[7:33 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Hi everyone! I’m Heather O’Neill, CEO of 9th Level Games and a board and RPG game designer. In addition to that I’m also the Managing Director of UNPUB http://www.unpub.net and work part time for Atlas Games running their Kickstarters & doing marketing!
[7:34 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): I’m here tonight to talk about Venture Society, our new all ages non-violent RPG that helps build communication, social, and emotion skills in children through fun gameplay. https://bit.ly/VentureKSKickstarter9thLevelVenture Society Roleplaying GameAn all ages, non-violent RPG focusing on building communication, social, & emotional skills. Join the Venture Society today!
[7:34 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): DONE
[7:35 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Thanks, @Heather O’Neill (9th Level)! The floor is open to questions!
[7:35 PM]Dan the GMshoe: What can you tell us about the premise of Venture Society?
[7:36 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): In this world of animals, the regions used to be at war with each other. Thankfully brave animals from each region united for peace and formed the Venture Society. The Venture Society is a world wide organization dedicated to helping others and encouraging harmony with your fellow animals, and you’re a new member ready to help others!
[7:36 PM]Rated_Aargh: I’m curious what design elements foster emotional skills.
[7:37 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Systematically we use SEL (social emotional learning) as the economy of the game. The GM or guide in this case would be noting which areas of SEL (communication, social awareness, emotional wellness, or personal strengths) were shown in the adventure and award Venture Points to the party.
[7:38 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): This is communal and no one is singled out. They can use these points to upgrade or add items, add things to town, or invite an NPC to help later.
[7:38 PM]Rated_Aargh: Is this made accessible to people who, like me, don’t have any therapeutic training?
[7:38 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): We have a team with a psychologist and registered play therapist, and an elementary teacher to help ensure the adventures fit this goal.
@Rated_AarghIs this made accessible to people who, like me, don’t have any therapeutic training?[7:39 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Absolutely! While this is a fun game for anyone, there is a professional’s guide in the main boxed game or to be purchased separately if only buying the digital or book only. It spells out exactly how you can use the game as a tool in therapy1
[7:40 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): @Rated_Aargh If you are looking at the Kickstarter you may not see too much about therapy but there is a lot accounted for in the game. We focused on being able to promote the game to everyone for the KS campaign.
[7:40 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Is combat impossible in this game, or is it simply discouraged? If the former, is there a setting reason why?
[7:41 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): It is simply discouraged. In fact, if a player (especially in a therapy session) choosing violence that may be something the guide would let them explore and then ask at the end why they didn’t try another tactic.
[7:42 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): The goal is to NOT choose a violent or devious action but that will still definitely come up in some games.
[7:42 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Who or what are the antagonists?
[7:43 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Mainly the players will run into problems they have to solve. Most adventures deal with something happening that needs fixing (bridge out, lost item, stolen item, etc).
[7:44 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): However, others are more personal to help an NPC in trouble.
[7:44 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): The topics our 20+ adventures cover is quite thorough so it could be peer pressure, bullying, anxiety, selfishness, empathy, standing up for someone, finding a solution, etc.
[7:45 PM]Dan the GMshoe: In what general era does the game take place? Medieval? Modern day? Something else?
[7:47 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): This is “another world” but it is modern day. None of the art shows an ipad or TV but it would be 100% valid if a player wanted that as an item. Similarly we don’t show an airplane or train but instead a riverboat, hot air balloon, and horse carriage as ways to travel.
[7:48 PM]Silverlion: Interesting, non-violent, are you familiar with Golden Sky Stories? ,
[7:48 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): No, not familiar with that one.
[7:48 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Another non-violent RPG.
[7:49 PM]Silverlion: Ah, it’s a japanese RPG translated in to english about Henge–animal spirits that help their village/town.
[7:49 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Yeah just looked it up
[7:49 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Venture Society is definitely more on the cozy “Animal Crossing” side of RPG’s than combat D&D side
[7:50 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Is there magic in the setting?
[7:51 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): No formal magic is listed in the game. We use the polymorph system which is rules light, narrative heavy. In the case that someone wanted to create an adventure with a magical NPC that would be possible and if a player wanted to interpret their skills for magic that would be possible if GM/guide agreed.
[7:52 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Basically characters are all animals and have those inherent qualities (bird can fly, etc). Then they have something they do in town and an item.
[7:52 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): They can be a MOVER, TALKER, or PROTECTOR for role which in polymorph determines which die you role (d6, d8, d10).
[7:53 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Stats they could be asked to roll are FOCUS, MOVE, WORDS, HEART. In the case a GM allowed magic, almost any of these could be argued to work.
[7:53 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): If you couldn’t tell we are making this game QUITE simple and straightforward given the audience and the fact that many GM/guides will not have a lot of RPG experience.
[7:55 PM]Dan the GMshoe: That does seem wise.
[7:56 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Do you have a character sheet that we can see?
[7:56 PM]Silverlion: Is “role” sort of like class? (sorry I came in late)
[7:56 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Yep!
[7:56 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level):
[7:57 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): art not final but this is 99% of what it will look like
[7:57 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Envisioning half page size for print out and the boxed game comes with 5x7in dry erase character sheets with pre-gens on the back
@SilverlionIs “role” sort of like class? (sorry I came in late)[7:58 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): yes, in all polymorph games there is a ROLE and some more complex games like Mazes or Return to Dark Tower have more options. In this case it’s just a simple ROLE point of view about how you go about doing things.
[8:00 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Can you describe the basic task resolution mechanic?
[8:01 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Sure. If I was playing Harper in the example and encountered a very upset penguin along the side of the road, I would possibly ask them what’s wrong. That would be a WORDS role, which in the resolver chart above means that I would need to roll my die (d6) and try to get a 4,5,6, or 7 to succeed.
[8:02 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Conversely I may try to figure out why they are upset which could be a FOCUS roll (2,3) or a MOVE roll if I decide to look around (3,4,5).
[8:03 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): If successful, great the GM tells me what’s going on. If not, but I rolled a ONE that gives the group a HELP token for later. If neither, then it’s a fail and the GM tells me to keep trying and/or the NPC won’t talk to me, etc. The GM can give advantage and disadvantage if they want.
[8:04 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): The resolver chart numbers are always the same but each player have different polyhedral sizes so the odds are better for some players to try things. Like a MOVER d6 is good at the move roll.
[8:05 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): But never fear, as in most polymorph games if you ever role the top of your die (CROWN) you auto-matically succeed.
[8:05 PM]Silverlion: Interesting.
[8:06 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Check out more about polymorph here https://www.9thlevel.com/post/what-is-polymorph
[8:06 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Highlights of polymorph which make it great for this game -No math! Roll against a chart of numbers. -The GM never rolls, keeping the focus on the player. -Always a chance to succeed or get a help token -Rules light with a narrative focus
[8:07 PM]Dan the GMshoe: What determines what die type you roll?
[8:08 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): During character creation you can do one of 2 things as the GM. You can just allow the players to choose or they can pick pre-gens. Second, they could do a quick 2-5 warm up and the GM could see h ow they react to the situation and assign the mover/talker/protector. The latter would be more for therapy or when you are trying to gauge the player’s point of view and mindset
[8:11 PM]Dan the GMshoe: (brb)
[8:14 PM]Dan the GMshoe: (back)
[8:14 PM]Dan the GMshoe: So let’s say a PC needs to jump over a gap. Can you show us how that would be resolved?
[8:15 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): I’ll preface this with the fact that Venture Society is very light so it’s very similar to the above example.
[8:16 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): The PC says I’m going to jump over the gap. GM says give me a MOVE roll (3,4,5) and that player rolls their die (be it a d6, d8, or d10).
[8:17 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): If they roll and hit the given numbers 3,4, 5 they succeed. If they roll the top of their die (6,8,10) they also succeed. If not, they do not.
[8:17 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Normally when it’s a crown top of die situation the GM narrates an “over the top” type of performance by the PC
[8:18 PM]Rated_Aargh: Would the character actually receive injury and/or die in this example?
[8:18 PM]Rated_Aargh: It seems like that’d be out of keeping.
[8:18 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): No, there is no damage so they definitely don’t die. And if they suffer an injury it would be a light injury not tracked by hearts, etc.1
[8:20 PM]Dan the GMshoe: So… is a lower die better in this game?
[8:20 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): not necessarily. A lower die would do better for focus (2.3) and words (3,4,5) while a d8/d10 would do better overall for words (4,5,6,7) and heart (5,6,7,8,9)
[8:22 PM]Silverlion: So it looks like what, you roll 50 percent or higher and succeed? (edited)
[8:22 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): This game is meant for players to succeed but have a chance of failure as this is aimed at 5-12 year olds to be used for building their skills.
[8:23 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): There will be times of course where they are rolling poorly but the idea is that they will succeed enough to stay in the game and not loose focus, while understanding they could fail.
[8:39 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Any other questions?
[8:40 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Let’s see….
[8:41 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Oh, okay… If combat does happen in the game, how is it handled?
[8:42 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): The PC would pick a stat like MOVE or HEART and if successful the GM would explain what happened in that event versus what happens when they fail. Again, VERY unlikely.
[8:43 PM]Dan the GMshoe: So no damage or the like — just GM-defined consequences?
[8:44 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): corre t
[8:44 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): correct, no damage
[8:47 PM]Dan the GMshoe: This may be a silly question given the lack of violence, but are there any “monsters” in this world?
[8:51 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): there are not monsters but animals that could be scary, absolutely.
[8:52 PM]Dan the GMshoe: What are some challenges that have come up for PCs in games you’ve been in, and how were they handled?
[8:54 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): There were owls scaring the forest folks and it was thought the forest was haunted but it was just to scare the people@from being in their area and messing up their land with trash, etc
[8:56 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Players took a team to see where to haunting reports came from. Used a flashlight in the fog and climbed a tree to find out it was owls who were angry
[8:57 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Oh dear. I do hope it didn’t end up in a hootout.1
[8:57 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level):
[8:58 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Is this your first published RPG?
[8:59 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Yes my first full rpg. I had a small game in an anthology called tragedies of middle school.
[8:59 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): I also designed a few board games
[9:00 PM]Dan the GMshoe: What about Timothy? First for him as well?
[9:00 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): First for all involved which is why we used the Polymorph system and modified it for our use.
[9:01 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Sorry if I missed this earlier, but what game or games is the Polymorph system from?
[9:03 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Originally Mazes. It has been 9th Level’s core system@since 2019, other titles include the Excellents, Business Wizards, Rebel Scum, Savage Sisters, The Very Good Dogs of Chernobyl and the Return to Dark Tower RPG
[9:06 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Do you see this book as the start of a game line, and if so, what might be next?
[9:07 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Probably not but we’ll see how it goes
[9:08 PM]Dan the GMshoe: How is the Kickstarter campaign going?
[9:09 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): We are at 78% with over 2 weeks left. We did ask for a fair amount due to the fact that this is a boxed rpg.
[9:10 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Oh, is it? What are the contents of the box?
[9:11 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Rpg book, professional book, a spiral bound standing adventure book, 6 dry erase character sheets, dry erase markers, adventure prompt deck, 6 dice, tokens, and more
[9:11 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Huh. Seems like boxed RPG sets are few and far between these days. What was your thinking on going that route?
[9:12 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Again the audience, mostly children and teachers, therapists, parents. They want to have everything they need to get going. Kids want to hold things and look at pictures
[9:13 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): We’ll sell the book only as well but the intention is for the full game to be the focus
[9:15 PM]Rated_Aargh: The game really needs the box to hold the guide and such, right?
[9:15 PM]Rated_Aargh: If it’s just the game, it won’t have the additional therapeutic materials.
[9:16 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): The Bo’s is needed to hold all the things, if you purchase the book only it won’t have the gm references, images, maps, physical stuff etc
[9:17 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): The box has everything for therapist and teacher’s use too1
[9:17 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Have you gotten any feedback from therapists?
[9:18 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Yes, a ton! This has been in Playtesting for over a year. We have run for children, families, special needs, autistic people, parents, gamers, teachers, and therapists of all types
[9:21 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): We have a few therapists that wrote adventures as well as parents/therapist/teachers who are also rpg writers. Doug Levandowski, Sen-Foong Lim, Austin Taylor, Mischa Bushyager, Kris Gideon, Tinelle Evans, and Jason Morningstar.
[9:21 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Wow, that’s really cool!
[9:22 PM]Dan the GMshoe: How do you know all these folks?
[9:23 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): I’ve been in the industry over 10 years and have made many connections
[9:26 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Awesome.
[9:26 PM]Dan the GMshoe: In the time remaining, is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to bring up?
[9:28 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): We covered most of it but I would like to add that Venture Society is a great introduction to roleplaying and storytelling and is especially great gameplay for young audiences.
[9:28 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Kickstarter is live until 10/13
[9:30 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Great!
[9:30 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Thanks so much for joining us, @Heather O’Neill (9th Level)!
[9:30 PM]Heather O’Neill (9th Level): Thank you for having me!1
[9:31 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.
[9:31 PM]Dan the GMshoe: If you’ll give me a minute here, I’ll get the log posted and link you!