This past weekend we here at the Dorkland offices sat down with Timothy Brown, creator of the
Dragon Kings setting, to ask him a few questions about the setting and project, in general.
Dorkland:
First
off, congratulations on surpassing your pledge goal! How has the Kickstarter experience been for you so far? Any tips for those thinking of running one in
the future?
Timothy Brown: Thank you! Kickstarter is a strange animal. Of course, it’s
uplifting that all these people share your vision and would like to make it all
happen. Anyone thinking of starting one should be prepared to answer a whole
lot of questions.
DL: Why this particular setting? Why not a spiritual
successor to 2300AD? Might that happen in the future?
TB: I’ve had the Dragon Kings environment swimming around in the
back of my mind for quite awhile now. As I talked about it with other
collaborators they encouraged me to move forward. That’s the main thing, I
suppose, knowing I had an eager group of collaborators. As for science fiction,
in many ways that’s my first love, and I’ve got quite a bit of material already
written for that, too, in both game material and music, so, as they say, ‘watch
this space.’
DL: What, if anything, are you bringing over from
Dark Sun? Anything whole or in part? Any concepts in particular?
TB: There are definitely themes common to all my work that
appear in both Dark Sun and Dragon Kings. The notion of a world in flux,
especially one in decline for mysterious reasons that present the characters
with unique, often difficult choices for survival. Also, the idea that
applications of power have consequences, especially role-playing consequences
(not just a bad die mod). Want to dabble in sorcery? Be prepared to meet its
demands. You can throw unique character races into the mix, as well, exotic
creatures that bring truly alien thinking into play.
DL: Having a focus on music, art and the setting is very different from the norm – what unique challenge has this presented for you?
TB: The main challenge has been narrowing the wide focus lens of
a complete role-playing setting into a single epic tale to tell musically. Just
about every aspect of the game world deserves its own song. Making one tale
that holds together as a single musical expression while covering as many
diverse pieces of the world has been difficult, but the final work will paint a
vivid picture of the Dragon Kings experience.
DL: What is your favorite part of Khitus and why?
TB: I’m an alien race fan. I like envisioning different
creatures, where they came from, why they think the way that they do. On
Khitus, I’ve developed the elephant centaur Pachyaur, the hive-minded Krikis
empries, and the arboreal Penmai, and I’d be excited to play any one of them in
a game, myself.
DL: The Krikis are an interesting, hive-based race – what sets them apart as potential PCs?
TB: The Krikis are conflicted by evolutionary progress. Their
genetically rigid society gave them the strength to thrive in their pre-intelligent
state. But with greater cognizance has come individuality and innovation,
valuable assets to an expanding culture, but anathema to the their castes and
set roles. Heroes can be at once admired and reviled. Visceral guilt causes
them enormous pain and inner conflict.
DL: Most of the places seem quite grim-dark – are there any areas of Khitus left that are still “good”, or will the players have to forge those areas themselves? If so, what was the design decision behind that and why?
TB: The southern hemisphere is the most ravaged by wanton
plunder, and this is where the setting ‘begins,’ but there are equatorial
regions that are as-yet unmolested. Characters have choices to make: defend and
maintain what’s left of their homelands, seek to stop or even reverse the
desolation, or flee to better places, either permanently or at least to gain
respite.
DL: Magic seems to reflect the darkness of the world – how might this affect game play? Is there a “good” form of magic that PCs would use, or will they use this destructive magic, as well? If it is destructive, why would they want to use it?
TB: Sorcery demands an emotional toll on the caster. How the
wizard mitigates that toll is key. An evil wizard deflects it onto unwitting
victims. The good wizard either takes it upon himself or somehow tricks sorcery
into thinking it has been ‘paid,’ but this is difficult. Perhaps the best
answer is to match magic’s power with something that is not exactly magic.
DL: Lastly, what is the story behind the art of the worm with the tied-on wings and mask? Did it affix those itself? (Personal curiosity!)
TB: The Dragon Kings who once held sway over the world have,
over the centuries, vanished. Exactly where they have gone and why is open to
debate, steeped in legend and rumor … The denizens of the Black Fortress know
that the simple races – Cold Skins and Krikis – are easily fooled, and contort
themselves awkwardly to further their ends – the Dragon King Pretenders.
