(The image attached to the post is what I got when I searched for “dog armor” on Wikipedia Commons, as there isn’t any art for Pugmire yet. Consider it “inspirational” rather than an actual art direction.)
Waaaaaay back in August, Rich and I announced Pugmire for the first time at GenCon. It’s a new creator-owned fantasy game (specifically, owned by my company, Pugsteady) that’s being created in collaboration with Onyx Path Publishing. Which is a really fancy way of saying that Rich and I decided to do a game about dogs.
Well, okay. It’s more complicated than that. Here’s something from the current design bible I’m working on for the game to help explain.
Pugmire is a fantasy world with evolved Dogs (capital “D”; lowercase “d” refers to unevolved dogs or dogs as we understand them now) as the main characters. These Dogs have learned to use tools and language, living in the ruins of the world of Man. They (along with other races of animals) have rebuilt the world left to them in their image. The kingdom of Pugmire, named after the family of one of the greatest Dog heroes, is a center of civilization.
Dogs strive to learn about Man, deifying them as examples all people should strive to emulate. Other nations, such as the Cats, have different perspectives on Man, but all of them recognize that there was a world before this one, and it is now populated with mysteries and dangers. Some people have learned how to use the magic and relics left by Man. These are the rare and unusual magic items, spells, and enchantments of genre fantasy, as well as a very literal exploration of Arthur C. Clarke’s Third Law: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Pugmire juxtaposes the tropes of high fantasy with our relationship with domestic dogs. Dogs adventure to uncover the lost ruins of Man in search of relics, knowledge, and danger. Dogs have access to magic that they master through faith or academic study, while Cats have access to their own similar yet completely incompatible kind of magic. They have enemies who can either be monstrous, or simply other misunderstood people. They have a moral code that classifies some people as “good” and others as “bad” (although not “evil”—that’s reserved for insane monsters that only seek destruction and chaos). And they fall into callings that determine their role in society and in their parties.
That’s the core of the game right there. It’s genre fantasy, but with some sci-fi. It’s adventure, but with a little morality. It’s a fantasy game about dogs, but with lots of room for dramatic potential. It’s what you expect, but it’s not quite what you expect. Which makes it sometimes hard to explain when people ask me what the game is about. (Although I’ve been told someone on tumblr was talking about how hipster Social Justice Warriors are ruining RPGs, “like this Pugmire shit!” I don’t have a link to the post, but it sounds like at least one person has already decided what my game is going to be about.)
Right now there isn’t a lot to talk about. As I mentioned, I have a bible, all of which is so preliminary and early in design that a document full of outright lies might be more accurate. From that, I’m building an outline and a “vertical slice” of the game engine. For those who don’t know, a vertical slice is a working demonstration of all components of a game’s design — it’s not complete, but it’s comprehensive. I am looking into some third-party RPG system licensing options, but I also have a pretty specific list of system needs, so odds are I’ll want something I can hack into shape for what I need the system to do. Rich and I also considered a custom system, including using some version of Storyteller/Storytelling system, but we decided that this project needed something different, which I can go into in more detail once we decide on that system.
So, that’s where things are at — it’s a cautious sniff in the direction of something potentially playable (like, super-early, bleeding-edge, probably-not-understandable-by-humans-who-are-not-me alpha) by the beginning of next year. From there I hope to create something that we can share more widely, so people can see a little more what the game will actually look like. In the meantime, I plan to blog at least once a month about bits and pieces of the game, and give progress reports where I can.
Go forth, canine warriors! Defend your kingdom!
Okay, I didn’t wanna be interested in this, but damnit Eddy, you sold me on it! Two things come to mind here:
1. A similar idea of evolved dogs is part of the wonderful collab novel by Sir Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter The Long War (sequel to their novel The Long Earth), and I can’t get those ‘Beagles’ as they were called in the story out of my head when I think of this game. Those dogs weren’t REALLY like yours, but they share some interesting traits.
2. As rad as Clarke’s Third Law is, keep in mind Greg Benford’s corollary: Any technology distinguishable from magic is not sufficiently advanced!
…That’s all I got, other than to say: Keep up the good work.
I have The Long War in my reading queue. I may need to bump it up. Thanks for the suggestion!
I’ve also recently finished another recommendation: Rover Red Charlie by Garth Ennis. It’s a short series, but fantastic. Again, not quite where I’m going with Pugmire, but it shows that stories about talking dogs don’t necessarily have to be cute or funny.
Fantastical Awesomeness
I want to play and/or write for this quite a bit.
Please tell me there will be at least one enigmatic monk of the Wizened Doge.
Such Wisdom. Many Punches. So pugmire. Wow.
Monks keep coming up in discussions. I have ideas for paladin-ish character (namely, the protectors of the Code of Man), but I may need to revisit the idea of monks. If I do, I don’t know if I’ll go the full “kung fu monk” route with them or not.
I would think having Kung-fu monks would be great but I would not think them as Dogs, I would see them as another type of Evolved animal Monkeys,Birds,even Cats but not Dogs. But as I have no way of seeing what’s goes on inside your head I have no idea what’s your plans for them. Just giving my opinion.
I think a few of the crusading orders (most notably the Knights Templar) qualified as monks. That’s another possible source of inspiration.
That’s kind of where my head’s at right now, but it’s just a vague idea (and possibly fodder for a support book). Still noodling, but keep the ideas coming!
This sounds a lot like a Swedish game, Mutant: Undergångens Arvtagare.
I hope it will be just as wonderful and would like to inform you of my willingness to PT right now 😛
I hadn’t heard of that before, but I did a quick search online. It does seem like there’s a fair bit in common, with elks replacing dogs. Thanks for the reference! 🙂
Have you ever read City, by Clifford D. Simak? It’s much, *much* more sci-fi than what you’re going for, but I can’t help but think of it when I read about Pugmire: dogs picking up from the remnants left by humanity, dogs interpreting human artifacts and culture, etc. It’s a great read.
I tried to find an ebook copy online to buy and read, but I didn’t have any luck. But yeah, that book’s been recommended to me a few times, and I’d love to read it!
I’m sold. I look forward to hearing more about this.
I’d want to have players explore their relationship with other canines, such as wolves, foxes, and such in addition to searching for knowledge of ancient Men.
Sold! Absolutely a game I’d be interested in!
Are Dogs going to be the only playable race? Or will the book or following books include rules for the other races like Cats?
Dogs will be the only playable race to start, but I hope to be able to do either expansion books or variant games to include Cats. At GenCon, someone at the panel called it “Guide to the Catocracy,” and it’s stuck as a working title until I get to that. 🙂
You now have the interest of a cat person! I hope you’ll be able to do Guide to the Catocracy! =D
will I be able to play a Cat?
See above (short version: not with the core game).
I was sold on this weeks ago because it sounded so different. As a fan of your writing, and a huge fan of dogs(Pomeranian lover until I die), I’m extremely excited about this!
After reading this blog post, I’m even more positive I’m going to love this.
Oh, and Red Rover by Garth Ennis was fantastic!
Very interested. Curious about “game mechanics” that you choose.
Can you tell us anything about Pugmires Mythos, what’s the common beliefs among the peasants and what major religions that they worship or is it to soon?
I think I’ll get into that in a later post, because it’s a pretty big topic.
My question is what does “Pugmire” mean and why you choose this word as title
It’s a weird story. Short version: there’s a car dealership in town called “Pugmire” (it’s actually a last name). Rose used the name in her D&D game years back, and it stuck in my head. When the idea for this game gelled, I asked her if she minded if I used it, and she was pleased I remembered.
So now we know what Pugmire is, sweet.
Also, regarding the SJW thing, I’m confused. Judging from what you said, the person expressing disinterest in Pugmire, assumes you guys are trying to shove an agenda. Now I’ve been a huge fan of both White Wolf games and Onyx Path, and I never got the impression that you were trying to shove a message down my throat, but just wanted to make good Role Playing Games, but with your own unique twist.
On the bright side, only one person expressed disinterest in the project, and I refuse to name call anybody myself (I’m proud to be a Gamer myself) so no big deal.
Anyway, you guys are giving me too much to look forward to. Between Pugmire, Beast: the Primordial, the second editions of your World of Darkness lines, and the reboot of the Trinity Continuum? I don’t think I have enough money for all of em.
Yeah, the SJW totally confused me as well.
At least one writer seems to be propagandizing for the defunct Occupy movement by inserting “Occupy Elysium” and “Occupy Malfeas” into whatever they’re writing. You can’t tell how the original quote related to Pugmire, but connecting SJWs to Onyx Path isn’t a stretch.
Setting aside whether one writer has an alleged agenda or not, Pugmire has not even had an opportunity to have an agenda. The only agenda I have for this game is to be as inclusive as I can be for a game about dogs. There is certainly dramatic potential for players to explore weighty topics like religion, but I don’t plan to make it (for example) explicitly pro-religion or explicitly anti-religion. Flat agendas make for dull writing and dull gaming, in my opinion.
Given WW’s propensity for inclusive practices — using both “he” and “she” in descriptive text, having a transwoman character all the way back 2000’s Aberrant Worldwide Phase II — the general views of Onyx Path’s crew really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
Still, I don’t see any obvious connection to Pugmire or see why it would be particularly objectionable.
Or, having a modern revolutionary group as inspiration for, let’s say, the Anarchs, in a book about the most revolution-prone Cainites makes a bit of sense. No idea where the Malfeas one comes from, but again, a “power to the people” concept as a concept was probably intended more than glorifying that real world movement.
But to Ian’s point, some individual creators are more active in stressing their beliefs, some are less. Both WW and now Onyx Path have a proud history of telling stories about people for people, all people, even when some of the characters are monsters. Or dogs, in Pugmire’s case.
“Occupy Elysium” was in the sample character concepts in the Brujah section of Lore of the Clans. (“You were community organizer in life, back before the Republicans made that into a dirty word”). It’s not even individualized like “Occupier”, and how can a defunct movement be a useful character inspiration? “Occupy Malfeas” is in the layout document for Book of the Wyrm, basically propaganda for Occupy (everything bad is because of ultra-conservative and corporate infiltrators). I’ve never seen anything that blatant from WW/OPP. This is getting off-topic, but the idea that there’s never a message in OPP is a WTF moment.
You’re correct — this is getting off topic, and I already incorporated your feedback into Lore of the Clans. This is to talk about Pugmire, which will have no mentions of the Occupy movement. 🙂
No one said there’s never a message in our products. Our creators vary by how much statement they include and for what causes- like always. Does having either of those examples deviate from the presentation of the Brujah, in the first case, known for backing many causes, or the Wyrm which has always been about rich guy fat cats, who have always been depicted as ultra-conservative, like Pentex? Now don’t answer that here, please, but pop over to my Monday Meeting Notes blog tomorrow where it won’t be off topic at all to continue this if you want to.
my completely directionless observation: on specifying that there was a distinction between dogs and Dogs, I got a flash of special K and thought, “shouldn’t we refer to them as True Dogks?”
Dogk Magick