{"id":14283,"date":"2011-10-29T22:03:19","date_gmt":"2011-10-30T03:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/roleplayerschronicle.com\/?p=14283"},"modified":"2011-10-29T22:03:20","modified_gmt":"2011-10-30T03:03:20","slug":"designers-diary-crafty-games-mistborn-adventure-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/roleplayerschronicle.com\/?p=14283","title":{"rendered":"Designer’s Diary: Crafty Games – Mistborn Adventure Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Mistborn Adventure Game<\/strong>
\nMistborn Adventure Game is a complete role-playing game system published by Crafty Games<\/a>.
\nBy Alex Flagg and Patrick Kapera<\/em>
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\nWelcome to the twenty-fourth Designer\u2019s Diary, a regular column where designers are given the opportunity to take readers on an in-depth ride through the design and development process of their system, setting, or product. If you\u2019d like to share your product in the Designer\u2019s Diary column, send a message to aaron@roleplayerschronicle.com.<\/p>\n

Designer’s Description<\/strong>
\nThe Mistborn novels are a dark fantasy epic (four books as of November 8), which pose a very basic question: What if the hero who saved the world became a Big Bad himself, and instead of rescuing people from oppression instead conquered them and transformed the world into a massively oppressive society? The series features really compelling characters, fascinating plots, events on a truly grand scale, and a distinctive-yet-grounded magic system based on the power of various metals.<\/p>\n

The Mistborn Adventure Game<\/em> is designed to capture the dynamic storytelling and rich characters the series is known for, and it employs a rules-light narrative system to do it. A Hero\u2019s story not only drives everything he does but informs how he or she is created, develops, and plays at the table. Heroes band together to form Crews \u2014 groups of outlaws and misfits operating outside the societal strictures of the Final Empire to fight for a common cause.<\/p>\n

All Heroes have an edge \u2014 be it abundant innate talent, huge influence in the world around them, or powerful magical abilities \u2014 and this edge sets them apart and gives them a fighting chance against a world chock full of enemies. Through their actions, Heroes discover fascinating secrets, confront powerful noble houses, evade the Lord Ruler\u2019s Steel Ministry, and may ultimately change the world.<\/p>\n

Purpose<\/strong>
\nWell, it\u2019s a kick-ass setting! We discovered the series just before the second book in the original trilogy was released and were immediately captivated by the Final Empire, its well-fashioned characters, the fantasy-heist theme, and obviously the magic systems of Allomancy, Feruchemy, and Hemalurgy.<\/p>\n

From a design standpoint, the Mistborn Adventure Game<\/em> offered us a chance to break away from the big, highly structured systems we\u2019re known for and create a game that squarely centers on storytelling and player creativity. Brandon Sanderson\u2019s books are known for high action and compelling characters, and so we built a system to encourage \u2014 rather than contain \u2014 that style of play. The rules encourage collaboration and highlight equal contributions from all the players, including but not limited to the Narrator (the Mistborn Adventure Game\u2019s<\/em> name for the GM).<\/p>\n

Influences<\/strong>
\nBesides the obviously central influence of the novels themselves, which informed all our decisions, we had a number of other inspirations. The first and most important was series creator Brandon Sanderson himself. He was involved from the very start, helping us frame a vision of what the game would look like, and he served as a fantastic source of information and feedback all the way through the process.<\/p>\n

Another important inspiration was designer Alex Flagg\u2019s wife, Becky. She\u2019s not a gamer but is <\/em>a huge fan of the novels, so she ended up being a great litmus test for many of the most important design decisions we had to make. Alex could show her a piece of text and watch her sort through it mentally; when she got it we knew we had something that would hit the audience the way we wanted. The best compliment we received through this entire process was after she read the rules and said, \u201cYou know, I think I would like to play this sometime.\u201d That was a huge confidence-builder for all of us.<\/p>\n

A few other RPGs were influential as well \u2014 mainly indie titles. We knew from the start that the game had to be accessible as possible, and decided on a d6-based dice mechanic before we even started looking around for inspiration. This obviously impacted the games we considered. FATE was one we couldn\u2019t ignore, specifically Strands of Fate<\/em> and Spirit of the Century<\/em>, and the idea of structured questions driving the character building process was a lock from the get-go. We\u2019re both longtime Savage Worlds fans as well, so there\u2019s some of that in there as well.<\/p>\n

Brandon also happens to be a big D6 Star Wars<\/em> fan, so we spent some time looking carefully at what worked there, and longtime West End Games fans may notice a few familiar ideas. Oddly enough, First Edition Shadowrun<\/em> also helped out in one particularly sticky spot of character development, so we have to give that a nod, too.<\/p>\n

Research<\/strong>
\nMost of our research was based on careful readings of the novels, along with the annotations Brandon wrote as sort of a \u201cDVD commentary\u201d to each novel after their publication. We were very focused on making the game true to the world of the books \u2014 particularly the magic systems, which are for many the brightest highlight of the novels. We even used Brandon\u2019s \u201crealmatic theory,\u201d a core philosophy tying together all his original settings, as a key part of the core system design.<\/p>\n

We had unparalleled access to many creators tied to the Mistborn universe. One of Brandon\u2019s concept artists for the series, Ben McSweeney (http:\/\/inkthinker.deviantart.com<\/a>), had long been a primary illustrator for our Fantasy Craft series, and so we tapped him for the cover and all the original interior images. This was especially helpful as Ben already had a working relationship with Brandon and could simply ask when he needed guidance for a particular piece.<\/p>\n

Brandon introduced us to Isaac Stewart, who created the various magical alphabets for the world, as well as the Allomantic Table of Metals…<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.brandonsanderson.com\/blog\/833\/Table-of-Allomantic-Metals-limited-edition-available-immediately<\/a><\/p>\n

We incorporated a great deal of Isaac\u2019s work into the game, including his symbols not only as art but also as language <\/em>in one particular spot. The Allomantic Table of Metals and a new Feruchemical Table of Metals are also included as full-color endsheets for the deluxe hardcover version of the game.<\/p>\n

And again, Brandon was involved at every stage of development, providing inside information about Scadrial and guiding our decisions with the rules. He even went so far as to include personal notes to the reader in various parts of the book. (Did we mention he\u2019s great to work with?)<\/p>\n

Art Direction<\/strong>
\nThe Mistborn Adventure Game<\/em> is a bit different from your standard RPG in a number of ways. Most notably it was designed to look like an additional volume in the existing novel series, keeping the distinctive, clean style of the books in a package that nicely matches the other books on a Mistborn fan\u2019s shelf. We\u2019ve even created a deluxe limited edition hardback, which is a near-perfect match to the Mistborn hardcovers, featuring a dust jacket, foil stamping, and full-color endsheets depicting the Allomantic and brand new Feruchemical tables of metals…<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.crafty-games.com\/content\/mistborn-adventure-game-deluxe-hardcover-edition<\/a><\/p>\n

This is also the first time the world of Scadrial has been officially illustrated, and we hired Mistborn concept artist Ben McSweeney to realize Brandon\u2019s vision. The core game product is broken into four Books (chapters), each illustrated to produce a distinctive look and style appropriate to its contents, yet everything is specifically conceived and drawn to look like it belongs together in the same world.<\/p>\n

Gaming Experience<\/strong>
\nThe game replicates the epic flavor of the books \u2014 Mistborn Heroes aren\u2019t just peasants who\u2019ve picked up a sword for the first time and marched off to fight evil. Rather, they stand head and shoulders above their peers, each bringing his or her own blend of powerful skills to the Crew. Some Heroes are Mistings, drawing the power from one specific Allomantic metal, while others are scholarly Keepers wielding the hidden art of Feruchemy (storing power in specially prepared objects called metalminds), and still others are shapeshifting kandra contracted to the group. A few may even be Mistborn, skilled in all the Allomantic arts, though not to the same degree as their Misting cousins.<\/p>\n

Most importantly of all, many Heroes have no special powers at all. Some are powerful financiers, influential noble politicians, mystic elder keeping ancient secrets, burly mercenaries, or well-heeled thieves. We went to great lengths to make sure that characters without<\/em> magic are equally playable and contribute just as effectively to the Crew\u2019s success. We\u2019re already well-known for games without inherently good or bad character choices, just different ones, so this was already right in our wheelhouse \u2014 and it wasn\u2019t even all that difficult once we decided on a basic structure for character creation (a series of 10 questions, three of which define your greatest strengths and weaknesses).<\/p>\n

The Mistborn Adventure Game<\/em> also recreates Brandon\u2019s dynamic, action-filled storytelling style: task resolution is quick and easy; combat is bloody and decisive; and the Heroes can achieve world-changing results with a little luck and a healthy dose of skill. Character-driven choices inform every part of the play experience, all the way down to your Hero\u2019s quirks and personality. As an example, characters consist of a few stats and several Traits \u2014 some positive, some negative \u2014 and when those Traits are worked into descriptions of play the person describing the action gains dice. A player will often describe his own actions but may just as often benefit from those of another character, which not only rewards interaction between characters but also each player\u2019s growing knowledge of the world and its inhabitants.<\/p>\n

Likewise, characters advance not by racking up body counts or achieving objectives set forth by the Narrator, but rather by achieving personal goals, working together as a team, conquering their demons, and fulfilling their destinies. Placing the focus squarely on the Heroes like this, and bringing the players into the heart of the campaign-building process, ultimately encourages and nurtures an experience very much like the novels themselves.<\/p>\n

Comparison<\/strong>
\nThe Mistborn Adventure Game<\/em> is a little different from your average licensed RPG. It\u2019s designed not only as an introduction for gamers to the world of Scadrial, but as a gateway for fans of the books into the world of tabletop gaming. To make sure we served both audiences well, the book straddles the line between traditional RPG and Mistborn world book, the latter mainly through new information on the Metallurgic Arts and original fiction by some of gaming\u2019s hottest authors and Brandon Sanderson himself. Veteran gamers will have no problem diving right in to the action and gathering valuable information about the world, while fans of the books will find plenty of examples and introductory material to play their first tabletop RPG in one of their favorite worlds.<\/p>\n

This game also lives at the rules-light end of the pool. You can teach the core mechanic in just a few minutes and create a character the first time out in about a half-hour, even if you\u2019re not that familiar with the novels. We\u2019ve put out a Primer for the line…<\/p>\n

http:\/\/rpg.drivethrustuff.com\/product_info.php?products_id=95856&affiliate_id=71282<\/a><\/p>\n

…and beyond being a great way to test drive the basic system it summarizes the core rules in just two 6 x 9 pages. Veteran gamers shouldn\u2019t let this put them off, however \u2014 the system has plenty of depth for those who really want to explore the rules, just as the line expands many aspects of the world.<\/p>\n

Development Process<\/strong>
\nLike most things about this game, our design and development process varied quite a bit from our usual cycle. We started with the source material \u2014 not just reading the books but really digging in and figuring out what made the world so interesting, and the novels so much fun to read. Months of research and discussion narrowed the field to a few core elements:<\/p>\n