The Odyssey System -- Stripped-down Hot Rod d20 rules

[Tim Gray]

I had briefly considered it, but honestly, I have doubts about the size of the True20 fanbase. There doesn't seem to be much demand reflected in market presence of the True20 stuff, either in online or real-world stores.

You know, I was just looking at RPGNow's Metals page and according to that the True20 mainbook is the best-selling product of all time. So the *potential* market is substantial - but I'd agree that it doesn't seem to get the buzz that would go along with that. A retailer of our mutual acquaintance was telling me last year that he thought Savage Worlds was by far the stronger seller.

 

[GMSkarka]

Just to respond to some email queries that I've received:

It was explicitly stated on the WOTC 4e conference call that the new OGL is specifically tailored to support D&D and products will require the use of the Player's Handbook. Bill Slavisek specifically referred to products like Mutants & Masterminds and Spycraft, saying that those sort of genre explorations will most likely have to wait until any eventual re-tooling of d20 Modern.

So -- to directly answer the questions I've been asked: Yes, we're going forward with Odyssey. We feel it fills a worthy niche, and we will release the core SRD for Odyssey as a freely available document, 100% Open under the original, un-revokable OGL v1.0.

 

[jdrakeh]

So -- to directly answer the questions I've been asked: Yes, we're going forward with Odyssey. We feel it fills a worthy niche, and we will release the core SRD for Odyssey as a freely available document, 100% Open under the original, un-revokable OGL v1.0.

Bitchin' I feel that the original OGL is an important tool for publishers and consumers alike which is being dumped in favor of a more restrictive, less beneficial, license (well. less beneficial to parties other than WotC, anyhow). I think it is great that third parties will continue to support the superior license.

 

[Tim Gray]

Interesting news at http://www.true20.com/ about the future shape of that product.


Gareth, what sort of size of thing do think Odyssey might be? Would you be aiming to keep it fairly short and simple?

 

[GMSkarka]

Interesting news at http://www.true20.com/ about the future shape of that product.

That's great news. It will be cool to see more products out there -- but for what Adamant has planned, True20 doesn't go far enough. We want this *seriously* stripped down, not "d20 Lite."

Gareth, what sort of size of thing do think Odyssey might be? Would you be aiming to keep it fairly short and simple?

Let's put it this way -- ideally, what we're shooting for is for an Odyssey System character sheet to comfortably and legibly fit on an index card. We want this to be as close to pick-up-and-play as any d20 iteration has ever been.

 

[damiller]

INDEX card sized, d20 iteration....you have just sold multiple copies!!!

So what kind of ETA in general are we looking at for seeing this system? Near Summer, After Summer, Fall, Winter?

d

 

[GMSkarka]

So what kind of ETA in general are we looking at for seeing this system? Near Summer, After Summer, Fall, Winter?

We're in the early design stages now, so I'm guessing a release of the free SRD sometime in Spring (early summer at the latest).

 

[damiller]

And is the Thrilling Tales 2nd Edition RPG (utilizing the Odyssey system) going to happen before or after the SRD?

d

 

[GMSkarka]

And is the Thrilling Tales 2nd Edition RPG (utilizing the Odyssey system) going to happen before or after the SRD?

Most likely a simultaneous release.

 

[GMSkarka]

By the way -- we hadn't posted it here in the thread yet, although it has appeared in our company news and in an ad on the back cover of the last THRILLING TALES release:

Here's the logo: