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OgreCave

Catching up with the whole MCDM thing - this is one of the best-written kickstarter pitches (note the lower-case K on "kickstarter") I've ever read. Reassuring mainstream players of things like, yes, mechanics can have flavor without being limiting! is a hard brief. Colville has cracked a lot of nuts in this text that I've never seen anyone crack. 🧵

Like, the top section of the pitch says "a brand new game, built from the ground up to give you a better system for running a better game." There's something shocking about seeing this kind of hammer-on-the-hindbrain marketing language in a TTRPG pitch. This sounds like a slam but it's not: this is like a well-written children's book.

Because that's what it takes to get through to people's hindbrains! And hindbrain reasons are the only reasons not to buy an RPG that doesn't say D&D on it.

The whole text is very good at evoking the impossible thing that a lot of D&D players want - a brand new thing that's exactly the same - but it also is planting some brazen banners in the ground. The text "You cannot miss." in bold in the section about combat mechanics is a big, blinking neon sign: *this game is for players who feel overwhelmed.* A huge, and hugely underserved, market.

Then a big NEGOTIATION heading over text that reads in part, "Certain NPCs can be negotiated with to get them to change their allegiance or reconsider their actions. (Technically, ANY npc can be negotiated with but there’s usually only one per adventure)". This part struck me as confused at first, but it's a kind of confusion that lets fans of non-combat play feel like there will be a game, while people who hate the thought of "mind control mechanics" can feel like they have an out.

Hanrahan had it right back in the day: the form invented by Kickstarter is a way of telling a marketing story. Colville shows himself here to be a master of the form. (If you haven't seen it yet: backerkit.com/c/projects/mcdm- )

I haven't looked at the examples of text from the actual book yet, but the prognosis is good, I think. What I really need to check are his videos on how to run a game; if those are just as good, I'm joining the fan club.

BackerKitThe MCDM RPG: Draw SteelWhether you’re a group of local heroes sent to investigate mysterious goings-on in the nearby haunted wood, or famous mercenaries plotting and scheming in the big city, the MCDM RPG makes building adventures and fighting monsters fun.

This thread is dedicated to every dude I've ever overheard at a convention or gaming event who pronounced the word "marketing" like it left the foulest taste that's ever been in a cartoon character's mouth.