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Future of Magic World?


Marcus Bone

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I hate these sorts of threads, but given the announcement at Gencon - and the comments that the BRP system is only 10% of Chaosium's revenue - I'm wondering what the future might hold for the Magic World system?

I'm sure that we will learn more over time (especially once the Call of Cthulhu Kickstarters are fulfilled), but I'd be happy to hear something official.

Marcus

 

 

 

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From Ben Monroe:

Okay, let's all take a breath for a moment. I'm sorry we haven't been able to address all the questions, but remember we're a small company, and almost all of us are here swamped at GenCon.
 

BRP and Magic World are not dead. We want them to be successful parts of the Chaosium family, and are talking about how to make that happen.

Myself, Nick, and Dustin still have jobs, and I don't foresee that changing any time soon. We're all really excited about this change, and have been looking forward to the announcement for some time.

There'll be more news over the next couple of weeks as we decompress from GenCon and start outlining plans.

Guys, remember how excited I was about coming back to Chaosium two months ago? This is that times five. Awesome things are coming down the line.

Edited by Nakana

BGB = BRP Gold. New book = BRP Platinum.  Stay metal. 

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Don't figure support will be worse than it was before and now that Mr. Monroe has official input into the matter it could only get better...one would hope. ;)

Remember as well, there is an official MW product on the front burner waiting for release. A golden opportunity to show OUR support and interest in the system. I plan on purchasing a hard copy and a pdf for my collection, and possibly another for a friend.

As before, spread the word. When Chronicler Companion becomes available lets show our new lunar overlords that MW is viable and worth the effort!

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Damn... there goes my chance to rant and rave :P

In all seriousness, this is good news and I look forward to the future Magic World holds*.

 

Marcus

* - including a couple of my own settings that I've developed!

 

Stormbringer! - Exploring the worlds of the Eternal Champion at http://www.stormbringerrpg.com

Unbound Publishing - Bringing back the fear - http://www.unboundbook.org

DCtRPG.info - Supporting Dark Conspiracy across the decades - http://www.darkconspiracytherpg.com

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  • 1 month later...
Guest Vile Traveller

So, Ben - what now for MW? Is there any hope of Chaosium actively supporting the game, maybe under the upcoming Chaosium RuneQuest rules? Or are you going to move to another D100 system entirely?

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Guest Vile Traveller

Indeed I am. Both in the sense that there is no longer a MW champion on the staff, as well as the general message that Chaosium is cutting every cost they can so active support for less profitable lines is most likely off the agenda.

 

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So, Ben - what now for MW? Is there any hope of Chaosium actively supporting the game, maybe under the upcoming Chaosium RuneQuest rules? Or are you going to move to another D100 system entirely?

I doubt Ben can move it anywhere, unless agree to it - he edited the book, but the copyright of the complete work belongs to Chaosium as far as I can tell. And it was Ben's tribute to Lynne Willis, so I am doubtful he'd want to to see it anywhere other than at Chaosium.

Whether any of the other material can be moved is open to question - there is various stuff as yet unpublished, and stuff that is now effectively out of print and presumably NOT going to see re-print; some currently remain available in PDF (e.g. my own Outpost 19).

Chaosium should probably get on top of their website management as well: Ben and Ken are still listed there with unchanged bio details.

Cheers,

Nick

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Personally I'm really starting to fear what will happen to all non-CoC or RQ lines now. All moon design has done so far is slash staff and cut spending. One book has come out since they took over when they had all this staff to support all lines and now moon design is cutting them too. Not bodeing well for the games we non-mainstreamers tend to love.

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In all fairness Chaosium as a company is in dire financial straits.  I don't think they're thinking long term.  Their goals right now are 1) to fulfill the promised CoC7 Kickstarter and 2) get the company out of the red.  The strategy for the latter seems to be bringing the successful(?) Glorantha line in-house and develop a combined RuneQuest/Glorantha book based off the Adventures in Glorantha material.  If they can return to profitability (or at least break even) they can start developing other lines again.

As for slashing staff and cutting spending ... well, that's what you DO when you don't have enough money.  I'd rather Chaosium let a few lines drop in hopes they'll pick them up later than Chaosium continue to overextend itself, go under like so very many game companies before it, and have no hope of seeing any new material ever.

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Frank

"Welcome to the hottest and fastest-growing hobby of, er, 1977." -- The Laundry RPG
 
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Guest Vile Traveller

Well, you have to consider - pretty much everyone left is primarily a Gloranthaphile now (other than Sandy, but I guess CoC doesn't need to worry about cutbacks). Conclusions will be drawn. ;)

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http://www.gamingtavern.eu/phpBB3testTHZ/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4870#p46414

Spells out the compelling reasons for closing the warehouse and switching to a 3rd party fulfilment house and virtual office (both "no-brainers" IMO).

No reference to the fate of BRP or Magic World, but that isn't the point Jeff Richards is addressing to be fair.

Nick

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Well, you have to consider - pretty much everyone left is primarily a Gloranthaphile now (other than Sandy, but I guess CoC doesn't need to worry about cutbacks). Conclusions will be drawn. ;)

These are my thoughts as well. It is a risky time for the company, with big changes and a new focus. I don't think 7e has quite hit its straps either and so opinion is out on whether or not it is a positive to the line*.

I watch with interest as Jeff and his team drag a once great company back into some semblance of order.

Marcus

 

* - For what it is worth, CoC was made great by the quality of its adventures and the flexibility of its core system. This is what I think has been missing in the last few years...

 

Stormbringer! - Exploring the worlds of the Eternal Champion at http://www.stormbringerrpg.com

Unbound Publishing - Bringing back the fear - http://www.unboundbook.org

DCtRPG.info - Supporting Dark Conspiracy across the decades - http://www.darkconspiracytherpg.com

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I'm remaining patient. I'd love to hear something about the fate of MW (and BRP to a lesser extent) but I get why it can't be a priority for the new management.

Regardless, I'm glad I've got a table copy of MW to loan to prospective new players (I've created three converts from d20/Pathfinder in the past couple of months) and I don't intend to stop playing any time soon. I only wish I would have learned about Stormbringer/MW/d100 years ago.

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These have already been unsettling times for us MW/BRP fans, for sure. The loss of Ben on the inside only makes things more uncomfortable. I, too, get why "my" games aren't a priority at the moment. I just wish the new crew would say something about the games I care about. I know that anything they say (a) almost certainly won't be what I want to hear and (b) is subject to the vagaries of the future. But still, even a simple acknowledgement that there are folks like us out here who aren't necessarily big RQ or CoC fans would be appreciated. Am I whining? Probably. But still <stamps feet> (there is no emoticon for kinda joking/kinda serious)

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I just wish the new crew would say something about the games I care about. I know that anything they say (a) almost certainly won't be what I want to hear and (b) is subject to the vagaries of the future. But still, even a simple acknowledgement that there are folks like us out here who aren't necessarily big RQ or CoC fans would be appreciated.

Ask and ye shall receive, apparently.

Chaosium will be producing new products based on the new core BRP rules that are neither RuneQuest nor Call of Cthulhu

 

Edited by The Venomous Pao

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Geek blogging at http://strangestones.com

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Guest Vile Traveller

So is BRP dead?

No! In fact, we are in the process of finishing up a new edition of the BRP core rules, called BRP Essentials. This is a 32 page booklet containing the core elements of the BRP system. Future publications will build upon those core rules and tailor them for their needs. We have several such books in development, including a hardboiled detective book (which is emphatically not Call of Cthulhu in terms of style or needed rules) and an updated version of Mythic Iceland (with a campaign pack in the works).

Well that sounds very encouraging, actually. A more accessible version of the BGB - as long as it really is based on BRP and not RQ. Much as I like RQ6 I still prefer the BGB for many applications. Still, 32 pages is going to be very tight so the interpretation of what is and isn't essential in the BGB will be crucial.

Could this be the compiled WoW book ... ?

Edited by Vile
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Well that sounds very encouraging, actually. A more accessible version of the BGB - as long as it really is based on BRP and not RQ. Much as I like RQ6 I still prefer the BGB for many applications. Still, 32 pages is going to be very tight so the interpretation of what is and isn't essential in the BGB will be crucial.

Could this be the compiled WoW book ... ?

I imagine this book could form the core of WoW. God knows we have been bandying around the suggestion long enough on these and other forums. My guess though is that it will either be based on RQ6 (the book is apparently being called BRP Essentials) or on the modified version of BRP in Cthulhu. I would be surprised if it were BGB based.

SDLeary

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Would sure like to see the previously proposed supplements for MW in PoD or PDF at least.

A small offering before they close the casket...

Edited by tooley1chris
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Author QUASAR space opera system: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/459723/QUASAR?affiliate_id=810507

My Magic World projects page: Tooleys Underwhelming Projects

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