Hey everyone! James here to let you know that the time is near for the MCDM RPG crowdfunding campaign. That’s right, crowdfunding for the MCDM RPG is going live via Backerkit on December 7th and you can sign up here to get notified the moment it happens.
If you want the skinny, 2023-11-23 19:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Last week, I (your James Introcaso) showed you the latest and greatest iteration of our negotiation rules. Now it’s time to show you a sample negotiation encounter. This one is a modified version of what's in from one of our first playtest adventures: The Crypt of Caldurac Keep, and it’s a chat with everyone’s favorite goblin from Flee, Mortals!
Know what’s more satisfying than punching a devil in the face to send them back to the Seven Cities of Hell? Convincing that devil it’s in their best interest to willingly head back to Hell with your words and getting them to fork over their magic sword before they go. Not because you threatened them, but because you negotiated a really ridiculously good deal.
It is I, your James Introcaso, back to show off the latest iteration of the MCDM RPG’s negotiation rules. These are the ru...
2023-11-18 03:34:42 +0000 UTC View PostIf I know you folks, you’re gonna say “whoah” when you realize what all is contained in this post. 😀
Matt here everybody. A lot of stuff happened in October! I feel like there was a week there, where suddenly it felt like our game snapped into focus. We have a core die mechanic we believe in, it may still get tweaked, specifically the “how is the Target Number to resist Effects determined?” But we have an idea and if that doesn’t work, we got other ideas!...
2023-11-10 23:24:09 +0000 UTC View PostHonestly we should have done this in the first place. I blame myself.
Anyway, hey everybody Matt Colville at your service. This is an update on our current thinking about weapons and armor. You may remember (when last we left our heroes!) that weapons had keywords and those keywords gave you special abilities or bonuses and you could combine weapons, shield, and armor however you wanted.
In fact, in case you’re just joining us and aren’t caught up, or maybe it...
2023-11-06 00:09:38 +0000 UTC View Post
Patrons … assemble! Isn’t it cool to be on a team? You work together, crack wise, make a difference. This is especially true in a heroic RPG, where player characters team up to save the world and look good doing it.
Hey folks, it’s James here with a quick preview of some of the rules we’ve been working on in the RPG. While we’ve got some fun teamwork mechanics and abilities in our combat rules, we also want heroes to ...
2023-11-02 18:12:34 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey Folks! It's James. Matt and I are taking your questions about the MCDM RPG RIGHT NOW. We already had a BUNCH asked over on the announcement post for this stream, but we'll also be answering them in chat. We'll get to as many as we can, and if we don't get to yours, don't worry, there will be more Patreon livestreams in the future!
Also, if you couldn't make it live, don't worry. The video w...
2023-10-27 17:58:58 +0000 UTC View PostHey folks, Matt Colville here with what I think will be a short update, but a big deal. We just ran our first playtest of a new die mechanic only slightly permuted from what we’ve already talked about, but that slight permutation should make a big difference.
The test went well, we may do some more internal testing, but I expect that will go well, and then it’ll go to the testers. So what did we change, and why?
Ok so you know ...
2023-10-27 02:04:58 +0000 UTC View PostHey Folks! James here! Matt and I are going to livestream here on Patreon this Friday at 11am Pacific US time to take your questions about the RPG. The link will be provided in another post when we go live on Friday. If you've got questions, you can ask them in the comments of this post. You'll also be able to ask questions in chat just like any other livestream, and you'll be able to access the recording via Patreon after the stream.
No guarantee we'll get to your question! But we'll d...
2023-10-26 01:16:34 +0000 UTC View Post
As usual, we’re trying to solve a problem. That shouldn’t alarm you. Game design is basically thinking up rules, figuring out why they don’t work, and then cutting down, adding to, and tweaking those rules until they do. In some ways, my job is creating problems and then seeing if I can solve them. This week’s problem: Attacks, Effects, Counters, and Defenses.
It’s James. I’m here to talk to you about what I’ve been up to this week in the wonderful world of Orden. When I w...
2023-10-21 01:22:06 +0000 UTC View Post
A censor, a conduit, an elementalist, a reaver, a shadow, a tactician, and a talent walk into a dungeon … and then they SMOKE every foe they come across because the game is unbalanced in the heroes’ favor.
Hey folks, it is I, your James Introcaso, back to talk to you about the MCDM RPG and the thing that’s been on my mind this week—game balance. Last week, I wrote a post about what game b...
2023-10-14 04:17:01 +0000 UTC View PostAnyway, enough design nonsense, let’s talk about Dorfs! First, some groundwork.
Hey folks, Matt Colville typing at you. This game we’re making comes with its own setting. Three of them, technically, but they all exist in the same universe. I think all y’all already know this, but it never hurts to bring everyone up to speed. If you already know all this, you can skip to the next header.
Orden is the name of our fantasy world. ...
2023-10-06 22:07:13 +0000 UTC View Post
Another playtest packet is off to our Contract Testing team! What’s changed since they got their last packet? The short version is … a lot!
Hey folks, it’s James. You’ve gotten quite a few updates about resources recently, and this post is no different! You’ll likely continue to see resource updates throughout the development process, since they’re core to the game, but soon you’ll also be getting a lot more content about art, classes, ancestries, negotiation, crafting, an...
2023-10-05 20:49:50 +0000 UTC View Post
So we went to Gateway 2023 and learned a lot. So much that we pulled apart our resource mechanics and put it back together … about three times.
Hey folks! It’s me, James, back with a new update about resources and more for you all.
At the beginning of the month, Matt, Jerry, Lord Durok, O’D, and I attended Gateway 2023 and ran a few playtests of the RPG. We had a lot of f...
2023-09-26 02:34:58 +0000 UTC View Post
You’re paying the money, so you get the straight dope. Last update turned out to be surprisingly zeitgeisty and folks engaged with it deeply in a way we haven’t seen with our design posts before. TONS of discussion in our Patrons-only Discord channel.
Now that may be people were talking a lot because we posted unformed, untested ideas and we may regret that. In which case, we learned somet...
2023-09-22 00:22:30 +0000 UTC View PostHow does magic work in this game? Good question! That is something we’ve been struggling with for (checks watch) a year! 😀 So it must be a thorny problem, let’s talk about it.
Hey folks, Matt Colville at your service. This post comes after whipping up a new Mage prototype (i.e. How I Spent My Saturday Instead Of Taking A Day Off And Playing Baldur’s Gate 3) and I’m pretty excited by ...
2023-09-19 18:45:43 +0000 UTC View Post
This might be the most Noodly Design post yet! Major, major revision to how things work in our nascent RPG and I want to write this up now while it’s all fresh in our minds.
This post is a summary of some VERY headache-inducing meetings we’ve had over the past few weeks as it became more obvious that something we thought was Basically Working and solved was NOT in fact solved, OR basically working. That's when the headache’s start. Literally sitting in design meetings AUDIBLY groa...
2023-09-13 21:39:49 +0000 UTC View Post
“This is the kind of problem I was hoping we wouldn’t find.” Matt and I have been going over feedback from our contract testing team after their first go at the RPG. The team gave us some incredible feedback on everything from armor to Threat to Skills. But there’s one significant issue with the design that I want to talk to you about in this post. How do we end combat?
Hey everyone, it’s me, your James Introcaso. If you’ve been following the development of this game for som...
2023-09-08 14:09:53 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey Folks! It's me, your James Introcaso. Matt and I are taking your questions about the MCDM RPG. We already had a BUNCH asked over on the announcement post for this stream, but we'll also be answering them in chat. We'll get to as many as we can, and if we don't get to yours, don't worry, there will be more Patreon livestreams in the future!
Also, if you couldn't make it live, don't worry. ...
2023-09-06 17:50:22 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey Folks! James here! Matt and I are going to livestream here on Patreon this Wednesday at 11am Pacific time (that's tomorrow!) to talk with you all about the new RPG and take your questions. The link will be provided in another post when we go live on tomorrow. You'll be able to ask questions in chat just like any other livestream, and you'll be able to access the recording via Patreon after the stream.
Please feel free to ask any questions you have in the replies below.
No guar...
2023-09-05 22:09:13 +0000 UTC View Post
The Testers have their first packet and are already playing the game!!
Hey Patrons! It is I, your James Introcaso, here to talk a little bit about Actions and Maneuvers in the MCDM RPG. But first, a quick playtest update!
In fact, it’s already begun! Last Friday we put out a short adventure with some rules and pregens for our contract playtesting team to run. Some of you may have even played with them by signing up in our 2023-08-25 18:47:43 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey Folks! James here with that sweet, sweet link you've been waiting for. Matt and I are going live on YouTube and taking your questions about the MCDM RPG on an MCDM+ Patrons-only broadcast.
Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb7y_EsrsjQ
If you can't make the livestream, don't worry. The video will stay linked in this post and you can watch it whenever you like.
We're ready ...
2023-08-17 17:55:21 +0000 UTC View PostHey Folks! James here! Matt and I are going to livestream here on Patreon this Thursday at 11am Pacific time to talk with you all about the new RPG and take your questions. The link will be provided in another post when we go live on Thursday. You'll be able to ask questions in chat just like any other livestream, and you'll be able to access the recording via Patreon after the stream.
No guarantee we'll get to your question! But we'll do our best. See you Thursday!
2023-08-14 12:23:42 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey Folks,
James here with an update to let you know that the campaign for Where Evil Lives: The MCDM Book of Boss Battles has just 3 days left on Backerkit! Just what is this magical tome? Read on!
Game prep just got easier, and game night just got a whole lot more fun.
This book is over 300 pages and contains at least one dungeon for each level of play from 2nd to 20th. Each lair contains…
CW: This article mentions a big spider.
Hey everyone! It’s me, your James Introcaso, back with more exciting behind-the-scenes details from the MCDM RPG. Last week I broke down a standard monster stat block. This week we’ll get into some of the nonstandard critters—minions and action-oriented leaders and solo creatures. Let’s get to it.
If you’re familia...
2023-08-09 16:52:17 +0000 UTC View Post
We’re going Where Evil Lives! On Wednesday August 9th at Noon Pacific US Time, Game Master James Introcaso will lead players Matt Colville, T1J, Jennifer Kretchmer, 2023-08-08 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
