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Interview with Mike Mearls and Rich Baker

So there it is, Saturday afternoon. I’m half way through PAX, and I’m escorted on to the DnD Bus. There in the back of the bus I’m introduced to Mike Mearls and Richard Baker. They’re watching the Princess Bride on dvd. My first thought is “Holy shit, that’s Mike Mearls and Richard Baker and they’re watching Princess Bride on dvd! I sure hope I don’t screw up this interview!”

Image of The DnD Bus by The Portland Mercury (http://bit.ly/9zYQdV)

Obsidian Portal: This is a really nice bus! Is it just for PAX, or will it be making rounds to other conventions?

Mike Mearls photo stolen with love from www.NewbieDM.com

Mike Mearls: Well PAX is right here in our backyard, and we wanted to have a big block party to celebrate all the great products we have coming out this year. So it’s just for PAX.

Obsidian Portal: So let’s move on to DnD Essentials. Why the change in the product line name to Essentials?

NOTE: Rich Baker had a fantastic off the cuff answer for this question that went above and beyond. And then I realized that I wasn’t recording audio. He was kind enough to repeat most of it on the second go around. Thanks for your patience Rich!

Image of Rich Baker stolen from Rich's Blog (http://bit.ly/dxaLxc)

Rich Baker: The idea behind the Essentials line is that we want to provide new players with an easy place to start. We have a bit of a hang up now in terms of our product line that we have some pretty advanced products out there in terms of things like Players Handbook 2, Players Handbook 3, Martial Power 1 and 2 and Arcane Power.

There are all these places that new users could go, and the idea with Essentials is “Let’s try to bring this into a single trade dress that’s pretty recognizable so that the new player knows where she’s supposed to go, so retailers know what they should stock, and to make starting the game easier.”

It can be pretty daunting for people worried about starting with the wrong book or not getting the help they need from retailers. In addition to the obvious changes in the packaging and the marketing message, we did actually work on the game play elements to make sure there where simple options available for what should be simple character classes.

Obsidian Portal: Great answer! Thank you so much. It’s almost like you said it twice. So the Red Box is only for new players and DMs then?

Rich Baker: Yes. Yes, we did wrap it in nostalgia by calling it the Red Box and putting the original art and trade dress with the logos and everything. But the guts of it are essentially 4th Edition. It contains the first two levels of play for a set of basic character classes (Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, and Wizard) and we hope it’s something brand new players would be interested in, but it’s also our hope that people who have been away from DnD for a long time will see this is a great place to start in again!

Obsidian Portal: So where is the Red Box going to be sold? Will it just be in our Favorite Local Gaming Store, or will it be sold stores like Wal-Mart and Target?

DnD Essentials: The Red Box

Mike Mearls: It should be available in both Wal-Mart and Target, from what I understand they’re both picking it up and it’ll be found in the area of the store where they sell collectable card games like Magic and Pokémon. And of course, it’ll be available at your local game store.

Obsidian Portal: I’m glad to hear it’s going to go into those big stores, because it gives a chance for kids who’ve never been to a game store to see it and try out a tabletop RPG. What other Essentials products do you all have coming out this year?

Mike Mearls: If you start with the Red Box, there are two tracks for folks to take. For the players, there are two books coming out that are 320 pages each and they’re both the 6×9 soft cover format and they each retail for twenty dollars. The first one out is Heroes of the Fallen Lands and it’s coming out on the 21st of this month and it’ll be available sooner at Premier Stores of course.

Heroes of the Fallen Lands takes the classes from the Red Box and extend them from levels 1 to 30. It covers the same races and all the feats. For the player, this book has all the core DnD Rules. The second book, Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms, comes out in November. So if you think of Heroes of the Fallen Lands and the Red Box as the core rules for players, Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms has the next tier of options. It will include races like Dragonborn and Tiefling, that are a little more unique to DnD. We’re also introducing the Drow and the Halforc…

Rich: Paladin and Ranger.

Obsidian Portal: Paladin and Halforc? Awesome!

Mike Mearls: Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms will include the classes Paladin, Ranger, Druid, and Warlock. So you can think of Heroes of the Fallen Lands as the core of DnD, and Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms as the next ring out.

Obsidian Portal: Sounds great! So what do the DMs get?

Mike Mearls: Yep. Oh, there’s also this one book that sort of rests in the middle. There’s the Rules Compendium that is also 320 pages with the same format and price point of twenty dollars. The Rules Compendium… I kind of think of it as Robert’s Rules of Order for DnD. “What happens when I fall prone and I’m next to a pit?” It’s a rules encyclopedia. All the rules and technical terms laid out, all the latest errata and updates. Its aim is to be an easy reference point for the table and the DM.

Rich Baker: It’s organized much differently than our previous ‘how to play the game’ chapters.

Mike Mearls: That’s right. And for the DMs, there is a DM Kit. It’s a box set and it comes with a DM booklet in the same 6×9 soft cover format. It also comes with adventures, maps, and tokens. If you want to be a DM, that box is where you start.

 One of the things we’re trying to emphasize with DnD Essentials is the all-in-one nature of the product. Whereas before if you wanted to DM you’d have to buy the Dungeon Masters Guide, the Monster Manual, a play surface, and some miniatures. We wanted to include everything the new gaming group needs in the Red Box, and everything a New DM needs in the DM Kit.

There’s also the Monster Vault, which is also a boxed set that comes with an adventure, a poster map, and tokens for every monster in the Monster Vault book. Which is also in the same 6×9 soft cover format. I know I’m going to forget something, so Richard if you catch something let me know.

Rich Baker: I’m working on it.

Mike Mearls: The final part of the DM track is the three tile sets we’re releasing. One for the dungeon, one for the outdoors, and one for the city. Each one is a box set that retails for twenty dollars I believe. And that’s a lot like the other Essentials products. If you buy the Dungeon tile set, then you have all the tiles you need to build a dungeon encounter. There are 10 Essentials products in total, but you don’t need to buy all of them.

The way we see it, if your local shop has these 10 things on the shelf, you can find out pretty easily where to start. Say you want to DM. You start with the DM Kit. After running the adventures there, you want to make your own adventures, so you pick up the Monster Vault. Then say your party is leaving the dungeon so then you get the Outdoor tiles. So you didn’t buy all of that at once, but over say, a year or so of playing.

Obsidian Portal: So the Essentials line of products is supposed to grow with the needs of the gaming group?

Mike Mearls: Exactly.

This wraps up the first part of our interview. Check out the next part of our interview tomorrow where we’ll cover Castle Ravenloft, Gamma World, and more!

September’s Featured Campaign: Library of Howling

The City of Howling is a small, densely populated city tucked into the Howling Cliffs on the coast of the Tragic Sea. Surrounded by tall mountains and having no agriculture of its own, it depends on its bustling port and trade from the nearby Sundweller’s Kingdom. Its claim to fame is the magical Library of Howling, supposedly able to answer any question. Throngs of refugees flock to it like an Oracle, only to find out that it is, in fact, just a house of books run by a tyrannical group of librarians who use elitism and politics to keep the riffraff out. Discouraged, most just flounder here, turning Howling into a demoralized, crime-infested city of lost souls.

It’s a new month and that means there’s a new Featured Campaign! This month, we’re bringing you kicking and screaming to the Library of Howling by Valorin. Valorin was kind enough to get his posse together and answer some of our burning questions.

Obsidian Portal: How much of the campaign/system is original content developed by you and your players?

Valorin:The system is either all mine or none at all, as it is a Frankenstein’s golem of Fantasy Hero, Harn, FUDGE, Hero Quest, Rune Quest, D&D, Earthdawn, etc. Any mechanic I like, I steal like a starving street urchin. Basically, every rule we use is a House Rule. I even have a proposed change on OP for the players because we were trying to figure out if we could remove a roll from combat and speed things up a bit. So, the system is always in flux and changing. If pressed to pick one, the system is mostly the Hero system which is actually amazingly close to D&D 3.5 in a lot of it’s combat. The world setting is almost completely my own. It’s been developed from ideas, discussions, books and games from many different systems and campaigns over the years. I have my own idea of people, races, magic and the like. For the games themselves, I’ve either made up my own stories, or adapted old modules for my own use. I love to use published modules and settings because a lot of work has gone into them and they’re usually rich and interesting.

Obsidian Portal: Your campaign looks great, can you tell me more about it?

Valorin:This campaign world is a brand new start since three of my four players are new to RPGs. My first story line even involved an infestation of bandits in rags and armed with farm tools and a dark secret as a way to introduce them to the system and the style of RPG without giving them too much of a challenge in the way of combat. The first theme of the characters themselves is that they are all “mages” but not robe-wearing bespectacled old men. Rather, they are all martial men with some kind of supernatural secret, curse or gift that they are going to discover, and possibly master. Again, this brings out the mechanics of the game and the role of magic in my setting. The current story line comes from an old module in a setting called Shadow World which I think was originally designed for Role Master but has Fantasy Hero conversions in it.

Obsidian Portal: Where do you get your inspiration the story and the world?

Valorin:My inspiration comes from a lot of sources. I read a lot and I have several places that I love to emulate. I also HATE cliches. A lot of what I build on my own is a response to some fantasy cliche or icon that I want to mess with. Any seven foot tall black-skinned mage-warriors with skull-pommeled zweihanders bigger than them deserve whatever the players do to them. A lot of times I like to take some myth or story that the players know and then play them through it and have them find out the “real story” in the way of Neil Gaiman. I love fantasy worlds that are not Tolkienesque, like China Mieville’s world or Clive Barker’s Imajica. I love the politics of books like Dune or the Chronicles of Amber. I also collect modules and settings for any system imaginable to dice up and use as a spice or a main entree or anything in between.

Obsidian Portal: How well do you know your players?

Valorin:I’ve known most of the players pretty well for a few years and we all work together for the most part. All of us play World of Warcraft together in some combination or other and so they were obvious choices to approach with the idea of a table-top RPG. I haven’t run a game of my own in quite some time since moving to my new town, but I’ve played in some or messed around in pick up games and short bouts. Many years ago , I used to be the main GM and I’m more comfortable in and get more pleasure from long extended campaigns. Of course, as soon as the players aren’t having fun and want to try something else, then we’ll immediately start looking for a new toy to try.

Obsidian Portal: What kinds challenges are you faced with in your campaign?

Valorin:The biggest challenge so far has definitely been this hobbled together system of mine. I’ve tried literally dozens of different systems and there’s always something that I don’t like about it. For this run, I really wanted to try to make the game mechanics my own. Of course, in true form, there are things about my own system that I don’t like, but I’m working on it. I’m actually close at this point, having played the system for about a year now, to start writing some hard rules down and let the players begin strategizing on a metagame level rather than just inside the story. The brand new players are definitely not a problem to the game. It’s refreshing and a lot of fun to introduce some new people into the brotherhood of *true* gamers. Also, it’s really great that I have a veteran player to help me, who sits back and lets the new guys mess up, but then is quick to jump in when they all turn to him and give him that blank look. I guess, I’d also say that the other hard part is that we’re all older, for the most part, and it’s sometimes difficult to find a time when everyone can get together. This strange thing called “life” just keeps getting in the way. We currently don’t have a set, regular meeting time.

Obsidian Portal: What aspects of your campaign are you really proud of?

Valorin:Despite how much I keep trying to change it, I actually like the feel that I’m getting from my game system. I’ve thought a lot about game design and the system and the way it handles really influences the mood of the story you’re trying to tell. I wanted a gritty, mystery-based fantasy game and I feel like the high detail, slow development and simulationist rules of the system lend themselves really well to that and help break my new characters of the video game mentality. I’m also really happy with the depth and development of the characters that my new players have come up with. These are definitely not cookie-cutter video game avatars, but people with backgrounds, goals and personal problems and the players came up with these on their own. I was very impressed. Finally, I think the two stories that we’ve got so far have been easy enough to be a good introduction but interesting and involved enough to keep the game going this long and maybe even lead to giant story arcs later on that could be a great ending.

Obsidian Portal: According to your players, what have been the highlights of the campaign?

Valorin: Here’s what my players had to say:

“The highlight for me has been learning how to roleplay. I always wanted to be involved in a fantasy game but never had the chance until now. It’s been great since I have a few friends involved and can learn from them how to progress with my character while staying true to who he is.” – Red Earth

“The flexibility of the system has been a big highlight, but taking our meager little party and doing things that the GM never expected us to be able to pull off has been the biggest kicker 😉 We have an eclectic group built around melee that’s trying to sneak into the world of magic piece by piece and having some smart people to pull out tricks like summoning ghosts from the past to learn passwords to big demonic gates has really been a boon to us. Pulling out impossible wins with our brains rather than our swords, such as in capturing demons in old candlesticks which once held another demon to save the day. Those are the highlights in my mind.” – Bill Hook

“The highlights of the campaign have really been the recent adventures on the island. Mainly exploring the city of the Black Sons. It seems every time we go into some place new, we’re always getting into heated battles with very powerful enemies. But we end figuring out his weakness and work together as a team to defeat him. Right now, we have to head back to our camp but I am looking forward to going back into the city and uncovering more secrets.” – Marble Riches

For my own part, in the evil temple of a demon-worshipping ruined city, the quote of the game last time was, “Oh yeah, I’m (messing) with the statue!” The players keep it fun and fast.

Obsidian Portal: What future plans do you have for your campaign?

Valorin: If we keep going with these characters, I’m looking at a few possibilities but I’ll only mention the ones the players know about: an old-fashioned dungeon crawl for adventure, loot and to kill the bad guy. Remember, my players haven’t done that before. Secondly, the open seas are calling. I’ve always wanted to do an adventure on the high seas and we’ve got an opportunity to try that. I like my games to have an actual setting which becomes “home” in time to the players and right now that’s Howling. The players have been murmuring that they might want to take the ruined city and island as their home base. Certainly, I work closely with the players to see what kind of story they would like to do before we start anything new.

Free System Friday: WR&M, Oh My!

Yes, I too read that title as Master Thespian George Takei, but I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s Free System Friday! That’s right, it’s the day of the week where we (Obsidain Portal) introduce you (our honorable reader) to something new, something fun, something free. Why? Because it shouldn’t always cost a buck to have a little fun with friends, and because the best things in life are free anywho. So lets get right on to it.

This week’s free system is: Warrior, Rogue, and Mage by Michael Wolf (a.k.a Stargazer). Here’s an excerpt from DriveThruRPG.

Warrior, Rogue & Mage is a simple, lightweight roleplaying game that allows a group
of players and a game master to experience epic adventures in a fantasy world filled
with wondrous magic. This book contains the complete game rules, including character
creation, combat, magic, equipment and monsters, as well as a complete fantasy
setting, the Fallen Imperium of Vaneria.

Although WR&M uses three basic fantasy RPG classes in its name, it doesn’t make
use of classes. Players are encouraged to create their characters freely without having
to fit them into archetypal roles. Warrior, Rogue and Mage are actually the character’s
basic attributes, which measure their capabilities in combat, stealth and academics
respectively.

That’s all well and good, but what does every-one’s favorite RPG Blogging Critic Wyatt Salazar have to say about it?

Obviously he likes it. So what are you waiting for? Grab some friends, grab some dice, grab the rules, and play WR&M now!

New System Thursday

It’s back with avengence! Today we’re adding not one, not two, not even ten new systems. That’s right, today we’re turning the knob to 11.

1. Chronica Feudalis  (Make a Campaign Now)
2. Aces & Eights (Make a Campaign Now)
3. Lejendary Adventure (Make a Campaign Now)
4. Fireborn (Make a Campaign Now)
5. Hero System (Make a Campaign Now)
6. Dragon Age RPG (Make a Campaign Now)
7. DC Adventures (Make a Campaign Now)
8. GUMSHOE (Make a Campaign Now)
9. Star Trek RPG (Make a Campaign Now)
10. Lamentation of the Flame Princess (Make a Campaign Now)
11. Legends of Anglerre (Make a Campaign Now)

Power To The (Married) People

Two weeks ago I got married to the geeky girl of my dreams. Josh Buergel friend, game designer, and all around great guy officiated our small ceremony at a local coffee shop. I got a real kick out of what he had to say, and I hope you will too.

I’m not planning on doing a long speech, but I do think that a momentous occasion like this richly deserves some of my unique strain of blather and I’m afraid the cost of my participation here is that you have to sit through it.  I feel like a recitation about the benefits and difficulties of marriage is at least somewhat inappropriate, but at the same time, it’s worth reflecting on what brings you both here, in front of friends and perhaps more importantly baristas.  A marriage really is a different phase of your relationship and no matter how casual the ceremony, the commitment is never a casual one.  A marriage is about mutual respect, first and foremost. Without that, eventually the cracks will come.  If you maintain that respect, you can solve everything else.  You’ll both make mistakes and triumphs, you’ll both have bad days and great days, you’ll have days when you wondered what the hell you were thinking.  But none of that matters if you keep your respect for each other and yourselves.  All of the great things of a marriage flow from that respect when combined with your love.

But enough of that!  Congratulations on levelling up your relationship!  Among the benefits you have gained this level are the following powers:

New Feature: Quick Previews

I’ll be the first to admit that our Textile input isn’t exactly the easiest thing to use. Getting linebreaks to work and text to look right can be a real chore. Trust me, we’re working on it.

However, a good interim fix is to reduce the turnaround time between writing the text and viewing it. To that end we’ve added a quick-preview feature for wiki pages and adventure log posts. There’s really not much to explain. Just click the preview button below a textarea and you can see the magic.

Give it a shot, and I think you’ll find that it makes formatting your posts much easier. Edit a little, preview, edit some more, preview, rinse and repeat.