[Q&A] Mike Myler (Book of Exalted Darkness)

[19:32] <+Mike_Myler> Hello! I’m Mike Myler, a freelance game designer from Pittsburgh. While I work for many companies, the heart and soul of what I do is make campaign settings–today we’re talking about Book of Exalted Darkness, my 5th project to that end (and 6th Kickstarter): (Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/verantheacodex/book-of-exalted-darkness-evil-for-the-5th-edition)https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/verantheacodex/book-of-exalted-darkness-evil-for-the-5th-edition

[19:32] <+Mike_Myler> The Book of Exalted Darkness is two things: a holy decopunk campaign setting (think Rocketeer or Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow) and a sourcebook for playing evil characters in D&D 5E.

[19:33] <+Mike_Myler> It is a slick and stylish campaign setting with a bevy of meritorious NPCs paired alongside a grimoire of vile and forbidden evil, the PCs gaining a little more edge through their trickery or perversion of the very technology that makes the world so unjust.

[19:34] <+Mike_Myler> All of Askis is possible because of inaequa-powered technology, a wondrous substance that radiates energy and extends the lifespan of good creatures. The PCs are flawed souls however, able to trick or pervert divinely fueled machines to better undermine society before they master or destroy it!

[19:35] <+Mike_Myler> TLDR: Be wicked for JUSTICE in your D&D 5E game and wreck havoc on a 1920’s-esque world of holy goody-two-shoes!

 

[19:35] <+Mike_Myler> ~

[19:35] <~Dan> (done? 🙂 )

[19:35] <+Mike_Myler> (yis)

[19:35] <~Dan> Thanks, Mike_Myler! The floor is open to questions!

[19:36] <+Mike_Myler> Oh! There are 2 free PDFs on the Kickstarter page to check it out — one with a bunch of evil mechanics and players options (EVIL PRIMER) and one adventure module for 2nd level PCs (KILLING THE GOLDEN TWINS)

[19:36] <~Dan> What made you decide to create such an unusual setting for your evil sourcebook?

[19:36] <+Mike_Myler> A fine question sir

[19:36] * ~Dan bows

[19:36] <+Mike_Myler> The design team and I really love Pathfinder but there’s some stuff you just aren’t allowed to do

[19:37] <+Mike_Myler> I mean, you CAN do it, you just can’t call it Pathfinder, so nobody will end up seeing your book

[19:37] <+Mike_Myler> So we figured “one last big outing for D&D 5e–let’s do what we can’t do over there and just be really, really evil”

[19:38] <+Mike_Myler> That was all well and good, and we put together this medieval fantasy world where basically the angels won the day

[19:38] <~Dan> Pathfinder doesn’t allow “evil” sourcebook?

[19:38] <+Mike_Myler> But it just didn’t click

[19:38] <+Mike_Myler> They do

[19:38] <+Mike_Myler> But there are restrictions

[19:38] <~Dan> Ah, gotcha. Sorry, proceed.

[19:38] <+Mike_Myler> for instance, the free adventure module on the Kickstarter page? That would not be allowed to be PF compatible

[19:38] <~Dan> (Howdy, Crazy-Cabal)

[19:38] <+Mike_Myler> The “Blood of Infants” feat? Also not OK

[19:39] <+Mike_Myler> I have an inherent heresy (sort of like a background or race, a thing you take at character creation) that would also get me shot down

[19:39] <+Mike_Myler> and since we’re on the matter of PF for a second–we do have a stretch goal for playing good guys in Askis, and at that point I can look at a proper conversion (just written as a sourcebook from the side of the good guys)

[19:40] <+Mike_Myler> But yeah. We had the basic plan down (set of god-like rulers, each has their own thing that keeps evil out of the world, players are inherently bad) but no click

[19:40] <+Mike_Myler> Then I was like “OH MAN, what if radio waves made smart people live longer”

[19:40] <+Mike_Myler> which is a pretty godawful stupid thought

[19:41] * +Will notes, as an aside, that he lived in Pittsburgh during most of the 90s.

[19:41] <+Will> So,yay da burgh

[19:41] <+Mike_Myler> *however* from there we got to inaequa, the stuff that makes the blimps and jetpacks and cars in Book of Exalted work, and more importantly, makes the campaign setting work because it achieves an important crux for any evil RPG: a genuine injustice to help unite a bunch of crooks, backstabbers, and ne’er-do-wells

[19:42] <+Mike_Myler> (also hell yes Pittsburgh represent what what! although full disclosure I’m moving by October :p )

[19:42] <+Mike_Myler> once I knew tech was getting involved I was like “okay so how much tech” and we figured on a pulpy feel with decopunk was the right choice

[19:43] <+Mike_Myler> There’s plenty of victorian steampunk business around. No reason to tread on old ground amirite?

[19:43] <~Dan> Sure.

[19:44] <~Dan> What is the injustice you mentioned?

[19:44] <+Mike_Myler> The radiation from inaequa which is pretty much ubiquitous

[19:45] <+Mike_Myler> If you aren’t good of heart (aka CG, NG, or LG) then it doesn’t work as well for you, but more importantly, the presence of it elongates the lives of good creatures

[19:45] <+Mike_Myler> So evil is dying out just based on the longevity of its enemies, nevermind purges and what have you

[19:46] <+Will> (I love decopunk)

[19:47] <+Mike_Myler> Right? It’s gorgeous and has this taste of adventure on it

[19:47] <+Mike_Myler> You see a decopunk motorcycle and you’re just like “damn, that’s going to end up going to some awesome places”

[19:47] <~Dan> Is the setting mostly urban?

[19:48] <+Mike_Myler> Not particularly, no. There are plenty of cities and so forth but the focus will be on much larger-scale play–destroying the 9 Spheres of Askis, the great works of the ruling Celestial Heroes that are the staunchest barriers against spreading evil and corruption

[19:49] <+Mike_Myler> (one of those spheres being inaequa)

[19:49] <+Will> Are there flying cities?

[19:49] <+Mike_Myler> There are planes and the only real remaining champions of evil around are mad scientists. I’m not going to tell you there ARE flying cities, but I’m not going to say that there AREN’T flying cities 😉

[19:50] <+Will> Or maybe cities that like to wander. Mmm.

[19:52] <~Dan> Can you give us an overview of the tech level?

[19:52] <~Dan> And how evil can corrupt it?

[19:52] <+Mike_Myler> I’d say more but mad scientists–can’t predict what they’ll do to somebody with loose lips!

[19:53] <+Mike_Myler> Yes!

[19:53] <+Mike_Myler> 1920s-1930s level technology for the most part–radios, telephones, airplanes, blimps, cars, motorcycles, vacuums, toasters

[19:54] <+Mike_Myler> There is some more esoteric or advanced tech, but aside from jetpacks that’s specifically the purvey of mad scientists

[19:54] <+Mike_Myler> (which include an archetype for being a chirurgeon doing up some fleshcrafting)

[19:54] <+Mike_Myler> All inaequa-powered devices (so, anything not made by a scientist) has three operating modes

[19:54] <+Mike_Myler> 1) For good creatures

[19:55] <+Mike_Myler> 2) For Neutral creatures (usually less effective or accurate version of 1)

[19:55] <+Mike_Myler> 3) For evil overcharging. PCs use their Sanctity score to fool an inaequa-item into thinking they are neutral (or good if they have a class/background/feat feature) or their Sin score to overcharge it.

[19:56] <+Mike_Myler> For example, when the inaequa-pistol is perverted it deals more damage for 1 minute and then explodes like a grenade

[19:56] <+Mike_Myler> An inaequa-chariot goes way faster but burns out to become nonfunctional after a minute

[19:57] <+Mike_Myler> And every inaequa-item gets specific rules for the alignment trifecta

[19:57] <+Mike_Myler> also WOO! Past $3000!!! ^_^

[19:57] <~Dan> Well done!

[19:57] <+Mike_Myler> ah the book’s size might be good to know too — 180 pages is the target

[19:58] <+Mike_Myler> although truth be told, I’ve never hit my target and always exceed it

[19:58] <~Dan> So I take it that alignment is a tangible thing in the setting?

[19:59] <+Mike_Myler> If you’re evil, yes. Neutral and good creatures are still neutral and good, but there’s no value to their auras. Only evil auras have any value.

[20:00] <~Dan> Well, let me rephrase: Are people fully aware of the D&D alignments?

[20:01] <+Mike_Myler> I wouldn’t say that neutrality is well known? Just that some people are properly devout, some people need to be more devout, and anyone else is a heretic.

[20:01] <+Mike_Myler> Chaos/Law doesn’t get any love

[20:02] * ~Dan nods

[20:02] <~Dan> I see.

[20:02] <+xyphoid> so if alignment is actually a thing here, do you have to actually provide hard alignment behaviour guidelines? or is the asssumption that Evil vs Good is this cosmic force in the setting

[20:02] <+xyphoid> like, D&D doesn’t really provide ‘if you kick a puppy your alignment goes DING’ rules any more, but it sounds like you need them here?

[20:03] <+Mike_Myler> There are guidelines on what you can do to become more evil (aka how to increase your Sin score) but no. We figured that it was better to leave the exact limitations on how good something has to be to effect your alignment up to their individual group and game.

[20:03] <+Mike_Myler> Part of the trick here is keeping evil important, but not make it so much of a thing that’s it’s restrictive or just paperwork

[20:04] <+Mike_Myler> So we focused just on evil. Chaotic evil, neutral evil, lawful evil, they’re all valid, but we’re only concerned about the last part.

[20:04] <+Mike_Myler> If we hit what I’m calling the “goody-two shoes book” we’ll dig into some definition for the good side but that’ll be as a supplement

[20:05] <+xyphoid> i mean the whole game premise seems to be around the whole ‘maybe GOOD is the real BAD’, like there’s actually justification for the evil PCs to be doing their thing

[20:05] <+Mike_Myler> and how evil you are is entirely dependent on your Sin score as well, so somebody at level 1 is probably going to just barely show up as evil whereas the 18th level necromancer is going to be like a neon sign

[20:05] * +Will cheers money, belatedly

[20:07] <+Mike_Myler> Absolutely, xyphoid, there’s a fundamental part of the world that is good but also unjust. But there are no mechanical implications for how good you are (although Sanctity exists for how good you can make it seem that you are) so we don’t have mechanical definitions for how to become more good.

[20:07] <+xyphoid> is this an Istar-style situation like that where from the PLAYERs point of view ‘good’ are actually jerks?

[20:08] <+Mike_Myler> I’m not sure what Istar is referencing–Dragonlance city?

[20:08] <+xyphoid> Yeah, DL has this weird morality where the gods decided to Kill EVeryone because the Good side was TOO GOOD and evil is required to exist and all that

[20:09] <+Mike_Myler> and I’d say that a world of good people that don’t do anything about a part of the world that blindly rewards only some of the people is probably a world of jerks. I mean if I woke up tomorrow and found out that electromagnetic energy elongated my life and the lives of like 35% of the population I’d be like “shit, we need to fix that”

[20:09] <~Dan> Sounds like that weird D&D 1e take on Neutrality.

[20:09] <+Mike_Myler> relevant to all of this: we do have a little bit of love for Neutrality

[20:09] <~Dan> (Mind the language, please, Mike_Myler. 🙂 )

[20:10] <+Mike_Myler> (augh my dirty mouth–sorry!)

[20:10] <~Dan> (No worries. 🙂 )

[20:10] <+Mike_Myler> There’s an entity called the Gray Knight that’s imparting powers (feats, class archetypes, etc.) on agents in Askis to try and bring balance back to the world

[20:11] <~Dan> (Is “Askis” pronounced like it sounds? 🙂 )

[20:12] <+Mike_Myler> 😉

[20:12] <+Mike_Myler> (I am still surprised Legendary Games did not make me change it)

[20:12] * ~Dan chuckles

[20:12] <+Mike_Myler> It all works together rather wonderfully though, even with the tongue-in-cheek world name

[20:13] <+Mike_Myler> If there wasn’t a philosophical quandary at the center of it and if it weren’t a place where “the good guys” won the day, I’d have changed it, but after I had the thought to change it to that I couldn’t bring it to myself to change it again

[20:13] <+xyphoid> haha so if the PCs took over, as evil PCs it would be okay to let the current life imbalance setup run, but because they’re evil they wouldn’t get the life imbalance setup, but wait that’s good so

[20:14] * +Will mutters about his blasted players.

[20:14] <+Will> I had a paladin named Yuren which seemed a perfectly cool name until I started saying it aloud and the jokes started.

[20:14] <+Mike_Myler> I am very much looking forward to revealing everything that inaequa is in the months to come. 😀

[20:14] <+Mike_Myler> lol

[20:15] <+Mike_Myler> My first campaign setting (Veranthea Codex) has a wuxia fantasy continent called Urethiel and my dad’s response to seeing the (massive) book (with like 3 other magic roleplaying areas) was, of course, “this sounds too much like urethra” so I feel you

[20:16] <+Mike_Myler> Right xyphoid?

[20:16] <~Dan> You mentioned a necromancer… Is there magic in this setting?

[20:16] <+Mike_Myler> It’s a tough question! What’s truly good in that situation? It’s engaging and will keep people involved between sessions even with all the wickedness and stuff going on. ❤ inaequa

[20:17] <+Mike_Myler> and *hell yes* there is magic (I feel like there it was contextually appropriate)

[20:17] <+Mike_Myler> All the magic classes (and martial classes) get evil archetypes

[20:17] <+Mike_Myler> JAMES INTROCASO is on to do evil forbidden magic items

[20:17] <+Mike_Myler> (excite!)

[20:17] <+Mike_Myler> and for proper magic we’re making a new school of magic: Evil

[20:18] <+xyphoid> just feels like here you’re really going to put the fundamental incoherence of D&D alignment and effects triggering off it centre stage

[20:19] <~Dan> I think I have to agree with xyphoid. I mean, why would it be good for a society to deliberately benefit identifiably evil people?

[20:20] <+Mike_Myler> Society’s technology doesn’t benefit (or directly punish) evil people, it indirectly benefits good people and then as technology makes everybody’s life better

[20:20] <+Mike_Myler> catch a trolley to work, take the rail car out to the country for a weekend, etc.

[20:21] <+Mike_Myler> and if you’re out to destroy evil — which a lot of good folk are about — what could be a better or more humane way to do it than to just outlive wickedness?

[20:22] <~Dan> Right, right…. Well, that’s what I’m saying. Is it really an “injustice” to weed out evil?

[20:22] <~Dan> (Howdy, Le_Squide!)

[20:22] <+Mike_Myler> Well I know where I’m at on that argument (yes, totally, anything that discourages free will is bad)

[20:22] <&Le_Squide> (Hey Dan!)

[20:22] <+Mike_Myler> but there’s a valid argument on the other side

[20:22] <+Mike_Myler> and that’s why I love inaequa so much ^_^

[20:22] * ~Dan nods

[20:22] <+Mike_Myler> I mean, my obvious bias is right there in the name :p

[20:23] <+Mike_Myler> er, name(s) if we count the name of the world in there

[20:23] <~Dan> Heh. 🙂

[20:24] <+Mike_Myler> and there are 8 other powerful things working against evil as well. Inaequa is just the most prevalent and neatest.

[20:24] <+Mike_Myler> I have a thiiiing

[20:24] <+Mike_Myler> ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/016/792/772/c579c94ef95946257e90561a2f11e4a3_original.JPG?w=680&fit=max&v=1495567758&auto=format&q=92&s=85f61abbc5a5430ef6bb07ff5f398b9a

 

[20:25] <~Dan> Pretty!

[20:25] <+Mike_Myler> and I think I also have the Sin points in a jpeg somewhere (and that has the “what to do to become more evil” bit)

[20:25] <+xyphoid> so are you incentivised to do things to get more sin points

[20:25] <+xyphoid> like man, I need some more sin points, so i’ll kill puppies

[20:25] <+Mike_Myler> Oh totally

[20:26] <+Mike_Myler> although at Sin 23 you transform into a monster

[20:26] <+Mike_Myler> but yes, the GM should totally bait the PCs

[20:27] <+Mike_Myler> and in the adventure module there’s a sequence where the PCs gain 3 sin points to give an idea of their general value (killing two teenagers and scarring their bodies — > 3 sin points)

[20:27] <+xyphoid> is that going to end up with disagreements at the table?

[20:27] <+xyphoid> ‘i don’t think that killing that good jerk is actually evil’

[20:28] <+Mike_Myler> Oh, I’d imagine there will be some sure, just like having Honor or any other narrative attribute in play

[20:29] <~Dan> Is evil in the game of the cackling pulp villain type, or does it get really dark? Like, what’s up with that Blood of Infants thing you mentioned earlier?

[20:30] <+Mike_Myler> It gets really dark. A GM could probably play it up as more cackling pulp but the content and presentation are vile and heretical.

[20:31] <+Mike_Myler> The Blood of Infants is a feat where you gain benefits from bathing or drinking the blood of infants (any kind of infant works) and from wearing their corpses

[20:31] <~Dan> Jeeeez.

[20:31] <+Mike_Myler> *nod*

[20:31] <+Mike_Myler> Noooooooot Pathfinder friendly

[20:32] <+Mike_Myler> but I say that if you’re going to be evil, be freaking evil

[20:32] <~Dan> What sort of player do you think would find that sort of thing appealing?

[20:32] <+xyphoid> so like how does that work at the table

[20:32] <+Mike_Myler> I would totally take that feat

[20:32] <+xyphoid> ‘i go kidnap some children and horribly murder them, i get +2′

[20:32] <+Mike_Myler> probably have a pelt of baby mouses

[20:33] <+Mike_Myler> Well if you go slaughtering a bunch of children you’re gonna have the heat on you. Baby mice are way easier toget

[20:33] <+xyphoid> so what, it’s about weaseling around the feat requirements?

[20:33] <+xyphoid> like in the fiction what does that feat mean? Is it some kind of actual ceremony you can weasel around the requirements of

[20:33] <+FaerieGodfather> And tastier!

[20:34] <+Mike_Myler> The feat specifically says you can do any kind of infant. I mean if you’ve got a basket of babies there that’s one thing, but as the GM I’d make you work to get enough babies for a pelt

[20:34] <+Mike_Myler> and yeah it’s a ritual feat

[20:34] <+Mike_Myler> (of which there are several)

[20:35] <+Mike_Myler> There are extra bonuses for really getting into a ritual (like using a bunch of humanoid babies or a special anathame on a sacrificial victim) but they all require extra roleplaying and effort

[20:35] <~Dan> Do you offer any advice for dealing with evil that might get too squicky for players?

[20:36] <~Dan> I mean, what if a PC decides to be evil by being a serial rapist?

[20:36] <+Mike_Myler> Yup! The free PDFs touch on the matter of Consent and the book will open with a full page for it.

[20:37] <+Mike_Myler> It is extremely important that the group all be on board for all the evil. You don’t necessarily know if something you have planned is going to remind someone of something genuinely horrible that happened to them or a loved one.

[20:37] <+xyphoid> i mean it ounds like you’re deliberately going past cartooney skeletor evil and encouraging torture and murder because hey, extra bonuses for really getting into your ritual

[20:38] <+xyphoid> tacking on mechanical incentives for describing your murder in extra detail at the table is kind of a major step for a rpg

[20:38] <+Mike_Myler> I am totally rewarding people for being evil and giving extra rewards for really despicable and wicked roleplaying. Yes.

[20:39] <+Mike_Myler> I open with the importance of discussing the parameters of what is or is not comfortable for a group before encouraging that, but totally. It’s a game about being evil. BE EVIL!

[20:39] <~Dan> (wb, Drew)

[20:40] <+Mike_Myler> and if things keep going well with funding, there’ll be a good side too 😀

[20:42] <~Dan> I think this came up pre-Q&A, but how do you deal with evil characters forever backstabbing each other?

[20:46] <+Mike_Myler> Good question! There are a few tacks to do it and we’ll provide lots of examples of how but the three big ones are fate (which is to say, plot), thematic mechanics (in game pacts with out of game consequences), and circumstance (tertiary benefits of an ally PC and circumstances that make them essential to your survival).

[20:47] <+Mike_Myler> Also that Sin score–you might get away with killing one or two of your compatriots, but becoming a vilespawn (at Sin 23) makes having somebody able to “face’ absolutely essential because at that point you’re basically a monster

[20:47] <~Dan> Killing evil people is a Sin?

[20:48] <+Mike_Myler> Killing unprovoked and killing an ally, I’d say (depending on the exact circumstances) is going to net you at least 1 Sin point

[20:48] <+Mike_Myler> although hey–up to the GM. Maybe not?

[20:49] <+Mike_Myler> even the forces of Askis don’t kill evil people.

[20:49] <~Dan> Yeah, I’d have to wonder if killing an avowed baby-killer would be considered an evil act.

[20:50] <+Mike_Myler> Instead they try to reform them and if they absolutely can’t, they let them loose in a fortress called the Samovi Preserve

[20:52] <~Dan> How difficult is alignment change in this setting, while we’re on the subject?

[20:53] <+Mike_Myler> Having an ephemeral force acting equally against the PCs goes a ways to uniting them, but aye, we’re devoting some pages to advice on other ways to keep evil together. The book has a built-in structure for advancing the plot (taking out the 9 Spheres of Askis and the Celestial Heroes) so having a solid party is extra important.

[20:53] <+Mike_Myler> If your Sin score isn’t very high, not terrifically hard. If you’re already a ways down the road, extremely difficult.

[20:55] <~Dan> Lacking the good guys supplement, does a PC having a change of heart “break” the game?

[20:56] <+Mike_Myler> If it’s a complete reversal and that is the only PC? Yeah they might need a new character. An entire party that has a change of heart would be interesting and if I were the GM, at that point the game would reverse into basically the good guys supplement (and I’d make up an adventuring party or two to oppose the party). <continued>

[20:57] <+Mike_Myler> There are some details on the mad scientists (last refuge of evil in the world) scattered around the book (first one, Gespadrieux, is introduced in the free adventure module) and those would be my go-to enemies then if I didn’t have a good-guys book with other high-level evil NPCs.

[20:58] <~Dan> Can PCs be the aforementioned mad scientists? Or are they strictly NPCs?

[20:59] <+Mike_Myler> But yeah. It is a book for *evil* adventures, so if a player doesn’t want to do an evil game (which is something I imagine folks would know before the consent decision) or changes their mind, and the rest of the table agrees, there’s resources enough in here that the GM has tools to make what they’ll need.

[20:59] <+Mike_Myler> Yup! It’s a new class.

[21:00] <~Dan> What are some of the things a mad scientist can do?

[21:00] <+Mike_Myler> There are two other classes in the book (diabolists: summon monsters, cantrips, ritual spells, and occultists: be a monster!)

[21:00] <+Mike_Myler> They get a scientific weapon to cast most of their spells through (all offensive) and then scientific gadgets for other spells (like a warlock’s eldritch invocations)

[21:02] <+Mike_Myler> then for archetypes there’s an evil engineer (all about analysis), fleshworker (there are a bunch of chirurgeoun operations they get to choose from), trickster (a little rogue-y and explosives), and unholy technologist (messes with inaequa-tech)

[21:02] <~Dan> Do you include a bestiary for Askis?

[21:03] <+Mike_Myler> Yup! The mad scientist actually gets this intelligent construct walking table that grabs people and restrains them and such (a dissectinator) but there’ll be a smattering of evil creatures and NPCs, then a bunch of defenders of Askis (including the 20th level Celestial Heroes which are iconic adventurer types) and some good creatures

[21:04] <+Mike_Myler> well, the fleshworker gets one

[21:05] <+xyphoid> what does an evil engineer do

[21:05] <~Dan> Drive an evil train, of course.

[21:07] <+Mike_Myler> auto detect alignments, trick detection magic, better use of the mad scientist “detect abilities” feature to use against enemies, and a limited use ability to give an enemy a particular kind of vulnerability for 1 spell attack

[21:07] <+Mike_Myler> and, of course, drive evil trains

[21:07] <~Dan> 🙂

[21:08] <~Dan> Is this the first of an ongoing product line? Do you have plans beyond the good guys supplement?

[21:08] <+Mike_Myler> I think we’re in range of the first stretch goal (a conversion to Shadows of the Demon Lord)

[21:09] <+Mike_Myler> and maybe, although I have some life stuff happening at the end of this year and my production schedule is going to slow down because of it. Might be a bit before I get to make more adventures and stuff for this–honestly I’m not sure when. Eventually for sure (because I obviously like writing evil stuff).

[21:10] <+Mike_Myler> Just a question of time and resources and such. If the KS blows up and we have a lot of money I’ve got a lot of things I’d like to write, but that’s a bridge to cross if we get to it 🙂

[21:10] * +Will2 stupid isp

[21:10] <~Dan> wb, Will2

[21:12] <+Mike_Myler> I gotta say — I feel like some folks might be shocked at how evil and despicable the book is. If I’m wrong I apologize, but if that’s what’s up–excellent. You should be getting a kind of sickly feeling near your chest and maybe a little weakness of limb because that’s the goal. Just like feeling fear when playing a horror game, or victory in a standard

[21:12] <+Mike_Myler> medieval fantasy game, the goal of this game is to make you feel a certain way. I don’t want you to ALWAYS feel like that, but there’s an excitement to it, a little adrenaline kick, and that’s what I am aiming at with every word in the book. That dark feeling of *dread*.

[21:12] <+Mike_Myler> It is *not* for everybody and that is *totally cool*.

[21:13] * ~Dan nods

[21:13] <+Mike_Myler> Gives me the shakes though and I love dipping my feet in there

[21:14] <~Dan> In the time remaining, is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to mention?

[21:14] <+Mike_Myler> Hmmmm

[21:15] <+Mike_Myler> vile poisons and diseases came up with playtesters and that was a good idea so we’re including that, along with some expanded fear rules

[21:16] <+Mike_Myler> Ooooh! We’re taking a swing at prestige classes in 5e to turn your character into a specific kind of monster

[21:16] <+Mike_Myler> I’m really excited about that from a design standpoint

[21:16] <~Dan> Tell us more!

[21:16] <+Mike_Myler> We might scrap it for something else (magic item sets to transform or something like that) but I really want to crack prestige classes. They were a good idea that got way overdone in 3.5 and mostly abandoned in Pathfinder, and I really liked them when they were done well.

[21:17] <+Will> I don’t know if they were overdone in 3.5 so much as really inconsistently done and often absurdly broken… 😉

[21:17] <+Mike_Myler> Right now we’re looking at these options: dark one, fiend, kyton, rakshasa, protolich, and chromatic dragons

[21:17] <+Mike_Myler> I agree Will

[21:17] <+Mike_Myler> They had a lot of problems. It’s gonna be a tough egg

[21:18] <+Mike_Myler> but when done right, those were where I really felt the games mechanics and themes worked together the best

[21:18] <+Mike_Myler> and obviously I really like a game’s theme and mechanics to be closely tied together

[21:18] <+Mike_Myler> also, becoming a monster <– super cool

[21:19] * +Will grins

[21:19] <+Mike_Myler> The occultist class is there for iconic stuff like the monster of frankenstein or werewolves or vampires but that’s a whole 20 levels and I might want to do some magic or roguery or what have you

[21:19] <~Dan> So the occultist can become traditional Gothic monsters?

[21:20] <+Mike_Myler> Yessir

[21:20] <~Dan> Cool.

[21:20] <+Mike_Myler> I wrote it for EN5ider some time ago (they just reprinted it in the A Touch of Class Kickstarter) and the rights reverted to me now (their contracts are AWESOME) so I’m publishing it along with the stuff we cut for space.

[21:20] <+Will> Oh nice

[21:21] <+Mike_Myler> the original article version appears here for freeeee: https://www.patreon.com/posts/occultist-within-5806882

[21:21] <+Mike_Myler> and EN5ider is great btw

[21:21] <+Mike_Myler> I don’t say that because I write a lot for them, I say that because it really is great.

[21:21] <+Mike_Myler> *big thumbs up*

[21:22] <+Mike_Myler> but yes, the dark transformation prestige classes will be fun and I’m looking forward to how playtesting with them goes

[21:22] <~Dan> Awesome. 🙂

[21:22] * ~Dan nods

[21:22] <+Mike_Myler> and as much as I love doing the evil

[21:22] <+Mike_Myler> writing the evil

[21:22] <+Mike_Myler> >.>

[21:22] <+Mike_Myler> <.>

[21:23] <+Mike_Myler> the art style Indi Martin has hit upon is amazing

[21:23] <~Dan> It does look very cool.

[21:23] <+Mike_Myler> and we’re decking out the “good guy” world the PCs are there to wreck in gooooold

[21:23] <+Mike_Myler> I know ❤

[21:23] <+Mike_Myler> So good!

[21:23] <+Mike_Myler> Lemme link some

[21:23] <~Dan> Sure.

[21:23] <+Will> Yeah, I ‘d love to see the art style

[21:23] <+Mike_Myler> ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/016/786/942/4f75e4600e1cfddaa551b7fd17819a7f_original.jpg?w=680&fit=max&v=1495542970&auto=format&q=92&s=ea457601505a3fd12a3fb4096d6ac585

[21:24] <+Mike_Myler> That’s for when she’s doing an evil piece

[21:24] <+Mike_Myler> ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/016/786/948/91053029598fc90ae84ec304b8364705_original.jpg?w=680&fit=max&v=1495543034&auto=format&q=92&s=1486cdc4fcd299d9effbf7660f4e5b3b

[21:24] <+Mike_Myler> and there’s a holy Askis piece 😉

[21:24] <+Mike_Myler> She’s also the only commissioned artist until we hit stretch goals

[21:24] <+Mike_Myler> at that point I have some folks tagged for doing old-school D&D-esque evil pieces

[21:25] <+Mike_Myler> and it’s a LOT of art

[21:25] <+Mike_Myler> Indi represents almost half of the funding budget!

[21:26] <~Dan> I’ll bet. 🙂

[21:26] <~Dan> Thanks very much for joining us, Mike_Myler!

[21:26] <+Will> Heh

[21:26] <+Mike_Myler> and for anyone interested in my previous campaign setting kickstarters, here they are in a picture. Check out my stuff at mikemyler.com 😀

[21:26] <+Mike_Myler> ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/016/731/508/eb1796710d0fb01b7d333ec168e97c31_original.jpg?w=680&fit=max&v=1495139980&auto=format&q=92&s=961c4c5ca17031330933d30d01b34fdc

[21:26] <+Mike_Myler> Thanks for having me!

[21:27] <+Will> Good luck!

[21:27] <+Will> On the Deco style, a render of mine: willbear.deviantart.com/art/Jinnive-657451469

[21:27] <~Dan> As always, my tip jar is here: gmshoe.wordpress.com/the-gmshoes-tip-jar/

[21:27] <~Dan> And now, if you’ll give me just a minute, I’ll get the log posted and link you!