AMA Russ Morrissey (Morrus) (EN World, EN Publishing, ENnies, WOIN)

[Morrus]

Other than the occasional news story or forum post this site is pretty narrowly focussed on D&D of various editions, and PFRPG. Do you have any interest in the site expanding its focus to encompass all rpgs, or at least the more popular alternatives to D&D such as Savage Worlds, Fate Core, Numenera, World of Darkness to name a few?

And if so what do you think you can do to help foster this?

Well, first - yes, that would make me very happy.

Second, here's what I currently do (and I recognise it's not desparately successful):

1) I post news items about major RPG stuff whatever the game as much as I can. I've also interviewed folks (like the Numenera people you mention).

2) I have a reviews section which covers all games. Anybody can add any product.

3) The ENnies have covered all tabletop RPGs for more many years. This was a successful change which worked!

4) There's forums for non-D&D stuff here.
​

What else could I do? Honestly, it beats me. I think that once the public consciousness has branded a place as being a destination for certain types of thing, changing that branding is a heck of a task. Not that it can't be done, but it's not easy. If I had large amounts of money to spend, I imagine I could increase the news breadth by hiring people (I do what I can, but I'm one guy). I could even advertise in social media spaces. A lot of this stuff is so unscientific, though - something either hits critical mass or it doesn't, and while I'd love to claim I know the secret, I don't.

But yes, my intention is not to be just D&D.

 

[Morrus]

A) What is your favorite D&D setting?

I'm really not a settings guy, but if I had to choose I'd say Dragonlance (for the stories) or Ravenloft (for the atmosphere).

B) What is your favorite non D&D setting?

I adore Middle Earth to bits. The feel of Middle Earth is something special. I'm quite fond of GRRM's setting, though the snow zombies aspect doesn't interest me much. Sci-fi wise I like Star Trek and Star Wars very much as settings. I would love to see a dark, evil Hell setting. Proper dark. I don't think D&D could do it.

C) What movie or novel or TV show would you love to see made into a game setting for WOIN?

Hah! Star Trek, and Middle Earth. Neither of which will ever happen (and The One Ring does Middle Earth so well). Admittedly there's no Trek licensee out right now...

That said, there's also FASA's version of the Trek setting which diverged from the canon. I like that version very much.

D) What finally inspired you to design WOIN and with the game system you used... Err or why didn't you use the d20 system?

Well, (a) I wanted to write my own game, not use a game someone else wrote; and (b) the d20 system doesn't do the same job as the WOIN system - it's far more designed for high fantasy. I wouldn't be suitable. So I didn't use the 20 system for the same reason anybody doesn't use any system, I guess.

That said, WOIN is certainly inspired by older systems. Dice pools are well known. Life-path character creation and advancement was inspired by Traveller and WFRP. There's sprinklings of the Cypher System in there (in the form of the descriptor, although, to be fair, I had that same idea when I was a kid).

E) Have you seen the Daredevil TV show yet, and if so what did you think of it?

I have, and I thought it was wonderful. Top tier comic-book TV.

F) If you weren't doing this job managing EN World what would you do instead?

Astronaut.

 

[Morrus]

Hi Morrus,

why didn't You never cite my Istari 5th edition fan-made class (here on ENWorld on the download section) on the home page? Don't You like it?

I don't think I've seen it.

 

[Lawngnome4hire]

Well, first - yes, that would make me very happy.

Second, here's what I currently do (and I recognise it's not desparately successful):

1) I post news items about major RPG stuff whatever the game as much as I can. I've also interviewed folks (like the Numenera people you mention).

2) I have a reviews section which covers all games. Anybody can add any product.

3) The ENnies have covered all tabletop RPGs for more many years. This was a successful change which worked!

4) There's forums for non-D&D stuff here.
​

What else could I do? Honestly, it beats me. I think that once the public consciousness has branded a place as being a destination for certain types of thing, changing that branding is a heck of a task. Not that it can't be done, but it's not easy. If I had large amounts of money to spend, I imagine I could increase the news breadth by hiring people (I do what I can, but I'm one guy). I could even advertise in social media spaces. A lot of this stuff is so unscientific, though - something either hits critical mass or it doesn't, and while I'd love to claim I know the secret, I don't.

But yes, my intention is not to be just D&D.

I understand there is only so much you can do, the content posted is by and large determined by the community. But when you say "There's forums for non-D&D stuff here." All there is General RPG Discussion, and Boardgames, Card Games, Wargames and Miniatures. This doesn't exactly encourage people to talk about other systems, and finding other peoples posts about other systems is difficult since it all gets lumped together. Adding more forums that are clearly defined for other systems would help encourage more discussion. Obviously you can't add a forum for every game, maybe just the other big names besides D&D and PFRPG, or you could add forums for games divided by genre. There's a lot of different ways it could be done, but I think that if you want to attract players of other game systems, you need to give them a place to go. One generic all encompassing forum isn't very user friendly.

 

[Talmek]

Morrus - thanks for opening AMA! I've been reading a number of threads from different folks and I think this brings a bit of insight to a lot of subjects that we as RPG fans could spend hours (and thread posts) debating.

And now, onto the questions!

1 - What do you see as the future of tabletop RPGs? Do you believe there are any "dark horse" contenders that could knock WotC or Paizo off their respective #1 and #2 spots within the industry?

2 - How would you suggest bringing new players into the hobby? If you've done this with any frequency, what worked? What didn't?

3 - What were your motivations for creating your own RPG products? Did you see a gap in the existing product lines and decide to try and fill it, or was it something that you came up with for a personal group and develop it into a commercial product from there?

 

[Razz0putin]

Hah! Well, first a caveat - I do not think I'd manage D&D well at all. That would be a terrible thing to happen, and would be a disaster for the game's popularity. But you asked, so here goes:

I'd move away from the Forgotten Realms. I'd rather see new settings. I'd - to an extent - use EN Publishing own adventure path model, combined with the shorter length of Paizo's. So each AP would be set in its own world, it woud have a player's guide for that setting, a strong theme, and a great storyline. One AP might be gothic horor set in a Ravenloft-esque world, another might be a mystery set in a world akin to Victorian England, and so on. Some would be high fanatsy, others might be more historically-themed, some would be dark, some light, some gritty, etc. Each adventure path, with its accompanying world, would span about 6 levels, and then move on to the next one. Magazine-style content would then further supplement popular worlds for those who wanted to go beyond 6 levels (though the initial guides for each would have enough info for you to make your own stuff).

I would visit each of the classic settings, of course. You would get one AP and setting guide for each of the old worlds, but creating new stuff would be more important to me. For this, I would probably consider using the original creators of each, if they were willing.

I'd revisit the OGL. I'd do it slightly differently, but allow and - more importantly - encourage and support third party content. I believe that a game with lots of people making stuff for it is a thriving game.

I'd push for a Dragonlance Chronicles TV show. Not a movie; Game of Thrones would be the model. For a story like that, I don't feel a movie could do it well. TV allows for so much more storytelling.

I'd think along the lines of a living game rather than edition churn. I haven't fully thought this through, but errata and the like would be incorprated into electronic versions of the material. Getting around the "oh, I bought a hardback" issue is tough; like I said, I haven't fully thought it through.

I'd have DRAGON and DUNGEON back using my EN5ider as a model. Rules articles in that would have full official weight. This would be a primary crunch dispersal mechanism. Compilations would happen too, of course. (I'm very likely to do that with WOIN - articles rather than books, all official).

This may be unpopular, but I'd make the rulebook text slight dryer. That could just be nostalgia talking. I'd also have each sprayed with an old-book smell. Maybe not that last thing.

Phew. That's it for now, I think. I Like I said, I doubt the game would actually survive under my stewardship!

I don't know I've seen it run worse than that. I'm interested in about 95% of what you propose there.

 

[Razz0putin]

Did you see/enjoy Avengers:age of Ultron?

I personally just wanted to thank you for all that you have done on this site. It is my go to place for what's going on in rpg's even when I wasn't actively playing. I would lurk and learn. So I hope you do well in all your endeavors thank you sir.

 

[Morrus]

1 - What do you see as the future of tabletop RPGs? Do you believe there are any "dark horse" contenders that could knock WotC or Paizo off their respective #1 and #2 spots within the industry?

Honestly, I've not the faintest idea. If I had I'd put things in place now ready to profit! As far as dark horses go, I guess that's why they're called dark. D&D, or a variation of it, has been at the top for prety much ever, and I don't see that particularly changing in the near future.

2 - How would you suggest bringing new players into the hobby? If you've done this with any frequency, what worked? What didn't?

I've never really done it; at least not consciously. I imagine OP programs like Pathfinder Society and Adventurer's League are the front line there. Other than that, I think all the ideas in the world probably circle around the core need: mainstream advertising which makes it look fun to the average person. Highlighting it in BBT or Community is a start there, I guess.

3 - What were your motivations for creating your own RPG products? Did you see a gap in the existing product lines and decide to try and fill it, or was it something that you came up with for a personal group and develop it into a commercial product from there?

Partly it was fueled by a nostalgia trip to some of my 80s favourite games and my acceptance that those games weren't quite what I felt they could be to me. So I started anew with concepts. Partly because I felt a need to have my own property to fall back on, instead of hoping for licenses and permissions. Partly, just a desire to put my own stamp on something, however small. Partly because I didn't feel any existing game quite did what I was looking for, and I figured I couldn't possibly be alone - I'm not that special!

 

[Morrus]

Did you see/enjoy Avengers:age of Ultron?

I did. I enjoyed it. But I am currently a victim of Marvel Formula Fatigue (MFF) and am starting to struggle a little with them.

I personally just wanted to thank you for all that you have done on this site. It is my go to place for what's going on in rpg's even when I wasn't actively playing. I would lurk and learn. So I hope you do well in all your endeavors thank you sir.

That's very kind. Thank you!

 

[Mantriel]

I used to be a big enworld fan, till the site got hacked and all the reviews got lost, I'm glad the reviews are coming back.
Although Keith Baker is one of my favourite RPG designers, I haven't read his AMA thread yet, and I didn't have the urge to ask him anything. I have read through your AMA with great pleasure (I'm not sure if I worded this correctly) and I have a few questions.

What part of your news coverage gets the most clicks? D&D-, Pathfinder- ... etc. news or interviews, scoops, art, reviews etc.?
I really would love to see more video interviews with designers from you, I loved the Monte Cook interview. Is there any chance you will make more of those? Perhaps regularly?
What is your favourite part of your job?
What type of characters do you like to play (both fantasy/medieval and sci-fi)?

Could you tell a little bit about the creation of the AP Zeitgeist? (I haven't read it or played, but the free player materials I've found are fascinating).

What do you think of rpggeek, rpg.net and other similar sites? What do they do better that you would like to implement with enworld?