As you probably know, it’s Demon: The Descent.
So what now? Well, Rich gives updates on the general state of things every Monday over on the aptly named Monday Meeting Blog, but he has a lot of irons in the fire, so maybe you’d appreciate a little more direct information about Demon?
Sure thing. Let’s talk a little about how this was developed.
This was my first experience with co-development. Rose had the initial concepts of the game; theme, tone, the Incarnations and Agendas, and then we worked together to come up with a “Demon bible” (which still makes me giggle a little). We put together our list of authors, which was interesting. Since I’ve never developed in tandem before, I was used to choosing authors being a matter of me thinking “Who’s available, who do I think could do this well, who’s been blowing up my email asking for work?” This time, that happened, but we talked it out, and wound up with a few folks that I’d never worked with or heard of (and probably the same for Rose).
And then the brainstorming. Oh, it was glorious. We had a lot of really good ideas – some of the stuff that became really core to the game, like Cover, came out of the brainstorming with the authors. Rose and I kind of ran herd for a while, until people started settling in to their own sections and cranking out word count, but I really feel like bouncing emails around is useful (note, I don’t feel the same way about in-person brainstorming sessions, at least with more than one or two people, but that’s neither here nor there).
So: I wrote the Embeds and Exploits, and I did wind up having a brainstorm hangout on Google to fill in the Exploits a bit, because I was having trouble getting my brain going (this was during the school year, which is not my most productive time). We got first drafts in, and I did the redlines and coordinated playtesters.
The playtest notes that came back were, for the most part, awesome. They told us what we needed to know: Embeds needed a resistance mechanic of some kind. Demonic forms were hella overpowered (it was literally impossible to kill demons at first). Gadget mechanics were a bit overwrought (have we mentioned those before?). But Cover worked amazingly, and was far and away the playtesters’ favorite mechanic across the board. The spy/mechanical horror feel of the game was popular. No one seemed to have any trouble figuring out how to play or run Demon, and that’s always good news.
So we fixed what needed fixin’, turned it loose on playtesters again (my own players got to do demonic forms under both systems, so I can attest that the revisions made them a lot more reasonable while still being badass), and got final drafts back from authors. And then I hammered everything out into a draft that goes in the right order, fixed the mechanics in places where there were still rough edges, and passed it along to Rose.
Which is where we are now: Rose is doing a more thorough development pass, along with art notes. After that, the whole book gets passed back to my house, but only because I live with the editor (fun fact: lime fizzy water, gin, extra lime, and cranberry juice is her “editing drink” of choice. I’m not much of a drinker; I prefer wine, but I’m learning). Michelle will copyedit the book, and since she’s also a playtester and a game designer herself, if she comes across any places where the game and/or mechanics don’t read right, I’m probably right there and can help figure it out.
And then the text goes back to OPP, and into production. And here we hit a hole in my knowledge, because I only know that when it comes out of production, it’s gorgeous and has art in it and stuff, but as far as I know that happens by magic (I think Mike Chaney is also involved, but, fun-fact, Mike Chaney is magic. In fact, the movie Magic Mike is a lightly doctored biopic).
So that’s where we are right now. Ask me some questions – what would you like to know about, now that you know the game’s full name?
What were some other subtitles that you had considered?
How did the old system of Demonic Forms work? How did it make demons unkillable?
Anything you want to share about Gadgets? 😉
– Matt’s saving the answer to that until he’s had a chance to explain what the current subtitle means.
– I think the most obvious was you had the ability to heal all damage and (iirc) refill your Aether by transforming for free, and then you could change back for 1 Aether. If you started running low on Aether or Health, you could just take your demon form again. I think the writer working on it originally thought the transformations would carry an additional cost to discourage flipping back and forth constantly, but one never materialized so you ended up with that infinite loop.
– Matt shared this on RPG.net, so I don’t feel bad rehashing it here. Gadgets are Embeds and Exploits a demon has stuck into objects. They’re always more limited than the original power. For example, an In My Pocket suit coat Gadget might allow the person wearing it to pull out a $20 bill – the same $20 bill each time (great for bribes, lavish tips, and small purchases). There’s a huge amount of flexibility in converting an Embed/Exploit into a Gadget, but it’s also really easy to come up with them on the fly (I made up the bribery suit coat while writing this post).
Giving a Gadget to another demon is sometimes useful, but giving one to a mortal is a great way to win loyalty (or a soul) or make your allies (or pawns) better-able to carry out your will. These are definitely one of those things that would also be great to use in another WoD game (blue book or Hunter, particularly).
When will it be on my shelf? I mean in my lap?
The schedule page currently shows it for August, but I’d keep an eye on Rich’s Monday Meeting Notes for updates.
What’s the game main theme?
What sort of role does hell play in the game?
-gadgets !
-what is Hell for the Demons?
-the purpose of demons on Earth
-informations on the first sourcebook The Flowers of Hell
🙂
This game is looking marvelous so far.
– Any new details on Exploits? Are they the ‘suddenly reality is different’ sort of powers, like Play on Words?
– A little bit of a tangent, but the playtests were using the GMC rules. Will this be the case with the finished product? If so, will playing it with ‘vanilla’ NWoD (that’s still weird to say) be easy to adapt for group preference?
– Any new details on Exploits? Are they the ‘suddenly reality is different’ sort of powers, like Play on Words?
Not all. One of them allows a demon to possess a building. Another, much simpler, allows a demon to throw fire. And then there’s Extispicy (Google it).
– A little bit of a tangent, but the playtests were using the GMC rules. Will this be the case with the finished product? If so, will playing it with ‘vanilla’ NWoD (that’s still weird to say) be easy to adapt for group preference?
The game is written for the GMC rules, which are the official nWoD rules going forward. I personally don’t think it’d be hard to use the older ruleset.
I refuse to google it and will simply assume “Extispicy” is the alternative to “Mild”.
I wanna know about the penalty box.
Also, Rose once mentioned Satan being a signal. I’m not sure if he was joking or not.
As is always the case when the floor opens for questions I go blank. Hmmm… What pops to mind right now:
-Anymore detail about Ciphers you are willing to share?
-Clues about the city (I dunno, if Las Vegas was just rumour, conjecture, etc.)
-Anymore setting elements, ie; is time-travel and alternative realities discussed fully?
-More info about Stigmatics?
-While powers are great, I am curious about Demon merits?
-Anymore detail about Ciphers you are willing to share?
Umm…nothing leaps to mind. Except that they’re one thing that makes demons really unpredictable.
-Clues about the city (I dunno, if Las Vegas was just rumour, conjecture, etc.)
You’ve had enough clues about the city already.
-Anymore setting elements, ie; is time-travel and alternative realities discussed fully?
Discussed fully? No. Might be something we hit a little more in the supplements.
-More info about Stigmatics?
Fun fact: It’s not just humans that can become stigmatic, only when it happens to animals we call ’em cryptids.
-While powers are great, I am curious about Demon merits?
You mean like the Bolthole Merit, which gives you a little place of your own that (if you put enough dots into it) forces any angel to Manifest if they enter?
So are we getting a Kickstarter out of this? I really, really want a superlatively shiny Demon book in my hands.
+1. The Kickstarter does seem to be up in the air, which makes me a bit sad as the same thing happened to GMC and B&S. I’m willing to put out quite a bit for one if it does happen.
oh and can you say if the corebook will have a “History” chapter and if you have write some new facts about the nature and origin of the God-Machine ?
I actually kind of expect those to be largely unknowns even to Demons. Even as Angels, they seem to have operated on a need to know basis, and while they’re aware of the existence of the God-Machine, its nature and operations outside of their assignment were not things they needed to know.
We don’t get into the “truth” about the God-Machine, and I personally have no plans to do so. I think it’s largely irrelevant to people’s chronicles, and if it is relevant, then the troupe in question can make that decision.
In my chronicles, the God-Machine is related to the Principle, for instance. I don’t intent to make that “canon.”
What is Hell?
Hell is other robots. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
Hell is actually a pretty important concept, and it’s one we’re playing closer to the vest for now.