MCDM officially announces their RPG

[DarkCrisis]

I hate weird dice. Always seems to me it’s just another way for people to have to spend money on your system.

“After the $60 book purchase be sure to spend another $20 on the special dice you need to play! Only available from us!”

 

[Digdude]

Yeah as a long time StarWars DM I could not get into the funky dice in the new system. Just a turn off for me. But I want to keep my mind open to new systems/new ideas always. The thing I observe in all these dnd offshoots is they all have some new thing to offer (timed torches etc) but then carry around most of the baggage from previous versions. I think someday someone might grab all of these cool functions and break away from the sacred cows of old dnd and spawn something awesome. Thats my hope at least.

 

[overgeeked]

I'm quite the reverse. I'm not a fan of funky dice. Not revolving play around the d20 is one thing, but novelty dice are another. It's also one thing that turns me off from DCC as well. However, I think that there is plenty of additional space in the hobby for a more tactical game play experience a la 4e D&D. It's not as if there is a dearth of TotM fantasy adventure games inspired by D&D.

I split the difference. I’m a dice goblin who doesn’t like proprietary dice. I’ll take funky dice with numbers all day long (and I love DCC), but swap the numbers for symbols and I’m out. Numbered dice can at least be used for other things. Proprietary symbol dice, not so much.

Edit: I suspect that there is also some fan disappointment that MCDM is not trying to create a d20 successor to 4e D&D.

I suspect that Matt Colville (and his team) played Stars Wars Edge of the Empire, became enamored with the novelty of it all, and then locked on to that for their own game, though maybe you can provide some insight into their design decision. I do think that they probably would have benefited had they played a wide-variety of other tactical tabletop games out there: e.g., Lancer/Icon, Gubat Banwa, Fabula Ultima, etc.

The were literally playing Edge of the Empire and streaming it just before the OGL thing hit.

I hope they do well with it. But it’s likely not for me. The very first thing I’d do is tear out the need for funky dice.

 

[Aldarc]

I split the difference. I’m a dice goblin who doesn’t like proprietary dice. I’ll take funky dice with numbers all day long (and I love DCC), but swap the numbers for symbols and I’m out. Numbered dice can at least be used for other things. Proprietary symbol dice, not so much.

Technically numbers are a type of symbol, but I get the point. I'm not really a fan of needing a key to decipher the meaning of the dice.

The were literally playing Edge of the Empire and streaming it just before the OGL thing hit.

I hope they do well with it. But it’s likely not for me. The very first thing I’d do is tear out the need for funky dice.

I hate to say this, because I wish them well and we haven't seen it yet, but I suspect that they are in for a rude awakening about the reception of their new RPG. Given what @SakanaSensei said, I'm worried that they have created an echo chamber in their community.

As an aside, I also recall a post from Twitter where Matt was asking about RPG attributes, and you could tell that he basically just renamed the six D&D ones. Regardless of whether he uses proprietary dice or not, it just feels like he's stuck in the D&D mind space.

 

[deganawida]

Yeah, I'm not a member of the Patreon, though I've been following this thread with interest, as I want to see new stuff that isn't just D&D (even though, yes, I play mostly D&D or D&D-adjacent systems). However, I'm out, due to what's been posted the last 24 hours. I don't play these games to spend all my creative energy to fight. If I wanted that, I would play wargames or RTS games (which I do from time to time). I want to experience new worlds and meet new peoples. If all the creative energy is going into making super crunchy combat, then it's just not for me.

I'm not wishing them anything but success. It's just not for me.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

As an aside, I also recall a post from Twitter where Matt was asking about RPG attributes, and you could tell that he basically just renamed the six D&D ones. Regardless of whether he uses proprietary dice or not, it just feels like he's stuck in the D&D mind space.

I agree, but the D&D mind space is also his entire livelihood. Any new MCDM game that's completely different from D&D is going to be a hard sell for his fanbase, which is basically 100 percent D&D players.

 

[overgeeked]

Technically numbers are a type of symbol, but I get the point. I'm not really a fan of needing a key to decipher the meaning of the dice.

Technically...you have simply internalized the key to deciphering those number-symbols' meaning.

I hate to say this, because I wish them well and we haven't seen it yet, but I suspect that they are in for a rude awakening about the reception of their new RPG. Given what @SakanaSensei said, I'm worried that they have created an echo chamber in their community.

As an aside, I also recall a post from Twitter where Matt was asking about RPG attributes, and you could tell that he basically just renamed the six D&D ones. Regardless of whether he uses proprietary dice or not, it just feels like he's stuck in the D&D mind space.

I hope I'm wrong, but I see this turning into an object lesson is catering to the market vs maintaining some notion of pure artistic vision. MCDM is was one of the top 5E 3PP...one of the few (only?) with multiple $1 million+ Kickstarters. They've turned their back on that to intentionally reproduce the playstyle of the single least popular iteration of D&D (which I actually love) with funky proprietary dice. I don't see this turning out well for them as a company.

 

[overgeeked]

Yeah, I'm not a member of the Patreon, though I've been following this thread with interest, as I want to see new stuff that isn't just D&D (even though, yes, I play mostly D&D or D&D-adjacent systems). However, I'm out, due to what's been posted the last 24 hours. I don't play these games to spend all my creative energy to fight. If I wanted that, I would play wargames or RTS games (which I do from time to time). I want to experience new worlds and meet new peoples. If all the creative energy is going into making super crunchy combat, then it's just not for me.

I'm not wishing them anything but success. It's just not for me.

I'm apparently missing some posts in the thread. What was posted in the last 24 hours that's causing you to bail?

 

[darjr]

Yeah, I'm not a member of the Patreon, though I've been following this thread with interest, as I want to see new stuff that isn't just D&D (even though, yes, I play mostly D&D or D&D-adjacent systems). However, I'm out, due to what's been posted the last 24 hours. I don't play these games to spend all my creative energy to fight. If I wanted that, I would play wargames or RTS games (which I do from time to time). I want to experience new worlds and meet new peoples. If all the creative energy is going into making super crunchy combat, then it's just not for me.

I'm not wishing them anything but success. It's just not for me.

OK, now is where I ask that ya keep an eye in it. Even if just a bit.

They’ve said it’s early days and I also know that combat is just where they have begun. It isn’t the whole of it as far as I know.

They do intend to focus on other aspects.

I know combat was brought up but for me it’s just the easiest way to highlight what I meant.

That is a game that is too mechanically tight in its design tends to leave me feeling there are no voids I can be free within.

 

[deganawida]

OK, now is where I ask that ya keep an eye in it. Even if just a bit.

They’ve said it’s early days and I also know that combat is just where they have begun. It isn’t the whole of it as far as I know.

They do intend to focus on other aspects.

I know combat was brought up but for me it’s just the easiest way to highlight what I meant.

That is a game that is too mechanically tight in its design tends to leave me feeling there are no voids I can be free within.

Okay, will still keep an eye on it. I am like you in preferring systems with a void (I tend to call it "imaginative space") for me to let loose my imagination.