TB: It sounds a bit similar to Mage, but in a different direction. What is here in ODAM to set it off from other Modern Fantasy games.

John:  Hopefully lots of things!  As I mentioned we created a unique setting where playgroups can tell any kind of story and have all those experiences link back to a single character who dreamed them.  Then they can play a sidelining adventure telling stories about what that dreamer does with those experiences.  People have found it rewarding both emotionally and technically.  In theory a group could have as many campaigns in as many settings as they want without ever truly “starting over” as all of those experiences help build and develop the dreamer character they are tied to.  Additionally we developed a new rule system that allows players to be as detailed or as minimalistic as they like.  We felt if a player asked themselves “I wonder if I could do this” with our game in mind they should always find the answer to be yes - and they won’t have to rewrite the mechanics to do so.

TB: What was the reasoning for going with it’s own system?

Matt: We wanted to use our own system because we wanted all aspects of the game to have their systems built around them, rather than having to mold our ideas to a separate system. We think the rules should serve the setting and actual roleplaying rather than the other way around, and the best way to do that was to design our own rules.

John: I’ve never felt the true greatness of playing rpg’s revolved around their rules.  Nobody thinks back 10 years on the cool rule they used in a favorite story.  Great systems help you tell the stories you are passionate about without making you feel like they are getting in your way or only make sense some of the time.  We recognized all gamers have different tastes when it comes to the complexity of their rules, so we decided to start from scratch and build a system that could please anyone who used it, regardless of what side of the spectrum they came from.  We all know the feeling of a great scene occurring and then staring in wonder at how limiting the rules are when it comes to actually playing it.

TB:  What sort of games/stories do you expect that people will use this for?

Matt: The exciting thing about ODAM, in my mind, is that in time people will be able to use it to tell any kind of story they want. The core story focuses on the modern day, but by traveling through dreams a play group will be able to tell a fantasy session after watching The Hobbit, tell a horror session on Halloween, and then settle into some sci-fi when summer comes back around. All of this while having these separate stories and characters serve each other rather than be disruptive.  More than anything, though, I hope that people will tell stories that inspire them and that make them believe in their own dreams.

John: Any!  That’s one of my favorite parts of what we’ve created.  I’m really excited to hear how people tell their own stories maybe emphasizing the horror of a character’s nightmare, or the action adventure of being in starfighter battle.  I guess I’m as interested in other peoples “dreams” as I am in my own.

TB: What are your future plans for this game?

Matt:  Since a large aspect of the game deals with different genres and blending them together, we’re really excited to eventually produce books that focus on those specific genres. John will be able to share the fantasy world he’s GMed in for decades with the rest of the gaming world, and I’ll be able to display a cyberpunk setting that features my favorite parts of the concept.

John:  The plan is to release supplemental publications to help give gamers more tools to enjoy their stories. Primarily I hope to produce setting books, each embodying a different genre, to give playgroups detailed worlds to be used either as material for their characters dreams, or to be played and enjoyed as completely independant game using the very same rule system.

Matt:  In the short term, we’re focusing on releasing the core rulebook and supplemental material related to it, but in the long term, we really hope to provide books that everyone can enjoy regardless of their favorite genre.

TB: Ok last question and this is for my own benefit. Who is your favorite wizard, witch or magic-user?

Matt: This may come off as a strange answer, but Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. My first exposure to the character was through my favorite game of all time, Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father. The game offered up a ton of information about historical voodoo practice in New Orleans, and I was so intrigued by it that I became interested in the subject beyond just the game.

John: Strange as this may sounds, I’d have to choose Willow. The main character of the motion picture bearing the same name holds the title in my mind because his magic powers were so understated.  His genius resided in his determination to do the right thing - whatever the cost.  I have rarely been so amused by a wizard’s personal quest as I have watching Willow learn to believe in himself even if no one else did.

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Looking forward to seeing what they do!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/887885342/of-dreams-and-magic