Design Mechanism Plans

[lawrence.whitaker]

I’m cross posting this from the Design Mechanism board. It’s a response to a question raised by Trippy Hippy, and it’s relevant here too.

Without wanting to ask you to discuss things you cannot currently, is there a plan to release a lot more original titles through [Design Mechanism], after the ones you have already planned for have been released? What sort of areas/genres are you interested in exploring?

Our release plans have had to be modified, and Pete and I have a few things to work out - more around how rules are handled than the titles we publish. Some things I can expand on.

1. More Mythics - Mesopotamia, Saxons and Greece. Not sure what will happen with Mythic Constantinople. Mob says he still wants to do it and has an outline written (indeed, Pete and I have played in part of it), but it’s a long shot. Mythic Britain will be extended by both a Logres, Saxon-based campaign (written by Paul Mitchener) and more scenarios from me (I have one I’ll be playtesting at a couple of local cons and with my own group).

2. More Arkwright - Scenarios and Parallels. I’m actually keen to see submissions for Arkwright adventures so if you have an idea, let me know.

3. More Sword and Sorcery - I’m actively thinking about expanding the Scourged Earth setting hinted at in the GM Pack, and resurrecting a set of Elric/Stormbringer scenarios I wrote many years ago to fit with the setting. One scenario is complete and I’m working on another. I’ve also been fleshing out the Scourged Earth/Wall background with some physics and dimensions for the Wall itself.

4. More Thennla - I have Jon’s Taskan Campaign waiting for review and layout. I’ve postponed work on this pending some of the rules considerations we need to make, but it will certainly appear. I will also be talking to Jon about Assabian Rites as the next book.

5. More one-offs - Short scenarios and so on.

6. A project we can’t announce yet, but is genre-based and should be a lot of fun.

What you won’t see from us is any Gloranthan material. That will be handled through Chaosium. However, I’m heavily involved in laying out Ian Cooper’s ‘Coming Storm’ books, and I’m very keen to create an RQ stat pack for it.

There will be a much fuller announcement on Design Mechanism’s future this side of Christmas. There are going to be some important changes, but we’re still writing, developing, commissioning and publishing our own stuff, so from that POV, it’s business as usual.

[jongjom]

1. More Mythics - Mesopotamia, Saxons and Greece. .

Yes please! Something that RQ has been awaiting for, for far too long. But as long term fans we know how to wait for good things!

[tooley1chris]

Would throw money at a Mythic Egypt...

[Guest Vile Traveller]

2. More Arkwright - Scenarios and Parallels. I’m actually keen to see submissions for Arkwright adventures so if you have an idea, let me know.

'Nuff said.

[SDLeary]

I’m cross posting this from the Design Mechanism board. It’s a response to a question raised by Trippy Hippy, and it’s relevant here too.

Our release plans have had to be modified, and Pete and I have a few things to work out - more around how rules are handled than the titles we publish. Some things I can expand on.

1. More Mythics - Mesopotamia, Saxons and Greece. Not sure what will happen with Mythic Constantinople. Mob says he still wants to do it and has an outline written (indeed, Pete and I have played in part of it), but it’s a long shot. Mythic Britain will be extended by both a Logres, Saxon-based campaign (written by Paul Mitchener) and more scenarios from me (I have one I’ll be playtesting at a couple of local cons and with my own group).

2. More Arkwright - Scenarios and Parallels. I’m actually keen to see submissions for Arkwright adventures so if you have an idea, let me know.

3. More Sword and Sorcery - I’m actively thinking about expanding the Scourged Earth setting hinted at in the GM Pack, and resurrecting a set of Elric/Stormbringer scenarios I wrote many years ago to fit with the setting. One scenario is complete and I’m working on another. I’ve also been fleshing out the Scourged Earth/Wall background with some physics and dimensions for the Wall itself.

OUTSTANDING! Especially the Mythics. If you are doing Mythic Saxons, then can we also see Mythic Ireland and Mythic Caledonia?

SDLeary

[Mankcam]

I'm very excited in the Mythic titles indicated, and the Sword & Sorcery titles. 

I'm surprised no Gloranthan stuff however, considering the upcoming RQ Glorantha book. I have liked previous stuff for Thennla, so at least that will be expanded upon.

I can understand the Moon Design crew handling the Glorantha  content, but I wondering how that ports to RQ? I think it's easy enough to port HQ on the fly for experienced GMs, but all the same, I would have thought Glorantha would also be supported with RQ - or are Moon Design doing both Glorantha RQ and HQ supplements?

Failing that, maybe PDFs could be published with the official RQ conversions of the HQ Glorantha products. Although I love RQ, I also really like Glorantha and still want to play RQ in the Gloranthan setting.

Having said that, I'm pretty happy with the titles that Design Mechanism are planning, they all sound great, and this is pretty good news 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2015 by Mankcam

[lawrence.whitaker]

I'm surprised no Gloranthan stuff however, considering the upcoming RQ Glorantha book. I have liked previous stuff for Thennla, so at least that will be expanded upon.

I can understand the Moon Design crew handling the Glorantha  content, but I wondering how that ports to RQ? I think it's easy enough to port HQ on the fly for experienced GMs, but all the same, I would have thought Glorantha would also be supported with RQ - or are Moon Design doing both Glorantha RQ and HQ supplements?

Failing that, maybe PDFs could be published with the official RQ conversions of the HQ Glorantha products. Although I love RQ, I also really like Glorantha and still want to play RQ in the Gloranthan setting.

You’re misunderstanding the whole relationship. Moon Design (and subsequently Chaosium) own Glorantha. Design Mechanism has no license to produce Gloranthan material. Therefore, as RQ reverts to Chaosium next year, Design Mechanism cannot produce any independent RQ Gloranthan material. However, Pete and I, as part of the Chaosium team, are heavily involved in both RQ and Glorantha, meaning that any RuneQuest Glorantha material will come out via Chaosium, and not Design Mechanism. DM simply cannot produce any Gloranthan works independently.

[TrippyHippy]

I'm very excited in the Mythic titles indicated, and the Sword & Sorcery titles. 

I'm surprised no Gloranthan stuff however, considering the upcoming RQ Glorantha book. I have liked previous stuff for Thennla, so at least that will be expanded upon.

I can understand the Moon Design crew handling the Glorantha  content, but I wondering how that ports to RQ? I think it's easy enough to port HQ on the fly for experienced GMs, but all the same, I would have thought Glorantha would also be supported with RQ - or are Moon Design doing both Glorantha RQ and HQ supplements?

Failing that, maybe PDFs could be published with the official RQ conversions of the HQ Glorantha products. Although I love RQ, I also really like Glorantha and still want to play RQ in the Gloranthan setting.

Having said that, I'm pretty happy with the titles that Design Mechanism are planning, they all sound great, and this is pretty good news 

 

 

Chaosium makes RuneQuest and Glorantha stuff, which is designed and written by Pete and Loz and Jeff for the main part.

Loz and Pete still run their own company (The Design Mechanism) that supports the RQ line through non-Gloranthan settings and supplements. Chaosium will do this sort of thing too (eg Mythic Iceland).

Simples!

However what is still to be determined is the exact nature of theses non-Glorathan settings and supplements, with the question as to whether they will be stand-alone products or dependent on a core rules book (BRP Essentials?).

Anyway, one point I noticed is that they are continuing support with Mythic Britain, along with some more stuff about Saxons. If they could reboot the old Vikings supplement that Pete wrote for Mongoose RuneQuest II (as Mythic Scandinavia?) and combine it also with Chaosium's Mythic Iceland.....all within the remit of the same BRP Essentials (RQ) system - this all equates to one magnificently huge, grand Dark Ages setting... hey, why not chuck in Mythic Francia (Charlemagne) too?

Edited October 25, 2015 by TrippyHippy

[Mankcam]

Design Mechanism has no license to produce Gloranthan material. Therefore, as RQ reverts to Chaosium next year, Design Mechanism cannot produce any independent RQ Gloranthan material. However, Pete and I, as part of the Chaosium team, are heavily involved in both RQ and Glorantha, meaning that any RuneQuest Glorantha material will come out via Chaosium, and not Design Mechanism. DM simply cannot produce any Gloranthan works independently.

Thanks for clarifying that Loz. In that case we could be in for the best of both worlds as far as setting content goes.

So if DM are still producing non-Gloranthan RQ products, will the title of the system still be called RQ, or it is required to have a separate name?

Edited October 25, 2015 by Mankcam

[Mankcam]

If they could reboot the old Vikings supplement that Pete wrote for Mongoose RuneQuest II (as Mythic Scandinavia?) and combine it also with Chaosium's Mythic Iceland.....all within the remit of the same BRP Essentials (RQ) system - this all equates to one magnificently huge, grand Dark Ages setting... hey, why not chuck in Mythic Francia (Charlemagne) too?

Yeah, that idea has merit Trippy - although the time period would be different though, as Vikings is set a bit later. 

But I'm liking the idea of a 'Mythic' series, this could be a lot of fun. Various independent settings could be done along that theme. I could see Mythic Norse Lands  and Mythic Roma (re- skinning MRQ2 Vikings and BRP ROME, respectively) being added to the canon, although I am interested in some of these upcoming titles

Mythic Mesopotamia is gonna be very unique 

I am also interested in seeing if The Scourged Earth setting is developed further. The scenario in the GM Pack has a lot of flavour. 

Two many games, too little time!

Edited November 1, 2015 by Mankcam
spellung error

[TrippyHippy]

Definitely. Pete's Mythic Greece was right up there on my list of excitement, but it got put on the back burner due to the Glorantha work - for a couple of years now really. I do like Glorantha, and will be exploring those titles too, but the Mythic Earth series is really central to my hopes about RuneQuest's potential. Mythic Mesopotamia, Greece, Constantinople, Egypt......the list could be endless, but so evocative, and I'd lap them all up! 

Indeed, I do feel that Moon Design feel the same way - they list a bunch of historical, mythical settings in their reading lists - and that allowing for these historical settings to develop actually enhances people's appreciation of the Gloranthan setting more.

[Mankcam]

I love these mythic-historical settings, although in practice I have mainly run games set in fantasy worlds as I feel its more of an open book for me as a GM. To this extent I'm mainly looking forward to Glorantha, especially the current interpretations of Glorantha as portrayed in the G2G, very much an ancient world setting.

The other titles still excite me however. Mythic Greece would be cool. I remember back in the 1980s I ran a Mythic Greece game using RQ3 and Rolemaster's Mythic Greece sourcebook. It was alot of fun, it was a psuedo mix of Mycenaean and Hellenic Greece, very much influenced by the old Clash Of The Titans movie, it was very cheesy and nothing that I'm proud of now, but it was alot of fun at the time.

I'll be happy if the Mythic RQ series is published consistently alongside RQ Glorantha. Thennla and Scourged Earth will be nice additions however, and you can never have too many products I reckon

Edited October 25, 2015 by Mankcam

[Zit]

 

1. More Mythics - Mesopotamia,

I wrote in the past a Sumerian setting, to be found in the download section of this forum http://basicroleplaying.org/files/file/482-uruk/. It is in French and remains amateur in form, but if you like to use some material from it, feel free. I you like a translation or have any question or request, I'll be happy to help, you can just PM me.

You’re misunderstanding the whole relationship. Moon Design (and subsequently Chaosium) own Glorantha. Design Mechanism has no license to produce Gloranthan material. Therefore, as RQ reverts to Chaosium next year, Design Mechanism cannot produce any independent RQ Gloranthan material. However, Pete and I, as part of the Chaosium team, are heavily involved in both RQ and Glorantha, meaning that any RuneQuest Glorantha material will come out via Chaosium, and not Design Mechanism. DM simply cannot produce any Gloranthan works independently.

Does it mean that a Design Mechanics topic shall be added to the "extended family" of this forum ?

[soltakss]

I like the idea of Chaosium producing Gloranthan RuneQuest and The Design Mechanism producing Alternate Earth and other RuneQuest.

[smiorgan]

I’m cross posting this from the Design Mechanism board. It’s a response to a question raised by Trippy Hippy, and it’s relevant here too.

Our release plans have had to be modified, and Pete and I have a few things to work out - more around how rules are handled than the titles we publish. Some things I can expand on.

This is a very exciting schedule. Especially Mythic Greece, and sword and sorcery stuff. I have a few questions:

Scourged Earth is Meeros' world, right? And what about The Realm?

You don't mention Classic Fantasy. So I guess there are things underway for this title that you cannot mention. I hope it will end up as a self-contained rpg,

And, I know it's not published by DM, but do you have any news of Future Earth? The BRP version was a lot of fun.

 

[Joerg]

I am intrigued by the mythic Saxons (living in the lands of the Saxons and working in the lands of the Angles before their emigration to Britain).

Will this include their activities that gave the gulf of Biscaya the name Litus Saxonicus? Does this include the Nerthus cult as mentioned by Tacitus?

[Baulderstone]

Does it mean that a Design Mechanics topic shall be added to the "extended family" of this forum ?

 Runequest already has a sub-forum, and DM makes products for RQ. I don't see a point in splitting Runequest discussion up by company. Anyway, DM has it's own actual forum at another site. 

 

Scourged Earth is Meeros' world, right? 

No, it's a post-apocalyptic, sword and sorcery Earth set in the distant future. It's the setting for the adventure from the free GM's Pack that isn't Meeros. 

You don't mention Classic Fantasy. So I guess there are things underway for this title that you cannot mention. I hope it will end up as a self-contained rpg,

And, I know it's not published by DM, but do you have any news of Future Earth? The BRP version was a lot of fun.

 

Over in the related thread at the Design Mechanism, Loz has this to say in response to someone asking the same questions. 

Classic Fantasy is our big 2016 release. My bad for failing to mention it. And yes, it will be hardcover.

Chronicles of Future Earth was never one of our books, but instead a Mindjammer Press RQ Gateway release. I honestly don;t know what the plans are for it.

[Spellslinging Sellsword]

Thanks for the update.

[lawrence.whitaker]

I am intrigued by the mythic Saxons (living in the lands of the Saxons and working in the lands of the Angles before their emigration to Britain).

Will this include their activities that gave the gulf of Biscaya the name Litus Saxonicus? Does this include the Nerthus cult as mentioned by Tacitus?

Sorry Joerg, but it’s an expansion/companion to Mythic Britain, focused on the Saxon emigres and their attempt to carve out a society for themselves while the indigenous natives get a bit upset about it all.

So nothing about their native lands, or other places in the Great Migration.

[lawrence.whitaker]

Scourged Earth is Meeros' world, right?

No, it’s a separate world. Imagine a cross between Moorcock, Jack Vance, Clark Ashton Smith and Philippe Druillet, and you’re on the right lines.

And what about The Realm?

We’ll continue to publish Realm-set scenarios. I see this as how most of our campaign settings will be developed: as much background as needed, then fleshed out via adventures and scenarios.

You don't mention Classic Fantasy. So I guess there are things underway for this title that you cannot mention. I hope it will end up as a self-contained rpg.

It wasn’t deliberate. Editing is about complete and we have some rules-stuff to decide upon. We’ll be making a fuller announcement in due course, but ‘Classic Fantasy’ is our first, big 2016 release.

And, I know it's not published by DM, but do you have any news of Future Earth? The BRP version was a lot of fun.

I don’t. This is Sarah Newton’s baby, and hopefully she’ll swing by and talk about it.

[TrippyHippy]

Another one to think about - when time becomes available, I guess - is to reboot the Aces High monographs. There is some excellent material in there and it is an eminently playable setting, that could be rebranded as something like 'The Mythic West' or 'Classic Western" or somesuch.

[Steve]

Loz, will future TDM (non-Glorathan) products still use the RQ name under licence from Chaosium? You referred to RQ reverting to Chaosium in 2016, making it sound like you'll have to use a different name. Or did you just mean RQ Glorantha reverting to Chaosium?

 

 

[lawrence.whitaker]

Not sure yet. I would think that TDM books will be licensed for RuneQuest and BRP, and so carry a 'compatible with' notification.

[Mjollnir]

I'm very excited to hear about the Mythic titles. Of those listed, Constantinople is the one that doesn't really appeal to me. IMO the Mythic Earth line and RuneQuest are the ideal combination.

I do want Mythic Germania (migration period) someday though.

[10baseT]

Did you say Mythic Britain expansion with a Saxon campaign? I'll just throw my money now at you. I ran the scenarios from the core MB book and chomping at the bit for more... excellent quality and content! Also recently finished reading Rosemary Sutcliff's 'The Lantern Bearers.' So more Saxon engagement would be icing on the cake. Keep up the good work!  (i'll also echo what others have said, Mythic Egypt or Germania, would be quite tasty)

Edited October 30, 2015 by 10baseT