[Q&A] Alan Tucker (Incredible Items)

[7:31 PM] Alan Tucker: Greetings! I’m Alan Tucker and I’ve been creating supplements for roleplaying games (mostly 5e) for the past 5 years or so and before that was a novel writer and graphic designer.

[7:34 PM] Alan Tucker: Today we’re talking about Incredible Items, which is on Kickstarter right now with 15 days left and we’re over 200% funded! Incredible Items is a follow up to Incredible Creatures where we asked a bunch of artists to go wild and create art for a bunch of magic items and then a host of writers has taken that art and made some amazing magic items! (Done)1

[7:35 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Thanks, @Alan Tucker! The floor is open to questions!

[7:35 PM] Dan the GMshoe: First of all, congrats on such a successful Kickstarter!

[7:36 PM] Miguel C.: Definitely congrats on the Kickstarter. First question I have is can you link it please? 1

[7:36 PM] Alan Tucker: Thank you! Here’s a link as well: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/icv1/incredible-items?ref=vgvke2KickstarterAlan TuckerIncredible ItemsArt-Inspired Magic Items for Fifth Edition

[7:36 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What makes this particular collection of magic items special?

[7:37 PM] Henry: Time is the currency of life. @Alan Tucker Why should people spend their time on your Incredible Items? In a flooded market of RPG’s what does your supplement provide more than any other, what does it offer and does better than any other item supplement out there?1

[7:38 PM] Alan Tucker: Well, as I mentioned, rather than starting with the writer, we began with the art. The artists did a tremendous job creating some really amazing pieces that the writers loved working with.

[7:39 PM] Alan Tucker: We also have items we’ve called Evolving Artifacts. These items grow in power with a character and each has its own unique art for each stage of its development.

[7:39 PM] Alan Tucker:

[7:40 PM] Alan Tucker: This is one called Moonvine which is also available in the free preview on DriveThruRPG.

[7:40 PM] Alan Tucker: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/395948/Incredible-Items-FREE-SamplerIncredible Items FREE Sampler – Alan Tucker | DriveThruRPG.comFunding Now on Kickstarter! Many members of the team that brought you the best-selling Incredible Creatures is back with

[7:41 PM] Dan the GMshoe: To what to you attribute your Kickstarter’s great success? Clearly, you’re scratching an itch that’s out there.

[7:41 PM] Henry: @Alan Tucker You started with the art, so what piece of art are you most proud of and can we have some samples of the art in the book?

@Henry@Alan Tucker You started with the art, so what piece of art are you most proud of and can we have some samples of the art in the book?[7:43 PM] Alan Tucker: Here’s a small sample. You can see many more on the cover and in the sampler.

[7:44 PM] Henry: @Alan Tucker You said you started with the art but obviously you had to give briefs to the artists… So can you tell us about the process

[7:45 PM] Alan Tucker: One of my favorites is another of the evolving artifacts which we haven’t shown elsewhere:

@Dan the GMshoeTo what to you attribute your Kickstarter’s great success? Clearly, you’re scratching an itch that’s out there.[7:47 PM] Alan Tucker: We have a great crew working on this really. Over 40 people all together from the newly formed Indie Games Cooperative have busted their buns working on it and getting the word out there.

@Henry@Alan Tucker You said you started with the art but obviously you had to give briefs to the artists… So can you tell us about the process[7:48 PM] Alan Tucker: Actually we didn’t give any instruction to the artists, other than the evolving artifacts needed to be 4 or 5 stages. The art is purely out of their imagination and then the writers took it and decided, “What is this and what does it do?”

[7:48 PM] HOO: I’ve not seen a concept like evolving artifacts anywhere

@Alan TuckerOne of my favorites is another of the evolving artifacts which we haven’t shown elsewhere:[7:49 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What does that thing do??

@HOOI’ve not seen a concept like evolving artifacts anywhere[7:51 PM] Alan Tucker: Thank you There are some things with a similar theme, but we feel like we’ve done some fun takes with them. Each stage of development is caused by something different that either happens organically during play or that the character must do to make the evolution happen.

[7:52 PM] Henry: @Alan Tucker Are your items system specific?

@Dan the GMshoeWhat does that thing do??[7:52 PM] Alan Tucker: It is a mace and the writer did an absolutely fantastic job with it as well. That one is still in editing, but I can tell you it is out of this world LOL

[7:52 PM] HOO: The closest thing to this is that I know of is in The Fantasy Trip, where a staff can have up to 5 levels of enchantment. But the staff doesn’t “Evolve”.

@Henry@Alan Tucker Are your items system specific?[7:53 PM] Alan Tucker: The supplement is designed for 5e, but wouldn’t be hard to adapt to other systems. Magic items are easier to convert than monsters or adventures in most cases.

@Alan TuckerThe supplement is designed for 5e, but wouldn’t be hard to adapt to other systems. Magic items are easier to convert than monsters or adventures in most cases.[7:54 PM] Henry: Before you mentioned that the writers were given an item and told “writers took it and decided, “What is this and what does it do?” ” With that in mind what thoughts did you give to balancing items?

@HenryBefore you mentioned that the writers were given an item and told “writers took it and decided, “What is this and what does it do?” ” With that in mind what thoughts did you give to balancing items?[7:57 PM] Alan Tucker: Great question! 5e has different levels of “rarity” for its items: common, uncommon, rare, very rare, legendary, and finally, artifacts. Each of these of course has many examples that the writers and the editing team has studied and is familiar with, so that was taken into consideration heavily in the item creation. We have items of every type and rarity in the book.

[7:58 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Do the more powerful items have personalities?

[7:58 PM] Alan Tucker: Each rarity is roughly equivalent to the tiers of play (character levels).

@Dan the GMshoeDo the more powerful items have personalities?[7:59 PM] Alan Tucker: Many do, yes. The example of Moonvine I mentioned earlier is fully sentient once it evolves into its final stage.

[8:00 PM] Henry: The all important question. Why? What made @Alan Tucker decide, the world needs an item book and I am the man to do it!

[8:00 PM] Alan Tucker: The GM is given ideas about its personality and intelligence in the item’s description.

@HenryThe all important question. Why? What made @Alan Tucker decide, the world needs an item book and I am the man to do it![8:02 PM] Alan Tucker: Ha! Well I led a team that made Incredible Creatures (a monster book with the same idea of starting with art) last year and after forming the Indie Games Cooperative this year, we were looking for an idea for our first community project. This idea came up among the mentors and here we are

[8:03 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Are any of the items cursed?

@Dan the GMshoeAre any of the items cursed?[8:03 PM] Alan Tucker: Yes there are several with curses, though I don’t know an exact number.

[8:04 PM] Miguel C.: What is your favorite magic item from fiction? Did you have a writer try and replicate it?

@Miguel C.What is your favorite magic item from fiction? Did you have a writer try and replicate it?[8:05 PM] Alan Tucker: Hm. Probably Harry Dresden’s shield bracelet I didn’t make the connection before, but I did write an item that is a charm bracelet, though it doesn’t function in the same way as Harry’s.

[8:06 PM] Miguel C.: @Dan the GMshoe I like this one.

[8:06 PM] Alan Tucker: The writers all had free reign to create what they saw in the art. The only direction they were given was in the editng process where we all discussed each item and the mentors offered suggestions.

@Alan TuckerHm. Probably Harry Dresden’s shield bracelet I didn’t make the connection before, but I did write an item that is a charm bracelet, though it doesn’t function in the same way as Harry’s.[8:08 PM] Henry: Many people are afraid of being hit with lawsuits so much so that when people have comps they say don’t allude to other franchise such the ‘the Dark Knights hood’ and so on. What made you decide that something passes the cut and something doesn’t in this process?

@HenryMany people are afraid of being hit with lawsuits so much so that when people have comps they say don’t allude to other franchise such the ‘the Dark Knights hood’ and so on. What made you decide that something passes the cut and something doesn’t in this process?[8:10 PM] Alan Tucker: We’ve got people with many years in the industry working on this as writers, editors, and other consultants, so if something seemed too close to some other IP out there, we worked with the writer to make changes.

[8:11 PM] Alan Tucker: But honestly, that really didn’t come up much. Everyone had really unique takes.

[8:12 PM] Henry: Okay… so What is your least favourite aspect of Incredible Items?

@HenryOkay… so What is your least favourite aspect of Incredible Items?[8:13 PM] Alan Tucker: Doing a kickstarter

[8:13 PM] Alan Tucker: LOL

[8:13 PM] Henry: ha ha ha good answer very quippy

[8:13 PM] Alan Tucker: It’s a lot of work to make it successful, but it made sense for this project rather than just releasing it on DriveThru

[8:14 PM] Henry: @Alan Tucker What is the one thing you wished people asked about Incredible Items but haven’t yet?

@Henry@Alan Tucker What is the one thing you wished people asked about Incredible Items but haven’t yet?[8:19 PM] Alan Tucker: How did you assemble this amazing team? I wanted to do something for bipoc and other marginalized group creators who were getting started in the industry, so I talked with a number of people I knew and asked if they would be willing to be mentors for a group like this. Several immediately said, “Yes!” and we created our discord server. Then we started putting the word out and have had some amazing fresh creators jump in and give us a terrific start to a wonderful community of artists, writers, editors, designers, etc.

[8:20 PM] Henry: @Alan Tucker I have asked you a few questions and I hope they have been helpful, so this is my… Final Question. What are people not talking about in the Roleplaying community that should be and why?

@Henry@Alan Tucker I have asked you a few questions and I hope they have been helpful, so this is my… Final Question. What are people not talking about in the Roleplaying community that should be and why?[8:24 PM] Alan Tucker: Thank you for all your questions! There’s been a lot of discussion about diversity in gaming, but I feel like few people talk about how to actually find work and sustain a career—especially for people of color and others that have previously been overlooked in what has traditionally been a very white male dominated industry. I think that’s changing, and hopefully will continue to do so.

[8:24 PM] Miguel C.: What do you think is next for you and the rest of the team?

[8:26 PM] Henry: @Alan Tucker I hope these questions have been helpful and I have spent your time well I leave you in the most capable hands of our wonderful host @Dan the GMshoe aka. Dan the Man. Thank you for the opportunity and I hope your kickstarter is a success. Cya later1

@Miguel C.What do you think is next for you and the rest of the team?[8:26 PM] Alan Tucker: We just started working on one-page RPGs! Everyone who wants to participate is tasked with making their own one-page game (like Honey Heist, etc.) by the end of August.

[8:26 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Take care, @Henry!

[8:27 PM] Alan Tucker: DriveThruRPG announced their PocketQuest at nearly the same time we decided on our project, so we’re going to try to dovetail our games with that if possible.

[8:27 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What it the most powerful artifact in the book?

[8:29 PM] Dan the GMshoe: (brb)

@Dan the GMshoeWhat it the most powerful artifact in the book?[8:30 PM] Alan Tucker: Wow, that’s tough to say. They’re all so different.

[8:31 PM] Alan Tucker: There’s a piece of armor called the Winged Cosmos that has a bunch of different powers it can confer, based on different star constellations, but only one at a time.

[8:33 PM] Dan the GMshoe: You mentioned that the rarity of magic items start at “common”. How common is “common”, and can you give an example of such an item?

@Dan the GMshoeYou mentioned that the rarity of magic items start at “common”. How common is “common”, and can you give an example of such an item?[8:35 PM] Alan Tucker: It depends on the GM running the game, in how prevalent magic is in their world, but here’s an example of one I wrote: Wand of Knocking Wand, Common This simple wooden wand was an enchanting student’s failed attempt to infuse a wand with the knock spell. Their subsequent attempts were even less successful. While holding this wand, you can use an action to create one of the following sounds: knuckles firmly rapping on a wooden door, three firm strikes from a heavy brass door knocker, or the tinkling of a store’s doorbell. The sound can be clearly heard up to 30 feet away

[8:36 PM] Alan Tucker: Common items generally do something that’s “cosmetic” or has only a minor effect in actual gameplay.

[8:37 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What was the most challenging illustration to translate into game terms?

[8:40 PM] Alan Tucker: Can’t speak for each writer, but this one seemed like quite a challenge to me. It’s a mask for the bottom half of a person’s face.

[8:41 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Huh. What did they come up with?

[8:44 PM] Alan Tucker: It’s called the Thundrous Whiskers and it was the contest winner for a group of stone giants (according to the lore) It gives the wearer advantage on Charisma checks with giants and the “beard” can be used to predict the weather for the next 24 hours. You can also cause your voice to boom and knock an opponent back.

[8:45 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Heh. That’s awesome.

[8:46 PM] Alan Tucker: I’ll be sure to tell the writer and artist 1

[8:46 PM] Dan the GMshoe: If it was made for stone giants, how could it fit on a PC?

[8:46 PM] Alan Tucker: Magic items in 5e conform to fit the wearer.

[8:47 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Ah, I see.

[8:48 PM] Dan the GMshoe: I’m afraid I’m a bit tapped out on questions. Is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to bring up?

[8:51 PM] Alan Tucker: No worries! We have a stretch goal of a set of 120 item cards (of the shorter items that will fit!) that we’d love to get to. Otherwise, I just want to call out the tremendous team and community of the Indie Games Cooperative for their outstanding work on this project and we hope it’s the first of many you’ll see from us in the future.

[8:52 PM] Alan Tucker: If anyone is interested in joining, you can find us on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/indiegames_coop and message for an invite to our discord server.indie games coop (@indiegames_coop)The Indie Games Cooperative. Mission: To facilitate a safe space for folx in the TTRPG industry (and beyond) to gather, learn, and create.Followers76Tweets74Twitter

[8:53 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Great! Thanks very much for joining us, @Alan Tucker! I hope you’ll continue to be a regular here at Randomworlds.

[8:53 PM] Alan Tucker: Thank you for having me!

[8:53 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Usual reminder: If you’ve enjoyed this Q&A and would like to treat me to a coffee or two, you can do so at https://www.ko-fi.com/gmshoe. Anything’s appreciated! Ko-fiBuy Dan Davenport a Coffee. ko-fi.com/gmshoeBecome a supporter of Dan Davenport today! ❤️ Ko-fi lets you support the creators you love with no fees on donations.

[8:53 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Now, if you’ll give me a minute or two, I’ll get the log posted and link you!

[8:54 PM] Alan Tucker: Fantastic!

[8:55 PM] Miguel C.: Thank you for coming!

[8:55 PM] Miguel C.: It was interesting to hear from you.