with Matthew Grau of WildFire
By Aaron T. Huss
The following interview originally took place at Gen Con 2012 and is being transcribed here for publication. Roleplayers Chronicle editor-in-chief Aaron T. Huss, shown below with the prefix RPC, is speaking with Matthew Grau of WildFire, shown below with the prefix MG.
RPC: What is the state of CthulhuTech and WildFire in general?
MG: The state of CthulhuTech and WildFire in general is better than it’s been. We went through a couple of rough patches with publishers and we’re trying to do things on our own.
RPC: You were with Sandstorm right?
MG: [Yes]
RPC: And you’ve broken off from them?
MG: Sandstorm folded. Right now, we have our first new book in awhile. We’re here at [Gen Con] for our hardcore fans. We’re printing a small batch of Burning Horizon, which is the second storybook. It advances the plotline to 2087, gives you all sorts of wonderful things, people are ordering that at the show and we’re going to ship them in the next couple of weeks.
RPC: Do you have it here?
MG: We have a PDF [printed off and available to thumb through]. There it is, it’s real… That’s what’s going on for CthulhuTech. We have our first book for Chthonian Stars which is Lovecraft Traveller. It’s like Event Horizon or Alien… Cthulhu in space. You have The Void quick start rules, which we’re doing the same deal for printing. That’s a 94-page book and it is the setting that we created for Chthonian Stars done in our own rules set.
RPC: Is that the CthulhuTech rules set?
MG: It’s a different set.
RPC: What’s the difference there [between the rules and mechanics of CthulhuTech and The Void]?
MG: CthulhuTech is a very cinematic system, it’s based on d10s, it has a little poker in the dice rolling. When you roll your pool of dice you can take the highest number, or you can add multiples together, or if you get a straight of three or more you can add those together. Then you have drama points that add more dice to stuff so its much more cinematic. The Void is survival horror. It is not cinematic. It is pools of d6s, you get one to five based on your attribute or based on your skill. You roll a pool of d6s and every five or six is a success. It’s really easy to learn and easy to play. It has some other mechanics in it that help ratchet up tension.
RPC: Is it the exact same setting as Chthonian Stars?
MG: [Yes]
RPC: What else do you have on the horizon for CthulhuTech or is it just one book right now?
MG: For CthulhuTech we wanted to get Burning Horizon out to the public. We’re actually analyzing what other books we want to do. We’re starting to put together an organized play network; we’re going to be putting together turnkey adventures every month and then every year will be a full storyline.
RPC: Print or PDF?
MG: PDF, but they’ll be complete adventures. Very little prep to be done by GMs and you can just really get into the game. And then we have to get The Void out…
RPC: When is that due?
MG: We’d like it to be later this year. But we’re having to reprint some of our card stuff, so there’s only so much cash in the coffer for things like that. We have to be selective about what we’re taking care of.
RPC: Are you guys [WildFire] now on your own completely, printing network, and what-not?
MG: Yep.
RPC: How’s that going, pretty good so far?
MG: So far… It’s a new territory for us. It’s a little scary, it’s also a little exciting. It’s nice to be able to do things on our own where we don’t have to worry about the complications of working with another publisher. Now does that mean we have to do stuff more slowly? Yes, but we’ve got the ability to control our best interests.
RPC: Are you distributing through anybody anymore?
MG: We’re distributing through standard sources. You’ll still be able to get all of our stuff through your local game store.
That’s it for this interview. I’d like to thank Matthew Grau for taking some time to speak about what’s new with WildFire and giving us a little look at what’s coming in the next year.
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