Timewaster's Guide Archive

Thank you all for continuing with the feedback - the patterns are starting to show themselves, and maybe you all are starting to see some of the conflicts/challenges that arise from developing a game like this ("system should be generic" but also "the system needs to be specific to express the property", point build vs. class-based, etc. etc.) I *have* made a number of significant strides these past few weeks - including making a major system change (for the better) literally in my sleep! I ended up getting up at 3:30 a.m. and writing for an hour and a half on the structure so as not to forget...

So, let's ask some more specific questions in this thread. Question 1: Should Steel Inquistors be a playable character option? Consider that Marsh loses a great deal of control due to the drawbacks of his transformation - would you find something like not being able to control your character's actions interesting or frustrating? Why play an Inquisitor instead of a Mistborn (which will absolutely be an option in this game)?

Brandon has his own opinion about this, but I want to see what you all think.

Thanks for the replies everyone - and keep them coming!

Just to let you know where we're leaning right now: Mistborn will likely be a non-d20 system, for many of the reasons Eerongal and mking pointed out. My hopes are to make a game that reflects the fun, fluid action of the series, encourages creative play and use of powers, and is easy to get into and start playing. Not that d20 can't be that way, but moving a bit outside that box does present us with some interesting opportunities to do some very interesting things.

However, our new d20/OGL game, Fantasy Craft, will be releasing later this year, and I'm hoping, time and projects permitting, that we can do a treatment of Mistborn as a modification/supplement to that game at some point after the MBRPG hits. So you all can have your cake and eat it, too

Timelines are an interesting thing - Brandon's been great in letting us run about and play in the spaces he hasn't already established, but I doubt the base setting will be post-reboot of the world. First and foremost, we don't want to get into Brandon's way for any future trilogies; secondly, that's a bit off target for some of the broader audience who may discover Mistborn after finding our game on the shelves first (and trust me, there are MANY gamers out there who had no idea MB existed until we started talking about doing a game for it).

Presuming the core book is well recieved for us, I can certainly see us starting to do more in the different eras. I'm particularly intrigued by the dawn of the Final Empire, as TLR is marching on the many societies of the world, the environment is suddenly and catastrophically changing, Mistborn are everywhere, and the Terris are on the run. Ah, sweet dystopia.

Wherever we go, we're not the type of company to say "you know that cool thing you want to do? Yeah, you can't do that" Spycraft 2.0, our mainline product, is one of the most (if not the most) notoriously cinematic d20 game out there and I think you'll be seeing a lot of that spirit here too. Mistborn *should* be playable, as should kandra and all the other cool things you see in the books - but there will be tradeoffs, drawbacks, and limitations so the Dox's and lowly skaa of the world have their place and fun too. it's all up the GM and the players to decide what sort of fun they want to have and letting them have it.

Hey CStroman!

We are indeed working with Brandon on a Mistborn RPG (just spoke with him on Wednesday night, as a matter of fact) and we're really hoping to use the book as a place to fill out more of the world details beyond those of the book. We've got some exciting ideas coming together, some awesome artists and an interesting, fun game system in the works. Not much more I can/will say about it now, suffice to say...it's coming  

What's the goal of this RPG? Mistborn obviously makes an awesome setting but the press release says next-to-nothing about the design goals.

I find that press releases are a poor place to discuss design goals - that's for blogs and forum threads This is still VERY early in the process. We are finishing Fantasy Craft, 1 book that's over half finished already, and are then on to Mistborn (most likely starting somewhere before the inbetween book is done).

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a roleplaying game based on his epic fantasy trilogy Mistborn. The game will arrive in 2009 and let players create their own exciting adventures in the Final Empire.

This tells me the setting is based on Mistborn's setting.

That would be goal number 1! Reading a novel series and playing within that world are two *very* different exercises. Not everyone will want to play Vin and  Kelsier (though I think there will be some fans who do), nor will every character come up or spend most of their time in Luthadel. Part of our goal will be to assemble a clear and playable world to be explored, interact with iconic characters, and shape the fate of the world. We'll be assembling and fleshing out details, collecting information and providing a visual reference to Mistborn with this product just as much as we'll be making a game.

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a product capturing the unique magic, action, and intrigue [of] Mistborn

Sounds nice. Does this mean you aim to capture the feel of Allomancy? Does it mean you want to recreate Brandon's theory of magic in writing, i.e. codify the rules completely but make them complex enough to be useful for solving interesting problems (e.g. Portal in a pen&paper RPG)?

That's design goal number 2! People love Brandon's magic systems, and having Allomancy/Feruchemy feel "right" is critical. Having a system that is knowable but allows for creative uses will be vital for that feel.

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I’ve looked forward to the day when I could help adapt one of my properties as an RPG setting

Hm, maybe this is just a setting supplement to Fantasy Craft? Dunno.

Mistborn will be a standalone book. What the ruleset it will use remains to be seen as it is still early in the process.

I'm liking this the more and more I hear of it. Now I just gotta find a group of people to play with.

I'm one of those people that can't really play pen & paper RPG's unless it's physically with another group of people, but then again, I'm weird like that. 

Me too...I still run a weekly game (generally, playtesting products) with many of my closest friends. It's the only time most of us can get away from work/wives/girlfriends and hang out, so it's pretty cool. Good luck in assembling your group - maybe you can seed some MB books with friends then lure them in as the game gets closer...

Hey folks,

Long time lurker, third-time poster I'm Alex Flagg from Crafty Games, the guys who are working with EUOL to develop the Mistborn RPG currently on track to come out next year! I wanted to say hello, that we're listening to the discussions (well, most troll-free ones) going on here, and really excited to be developing this property!

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can check out this press release; if you have no idea who Crafty Games is, go here. I'm sure many of you could illuminate the joys of Mistborn to some of our own fans in our Mistborn boards, as well.

Thanks - I look forward to picking y'alls brains from time to time

Cheers,
Alex Flagg
Crafty Games