[19:36] <+TimDevine> Kristin and I are the designers of the North Sea Epilogues, a TTRPG based on the North Sea trilogy of games by Garphill Games
[19:37] <+TimDevine> It is a rules lite storytelling game that lets you step further into the North Sea, create your heroes and forge your own epic sagas
[19:39] <+TimDevine> Kristin and I formed Dice Up Games to put out our games. This is the first game we’ve partnered with a publisher for.
[19:40] <+TimDevine> I think that’s it… Done 🙂
[19:40] <~Dan> Thanks, guys! The floor is open to questions!
[19:40] <+TheChairman> Yes, I have a two part question..
[19:40] <~Dan> So are the three North Sea games you mentioned boardgames?
[19:42] <+KristinDevine> Yes, they are board games by Garphill Games.
[19:42] * ~Dan nods
[19:42] <+TimDevine> Shipwrights of the North Sea, Raiders of the North Sea and Explorers of the North Sea
[19:43] <~Dan> (Fire away with your question whenever you like, TheChairman. 🙂 )
[19:43] <+TheChairman> Can I blow something up..and if so– what are my options as far as firepower? We talkin’ basilisk cannons of the 1700’s, or?
[19:44] <+TheChairman> As a salty sea dog, myself.. I appreciate a good cannon.
[19:44] <+TimDevine> The North Sea Epilogues is a Viking themed RPG, not based on historical fact, but loosely rooted in Norse culture
[19:44] <+TheChairman> Ah ha!
[19:45] <+TheChairman> So less explosions, and more pillaging.
[19:45] <+TimDevine> That would be correct @thechairman
[19:45] <~Dan> Is this a fantasy game?
[19:46] <+TimDevine> The game is open for groups to run games in varying styles and tones…
[19:46] <+TimDevine> Styles can range from realism to more mysticism (though this is not written as a fantasy game)
[19:46] <+TheChairman> I’m a systems geek myself– you say rules lite. What is combat like?
[19:47] <+TimDevine> Tones can range from light hearted and zainy to serious, dark and grim
[19:47] <~Dan> Do you have a character sheet that we can see?
[19:49] <+TimDevine> I can go into the system a bit here and the character sheets (hero sheets) can be found on the KS page, but we can link here
[19:49] <~Dan> (Howdy, FreeGamer!)
[19:51] <+TimDevine> Combat and non-combat share the same mechanics
[19:51] <~Dan> (Welcome to #randomworlds, Ian!)
[19:52] <+TimDevine> If a hero (or heroes) are trying to overcome some Challenge (and opponent or an obstacle) they will state their goal and choose their approach
[19:52] <~Dan> (wb, IanFenn!)
[19:52] <+IanFenn> Hail and stuff.
[19:53] <~Dan> (IanFenn: Here for the Q&A, or just a general visit? 🙂 )
[19:53] <+TimDevine> (The full flow for players is found in the bottom section of the hero sheets)
[19:53] <+KristinDevine> Here is the link the character sheet: (Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shem/the-north-sea-epilogues-rpg-raiders-play-mat/posts/2290984)https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shem/the-north-sea-epilogues-rpg-raiders-play-mat/posts/2290984
[19:54] <+IanFenn> I was in earlier this afternoon. I’m stalking Tim (I surge)
[19:54] <~Dan> (Heh. 🙂 )
[19:54] <+TimDevine> lol, hello Ian
[19:55] <+TimDevine> The Goal represents what they want to do and the Approach is represented by one of their Skills. They will roll 1D20 and add the Skill Total to the roll.
[19:55] <+TimDevine> The GM sets a DL (Difficulty Level) that they need to meet or beat to succeed.
[19:55] <~Dan> Is this an attribute + skill system?
[19:56] <+TimDevine> @Dan yes
[19:56] <~Dan> me nods
[19:56] * ~Dan nods, even
[19:56] <+TimDevine> Almost any Skill can be chosen to overcome a challenge, as long as the player can explain it
[19:57] <~Dan> Looking over the character sheet, I don’t see anything resembling strength. Am I missing something there?
[19:57] <+IanFenn> Can you expand on the GM setting DL? Is there a structure around this, or is it based upon GMs feeling
[19:57] <+IanFenn> About whichever character/skill set is involved
[19:57] <+TimDevine> The 4 Attributes represent a heroes natural aptitude in those broad areas
[19:58] <+TimDevine> The 5 Skills under each Attribute represent the proficiency in those more specific areas
[19:59] <+TimDevine> I don’t want to jump around too much on answers. Have I explained the combat bit to your satisfaction @TheChairman?
[20:01] <~Dan> (I guess that’s a “yes”. 🙂 )
[20:01] <+TheChairman> You have. And it rewards creativity which I appreciate.
[20:02] <+TimDevine> Oh, very much so. Succeeding in overcoming a challenge can mean so many different things
[20:02] <+TimDevine> Not just “I kill them”
[20:03] <+TimDevine> @Dan I will try to take the questions in order, but if I miss them, please let me know
[20:03] <~Dan> Certainly!
[20:03] <+TimDevine> Regarding you Strength question
[20:05] <~Dan> (wb, IanFenn!)
[20:06] <+IanFenn> (Sigh. Mobile woes)
[20:06] <+TimDevine> There is no specific Strength skill or attribute, if you are comparing it to a classic D20/D&D system
[20:07] <+TimDevine> The Body Attribute represents the physical nature of a hero and can be interpreted how the player likes
[20:07] <+TimDevine> Example:
[20:07] <~Dan> How do you determine how much someone can lift and how much damage they do in melee combat?
[20:07] <~Dan> (Sorry. *listens*)
[20:08] <+TimDevine> Two players may put more points in Body, one interprets that as being fit and quick and the other, big and strong
[20:09] <+TimDevine> As this is a narrative system, there are no rules that govern details like lift/carry weight
[20:09] <+TimDevine> The core system is not rooted in wargame mechanics, but more storytelling/narrative
[20:10] <+TimDevine> Done
[20:11] <~Dan> I see “surges” mentioned on the character sheet. What are those?
[20:12] <+TimDevine> Regarding the GM setting the DL (then we can talk Surges)
[20:13] <+TimDevine> The GM frames a scene and describes the challenge… Example: several enemies baring your escape
[20:13] <+TimDevine> Based on how the hero describes their goal/approach, the GM sets a DL (different for each situation/hero)
[20:14] <+TimDevine> The GM settles on a DL (a range of numbers, higher the harder to overcome)
[20:15] <+IanFenn> I’ve listened to/watched three playthroughs. There are some instance where all heroes act. What about that case?
[20:15] <+TimDevine> If the player has a Story element, or chooses to use Grit to Surge to reduce the DL, the GM lowers it
[20:15] <+TimDevine> That is how the GM sets the DL
[20:15] <+TimDevine> done
[20:16] <+KristinDevine> About surges
[20:17] <+KristinDevine> A player can use Grit to surge.
[20:17] <+KristinDevine> There are three different ways to surge
[20:17] <+KristinDevine> 1. Can reduce the DL by one level
[20:18] <+KristinDevine> 2. Can reduce your current strain by one
[20:18] <+KristinDevine> 3. Can assist another hero in an action
[20:19] <+KristinDevine> Does that answer the question about surges?
[20:19] <~Dan> I think so. Is strain damage?
[20:20] <+KristinDevine> Yes, strain is kind of like damage
[20:20] <+KristinDevine> Strain can by physical, mental or emotional
[20:21] <+IanFenn> In the playthroughs, no hero reached their strain threshold, and thus didn’t sustain an injury. Can you explain the injury mechanic?
[20:21] <+TimDevine> Strain builds from 0 to your max Strain. Once you reach your max, anything after results in an injury
[20:23] <+KristinDevine> done
[20:23] <+TimDevine> Regarding “There are some instance where all heroes act. What about that case?”
[20:24] <+TimDevine> There are some challenges that require more than one success to overcome them.
[20:24] <+TimDevine> The GM might say that a room full of enemies takes 5 successes. In this case, any heroes involved can act
[20:25] <+TimDevine> Each success by the group adds towards the challenge
[20:25] <+TimDevine> done
[20:26] <~Dan> Is there magic in this setting?
[20:27] <+KristinDevine> There is no magic, but you can play with superstition and mythology.
[20:27] <~Dan> How so?
[20:28] <+KristinDevine> Some of the adventure prompts are surrounding superstition.
[20:29] <~Dan> Are the superstitions “real”, though?
[20:31] <~Dan> (wb, KristinDevine!)
[20:31] <~Dan> [20:28] <+KristinDevine> Some of the adventure prompts are surrounding superstition.[20:29] <~Dan> Are the superstitions “real”, though?
[20:33] <+KristinDevine> They are not “real” but it’s more than that…
[20:34] <+TimDevine> Regardless of real or not, the heroes may believe.
[20:34] <+TimDevine> A berserker can believe they wrestled a frost giant
[20:34] <+TimDevine> …They may have been drunk… or on something else…
[20:35] <+TimDevine> A Seer may believe that a raven flying ahead of them is an omen
[20:35] <+TimDevine> The GM can use this type of imagery in their game and the players can use it in the narration of their actions
[20:36] <+TimDevine> From a strictly Meta answer, no. They are not Real
[20:36] <+TimDevine> done
[20:36] * ~Dan nods
[20:36] <~Dan> What does a typical adventure look like? Who are the PCs, and what do they do?
[20:37] <+KristinDevine> Players create their heroes and their clan.
[20:38] <+KristinDevine> Typical adventures revolve around exploration and adventures that help increase each hero’s reputation and the clan’s reputation.
[20:39] <+KristinDevine> We have many different adventure hooks in the book to show the large variety of stories you can tell
[20:40] <+IanFenn> <points out the injury question… lost in the strain convo>
[20:40] <+TimDevine> The game gives GMs tools to structure their games. (One Shot games, Mini-Series, Campaign)
[20:40] <+TimDevine> Done
[20:40] <+TimDevine> (Thanks for pointing that out. I missed it)
[20:41] <+TimDevine> Players need to manage their Hero’s current Strain to prevent injury…
[20:41] <+IanFenn> Also, interested in hearing about the reputation system, as that didn’t come up in the podcasts
[20:42] <+TimDevine> An injury is marked on an Attribute and causes the GM to increase the DL whenever an injured attribute is being used
[20:42] <+TimDevine> But the player has full control over the injury and how it looks/acts
[20:43] <+TimDevine> Two injuries to the same Attribute is considered “Severe” and the hero can no longer use any of that attributes skills
[20:43] <+TimDevine> done
[20:43] <+IanFenn> Can injuries be healed, or are they ‘scars’?
[20:44] <+TimDevine> Injuries can be healed. Scars are always a players choice, but if a player is “Taken Down” they will have a permanent penalty to the attribute
[20:45] <+KristinDevine> The cool thing about injuries is that players can decide what they are
[20:45] <+KristinDevine> For example
[20:45] <+KristinDevine> One of our players, a Seer, was injured and chose to lose an eye.
[20:46] <+TimDevine> Since this is a more narrative, vs mechanical system, there doesn’t need to be strict rules to govern what that means…
[20:46] <+TimDevine> If the GM is setting a vision/perspective based challenge, the one-eyed seer may have a harder time (higher DL)
[20:47] <+TimDevine> done
[20:48] <+KristinDevine> About reputation
[20:48] <~Dan> How closely do the characters resemble historical Vikings? Do they worship the Norse gods, for example?
[20:48] <~Dan> (Howdy, Logomachist!)
[20:48] <+KristinDevine> There is a reason it did not come up in the podcasts. It is less relevant in one shots
[20:50] <+TimDevine> Reputation is a way to measure growth in campaign play.
[20:51] <+TimDevine> Hero Rep. represents how likely others will have heard of you / mechanically it “unlocks” skill ranks and story elements
[20:52] <+TimDevine> Clan Rep. represents how much influence and strength and wealth your clan has / mechanically it “unlocks” better quality gear (trade partners/artisans?
[20:52] <+TimDevine> done
[20:53] <+TimDevine> Regarding @Dan ‘s questions about historical vikings
[20:53] <+IanFenn> Can the GM manage this if the heroes have been playing a while? For example, to weaken then could the GM drop their reputation if they are in an unfriendly area? I’m thinking of like a faction system in WoW
[20:54] <+TimDevine> Going back to the reputation…
[20:54] <+TimDevine> There is not hard rule on this. It is a “What makes sense” kind of thing
[20:54] <+TimDevine> Either way, it doesnt “break” the system
[20:55] <+KristinDevine> If the heroes are in an unfriendly area there is no need to “drop” the reputation
[20:55] <+KristinDevine> The GM can have the reputation work against the heroes
[20:56] <+TimDevine> The book goes into detail about this. A high Rep can help you… but it also brings warriors looking to gain Rep by killing you
[20:56] <+TimDevine> done
[20:57] <+TimDevine> “How closely do the characters resemble historical Vikings? Do they worship the Norse gods, for example?”
[20:57] <+TimDevine> This is up to the group playing to decide how closely they want to resemble historical vikings.
[20:57] <+TimDevine> The game doesn’t force or require any level of expertise on the subject, though it implies you would be using Norse pantheon
[20:58] <+TimDevine> done
[20:58] <+TimDevine> oops… one other thought there
[20:58] <+TimDevine> Players will no doubt bring their own Viking references/touchstones (books/movies/TV/Video Games)
[20:59] <+TimDevine> The system is loose in this area to allow players to tell all kinds of these stories
[20:59] <+TimDevine> done
[20:59] <+TimDevine> (for real :))
[20:59] <~Dan> 🙂
[21:00] <~Dan> Did I read correctly that this is your first attempt at publishing an RPG?
[21:00] <+TimDevine> Are we caught up?
[21:01] <+IanFenn> My time is up. Thanks for your answers. The more I learn the more stoked I am to play. Thanks for hosting g, Da.
[21:01] <+IanFenn> Dan
[21:01] <~Dan> Certainly, IanFenn!
[21:01] <+KristinDevine> Thanks, Ian!
[21:01] <~Dan> Oh, and yes, I think we’re caught up.
[21:01] <+TimDevine> Kristin and I have released games we’ve made, hacks, etc. But this is the first we are publishing through KS, and first with a publisher
[21:02] <~Dan> What inspired you to go with this particular setting?
[21:03] <+KristinDevine> We had designed the system originally and played it in many different settings
[21:04] <+KristinDevine> One of them being a Viking setting 🙂
[21:05] <+KristinDevine> We then approached Garphill Games about this project
[21:05] <+TimDevine> We had a solid, tested system for telling a good viking story
[21:05] <+TimDevine> Garphill Games had a rich setting that could have a storytelling aspect introduced to the IP
[21:06] <+TimDevine> done
[21:07] <~Dan> Did Garphill Games take much convincing?
[21:08] <+TimDevine> Haha… there was no real convincing. We exchanged a few emails, they looked over the system and it just made sense to all of us
[21:10] <~Dan> That’s cool. 🙂
[21:10] <~Dan> Do you see this as the start of a game line?
[21:13] <+TimDevine> For North Sea Epilogues, there are no immediate plans to continue, but who knows (still halfway through the KS), but…
[21:14] <+KristinDevine> Tim and I have other projects we are working on and may revisit the original system we created in multiple different settings in the future
[21:14] <+KristinDevine> done
[21:14] <~Dan> Oh? Is it too soon to say what some of these other projects are?
[21:15] <+KristinDevine> We are on the writing team for Orun which is a new RPG by New Agenda Publishing
[21:16] <~Dan> What’s that?
[21:16] <+KristinDevine> Orun is a space opera RPG and their Kickstarter is coming soon 🙂
[21:17] <+TimDevine> We also have several other hacks of games that we will be releasing in the coming months
[21:17] <~Dan> Well, you know where they can come for a Q&A. 🙂
[21:17] <+KristinDevine> We will tell them!
[21:17] <~Dan> Please do!
[21:18] <~Dan> In the time remaining, is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to bring up?
[21:19] <+KristinDevine> I would say if someone is on the fence about RPG’s in general this is a good starting game.
[21:19] <+TimDevine> Both as a player or a GM
[21:20] <+TimDevine> We’ve had multiple first time RPG players play and really get into it
[21:20] <~Dan> That’s cool!
[21:20] <+TimDevine> Several first time gamers also started running their own games very quickly
[21:21] <+TimDevine> The publisher himself had never GMed an RPG
[21:21] <+TimDevine> with little prep, he ran his first game ever of this new system and within 30 min they were playing
[21:21] <+TimDevine> (Including hero creation, rules overview)
[21:22] <+TimDevine> Two quick final thoughts:
[21:23] <+TimDevine> 1. The game is very reasonably priced (only $13 for the digital PDF and $31 for the hardcover book, including shipping to several countries)
[21:23] <+TimDevine> 2. We have many actual plays and podcast interviews on the KS page you can check out to see if it’s your jam
[21:23] <+TimDevine> 🙂
[21:24] <~Dan> Great!
[21:24] <+TimDevine> (Oh and $41, including shipping if you want the beautiful GM screen with custom art by The Mico)
[21:24] <~Dan> Usual reminder: Gratuities are welcome at (Link: https://gmshoe.wordpress.com/the-gmshoes-tip-jar/)https://gmshoe.wordpress.com/the-gmshoes-tip-jar/ , if anyone is so inclined 🙂
[21:25] <~Dan> Thanks very much for joining us, TimDevine and KristinDevine!
[21:25] <+TimDevine> Thanks so much for having us!
[21:25] <+KristinDevine> Thank you for having us!
[21:25] <~Dan> If you’ll give me just a minute, I’ll get the transcript posted and link you. 🙂