Kate Evans about the Jewel in the Sky megadungeon

We talked at the UK Game Expo with Kate Evans, marketing manager from Monte Cook Games, about their presence at the fair and about their in-production Jewel in the Sky megadungeon. The in-production publication has raised $302,132 in support from 2,674 people as of May 1. During the conversation, we discussed the fair’s visitors, game testing, and the difficulty of the challenges.

What’s the importance to be here for Monte Cook?

UK Game Expo I think the world third largest tabletop convention. It’s very good to to meet new people not only to your game, but also people how are new to rpg as a hobby. There are wonderful moments, like when somebody come to our stand and say, “I don’t know what’s a RPG”. It’s also a big event but still very friendly. We run demos on our stand, so we can show our games to people.

Do you see in finances the result of being here?

Conventions are always a marketing investment, from a business point you are not looking to make many. But actually we sell a lot of product here, for different reasons. There are people, who after a demo play want to buy it. Other group is people, who really come here, because saved a lot of money and wants to buy stuffs from us. For example today first buyer came along, and she said: I enjoy Magnus Archive last year, now I want to buy it. People are actively looking for you, e.g. we see on their map of the expo, that our stand is marked by a circle.

Let’s talk about Jewel in the Sky. It’s stated that it is the same time a fantasy and a sci-fi megadungeon. How did this idea came?

Backerkit was running a mega dungeon month in this April, and during that more megadungeon was created. Some of this are old-school renaissance materials. We wanted to do a megadungeon, because Monte made tons of megadungeons earlier, like Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil. And because we Cypher is designed to be any genre, any universe, you can use the dungeon fro both sci-fi and fantasy. And there is no reason you can’t have both thing happens simultaneously. There is this old quote, that sufficiently high technology is indistinguishable from magic. That’s the whole idea, what started Jewel in the Sky. For example on this planet weird stuff happening with the gravity. For a sci-fi character you can give a description, that this are the information what your character perceives, and it doesn’t look like Newtonian physic. For a fantasy character you can legends, and that the locals are saying this. So the same information, just the context is different. You getting the information in the book for the same objects as you get as a sci-fi character and as you get it as a fantasy character. A sci-fi character can use magic items, and you can get this wonderful frustration, if magic is real, how does it work from the point of science? Or a fantasy character pick up a technology design, and they work out how to use it.

What’s your role in creating the game?

I am doing the marketing, while Monte is the designer. Currently we are play testing it, and I am also playing in the fantasy campaign. Monte running parallel it with the sci-fi campaign. It’s really exciting, when Monte has ideas based on our play testing.

How long does it take to play it? For how long campaigns are you suggesting it?

It’s very much depends on the playing group. There are lot of really cool and strange, weird things in there which can be explored. It is also depends on, how successful are you on different encounters, because they are leading you to different directions. I think if you play I once, for a next play you get different experiences.

You mentioned OSR. In that genre it’s OK, if a challenge or encounter is not balanced for the party. How is it in Jewel in the Sky?

We are still working on the premise and on the challenge level. Cypher compared to other system, it is more collaborative. So instead of given a difficulty and try to roll over it, we giving a difficulty and you work together, to try reduce the difficulty before you make the dice role. It means, that with a challenge which are initially impossible, you say, let’s go back collect that things, and let’s make it easier. We don’t want to kill everyone. It’s not gygaxian in nature (laughing). Cypher is much more about how we tell a story.

How close is the production of it?

At the moment is in the process of writing and play testing. Actually Monte took last week, if I remember correctly just to focus on it, to get it down there. During play testing, at the end of every session Monte is looking for how balanced was that adventure. There is still be a little work of balancing. When it will be finished, comes the editing, then the layout, checking the arts. Currently the timeline is good, compared to what we planned earlier. Besides editing the book, there will be maps, and other stuffs, which also need work.

This dungeon is suggested to start with beginner characters?

You can use it as it own, our insert into an existing campaign., as a remote place, where there is a miles long floating island. It’s quite nice to start with lower levels, but you could potentially start with established characters. But of course the first encounters will be more easier in this case.

For closure, what’s your bests memory from the campaign?

From running the Backerkit camping I enjoyed the most, that how engaged was everyone, and how exciting was for a lot of people the combined fantasy-sci-fi campaign idea. There were number of backer, who wrote, that will run the two campaign parallel. Like the Friday nights group will fantasy group, the Monday nights will be sci-fi group. And then they get them to meet, for example because they both trying to go the same place. So you have the possibilities of collaboration, swap over between parties.

And from playing the campaign?

From playing the most memorable is that we just discovered a mirror room. If you look into the mirror you see a door behind your, but otherwise you don’t see it. So while you are looking into the mirror, you have to open it behind you. And walking into the door there is a whole pile of weirdness there. And you ask yourself, is this a magic thing, is this a sci-fi thing? There are amazing creatures in the dungeon and a lot of personality.

The announcement of the Jewel in the Sky:

https://www.montecookgames.com/announcing-jewel-in-the-sky-and-megadungeon-month/