TrippyHippy

Good call about Kickstarter. If Masks of Nyarlathotep is done well, it should sell well without the need for a Kickstarter anyway. If we get a full colour MoN with handouts, will it come in a box set? Will there also be plans to do an update of Beyond The Mountains of Madness, in the pipeline?

He was going blind, which is something he relayed in an update way back. I imagine that this would have led to all sorts of issues. However, as a backer, I was also a bit miffed that a PDF was released on drivethrurpg without any communication or prioritisation towards backers who have waited four years for it. I'm still awaiting my physical copy, which I assume will be assisted by the funds raised through selling the product online. However, without any clear communication to backers, we might also just assume he's forgotten us. Between this, Punkworld and the Call of Cthulhu Tarot, this generally accounts for the Kickstarter projects I have still yet to see fulfilling their promises.

The 'classic' starter scenarios are basically the ones that were contained in the core rules of previous editions: The Haunting, The Edge of Darkness, Dead Man Stomp, etc The 7E has a couple of adventures, but not really that great, so yes, Doors to Darkness is the best place to go now.

It makes sense. Masks is probably their biggest seller outside of the corebook - and having a full colour presentation could be spectacular.

I think the broader question is how compatible is Mythras generally with BRP. The short answer is 'very'.

Two good decisions there, with its unequivocal naming and no kickstarter. Kickstarter suxx.

Yay! I'd buy that! Would you be able to adapt Enlightened Magic also?

I also think of it like the first awakening of Sorcery, insofar that it represents superstitious realism - which can then build into a full blown paradigm. If a Sorcerer also has folk magic, then these are a bit like cantrips.

Well, yeah - but you could also just name them by the archetype they represent. A Book of Archetypes so to speak.

Hmmm.....well maybe a databank, or maybe just a big book of Pregens from different eras/worlds without challenging anyone's IP?

Actually, regarding characters in Luther Arkwright, you did a few PreGen characters from TV shows and literature before (including Jerry Cornelius, Doctor Who, etc). These were really cool and really accentuates the multiverse qualities of the game. Could I make a request/suggestion of doing an entire book of these - or maybe a freebie source, if there are copyright/trademark issues. Or maybe just historical figures. Having Paul Muad'Dib, Doctor Strange, Rasputin and the Kemp twins from Spandau Ballet in the same party would be cool.

I do recall the Games Workshop RuneQuest books in the late 80s. They were physically different, with a shorter page count (it was split into the RuneQuest core, Advanced RuneQuest and a Monsters book - all about 160 pages each) and the covers were different. I didn't have the advantage of reading them, so I don't know if the rules were affected in any way. On another related side note, I do feel that RuneQuest was clearly a heavy influence on GWs Warhammer rpgs - both settings and system - including the much later 40KRP titles.

I'm going to call it Chaosium's RuneQuest as it stands. I didn't like the inference of a coded insult to TDM's RuneQuest 6, but that game has moved on to becoming Mythras and, perhaps, it was the most healthy distinction to make in the long term. But yeah, Chaosium's RuneQuest works best for me. You could also make a case for RuneQuest 40th Anniversary Edition, by the time it comes round.

Folk magic is actually quite an important thing for my tastes, and I prefer to have ubiquitous magic. For me, Folk magic adds a similar impact to what Feats used to do in D&D (and are still essentially there in terms of Class effects). They just give an element of magic that adds colour to any character and helps make them fun to play. Big serious magics, like Sorcery and Theism all do impressive things, but folk magic allows ordinary folk who aren't spell casters by trade to do a little too.

I'm not sure they were public domain back in 1981, and I'm pretty sure that I've read that the license was obtained from Arkham House or some such. In more recent years, Lovecraft's work has become public domain - which is why Delta Green went independent amongst other things.

I'm sure it's been said lots before, but a licence has got to be worth it to the company. Big license deals can quickly bog down as companies have to get canon checked and the fanbase can have all sorts of awkward expectations. On top of this the bottom line of market distribution has to get levied up against the actual overhead cost of the licence itself. If TDM got the Star Trek licence, they'd probably have to drop everything else to write it rapidly, print it with full colour stills from the show on glossy paper, and distribute it to a wider chain of retail outlets. Licences like this only seem to last a few years anyway. In many ways, Call of Cthulhu was the greatest licence ever because not many people had ever heard of it and the game's market actually enhanced awareness of Lovecraft's writings - allowing it to build in the long term against any disruption from pop culture trends.

There was supposed to be a Prime Directive book for Mongoose Traveller, but it's been vapourware for years. Matt Sprange wrote the latest version of the Prime Directive miniatures game, I think, so there is bound to be some contractual arrangement in place already even if no RPG has come about. Besides, I think any Prime Directive game becomes a little redundant whenever somebody lands a full Star Trek license, which Modiphius did last year.

I'm not really that inclined towards action-orientated Call of Cthulhu, but I think it must be only a matter of time before they redevelop Masks of Nyarlathotep for 7E. If they, say, make a big set like Horror on the Orient Express, with full colour production and good quality props, then it'll surely be a money spinner for them? Kickstarter material at least. For me, though, I actually prefer Beyond the Mountains of Madness as an epic campaign. Maybe I'm getting old.....

Add some Stormbringer into the mix and we can annoy everybody! But seriously, I think the balance is about right.

One advantage of having a later release, incidentally, is that next year is the 40th Anniversary of RuneQuest, so maybe releases could be built into this celebration. With regards to the art, my basic hope is simply that the layout, design and quality matches that of GtG. HeroQuest: Glorantha does this already, so guess that is the idea. And yes, the Classic RQ releases does maintain interest for those of us who never experienced the game the first time round.

I wouldn't want a Warhammer license, as I'm perfectly happy with the 2nd edition of the rules they put out some time ago. I think half the reason that FFG tried to experiment with narrative dice, and other bells and whistles was that the 2nd line had reached a level of completion with a massive line of supplements that they couldn't do any more with it. If any company wanted to get the WFRP license, they'd probably do no worse that simply realising the entire back catalogue (1st through to 3rd) as PDF/POD and they'd probably make more money than trying to develop a new edition, or adapt it to a new system. I still think a 2000AD license is a good call though - Loz wrote lots of the line for Mongoose already, and the art could incorporated to make some good looking black/white interiors as well as striking covers. It could effectively run alongside Luther Arkwright which gives a blueprint as to how to adapt Mythras to comic book settings. I also think that there is a market for satirical, British-style comics that isn't really being tapped in gaming at the moment - including the work of Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman and so on. The license to 2000AD is available.

The thing that held me back with these two titles is that I already have the Cult Compendium. When the backer kit came up, I was looking for titles I didn't have - like Trollpack. Having said that, and now that they are just a click away, is there a compelling reason why I should get the individual Cult books? Or have I literally already got them? I'm considering getting the physical copies later in the year anyway.

It would be interesting to see the various strands of Mongoose's old RuneQuest open license convalescing into one source - Mythras one would assume - now that the RuneQuest license has gone back home to Chaosium and Glorantha. Not sure it will happen but, if some older written work is currently doing nothing as it is, why not? I mean, companies like to hold on to their brands, but if it merely means talking to Pete & Loz and then slapping a label on saying 'Compatible with Mythras', then you've opened up a new market all of sudden. So yep, good to see Alex bringing something into the collective. Looking forward to it. Lets see some more.

If you ever make a standalone Luther Arkwright RPG, I commit to buying a core book every year till I die. That should account for 1-40 copies!

What about in a different Parallel?