Ryan Dancey to self-publish tabletop RPG

[Glyfair]

Ryan Dancey's latest blog entry announces that he has decided to self publish a tabletop RPG (3 products). He doesn't have a timetable.

I recommend reading the whole article, but here are the key section.

After a long period of thought, I’ve decided that I’m going to self-publish a tabletop RPG product. Despite what a lot of people think, I’ve never actually done that. I have self-published a trading card game, and I wrote a series of scenarios for the Living City of Ravens Bluff, and I’ve worked with and helped several companies that have done self published RPGs. Until now though, I’ve not had the desire to publish a TRPG product myself.


To be honest, I’m not going to publish one tabletop RPG product. I’m going to do three. I don’t know how long it will take to complete the work, and it may be the kind of project I stop, let marinate in the back of my brain for a few months, then return to with new ideas. I’m looking forward to the journey as much as the finished projects.

Here’s a thumbnail summary of the ideas:

Ryan Dancey’s Storyteller’s Guide to The D20 System

This book is designed to take a stock D&D game (or any reasonably close to stock D20 variant) and transform it into a Storytelling Game. The intent is to replace the traditional DM vs. Player relationship with a cooperative storytelling mode. It will include my take on: Player created content, character motivation mechanics, abstract resource management, and streamlined mechanics for groups without Power Gamers. I will also be writing extensive notes on how to convert 3rd party materials for D20 for use in Storytelling Games using these concepts.

Dragonslayers

This book is designed to provide a Storytelling Game centered around a quest to confront & destroy a powerful dragon. Completing the campaign will require several game sessions. Players will develop both their own characters, and the dragon itself using a variety of Storytelling Game ideas for constructing the arc of the narrative, developing and playing scenes, and resolving melee conflict from a Storytelling perspective.

Over the Edge of the World(*)

This book has two design goals. First, it will provide a Storytelling Game set in the Age of Exploration, playable in one or several sessions. In scope, it will be about the size of Dogs in the Vineyard. Second, it will provide an example of a Storytelling Game where the focus is abstracted to a group of people & their ship, rather than linking players and characters in a 1:1 ratio. This system could be generalized for use in settings like Star Trek.

I hope he gets someone familiar with the OGL to help

 

[Friadoc]

Yeah, sometimes a simple rookie mistake is all it takes to torpedo a poor indie-guy who is just putting it out there to be seen.

*chuckles*

 

[Griffith Dragonlake]

I hope he gets someone familiar with the OGL to help

For those ENworlders who don't get the joke, Ryan Dancey is the 'Father of the OGL.' He also founded and runs the Open Gaming Foundation.

 

[trancejeremy]

I hope he plans on losing his money, because I don't see how any of that will sell. Even if the d20 System still exists as a viable product when it gets released, it sounds like he's trying to preach "storytelling" to D&D gamers, which frankly, I don't think will sell. I mean, will a "Wait, you're play D&D all wrong, here's how you should really play it" really appeal to people, or just offend them?

 

[trancejeremy]

For those ENworlders who don't get the joke, Ryan Dancey is the 'Father of the OGL.' He also founded and runs the Open Gaming Foundation.

Also ironic because really the only d20 company to really run afoul of OGL legal problems was one made up of ex-TSR people and long time industry guys (Fast Forward)

 

[w_earle_wheeler]

It sounds like a good idea. Ever since I read Universalis, I've been toying with the age-old RPG question: how can we have a game with a GM that doesn't feel like a board or card game?

 

[ephemeron]

Weird. I think of Dancey as a business guy, not a game designer -- though I can sort of see how getting "cooperative storytelling" into D20 fits with the "one system to rule them all" vision of D20.

 

[LostSoul]

I hope he plans on losing his money, because I don't see how any of that will sell. Even if the d20 System still exists as a viable product when it gets released, it sounds like he's trying to preach "storytelling" to D&D gamers, which frankly, I don't think will sell. I mean, will a "Wait, you're play D&D all wrong, here's how you should really play it" really appeal to people, or just offend them?

There are a lot of story-game folks who cut their teeth on D&D and would love to see a product like this.

If he follows the indie model and does small print runs he'll make some cash.

 

[Glyfair]

If he follows the indie model and does small print runs he'll make some cash.

He states in that blog:

I will almost certainly make short runs of printed versions of the three books, but I expect the primary distribution will be via PDF download. I have not yet considered pricing for any of them, either in printed form or electronic.

 

[Gentlegamer]

I can't wait to play his "1 minute of fun packed into 8 hours" game.