[19:02] <+Crafty_Alex> Hey folks I’m Alex Flagg, co-owner of Crafty Games and creator of the Mistborn Adventure Game. Ask me anything.
[19:03] <~Dan> Thanks, Alex!
[19:03] <~Dan> The floor is open to questions!
[19:04] <~Dan> The most obvious being: What is Mistborn? π
[19:04] <+Alaren> Is this mainly about the alloy of law, or just mistborn in general?
[19:04] <+Crafty_Alex> We can talk abotu either Alaren
[19:04] <+Crafty_Alex> wherever the conversation goes.
[19:05] <+Crafty_Alex> To Dan’s question: Mistborn is an epic fantasy series by Brandon Sanderson, author (finalizer?) of the Wheel of Time and many, many other books.
[19:05] <+Alaren> I never read the allow of law, but I might have some questions about mistborn in general
[19:05] <+Alaren> *alloy
[19:05] <+Crafty_Alex> Elevator pitch: Mistborn is Les Miserables in a world with low superpowers, ruled by Sauron.
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[19:06] <~Dan> (Welcome to #rpgnet, ephealy!)
[19:06] <+Crafty_Alex> Great, Alaren. The classic era is where we’re doing a lot of our upcoming work (since we’re caught up with the series now).
[19:07] <~Dan> For those unfamiliar, how does Alloy of Law relate to the rest of the Mistborn setting?
[19:07] <+Alaren> In the novels, there is a lot of focus on ‘mistborn’ but they are rare. I was curious about the different types of characters you could play in the game and what makes playing one of those as cool as being a mistborn?
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[19:08] <+Crafty_Alex> Dan: The Alloy of Law is the world of Mistborn, advanced 300 years after the first novels, granting a Wild West vibe.
[19:09] <+Crafty_Alex> Alaren: You can play pretty much anything short of an inquisitor or koloss in the game – including kandra, mistings, feruchemists, and even folks with no powers.
[19:09] <+Crafty_Alex> In the Alloy era, we’ve also added options to play ferrings, koloss-blooded, and Twinborn as well.
[19:10] <~Dan> Can you tell us what these character types are?
[19:10] <+Crafty_Alex> What makes the less-superpowered characters interesting vs the Mistborn is the different ways they influence the game.
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[19:10] <+Crafty_Alex> Short version is that characters have three strengths: Attributes, Standings, or Powers.
[19:11] <+Crafty_Alex> Of these, one must be Strong, one must be Average, and one must be Weak.
[19:11] <+Crafty_Alex> A Mistborn or Feruchemist, for example, have Strong Powers, which leaves them only Average and Weak to spread amongst their Attributes and Standings.
[19:12] <+Crafty_Alex> Standings in this case being the “power” to influence the world around you, via money (Resources), politics (Influence), or fortune (Spirit)
[19:12] <+Crafty_Alex> It all lines up with Brandon’s Realmatic TheoryΒ that is behind his grand Cosmere scheme.
[19:13] <+Crafty_Alex> So a character with no Powers (weak), would have Strong/Average Attributes/Standings, and a character with some (Average) Powers like a Misting or Kandra would have Strong and Weak to spread amongst their Attributes and Standings.
[19:13] <+Crafty_Alex> On Dan’s questions of Powers:
[19:14] <+Crafty_Alex> The world of Mistborn, like all of Brandon’s worlds, features a unique and highly detailed magic system at its core.
[19:14] <+Crafty_Alex> That system was the first thing I saw in the novels that tipped me off he might be a roleplayer, since it’s internally balanced and highly logical in its execution and worldbuilding.
[19:14] <+Weiry> oh wow, I had no Idea you incorporated Realmatic Theory that is hardcore cosmere
[19:16] <+Crafty_Alex> Weiry – we just do a bit of it. During the design I didn’t know much about it, but I had a sense it was there. It is definitely a consideration. This is why our attributes and standings are all in threes, incorporating a physical (Physique or Resources), cognitive (Wits or Influence), and spiritual (Charm or Spirit) part of the character.
[19:16] <+Alaren> that actually sounds kind of elegant
[19:18] <+Crafty_Alex> So back to Dan’s question on the powers: in the Mistborn world, the magical masters are Mistborn, who can use all the powers of Allomancy, or Feruchemists, who can use all the powers of Feruchemy. There are folks who can use only one of these 19 different powers, called Mistings in Allomancy, or Ferrings in Feruchemy
[19:18] <+Crafty_Alex> Alaren: Thanks! I’ve been doing this a long time, so I like to think so.
[19:19] <+Crafty_Alex> Then there are other critters, called Kandra, that are shapeshifting spies who follow a strict code called the Contract. You can play them too.
[19:19] <+Crafty_Alex> Average folk have a role, though they are rarer in parties (Crews in our game) because folks love the Mistborn magic so much.
[19:21] <~Dan> What’s the difference between Allomancy and Feruchemy?
[19:21] <+Crafty_Alex> They are two totally different magical practices.
[19:21] <+Crafty_Alex> The thing they have in common is that both are tied to the character’s DNA (their “spiritual DNA” in this case). You can either use these powers, or you cant.
[19:22] <+Crafty_Alex> They both (along with Hemalurgy, the last magical style of Mistborn) focus on metals.
[19:22] <~Dan> Hence why you refer to them as “superpowers”?
[19:22] <~Dan> (re: tied to DNA, I mean)
[19:22] <+Crafty_Alex> Yeah, as it’s more like a very limited type of superpower.
[19:23] <+Crafty_Alex> Mistborn are the closest thing to Superman, but in the end they have a lot of limitations themselves.
[19:23] <+Crafty_Alex> So Allomancy is activated by consuming a specific type of metal and “burning” it, which unlocks a particular ability.
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[19:24] <+Crafty_Alex> Frex, a guy with the ability to use Allomantic Steel could swallow a sufficiently pure bit of steel and gain the ability to “push” on sources of metal only for a limited time.
[19:24] <~Dan> (Welcome to #rpgnet, AndyC! Here for the Q&A? π )
[19:24] <+Crafty_Alex> While one who could use Allomantic Iron could swallow iron and use it to pull on sources of metal, like Magneto.
[19:25] <+Crafty_Alex> The interesting thing about these limitations is that they really encourage creative use.
[19:25] <+Crafty_Alex> If you can only pull on sources of metal, you can redirect arrows….but only toward yourself. but you can also grab and pull on a bell in a steeple to swing around like Spider-man….until you land π¦
[19:26] <+BlasterKyubey210> Must be pretty comical (despite or because of the Mistborn tone) if they REALLY put their minds to it
[19:26] <+Crafty_Alex> Feruchemy allows the user to store personal abilities in pure sources of metal, to be drawn upon later.
[19:27] <+Crafty_Alex> So I use Feruchemical Tin, I can store sight, becoming blind as a bat for a while, to be tapped later to gain super-acute vision.
[19:27] <+Crafty_Alex> Feruchemy is arguably more powerful than Allomancy, but takes a lot longer to store up and burns off faster.
[19:27] <~Dan> Huh…. So you give up some ability now to increase it later?
[19:28] <+Crafty_Alex> BlasterKyubey210: there are some shenanigans an unwitting Misting can end up stumbling into if they’re not careful about using their power….
[19:28] <+Crafty_Alex> Dan: Yeah, it’s all about planning and strategic use of those abilities.
[19:29] <~Dan> Why the metal theme?
[19:30] <+Crafty_Alex> Both arts have a great variety of abilities: both have mental and physical arrays, and Allomancy has enhancement (stripping or exploding a power) or temporal (looking or acting in the past or future), while Feruchemy has spiritual and even more physical stuff.
[19:31] <+Crafty_Alex> Dan: The metal theme was interesting, I guess? Each of Brandon’s worlds in the Cosmere have a unique type of magic, generally related to the gods (Shards) who reside there.
[19:31] <+Crafty_Alex> On the world of Warbreaker, the magic is related to sound, I think?
[19:32] <+Crafty_Alex> Brandon really likes making different styles of magic.
[19:32] <~Dan> And what is the Cosmere?
[19:32] <+Crafty_Alex> the Cosmere is the shared universe Brandon’s novels reside in.
[19:32] <+Crafty_Alex> There’s a big story there. He’s got it planned to roll out over the course of 33 novels (currently).
[19:33] <+Crafty_Alex> So, yeah. Discworldish in some ways.
[19:33] <~Dan> I see… Any plans for RPGs based on any of the other Cosmere settings?
[19:33] <+Crafty_Alex> There’s a shared logic that rolls throughout all the Cosmere stuff.
[19:33] <+Crafty_Alex> Now? No. Mistborn is big enough for us at the moment π
[19:34] <~Dan> Heh. Fair enough. π
[19:34] <+Crafty_Alex> I’ve certainly thought about it, but that’s a lot of work to keep on top of, and a lot of work for a single system to handle.
[19:35] <~Dan> What is the world like in Mistborn, and how does it change in Alloy of Law?
[19:35] <~Dan> In terms of technology, magic, environment, etc.
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[19:37] <+Crafty_Alex> Well, I’m a bit reluctant to talk about that as the world has MASSIVE changes at the end of the third Mistborn book.
[19:37] <+Crafty_Alex> Like, Spoilerville-Central.
[19:38] <+Crafty_Alex> but I can say the Alloy of Law supplement advances the world massively in terms of technology.
[19:38] <+Crafty_Alex> And other stuff.
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[19:38] <+Crafty_Alex> So, there are guns, cars, gizmos, and all sorts of other stuff that didn’t and couldn’t exist in the original trilogy
[19:38] <~Dan> Sure, I understand.
[19:38] <+technoshaman> hey
[19:39] <+AndyC> Cowboys, train robberies, and weird magic. Pretty nifty.
[19:39] <~Dan> Do I recall correctly that the tech level of the original trilogy is Renaissance, but without firearms?
[19:39] <+ArdentPurple> Is the game as presented easily accessible to players unfamiliar with the book series?
[19:39] <+Crafty_Alex> Magic also changed substantially with the Mistborn disappearing and Twinborn (people who can use one Allomantic and one Feruchemical power in crazy combinations) appearing.
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[19:40] <+Crafty_Alex> There are also koloss-blooded, which are these Hulk-like beings that have left their tribes to join humanity as best they can.
[19:40] <+Crafty_Alex> Dan: That’s close to it. The world is really ahistorical, actually.
[19:40] <+Alaren> (Warbreaker has magic related to organic things, like cloth and the like. And that’s where my knowledge of Sanderson novels ends)
[19:41] <+Crafty_Alex> Some areas are almost Dark Age levels of tech, while industry around metal refining, canning and stuff are well into Enlightenment-tech. But then, there’s no gunpowder.
[19:41] <+Crafty_Alex> It can be tough for newbies to get their mind around.
[19:42] <~Dan> On a related note, what sorts of creatures exist, both in terms of sapient nonhuman races and monsters?
[19:42] <+Crafty_Alex> It is because the Lord Ruler, the aforementioned Sauron figure, has been very specific in how he changed and molded his world from the one he conquered.
[19:42] <+Crafty_Alex> Creatures-wise, this is not your melting pot fantasy game.
[19:43] <+Crafty_Alex> There are the humans, the koloss (hulking rage-monsters), the kandra (shapeshifters), and a critter called the mistwraith that’s like this brain-dead blob/Thing (like the critter from The Thing films by John Carpenter) creature.
[19:44] <+Crafty_Alex> Mistborn stories are very much about the humans and the super-stratified society in which they live.
[19:44] <+Alaren> Like resistance fighters facing an oppressive regime, I would imagine
[19:45] <+Crafty_Alex> Alaren: Very much so.
[19:45] <+Crafty_Alex> A key inspiration for the first book was Ocean’s 11.
[19:45] <+Crafty_Alex> The idea of a rag-tag group of outsiders sticking it to the man.
[19:45] <+Alaren> Hmm. I wouldn’t have made that connection myself, but I can see it.
[19:45] <+Crafty_Alex> In this case, “the man” being a societal-crushing church-state acting at the whim of a single despotic god-king.
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[19:46] <~Dan> The art seems to have a somewhat anime-like feel to me. Is that intentional?
[19:46] <+Crafty_Alex> Our artist, Ben McSweeney, is an animator by trade.
[19:46] <~Dan> (Howdy, Monochrome_Tide!)
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[19:47] <+Crafty_Alex> He is influenced by anime, for sure, but I think that’s also a bit because his knack for action is so strong.
[19:47] * ~Dan nods
[19:47] <+Alaren> Have you discussed the core mechanics of the game yet?
[19:48] <+Crafty_Alex> Nope!
[19:48] <~Dan> Actually, I was just about to turn to that. Do tell, Alex. π
[19:48] <+Crafty_Alex> The mechanics of the game are pretty simple:
[19:49] <+Crafty_Alex> We use pools of d6’s, which are formed by choosing the relevant Attribute, Standing or Power, adding one die per applicable player-defined Trait, then rolling against a difficulty of 1-5.
[19:49] <+Crafty_Alex> You look for matches – your highest matching set (pairs or better) is compared to the difficulty to determine degree of success/failure.
[19:50] <+Crafty_Alex> 6’s are a non-numerical result, called Nudges.
[19:50] <+Crafty_Alex> when you succeed, each Nudge acts like a “cool point” you can spend to improve effects or outcomes (like doing an extra point of damage with an attack, or instead giving the enemy a little Zorro cut)
[19:51] <~Dan> I’m assuming skills fall under Traits?
[19:51] <+Crafty_Alex> When you fail, a Nudge hedges against your degree of failure. E.G. if you miss your Difficulty by 2, you would have 2 degrees of failure, but each Nudge removes 1 degree of failure.
[19:51] <+Crafty_Alex> Traits are everything: skills, background details, natural talents, personalty quirks, etc.
[19:52] <~Dan> And they aren’t rated? You either have them or you don’t?
[19:52] <+Crafty_Alex> In this game, we kept the system as simple and loose as possible because we wanted the game to move briskly like the books, and to keep the narrative right up front.
[19:52] <+Crafty_Alex> Traits are on or off. You either have one or you don’t.
[19:53] <~Dan> Hmm… So how would you make, say, a master swordsman or gunslinger?
[19:55] <+Crafty_Alex> Well, if you create a trait called “Master Swordsman,” you’d get extra die on relevant rolls.
[19:55] <+Crafty_Alex> However, it might be smarter to have Traits like “Accurate,” “Deadly with a Blade” and “Duelist” which can net you 3 dice in the right situation.
[19:56] <+Crafty_Alex> Heroes don’t have many Traits to begin with (unless they have no Powers), and nearly all of those are defined by your character’s background during creation.
[19:57] <+Crafty_Alex> Over time, you’ll find the best, most skilled people are actually those without Powers, since they can spend their XP on buying Traits (which are relatively cheap) instead of upgrading Powers.
[19:57] <~Dan> I see that you use a holistic Physique attribute for all things physical… Would you then use Traits to distinguish between strong, agile, etc.?
[19:57] <+Crafty_Alex> Stack that with the fact they start with higher Standings and Attributes and they can really kick some ass.
[19:58] <+Crafty_Alex> Exactly. The goal with Traits was to encourage players to use them to refine their own vision, and reward the players for narratively acting within their characters’ wheelhouses.
[19:58] <+Crafty_Alex> So if I have a Physique of 3, and I say “I attack him,” I’m probably only going to get 3 dice (not good)
[19:59] <+Crafty_Alex> But if I have Physique 3, the Nimble Trait, and the Dirty Fighter trait, and say “I’m going to dive through his legs and stab my knife up into his groin on the way through,” I’ll likely have 5 dice which is a massive shift in the odds.
[20:00] * ~Dan nods
[20:00] <+Crafty_Alex> Rewards for good roleplaying are built directly into the system.
[20:00] <~Dan> Indeed! Very nice.
[20:01] <~Dan> Speaking of odds, I note that the number of matches doesn’t affect the quality of a roll. That seems counterintuitive to me. Can you address that?
[20:01] <+Alaren> How are the difficulties set for using allomancy, and how does the timing thing work as far as how much and for how long you can burn a metal?
[20:02] <+Crafty_Alex> Powers have dice, just like Attributes and Standings.
[20:02] <+Crafty_Alex> So you still can work on the same 1-5 scale.
[20:03] <+Crafty_Alex> Timing wise, all metals have their own burn times per charge. A vial of Pewter runs out in 15 minutes, while a vial of Copper might last 3 hours.
[20:03] <+Crafty_Alex> Dan: to the odds, with the number of dice you’re rolling, it was not statistically significant to consider rolling more than a pair.
[20:04] <+Crafty_Alex> Your average roll is going to sit at 4-6 dice in most cases.
[20:04] <+Crafty_Alex> The only thing you run a chance of hitting with any level of frequency is 3 of a kind.
[20:05] <+Crafty_Alex> I saw very little value in pursuing that additional layer of complexity and calculation for the amount of payoff, considering the game is written to appeal to fans of Mistborn first and hardcore gamers second.
[20:05] <+Crafty_Alex> We had a literal rocket scientist run the numbers for us, and we decided on that.
[20:05] <+Alaren> If all you are concerned about is getting a pair of a given number, I’m not sure I understand the significance of having a target number that could range from 1-5. Aren’t you as statistically likely to roll a pair of ones with a given number of dice as you are to roll a pair of fives?
[20:06] <+Crafty_Alex> In this case, Nudges, rather than larger sets, are the thing that covers greater success.
[20:06] <+Crafty_Alex> I actually included a complete breakdown of our probabilities in the book.
[20:06] <~Dan> Ah! And do multiple Nudges count?
[20:07] <+Crafty_Alex> While yes, you are as likely to roll a pair of 1s as you are of 5s, but not on demand.
[20:08] <+Crafty_Alex> Example: you have 4 dice. Difficulty 3 – a pair of 3s, 4s, or 5s succeeds. Difficulty 5 – only a pair of 5s succeeds. The number that matters is the number of dice you can throw at a problem
[20:08] <+Alaren> ahhhh.
[20:08] <+Crafty_Alex> Even with 10 dice, a character is only 50% likely to succeed on a Difficulty 5 roll.
[20:08] <+Crafty_Alex> With 4 dice, I think it’s more like 7-10%.
[20:08] <+Alaren> I was missing the ‘pairs of that number or above’ component
[20:08] <+Crafty_Alex> Dan: yes, multiple Nudges count.
[20:08] <+Alaren> I felt quite clearly that I was missing something
[20:09] <~Dan> Okay, that makes more sense, then.
[20:09] <+Crafty_Alex> Glad to clear that up π
[20:09] <~Dan> If you have more dice, you’re more likely to get more Nudges, and hence better results.
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[20:09] <~Dan> (Welcome to #rpgnet, Guest11! Please set your name with the /nick command. π )
[20:09] <+Crafty_Alex> Exactly. In addition to succeeding almost casually.
[20:09] * ~Dan nods
[20:09] <+Crafty_Alex> Crossing the 6 dice rubicon is important.
[20:10] <+Crafty_Alex> But not many abilities will let you roll more than 6 dice.
[20:10] <+Crafty_Alex> You really have to work with it.
[20:10] <~Dan> Okay, cool. I’m down with this. For what it’s worth. π
[20:10] <+Crafty_Alex> We also have a rule if you roll 3+ Nudges, you can take all your Nudges to increase your level of succcess by 1 (allowing you to roll, in effect, a 6 if you really do well).
[20:11] <+Crafty_Alex> The odds in this game throw people at first.
[20:11] <~Dan> Yeah, I can see that.
[20:11] <+Crafty_Alex> I did most of this on gut, because it appeared to work, but we had our rocket scientist buddy check it.
[20:11] <+Crafty_Alex> Doing the 10 dice probability calculations took his computer a full day.
[20:11] <+Crafty_Alex> !!!
[20:12] <~Dan> Holy crap. O.o
[20:12] <+Crafty_Alex> Yeah, I could have never done that on my own.
[20:12] <+Crafty_Alex> He’s a pretty smart guy, that rocket scientist.
[20:13] <~Dan> One would hope… π
[20:13] <~Dan> How does combat work?
[20:14] <+Alaren> In the books, the action was of course focused on the main protagonists and their direct conflict with the lord ruler. What are some typical adventure scenarios and goals like for an average bunch of PCs?
[20:15] <+Alaren> This is always something I think about in games set in worlds from books or movies where the action focuses on a fight versus the ‘main bad guy’ like LotR or Star Wars, say.
[20:15] <+Crafty_Alex> We accommodate all forms of combat – physical, mental, and social Combat is head to head rolls, where players build a pool of dice at the beginning step, then spend them to attack and/or defend against attack.
[20:16] <+Crafty_Alex> Initiative uses Wits in the declaration of actions, then the number of dice in your pool when executing actions.
[20:16] <+Crafty_Alex> So being smart lets you see the field and react, and acting within your wheelhouse lets you act faster and more effectively.
[20:16] * ~Dan nods
[20:17] <+Crafty_Alex> Being strong and dumb is actually kinda a stupid move.
[20:17] <~Dan> Being dumb is dumb?
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[20:17] <+Crafty_Alex> To Alaren’s question: The Crew is built first, by the players collectively.
[20:18] <+Crafty_Alex> Everyone gets to figure out what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, who they’re doing it to, then make a character that fits the group goal.
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[20:18] <+Crafty_Alex> Adventures spring from the PCs goals, and go from there
[20:19] <+BlasterKyubey210> Well, more Dumber then usual
[20:19] <+Crafty_Alex> A group about rebellion against the Final Empire by destroying the nobility will probably be raiders or revolutionaries, while a noble team about growing their house are likely to be con-men and sly operators.
[20:19] <~Dan> (
[20:19] <~Dan> (Thanks, ShamanArt!)
[20:20] <+Crafty_Alex> What’s key to the “Mistborn style” of adventure is that what you do, matters.
[20:20] <+Crafty_Alex> We intentionally start the PCs as extraordinary individuals, like (but not at the power level of) Kelsier’s Crew.
[20:20] <+Alaren> At least in the first novels, almost all of the action took place in the main city, with not a lot of detail about the rest of the world. How much do you flesh out the setting beyond what is in the books?
[20:21] <+Crafty_Alex> They don’t have to follow the rules, so that lets them put a Kandra and Feruchemist in their team with a noble if they want.
[20:21] <+Crafty_Alex> Concurrently, what the Crew does in their adventures should have an impact on the world.
[20:21] <+Crafty_Alex> To your question on the world: we have the right and the mandate to expand the world of the books.
[20:22] <+Crafty_Alex> Brandon’s done with the Classic Era, so we know our boundaries, and we work within what we know and clear the new stuff with his team.
[20:22] <+Crafty_Alex> His canon guy, Peter, reads our manuscripts and gives us insights.
[20:22] * +Alaren needs a ‘canon guy’
[20:23] <+Crafty_Alex> For example, our first supplement focused entirely on the Terris people, their history, and the Terris Dominance.
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[20:24] <+Crafty_Alex> So I filled in the history around what happened between the Lord Ruler’s ascension and the present day; what the breeding program is and how it works; created a nascent Terris resistance movement, etc.
[20:24] <+Crafty_Alex> All that is canon until such time as Brandon contradicts it (unlikely at this point)
[20:25] <~Dan> The Lord Ruler obviously is the “Big Bad” in the original trilogy/setting. Does the Alloy of Law have one of its own?
[20:26] <+Crafty_Alex> Nope. At that point, the class system is the big bad.
[20:26] <+Crafty_Alex> I have plans for an adventure series in that world, which establishes the big bad as “progress”
[20:27] <+BlasterKyubey210> So the Alloy of Law has smaller-scale villians, but some can embody the Progressive way of thinking
[20:27] <+Crafty_Alex> well, “progressive” as in “let’s pave over all this nature, shall we?”
[20:29] <~Dan> How big a roll does nature play in the setting, by the way? I’m getting a strong urban vibe from it, and it doesn’t sound like there are any interesting monsters out there to slay.
[20:30] <+Crafty_Alex> In the Classic Era, the world is largely inhospitable.
[20:30] <+Crafty_Alex> the first line of the book is “Ash fell from the sky”
[20:30] <+Crafty_Alex> So outside the cities is a bit of a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
[20:31] <+Crafty_Alex> In the Alloy Era, many of these problems have been resolved.
[20:31] <+Crafty_Alex> The frontier Roughs are the main place for action.
[20:31] * ~Dan nods
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[20:32] <~Dan> Oh, is there any sort of “Fate Point” mechanic?
[20:32] <+Crafty_Alex> Nope.
[20:33] <+Crafty_Alex> The dice largely stand as they are.
[20:33] * ~Dan nods
[20:33] <+Crafty_Alex> the Spirit stat can be “spent” to pull off feats of luck and what not, but that’s not part of the game.
[20:33] <~Dan> That being the case, how deadly is the game?
[20:33] <+Crafty_Alex> The game itself is quite deadly.
[20:34] <+Alaren> How does Atium work in game?
[20:34] <+Crafty_Alex> Most weapons deal 2 damage + Nudges, and the average character rocks 5-6 health
[20:34] <~Dan> (brb – please continue)
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[20:34] <+Crafty_Alex> Losing a quarter or more of your health in a hit will inflict a Burden, which becomes a Trait someone can use *against* you (like striking your “Broken Leg” Trait)
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[20:35] <+Crafty_Alex> Atium is complex, much as it is in the books.
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[20:35] <+Crafty_Alex> In our conflict system, it allows you to declare your actions last, act first, and reroll dice you don’t like.
[20:36] <+Crafty_Alex> But a charge only lasts 1 combat round (nuggets tend to have 3-5 charges each)
[20:36] <+Crafty_Alex> Plus, it’s expensive as hell.
[20:36] <+Crafty_Alex> Every single power is highly detailed and functions differently from each other, as one would expect.
[20:37] <+Crafty_Alex> So that’s like…50? Powers I had to script against one another.
[20:37] <+Papermonkey> oh are we talking about Mistborn?
[20:37] <+Crafty_Alex> But magic was the one thing we had to get right with the game.
[20:37] <+Crafty_Alex> Sure are, Papermonkey!
[20:38] <+Weiry> how do you feel about information from the MAG and its supplements being put on fan wikis (obviously not any game mechanics or things like that, just worldbuilding information like the names of Twinborn combinations)?
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[20:39] <+Papermonkey> oh are they releasing the Alloy of Law stuff?
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[20:39] <+Crafty_Alex> Well, I’d prefer it’s not copy-pasted (y’know, for the same reasons Brandon doesn’t want novel text posted up wholesale), but it is canonical.
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[20:40] <~Dan> (Howdy, Papermonkey, Teller!)
[20:40] <+Crafty_Alex> We put the Twinborn names up in our free preview of the Alloy of Law doc, so that would be fine with me π
[20:40] <+Crafty_Alex> Papermonkey, we actually released the Alloy of Law supplement in September π
[20:40] <+Crafty_Alex> Lots and lots of worldbuilding in that one.
[20:40] <~Dan> Papermonkey: (Link: http://www.crafty-games.com/product_catalog/lines/Mistborn)http://www.crafty-games.com/product_catalog/lines/Mistborn
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[20:41] <+Crafty_Alex> Even better: (Link: http://www.crafty-games.com/content/alloy-law-available-now)http://www.crafty-games.com/content/alloy-law-available-now
[20:41] <~Dan> Indeed! π
[20:41] <+Crafty_Alex> That’s got links to our preview and back cover text for you
[20:42] <~Dan> What is the scope of an individual Power?
[20:43] <+Crafty_Alex> Depends on the power.
[20:43] <+Crafty_Alex> All the Mistborn powers are pretty clearly defined.’
[20:43] <+Crafty_Alex> So, for instance, Allomantic Brass allows you to suppress the emotions of someone else
[20:43] * ~Dan nods
[20:44] <+Crafty_Alex> This allows you to make certain feelings more prominent, or to make someone feel numb, and can also be use to temporarily take control of a koloss or kandra.
[20:44] <+Crafty_Alex> There are Stunts which are modifications of the core power, allowing you to do additional or different cool stuff
[20:45] <+Crafty_Alex> Ranging from extending the time you get out of each charge, to specializing in different emotions, etc.
[20:45] <~Dan> I know you’ve called them “superpowers”, but do some Powers really stray into superheroic territory? Super-strength and -speed, flight, energy blasts, etc.?
[20:46] <+Papermonkey> eh, it’s not quite that nuts
[20:47] <+Papermonkey> you can enhance your strength pretty high, but not to superman levels
[20:47] <+Papermonkey> definitely enough to say, barrel through a brick wall though
[20:47] <+Papermonkey> or push aside a boulder
[20:47] <+Crafty_Alex> Allomantic Pewter is pretty superheroish
[20:47] <+Papermonkey> There’s not really any power that gives you superspeed from what I remember
[20:47] <+Crafty_Alex> It gives you super strength, and agility, and toughness
[20:48] <+Crafty_Alex> Feruchemical Steel gives you superspeed
[20:48] <+Crafty_Alex> but it costs a lot to use it.
[20:48] <+Papermonkey> oh right
[20:48] <+Papermonkey> but with feruchemistry you have to store it
[20:48] <+Crafty_Alex> Right.
[20:48] <+Crafty_Alex> The really nuts combinations come out with the Twinborn, from Alloy of Law
[20:48] <+Papermonkey> so like, conceivably with Feruchemistry you can get enough power to say, tear down a building right?
[20:48] <+Crafty_Alex> Frex, the main character in the books can store and tap weight, and push on metal sources
[20:49] <+Papermonkey> but you have to spend months as a week invalid to store the strength necessary
[20:49] <+Papermonkey> *weak
[20:49] <+Crafty_Alex> by storing weight, then pushing on metal, he can effectively fly.
[20:49] <+Crafty_Alex> By tapping weight and pushing on metal, he can push things far greater than his own weight
[20:49] <~Dan> So with Allomantic Pewter, are all of those boosts just expressed as more Physique dice? Or does super-strength boost weapon damage as well?
[20:49] <+Crafty_Alex> (Brandon follows the basic laws of physics)
[20:50] <+Crafty_Alex> Pewter lets you add your Power rating to your Physique while burning.
[20:50] <+Crafty_Alex> It increases damage by giving you greater opportunities to get Nudges, which are how you’ll boost damage
[20:50] <+Weiry> Frex? I think you mean Wax?
[20:50] * ~Dan nods
[20:50] <+Crafty_Alex> Frex = For example
[20:50] <+Papermonkey> I think he meant “for example”
[20:51] <+Weiry> ahhh
[20:51] <+Crafty_Alex> Pewter was actually one of the powers that convinced me to make a Physique stat, rather than a separate Strength and Agility stat.
[20:51] <+Papermonkey> have they released the supplement for Alloy of Law like they said they would?
[20:51] <+Papermonkey> or did that just not happen?
[20:51] <+Crafty_Alex> They have.
[20:51] <+Crafty_Alex> I know. I wrote much of it.
[20:51] <+Crafty_Alex> (Link: http://www.crafty-games.com/content/alloy-law-available-now)http://www.crafty-games.com/content/alloy-law-available-now
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[20:52] <~Dan> So with about 10 minutes left, I like to give our guests a chance to bring up anything that hasn’t yet been discussed.
[20:52] <+Papermonkey> :O
[20:52] <+Papermonkey> oooh
[20:52] <~Dan> Have anything, Crafty_Alex?
[20:52] <+Crafty_Alex> yeeeeessssss….
[20:52] <~Dan> (Howdy, Le_Squide!)
[20:52] <+Crafty_Alex> To ask of myself? Not really π
[20:52] <~Dan> Fair enough. We can just stick with questions, then. π
[20:52] <+Weiry> What’s next for the MAG?
[20:53] <+Crafty_Alex> Our next book will be in the classic era, focusing on the Skaa in detail.
[20:53] <+Crafty_Alex> That’s well underway.
[20:54] <+Crafty_Alex> Our book to follow will be on the nobility, along with rules for playing in Noble crews (!!)
[20:54] <+Crafty_Alex> I’m noodling how to make a set of stunts for Hazekillers in and amongst my many, many other irons in the fire
[20:54] <~Dan> Hazekillers?
[20:54] <+Weiry> any rough estimates on when those will be? 2015, 2016, or beyond? (or sooner?)
[20:55] <+Papermonkey> Hazekillers are ordinary humans who hunt down people with powers
[20:55] <+Crafty_Alex> they are essentially special forces guys who are trained to kill magic users.
[20:55] <+Papermonkey> they wear no metal, use wooden quarterstaffs, and a lot of what they do amounts to kung fu in a lot of ways
[20:56] <~Dan> Cool. π
[20:56] <+Crafty_Alex> Anything you all want to see in upcoming books?
[20:57] <~Dan> I’m not familiar enough with the source material to say, really. π
[20:57] <+Crafty_Alex> Heretic!
[20:57] <+Papermonkey> I am :3
[20:57] * ~Dan sheepish….
[20:57] <+Papermonkey> I ran the core game for a few weeks
[20:57] <+Papermonkey> then IRL jumped in
[20:57] <+Weiry> personally, I’d love to learn more about the kandra
[20:57] <+Papermonkey> been really excited about Alloy of Law so I’mma buy it
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[20:58] <+Crafty_Alex> Well, Dan, if you want to get a feel for Sanderson’s writing, the Way of Kings,the first book in his *other* epic Cosmere series, is free on iTunes and Amazon til the end of the year.
[20:58] <~Dan> Really? Cool!
[20:59] <+Weiry> Warbreaker is also free on his website
[20:59] <+Crafty_Alex> Weiry – we want to get to kandra, but we’re kind of working our way out into the deeper and deeper canon as we go. I need to get my team up to snuff on the canon to the point where they can really make a kandra book sing.
[21:00] <+Crafty_Alex> Papermonkey: Glad to hear it! You’ll have fun with this one, as we’re sort of working ahead of Brandon here – we did a deep dive on the worldbuilding, filling out lots of places on the map, extrapolating on the stuff we just peeked at in the novel.
[21:00] <+Weiry> oh take your time, I’d rather it be great than have it tomorrow
[21:00] <+Papermonkey> good, I was concerned that a lot of Bradon’s stuff wasn’t detailed enough for a full-fledged setting
[21:00] <+Papermonkey> even if what he did have was interesting
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[21:01] <+Crafty_Alex> There’s a lot of gaps to fill in, it’s true. That’s why we asked (and got) the right to flesh out the world canonically.
[21:01] <+Crafty_Alex> It helps everyone, even other licensees.
[21:02] <~Dan> Crafty_Alex: You’re welcome to hang out and answer questions as long as you like, but I should probably take a moment to upload the log and get you the link. π
[21:03] <~Dan> That being the case, let me take a moment to thank you very much for spending time with us this evening!
[21:03] <+Crafty_Alex> Great!
[21:03] <+Crafty_Alex> Glad to be here. Thanks for the opportunity!
[21:03] <~Dan> You’re welcome!
[21:03] <+Crafty_Alex> My son will be glad to have his diaper changed now π