Hello, and welcome to the weekly.
Scroll podcast brought to you by the adventure.
Archive, my name is Ryan and with me we have the creator of
Frontier scum and much more Carl Drew and how you just want to
Carl. Doing.
All right, evening over here. So I've had my day already, but
you got spinach it, she'll Saturday so far.
And for those who may potentially not know who you
are, maybe outside of Frontier scum, won't you tell us a little
bit about yourself and some of the things that people might
know you for. Yeah, I'm Carl.
Drew it from Gothenburg Sweden. Better known maybe as make, they
do not lower, I'm not sure can't.
I got started in the in the creative creative RPG business
with some Merc bori, Creations Graves left, wanting the cursed
Skinwalker in such as well as the digital generators from a
quarry and death in space, scum birth, Etc.
So we actually, when we first started running Merc Borg on our
actual play channel, the first thing we ran was grapes as one
thing and I think pre stream prior to that, we ran the rough
black sludge and Jess who plays with us, was the curse
Skinwalker. So we've actually used a bunch
of your stuff on our Channel and Graves up wanting was It was
great. I don't think I died in that
one. I definitely died and Rob black
sludge, but I don't think I died.
Well, we are all technically dead, I guess, you know, when it
starts but but yeah. So Frontier scum.
So I guess my first question with Frontier scum is what made
a guy in Sweden who has been designing a lot of Merc Borges
stuff create Acid, Western role-playing game.
That's a good eye, good question.
Yeah, I don't know. I've always been into the
Western aestethic, not really so much to Media around.
It just more, the moods, The Vibes, the Gunslinger, that sort
of stuff, but I've never really played a western inspired
role-playing game. The ones I've tried haven't
really scratched my To acknowledge their often either
very, very crunchy rules wise, or they're very historical.
And neither of those things interest me very much so that's
sort of how Frontiers come came to be as a Mercury hack first
and foremost and then eventually evolved into its own rule system
and Vibes so so it did start as Mark pork act.
Like. That's where.
Okay. Yes it was like at the
beginning, it was just Merc party with guns.
Then as we play tested stuff, sort of, I began adding and
removing and trying to hit certain Vibes and just
eventually became its own thing, it didn't feel like playing
mercouri anymore. So it made sense to kind of drop
that that part of it. But with that said, it's still
very much inspired by Mercury, the system, especially on the
game master side. It's, it's very easy to run work
for Adventures, which one tears come, but from the player
perspective, it is quite a different game.
Yeah, I mean, absolutely. You know, going through the
rules. I mean, there are like little
bits that are definitely still there.
Like the D20 player facing defense roles, they are 12,
those kind of things, but really, I mean it's it feels
very not, even really adjacent. Like it's very much, feels like
it's own game, it doesn't feel it.
It feels a little Hired by especially in like the like the
grittiness and the daily in this of it.
But other than that, like, it definitely very much feels like
it's own game. Yeah, I think I think the gotten
rules especially change the game but also the dead chicks system.
It's sort of, it doesn't, it makes it not as deadly as it
first appears. But at the same time, it feels
Very close all the time. I've played several sessions
where nobody's died, but everybody's constantly worried
about it, and that's sort of the vibe you wanna hit.
I think where it feels like any bullet.
Could be the last Get the first time I read it.
I I think my first reaction to the disk system was like, hey,
this is fucking awesome but be, I was like, man.
This is super deadly people. Got to die all the time, but
when you really look at, like the drop checks, and then the
numbers on it really over five. Your, your kind of okay.
Yeah, um, but when you first look at it and I'm sure when
you're playing it, it's it feels a lot more deadly but my I have
to say the death system is probably if I had to pick a
favorite part. My favorite part, I love that.
There's not really advancement per se in like the game at all.
There's like, rolling, actual, 20, get a new skill.
You can only have six and and then you have to switch it out
but like you know, if you roll everything is why the 16 and up?
You can increase the stat or something.
And if you get a natural 20 and have to increase your health, I
love the whole idea of like learning from almost dying is
like that. Feel And it's not like a ton is
not like you're suddenly like, you know, do this three times
and you're a God, Like It's DM e 5e or anything.
It's like these incremental like could I might not die do okay?
Not dying slightly more health and that's about it.
It's it's fantastic. I like I said, I think it's
easily my favorite part. Yeah, I think the, the sort of
horizontal progression characters don't really get more
powerful at least not very quickly, but they change and
they change by playing, it's not like often times in games.
It's you get experience at the end of the session and then the
next session you show up Suddenly stronger, but I don't
know. I kinda like the idea of you
gain experience or you change by Actually things, you can
actually link back. Every scale you've got and every
hit point increase and every ability decrease or increase.
You can link that to certain events, which makes things a lot
more memorable, I think. Yeah.
Cuz even even when you roll the 20s, like the option is kind of
like, you can, like, take a skill in the thing that you were
like, trying to do, right? Yeah, yeah.
So you like you said the horizontal progression was there
like another game? Game that inspired that or is
that something that you were just like this?
Seems like something, I'd like to try it and the mechanic just
kind of evolved from it. I don't, I think there's been a
laments of that in games. I can't think of anything in
particular right now, but I mean, I've seen stuff where were
characters do game. There's, of course games, like
the free League system, etcetera, where you gain the
experience and Dad are. You can also like you gain
experience for achieving certain things.
And that was definitely a bidding of the inspiration as
well. And of course the Merc party
where you can also get worse. I think that's really good
because yeah, you change you don't necessarily become better
but it was the most most of all was just the thing I wanted to
try and work that out. Yeah.
I mean it does it's fantastic and like you said like a kind of
has a little bit of a horizontal progression.
It's not like you you level up her say and even something like
death in space, you know, like you get XP and you can like I
guess like spend it to improve yourself a little bit but it's
like it's incremental and it gets more, it exponentially more
difficult every time you try to do it.
So same thing, you're not like gaining a new power at a certain
level, you just evolve may become slightly.
Lead more resilient, but not really change at all.
You are kind of a complete character when you start and you
grow a little bit as opposed to starting out as basically like a
level zero farmhand or something in becoming a God.
So yeah, I guess the next one is like what is up with like what
are they feeding you guys in Sweden that over the last like
three years or we got Mark board?
We got death in space, we got Tear scum.
I mean, there's this, like, just group of, like, just guys from
Sweden that are coming over here and just like, blowing up the
teacher RPG space. You know what I mean?
Like, I think the, I think, Mark, Borg death in space and
our Frontier scum or some of the most popular games across the
Indie scene for the past. Bunch, a years, is it just like,
what, like, what hat? Like, where did you guys come
from? Like, what is this?
Always been over there? And suddenly, there's just like,
you know, it's appearing over here for us or What do you think
is kind of like the inspiration behind that?
Yeah, I mean there's there's been a very strong role playing
seen in Sweden since at least the 80s, like it's been not,
very not hugely popular, not mainstream by any means.
But I mean, it's been, it's been here for a very long time.
And one thing I think that's been happening, the last couple
of years, is a lot more. Swedish people are creating
English games. There's loads of loads of
Swedish role playing games but they're mostly just in Swedish.
You can kind of see it with the free league as stuff.
They kind of started out with Swedish stuff and then they
eventually translated. And then eventually, they
started releasing both both languages at the same time.
And now they're doing a lot of just English stuff.
I think it's a combination of just Swedish people.
We Learn English by Jang, we don't get dubs of stuff, really
because our population is too small to really make it worth
it. So we learn perhaps earlier,
then then many Europeans. And now, I think people around
in that 30s, 40s are starting to to expand their feeling
confident in their English, and I guess seeing seeing that,
there's loads of fans enjoying it.
I brought As well, which is a huge motivator.
Gotcha. And you, you kind of started
putting out stuff with Mark Borg, obviously, right?
Was, that, like, the first things that you created?
Or was it just the first things that you put out for other
people? Well, I started with
role-playing games quite late. It was when I got into
University and I started out as a player in a in a campaign that
so many other campaigns, just it sort of died.
Before the first session even. But I wanted to keep it going.
So I actually just took up the dming mantling five Ethan and I
did a couple years and then I moved on to the free leak stuff
and that's sort of when I started creating my own stuff.
I did some like not really not even really public stuff just to
just stuff I shared internally with friends and stuff like
that. And then I think the first
published thing on my I have to RPG is the lasers and feelings
hack called Paladin, Bluett Alaric Bluetooth which means
balls and Bluett in Swedish. It's blue disturb Viking the
tradition of sacrificing stuff animals mostly, so it's sort of
it was a parody reference to a Swedish Viking comedy show.
Okay. And nobody's ever played it.
But I think that was the first thing that I released and then
was it the Merc board called when it first came out that
really started like, yeah, you know.
Yeah. Definitely like the work that
Joanna and hella put in in the beginning to just with the cult
and just promoting third-party creators.
And the cult especially with the Really getting like it looks
good. You get stuff that actually
looks professional. It was amazing.
And that definitely is spurred me on to just keep creating
stuff so I yeah. Almost all of it is a toad to
the Merc party and a cult. I'm not sure if I'd be doing as
much without without them. And did you know your honor Pele
prior to the Merc board calls or was?
I Graves left wanting can like the first thing where you guys.
It's kind of got together and worked on something.
I think I found Mark, porterie. When they made you, I'm posted a
video an image just of a Swedish spread of Milk Bar.
This was before they even had planned the kickstarter, I
think. And I saw I don't read it and I
joined the community pretty quickly and so there was, was
there from the start basically? And it was just when I was
getting into web development, And I sent them a photo of a
sketch for Scamper there and then we just I think that was
really hit it off and then I made some stuff and they put it
in the cup but before that I had never met them still.
I've only met them once but talked a couple times so it was
scum. Birther was the first thing that
you saw was actually the web. The web development stop before
you make the adventures. Yeah, but you guys in contact at
that, That's awesome. I don't know.
That's right. And then I mean you put a bunch
of stuff out in the Colts. You've done the scum birther lot
of third-party you know, Merck boring stuff and I know I'm
saying it really wrong and I do apologize.
I wish I could say it more correctly.
It I just don't think I have a Swedish time for it but at what
point in during that did Frontier scum become like an
idea like what has this been brewing for like a couple of
years or is it pretty much? You got an idea you know pushed
through and then it came out. Yeah.
Like the idea, I think it hit me during vacation times about
exactly one year ago, August last year and I just made some
spreads played around with then I said hey this can actually
work. So I basically shut myself off
from any other creative stuff and then since August last year
basically just been grinding Frontiers Come.
But so it was I guess in hindsight a pretty quick project
but it felt it felt like ages sitting there.
Reworking it. As spreads over and over again
and all the playtesting and the changing I made the mistake of
going with layout first, which meant I wrote stuff straight
into the layout, and then I had to change your route and then
suddenly the layout didn't work anymore, and I had to do it
again. So, but the whole process was
very Iterative like I had I had the first like 28 Pages was
supposed to be a scene and then it just kept growing as things
often do and I got in contact with the Brian yaksha and chalk
down. I got my friend skull fungus to
do some art as well, which was really cool and worked on, good
doing the editing and in some ways it became I'm more of a
project management thing and just putting putting together,
all the stuff that they helped me to create.
And yeah, I definitely wouldn't be the same without them.
Yeah. I mean, we first to go from an
idea to this in less than a year because it's books been out for
a little while. Is that?
Just seems crazy to me that seems like such a short period.
Time to be working on any project to go from.
Like initially, you said initial layout to literally having it
printed by games. I've never seen like being
printed like all over the world at this point.
Going into a second printing. Well, we just had this like
putting people together in the beginning like in the credits it
says Brian yaksha. Did the setting words does that
mean like in the first you know chunk prior to the map where it
talks about like all the like the location spots is that
mostly His writing. Yeah, that's that's Brian's
writing and we worked together. I think I had an outline of all
the locations, but since it was such a fast-paced project, I
felt that I just didn't have the either the writing shops or the
time to really put into making it really really good.
And Brian stuff is phenomenal. So I can take you to him and we
work together and he, yeah, like the result.
I still read those and I love every word think it's great.
He is a, they're great writer and just the way that they
That's the vibe that they can put into like a paragraph in
even just a couple of words like it can really pull you in like
really quickly to whatever the setting or the the style is.
And they definitely have like a very dark way of writing and
that I think with Frontiers come especially it really pulls you
into because it's not just like it's not just like a like a this
is like shoot-'em-up Western whatever like it's a dark game
like it's very, you know and The Westerns.
It's not like a spaghetti. Western, I guess.
That's what I'm trying to say. Like, it's a dark Lost Frontier.
You know, it's really supposed to feel that way.
And even even the the intro Adventurer named the organ the
organ train, but we're going to, right?
Yeah. The organ rail which I read as
the Oregon Trail a million times before I read Oregon Trail which
obviously I assume. That's that was the the yeah the
inspiration for that. And I did my brain just read,
Oregon Trail over and over and over again before.
It's like wait, no, it's organ rail.
This is a Amazing. I mean, that's the name of the
intro Adventure. So you like, you can clearly
see, you know, it's special even like some of the Merc Borg
inspiration still coming into that.
And then you said, you got some of your friends to do that, but
layout outside of the adventure is all you right?
Yeah. Yeah.
It's it's me and a whole bunch of public domain artwork.
And then so the inspiration behind, I'll just hold up the
book. And for those in podcast land,
I'm sorry you can't see this, but we talked to us before it
started. There are there like no margins
in this book and it is packed. And I feel like every small
space, it could have been there as filled with just an awesome
like old western ad for something like some, you know,
snake oil or something like that was, what was the inspiration
for the layout? Was it like old paint, like
newspapers or things from the time?
It's like that. And if so like where where did
you kind of pull on the inspiration or like references
or anything from to do that? Yeah I definitely wanted to hit
like you can kind of tell what the first setting bit is that
even like it's inspired by just old-time in newspapers.
I looked at a lot of newspaper layouts online and then as the
book goes on, it kinda becomes more of a catalog style where
the rule start popping up and that was definitely Like, I had
this Recreation, it's still somewhere around here, a
700-page, Sears catalog Recreation from 1897, which just
has so many ads for everything from like bags of flour, two
revolvers, two houses and it was just flip to that so much just
working on the layout. So that was a huge, huge
inspiration. That's a no I'm sorry, what's
it? Yeah.
And of course, Red Dead. Redemption to allow that goes
without saying, I think. Yeah, I mean yeah.
I think that, you know, I don't think there is a game that you
could play Red Dead Redemption. If you wanted to run Red Dead
Redemption as a tabletop role-playing game.
I don't think there's anything better than Frontier scum like a
possibly, like bring in everything that Red Dead
Redemption has, you know what I mean?
I can't imagine anything that they could do it as well.
And then even as far as the cover which is absolutely
stunning. I think because one wrote an
article about this on their blog right and I think he said that
this wasn't his his choice of cover to start is that this type
of story, I believe the words were something like I'm telling
you as a friend, don't use this cover whatever you do.
And then I did it anyways but he's he's come around it.
But yeah, that's I had a bunch of different ideas for the cover
and then I don't know this one just felt right?
It's very inspired by old catalogs.
Yeah, I mean II, personally, I love the cover I think is
absolutely stunning. Is there a chance ever to have
like, alternate cover just like shot somewhere that we could see
what? Well might have.
Like wanted instead or is that just all going to stay tucked
away between you guys. Yeah, I don't think it have them
at hand, but maybe, maybe in the future sometime and dig them
out. I mean, I'm glad he was wrong.
Is, is all I'm saying, because this is stunning.
So, and then, also, speaking of the cover in the physical book,
this is, It's only, I've seen it a couple of times, like, like,
what grandpa has a similar binding on the edge?
This like kind of lay flat open non-binding, what?
Was behind the decision to do this and was there any issue
printing deciding to do this as opposed to a regular one?
Did it make a huge different trying to go through that
process? All right.
Was it was a very close collaboration with the with the
publisher games neveress and Andre over there and we worked
just iterated if bunch of different designs we had like
for a while, this S4 leather kind of Bible old-timey, Bible
Vibe going but eventually we can to settle on this and it was a
pretty huge gamble, really? Because we couldn't get the
print proof from the printer like the actual actual finished
binding. So we kind of had to just wing
it and hope. So it was, it was a scary scary,
scary, wait for the 500 copies to arrive, okay?
The never has but it turned out it turned out just like we
wanted. Yeah I mean it's it's stunning
like there's not another book, I think on anyone's shelf that's
going to look like this and the cover itself is this just what
would normally be inside like normally bound book like this is
the it's just not covered with fabric.
Exactly. Put on.
Exactly. So that they'd usually put like
the Cover on top of them. But other like physically it's
just a naked book. And when you say you couldn't
get the proof for this when you asked the printer to do this
where they like, excuse me, or were they like no.
Yeah we could we could totally just not cover it and do this
kind of binding or yeah. They had a litter 'native.
I think it's mostly used for like photo albums and stuff but
they had the technology. I think that's where the idea
came from that they had that somewhere on their website or
something and Yeah, if you look online, I think most all of all
of the examples are photo albums there.
I think the only limitation we had which was kind of annoying
at the start was that we had to use the cardboard like color.
There's since it's just the inside of a hardcover book, we
couldn't really do anything about that, but as we iterated
over the covers, This one came out and we made it work, I
think. Yeah.
I mean again, it's like I said before, stream started, I bought
two so that I could tuck one away and never ever touch it
just in case something happens to this one.
And I guess it makes sense with this style binding for photo
albums, which people like to open up completely and with this
style like you can easily like the whole thing.
This is very lay flat, which is fantastic to have at the table.
I mean the the I know A lot of people they sometimes do like
the ring binding, so that it will lay flat, but this just
looks so much more elegant than that.
And, you know, sits on the Shelf a little bit easier than the
ring binding on the edge. But I mean beginning to end this
is absolutely stunning and now games, omnivorous?
What, at what point did you kind of meet with them or talk with
them or what was the initial they reach out to you?
Did you reach out to them? How did you guys pair up?
Basically Yeah, I think I had I was over at the Liebherr looter
I'm server with. Yeah.
The the development like I did a bunch of development updates and
the people there were super super helpful to the process and
they kind of kept because I was planning to just release it on H
as a black-and-white PDF for home printing, but they kind of
kept kept pushing to to do something.
Even more with it. And eventually I reached out to
games of numerous I think was in the winter sometime like late
last year and I sent them the 28 page seen trust close to
completion at that point and then they they were into it and
suddenly it turned into a 64 page.
So, when you had the original Zine, what what made it into or
what? What expanded after that
initial, you know, thing that you had is, is a lot of the
setting text, or was it like the adventure?
Like what what it? What was the original Zine like
compared to what it is now? Yeah, it was I think even
tighter there was like it's quite tight at the moment, but
there was even more content than ever.
Her page. But then I see, as we increase
the page count, I redid some layout them, sort of spread
stuff out added the ads in the setting.
I think that was four pages. Originally, I think it's six now
and then of course, all the tables, the carousing and all
the end tables like at the end there, those who are also late
additions. But other than that, I think, I
think almost everything was already there in the scene.
Yeah, because I mean it is it's a 64 page book.
But if you look at just the mostly the rules basically, it's
really only about 20 pages of rules and even some of that is
like ads and things like that. I mean, I love when books do
what you did, which is to put like a like a two-page spread in
the back of just like the the rules.
I know Mark Moore does the same thing, death in space, like all
of those games, do the same thing, like they all do easily
fit. Like, I mean a little bit tight
but like easily on two pages, it really is only about 20 pages of
rules. So From the initial Zine,
whether any big rules changes that happened or was it mostly
adding the setting adding the adventures, adding the role
tables? Kind of just expanding on like
the resources that you can do a little bit more.
Oh yeah I mean we did play tests I think in the end.
Yeah, we like almost. Every other week with the guys,
from from liberally, Durham we did so many places.
And every time I basically changed stuff and the scene
version definitely isn't isn't the same as the as the final
final version. There was a bunch of changes.
I remember I did especially like the thing.
I think I worked on the absolute most was that damage rules for
melee weapon. Which sounds weird because it's
such a tiny tiny bit of it. But since I wanted melee weapons
to feel fun to use and also be a viable option.
But also not outshine the guns because the whole thing is that
the guns dominate. You don't want to face a gun.
So that was that was really tricky and it went through so
many so many iterations. Because if I'm listening bleep
mistaken, like, if you shoot a gun, it hits, right?
Yeah. Unless it's a tough shot, which
they rarely are. It might be like, in a
close-combat struggle, or from a far distance depending on the
gun you use, but almost every time a gun is fired.
It hits. I mean in the game where you
don't have a lot of HP, you know, I mean, guns and then guns
are deadly. I mean, it's if you get shot
especially back then like you're probably gonna die.
Like, it feels really like it's weird to say in a tabletop game
but it feels realistic. You know what I mean?
Like it like it, you should fear this thing that they have.
You know what I mean? And it I guess it does make
sense that trying to make melee enviable in any way shape or
form when you Just have something that can kill you in
one shot and always hits. I guess I would be a lot more
difficult than I guess. Originally I thought I would be.
So how long did it take you to actually get to a point where
you really liked it? And I assume you're, you're
good, you're happy with it now, like, you're just like, okay,
this is it, this one work sir. Yeah, I don't, I like, I worked
up until the final like editing run like the first final round
of editing. We did it just kept changing
every day. Basically, for a couple of weeks
damage up and down, and bonuses and exploding and all sorts of
different changes to just make it feel.
Because at the same time I didn't want to have a bunch of
rules for melee because then that would take away from The
Vibes. So it had to be short but also
interesting and I think like that was kind of My Philosophy
with all this stuff. I am I wanted it to feel a
certain way. Rather than being necessarily
simulation is store or anything, just feel feel a certain way and
I think in one of the play test where we did ancient skin, The
Merc body Adventure. That was one of the first time
we tried the almost final weapon, melee weapon rules.
And one of the players is character, he was wrestling on
the ground. without without, without Manhunter, trying to
trying to catch them and probably eat them.
I think, and the fight sort of ended like that, they were
thrown off their horses. And then, the final enemy was
just resting on the ground with this guy.
And he rolled he hit with his knife, the player, the player
character, hit with his knife and he rolled a 4 and then he
rolled another four, and then he rolled another four and we could
just see in front of us, how How this character I just sat on top
of this guy had been wrestling and just kept on stabbing and
stabbing and stabbing. And meanwhile, his friends were
on driving through the woods, but it was it was a really cool
finish. It had a minute, it's funny
because I'm right there with you.
But from the outside sometimes, you know, playing Merc Borg
something like this. You're like man.
Like, if people like heard us playing this game and didn't
really have any context for this, we sound terrible, we saw
we all sound like Psychopaths be a to just be like me and when
this guy was just just stab this guy in Sam, this guy 7 this guy
knew that I had it right. That's when melee felt good.
Like that's awesome. Yeah and what like you were
talking about Vibes in the game which a I mean fuck like this is
one of the by DS games I've ever read.
One of the things I like about the way that you did the rules
is it feels like whatever we want to call it now like oh s
RNs are whatever this thing is, but where it is like There are
rules or there need to be rules when they're don't, it's like,
fucking make it up like I am, I trust you just do what you want
to do like, conditions in this is fantastic.
It's like there's one or two, there's and then it's like if
none of these match make something up, just go for it.
When you're when you were designing this game.
Where's the Line kind of where you're like?
This feels like it. Needs a rule, but this feels
like it doesn't like, we're like, how do you comfortable
being like? I feel like this is okay to
just, you know, give to GM Fiat. But like this one needs one.
Where there are times where you wrestled with like choosing to
write a rule or not? Write a rule.
Yeah, I think the conditions, particularly show that where I
came to the conclusion that I don't need to specify every
possible way a person could be affected by something, that was
definitely 111 of the I think conditions like at one point
there were a bunch of conditions and I also tried going the other
way and just having one condition.
But at the end I felt like the best way to go about it is just
trust in the GM and I cut a lot of stuff and I changed a lot of
stuff and I think as a programmer I do like to Kid my
darling said to say, so I was very close to two cutting even
more stuff, just keeping only the essentials, but after play
tasting and stuff, I kept, I kept some things that I might
not have kept but the players really, really wanted to stay as
so that definitely showed which, which things actually mattered.
I think if between pay tests, I might have come and said oh I
Got this thing and if they didn't react or if they
approved, I knew it was the right thing to do.
Is there any rule specifically where you like me and I want
this to go? But they were like, no and you
have to keep this one in like you just absolutely have to is
there anything specifically that stands out?
Yeah, I think one of the latest latest things was when I was
debating whether to keep the Hat rule or not which is, I mean, it
sounds strange. But at the moment at that time I
felt like that was that wasn't really sharing the same Vibes of
being Super deadly and grimy and stuff.
And then I think this time Walt came with a good suggestion,
instead of a terrible one, and he convinced me to keep it.
He was definitely right about that one.
Yeah, I don't regret it one bit. Keeping know that.
That's a great one. When like it was like we were
talking early stream, Jason runs all of our Marked for Death in
space. Like basically all of our free
League stuff and all of our, you know, that whole realm of games,
he runs all of those on our Thursday games.
And when he first read Frontier Scout, one of the first things
he said to me was man, I love the hat roll like this is
awesome. You know, it's one of the very
first things and it's true like as far as Vibes go, I guess it's
a competing It's like it is a little bit less deadly but it is
a, it is a it is a cowboy hat. Like how much more Vibe can you
get than a cowboy hat? You know.
Yeah so so yeah. Good call by wall on that one.
Absolutely. And it became like a whole page
spread in the rules right? Like there's literally like yeah
with like a with like a giant Target on the chest and
everything. That's fantastic.
Yeah and I love that because so much there's a couple pages that
are like that a little bit but in the layout So much of it is
so tight. Like you said, it's very dense
like that catalog, but then that one, it just feels very open and
it gives it their sense of importance because there's so
much white on the page, it really in a giant Target in the
middle of the page that it makes it feel really, really
fantastic. Was that on was that was that on
purpose to be like this is a super important rule.
So let's make this different than all the rest of it.
Yeah, like the heck rule has barely any text.
So originally in the layout, it was just this tiny little box at
the end of a page. And I think that's also sort of
why why I was looking to scrap it, because it was kind of
trailing at the end. But then when I decided to keep
it, I decided to just. Okay, let's give it all the
attention. It needs, I don't want anyone to
miss it, if it's gonna be there. And I'm really happy with how
that turned out. That's I think that was one of
the favorite favorite images that I was just waiting to put
somewhere as well. The, the guy with the bullseye
on this hole in the bottom. Like those eyes the bullet
through his forehead. And yeah, yeah.
That that's one of my favorite pages and then really early on
The Wanted page, the guy's face on that.
It's just it's haunting like it's Steak and then right
underneath wanted like it took me.
I think I read it. It was probably my second or
third read because I was just kind of like, oh, man, and then
I read the things but the d4s right underneath the one end
where it's like one or two is dead or alive, 3 is dead for is
alive, like that page and that whole part is just absolutely
fantastic. And the way that the skills are
done with the backgrounds and stuff, it's that same kind of
like like I trust you to make it up.
Kind of things. Like here's some yeah, that pay
is is is is that is that public domain arteries, that one of
that's actually one that me color neon on or Eileen as he
goes by. He does some awesome layout
stuff with using almost exclusively public domain
images. That's actually one that he put
together for me a bit of a collage so thing and that was
actually supposed to be the cover originally.
And back when it was a scene, it didn't fit as well as a with a
book. But original That was supposed
to be the cover and then I kind of reworked it.
I added the background with the tombstone and I made it into the
wanted page but that's, that's probably the main art.
But I think it's Wonder, it's two or three different public
domain Arts put together skillfully.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Again that's one of my favorite pieces are in the entire book as
well. And then the way that you did
backgrounds and skills and stuff like that, what was the
inspiration for that? Because for those that haven't
read the book, for example, like when you say like carcass
Trapper roll a D6, a skill you learned when you found a right
dear in a tree, Is like it's a, that's awesome.
The first time I read through that I was like, this is so
fucking cool. Like this isn't just like you
get stealth, you get this, you get that.
Like it's this almost more like this experience that you had and
like what did you get from that that you can use in the future.
What was the inspiration behind doing that?
Because there are pages of these two and all the bonus skills
that come from that to ended. Those kind of just come out, or
was that it did take a while to do d66 tables of things like
that. Yeah, that was the d66 tables
especially when one of those things that took quite some
time. I just filled in a couple here
and there I kept notes on my phone.
So whenever I thought of something I put, put it in the
list, just over a quite a long period of time, but that was
originally, there was more of a feat system similar to an heroic
Feats, the Mercury third-party Merkel TX.
Publication where each character had like a seat which was a
special ability but as we play test that it became apparent
partly. That characters felt more
powerful because a lot of I mean if it's a feat it has to be sort
of special. If it's a mundane feed is not
fun, but at the same time, defeats were kind of defining
the characters. Like oh I can hold my breath
underwater. For an hour.
Oh that's that. That became their character.
And it also very clearly affected how they approach the
game like they tried to use their feet at every opportunity
and it felt like the feeds were controlling too much of the
gameplay as well as the role play.
So, I kind of sat down and I began just first, I had a list
of skills. So for instance, the doctor
sense diploma. At just skills like invoke
invoke, what was it? I can't remember now but it was
like, different different specific skills like surgery and
stuff like that and that that didn't feel quite right either
because it was there were so specific and didn't really feel
like they, they related to you, need a lot of skills if you're
going to make something that feels varied, so then just like
with conditions that they say that.
Yeah, let's let's leave. That to the creativity of the
people reading and playing the game.
And yeah I think the first time we did a play test with those
rules, it was a great success and like even now when I'm
running a campaign in Frontier scam and it's it's always fun
because you don't see it coming like when someone gets a new
Kill and they always remember where they got the skill and
even the skills from character creation, feel like their own
skills. They often remember, like when
they did character creation, why they learn that skill, which
helps with the road play, but also doesn't completely define
the character. So I think that's, that's sort
of, sort of that answer and a long-winded way.
Yeah, no, I mean, and that's it, just feels so good.
Like, when you're, when you're thinking about making a
character, it's more just like, it feels more like a memory, you
know what I mean? Like than anything, you know,
and I love the way that, like, you know, like I said, for
example, one is carcass Trapper and it's a D6, a skill you
learned when, but then on discharge Deputy, it's a skill
learned by. And then, on suffering clerk,
it's a skill from that time you. So it's like every it's There's
like a like a like a structure to it but everyone feels
different. Every time you do it it's not
the same language but it's similar like it all feels a
little bit different and it really does it makes you feel
and then like tools of the trade as well for some of those things
or like the discharge Deputy law folks, Nick snacks and the
suffering clerk is office supplies and such like it all
has the same structure but like is very very different every
single time. And like you said like it feels
like your Thank you like, it's not Feats.
It's not these other things you have.
And it like I said, it feels like having memories.
As it's like, you're remembering this character or like, you
know, when you have built the character, it feels, I don't
know, it feels more real. I don't know how to say it than
that, you know what I mean? Like, I don't feel like I have a
list of things that I can use in the future.
I feel like I have a list of, like, memories that I can draw
on to look to things as well, and I don't know.
It's cool as all I'm trying to say, like, it's absolutely
fantastic. Tastic Josh I'm trying to even
there's so much. I know it's only 20 pages but
they're dense Pages like you really packed a lot into these
even though a lot of it is like very not good.
How do I say it might quickly written like it's very it's very
concise. Do you think like with your
programming background? Like I know you talked about
like Kill Your Darlings and I know you talked and you started
with a little bit of programming and stuff.
How do you think programming or do you think programming
effects? That you write rules
specifically or the way that you have the rules interact with
each other. Yeah, like scalability, for
instance is something that I brought with me, I think like
being able to expand on stuff like for instance the skills and
the conditions and stuff. It could really go.
You could expand on that and create how many backgrounds you
wanted and how many conditions you need.
And I think that's that's one part that really came came with
the programming background, as well as like the the way the
different systems interact with each other.
I'm still kind of, I still find new stuff like, if I'm trying to
think of a ruling or whatever, and then I realized that, oh,
this Like the drunk system, it the drunk Condition.
It's sort of placed nicely into this thing and etc, etc.
So I think with, with it being scalable, it allows, even if I
wrote the game, I still get surprised by new ways of doing
stuff. Like there was in last week's
session. A character that has the drunk
condition when he swaps his grits.
Which is his grit is really high like a plus for and he swaps
that was his luck, which is a minus 1, when he's drunk and
they were lost in the fog of putrescence regnant and they had
tried to find the tracks back to the boat but they couldn't.
So then he decided to chug a bottle of wine and then stumble
trust in his luck and stumble into the into this fog and just
said, follow me guys. And I was just I had I hadn't
seen that one coming but it was very memorable and very
surprising and I think just the memory bit like not just in the
game but also gameplay wise I think as development of
Frontiers come went on that became more and more important
like creating moments where you could wear you could remember
stuff happening but also where you could imagine house.
Stuff might have ended differently and I think I really
succeeded in that way, that often times when playing, you
can kind of tell that, oh, that particular dice, that result
that change things completely, and you remember that, and I
feel like every time we play, we create memories and that sort
of, I think what I enjoy most about role-playing games is
having a bunch of fun. Maurice of crazy situations that
happen and sharing that with the people I play with.
I mean, you know and that really I think drives a lot of These
like rulings of a rules games, you know.
I think that's probably a better way to describe, then, like OS
RNs are whatever people want to call it.
I think rulings of a rules, really just feels a lot better
because, you know, one of the things that you said is really
important, but the game is the vibe of the game, you know, and
to kill the vibe of an entire scene or something because some
rule doesn't quite let the coolest thing happen.
Whatever just never feels good, you know, I ran into that too
much in 5e or it's like, you know, you come across Sleeping
guy and you have a dagger and stabbed the guy in the neck.
Obviously you kill him. No like your dagger only does 4
damage. This guy has 400 damage you
can't kind of like come like come on you know and that really
drove me towards rulings over rules and I feel like this game
Like default, like just it shows that so much where the vibe is
so important to it and the rules are written in such a way that
there's this kind of innate permission to just, you know,
the rule of cool is written all over this book and all of these
places and it just feels really, really good like you when you're
reading it all the way through and the first time I read it in
a second time, read in the third time, I read it.
Like every time I flip the page I'm like this is so fucking cool
like this. So fucking cool.
Like, I mean, I don't need good job, I guess.
I don't even know what to say besides that.
I mean it's such a good fucking game.
Like, realistically, like easily unquestionably, one of my
favorite games that I've ever ever read and easily.
One of the best games has come out this year.
What before I say that I want to ask one more question about
something the the rule the stats in the beginning was a question
that I had the D4 - D4 to start with pretty low stats.
It's I know that Devon space does the the same kind of thing.
And Mark Borg has like a similar kind of thing.
Was that all is that all kind of like the inspiration for all of,
for all of that was just the whole those games in general, or
yeah. Like I had the tree D6 thing
that my father did and us, but then I read death in space and I
was like, I'm stealing that that's great.
That's perfect. I tried really to like Merck
bodies. Pastic a lot of the stuff in
Frontiers. Come is not just the mechanics,
but the philosophy behind it and rulings over rules.
And I think Mark Pryor was the first game that showed me that.
It doesn't need to tell you everything.
It just sort of trusts you to understand what it's going for.
And I think that's the really Really, really great.
And yeah, one one thing I try to do with Frontier second was, how
can I? Because I've been in the mark by
our community since the beginning.
So I knew I visit the Discord daily.
I know exactly which questions pop up in the rules, rules,
question section, and the 3D 64 ability scores was one of those
things that it keeps popping up. So, so when I saw that in that
in space and that's one way to not have that question.
Come up and yeah, another day. I stole it.
No regrets 88. It's really really, I mean the
first time I read it that it tastes like this is so good.
Like this is so why does know and do this like this you can
tastic. And for a game like this I mean
it's it fits perfectly, you know, it keeps me your stats.
Could literally be - like really easily.
Like I know when we, when we ran death in space, I think we all
averaged. Maybe one positive stat and a
couple of zeros and like one really shitty stat and it feels
good. Like it's not a hero game you
know, like I played enough Hero games, like I'm not trying to
eventually fight Gods like I want to risk death turning a
corner like I want to literally if I'm not thinking and I run
around shotgun to my face, I'm gone.
Like, that is what I want. I want the risk because I got
tired of knowing that it was all balanced for me.
You know what I mean? Unless I somehow have a string
of like the worst roles I'm ever going to roll, I'm not gonna
die. And even if I do the GM, might
fudge it just to keep the story going.
Like, I just couldn't do that anymore.
And D 4, minus D for sounds, so simple, but there's so much
written into that. And like, so much outcome from
that, where, you know, I try to encourage a lot of people in 5e
to be a player. Your flaws like, look at your
worst and really make that cool. And with this, every one of your
stats could be your worst at, you know.
And it just it feels really fantastic.
So I mean I couldn't think of as soon as I saw that, I was like,
oh man, like this is great already death in space added,
this has it. I know exactly what this is
going for, it's just really good.
I guess. What is what's next for Frontier
scum? You know, I know that, you know,
there's been fun too. Used in jams and all sorts of
things but as far as what you're doing or play into the game, I
know we were talking before there's a second edition and
printing because this sold out almost immediately and then
popped up for like two seconds on exalted and sold out
immediately again. So besides a second and a second
knot second edition, a second printing happening, what's the
future of Frontier scum look like?
I think it's still very much up in the air.
I'm hoping to have a lot of stuff to do outside of hunters.
Come at the moment but once that clears clears up by have a lot
of stuff I want to do lots of Adventures and extra still
supplements. Like I said it's quite modular
and scalable so you can you can add a lot of stuff quite easily
related, root classes and such And yeah, there's there's
there's one bigger thing planned, but I can't really talk
about that yet. There was a question in chat,
will there be a special edition? Not, not that I know of right
now. There might be, it would be
cool. We did float around the idea of
having an A6 version. Because if you do a fall leather
cover, the book sort of looks like a restaurant menu because
it's the cover is actually bigger thicker than all the
pages put together. But if you read it, it is A 6,
you could have twice the amount of pages you can make like a
little pocket for leather Edition which would be really
cool. But that's that's not on the
horizon I don't think maybe maybe did you ever imagine a
second edition going forward from here?
Is there anything that you know even now that it's out and you
read it again where you're like me and you know maybe I could do
this, maybe I could do that or Are you just kind of Basking in
your success and making one of the best games?
You know that a lot of people have ever read for right now, it
just kind of working on dislike the subtleties of like that.
Now, I mean I keep thinking of stuff I could have done
differently but over overall I think like I'm really happy with
how it turned out. Like I was for a while.
I was worried I'd since I was pretty much grinding it
spending. Very many hours on it.
I was worried, I'd hated by the time, it came out, but actually
I'm excited to run it and I'm excited to play it and I'm
excited to make more stuff for it.
So I'm very happy with that. But if there was one thing I
changed probably reduce the number of back inventory, slots,
T2, and increase the belt slots default, as the one thing that I
would change, but I'm not sure if that's where the second
edition. Well, anyone listening.
Now, you know, the real rules is written, we're switching up
these inventory slots. You could just use a marker and
change. I just read it in our you were
talking. Yeah.
Hollering in coloring in the black-and-white pictures, which
God, I can't imagine ever, ever putting anything inside this
book. Um, but for those listening just
just right, it just just go ahead and take your beautiful
book and just scribble it and just fix that.
I the question when you Western what is role-playing look like
at your table? I guess I could do you do use a
Southern accent and wear a cowboy hat when you're when
you're playing the game or I don't when I run it but I used
the cowboy it my best Cowboy impression obviously but my main
table of players, they've kind of taken to a using a deck of
cards to track Aces and they all wear hats.
It's to keep track of if they have their hat on or not.
So yeah, we actually play in English, we're all Swedish, but
we kind of for a long time. Even before we start with
Frontiers come, we've been playing in English just because
it feels kind of corn in Swedish.
I'm sure other other groups do the same.
But yeah, I'm not sure if it looks like a normal gaming
table. I'm not sure what that looks
like. The Rowdy, I think we do.
I would describe my table as a beer and pretzel sort of thing,
people come and go and we blast music and sometimes get
completely stuck in ridiculous nonsense.
But I mean, I can't lie on my gaming table to me.
Yeah. Sounds like, you know, when I,
when I try to Scott describe tabletop role-playing games, I'm
you have to be like, well, it's like dany's dragons, but let me
tell you all the reasons, it's not, but it's a lot of times.
It's like it's just a fucking poker game with your buddies but
you kill dragons and shoot Cowboys and stuff like this.
Literally, the only difference, we're all fuckheads just like
drinking beer, eating pretzels, like rip it on each other.
We just happen to be like rolling dice instead of like
flipping cards or even Living hard to, it's fine.
Like it's the same thing. It's just getting together with
your buddies and just having a fun time.
But I asked her. Why do you think it sounds corny
to play Frontiers coming Swedish?
Is it just because Westerns are so often like in English with
the accent and stuff like that or are three?
That I think that's true with any Swedish role-playing game
that isn't, like, even Swedish games written in Swedish are
often times corny. Because we don't, Don't like a
goblin. That's very, that's a very
common English word but then when you translate it to switch
would like our word for Goblin is the same as the word for
troll and ogre which makes it kind of annoying.
You have to come up with new terms that nobody uses and it
sounds kind of cheesy and I think the one I'm playing in a
Viking game, we were playing the game Viking from 1994 and our GM
is a history buff. His who knows everything about
the Viking times. So we speak, Swedish were a
couple of Vikings from pretty much.
The Gothenburg area going on all sorts of Adventures.
And it's, it's more like playing a History Channel documentary
that than a, in practice game, we're just sitting and talking
about Viking times, which is completely different.
But it that works in Swedish because it's Vikings and yeah.
Yeah, I think at like, if if it's some sort of some sort of
thing based in that, where we have the words in Swedish and
they don't sound silly, it's perfectly fine.
But I think a lot of people feel the same way.
I know that many people also just speak swinglish when they
play. So they did use English terms
for all the fantasy stuff but they speak Swedish, which also
sounds a bit silly. So we decided to move over to to
English completely. Listen, considering that like
90% of the people born in America, speak one language and
like pretty much. I assume everyone in Sweden
speaks at least two. You guys can do whatever you
want. As far as that you're definitely
farther ahead than we are. One of the things I did want to
say that, I always bring up what we do reviews and I will, I will
sing the Praises of this later, but I wanted to thank you.
Personally now is The bookmarks are fantastic.
The hyperlinks are fantastic in line.
Hyperlinks are fantastic. This is one.
As soon as I pulled up the PDF and roll to the first thing and
it turned into a hand and I could click the hyperlink.
I can't tell you how excited I was at.
This is super hyperlinks and completely bookmark.
That's one thing that I don't know, for no reason whatsoever
is become like my, like sticking point with some PDFs.
Or I'm like, oh man, it's not hyperlinked.
But thank you very much for all of the hyperlinks and the
bookmarks, Everything, it is very beautifully, done.
A very good job on that and I will be, as I said, singing the
Praises of that, again, later this evening when we do the
review. So thank you.
That's shout out to Walt for making sure each and everyone
works. He clicked on every one of them
and shout out to talk down for the best type of Link's, I think
I've ever seen, which is, if you click on the little train car,
icons below and the minimap below the train car keys.
One actually works as a hyperlink Which is really cool
and I love it. I click on them, sometimes in
the PDF, just for fun. Nice.
So, um, So yeah, we're um we talked about a second printing
of this already. Do you know when a second
printing is going to come out or is that like a games?
Omnivorous decision and it's on the way.
I think it's the orders in at the printer but there's Pro
paper shortage and all sorts of stuff going on, but I think the
estimate is like, late next month, October somewhere around
there. I know, you know, firm dates
yet. But as soon as possible is
basically the answer. Yeah, well I mean when they sold
out I mean how long did it take to sell out?
Was it even like a week? Didn't even last a week on the
website. Yeah, I think it was like one
week and six days or something like that.
So just under two weeks we were planning to sell out in three
months. So it was pretty amazing.
And then they accepted funeral one, that hit and the was 140
copies and they flew off the shelves, it's just three days.
Which is I was gonna say I'm a size the last of the day on
there. I got my first one directly from
the game's omnivorous website and I think I got my second copy
from floating chair Club. I think that's why I got it
from. But I almost bought a third one
just because I was like, at some point, I'm going to want to give
somebody that's gonna be so excited by it.
I'm going to be like here, just take one.
So we'll see you a second printing if that happens but I
know a lot of the stuff that you have for Frontiers comes on your
HP. You want Frontier scum itself.
Like the P. The digital version is not on
your Edge page where where do people actually find Frontier
scum the digital version? Since it's not in print right
now, that's on games, omnivorous drive-through RPG page.
If you go to Frontiers com.com, you'll have have the link there
as well as links to our Discord and the subreddit, which hasn't
kicked off yet. Maybe one day it will.
And of course, My Twitter as well.
If you want to follow, I don't tweet very often but when I do
it's quality, so And and your Twitter is make data model, or
yeah, they make their armor and then your each page as well.
Is that suggests that's make that a lot more as well.
Right? Big Data not lower.
Yeah, yeah. But I mean just search Carl
Druid, you know, it on Google and I'll take you right to that
find all of your well, a lot of the Mercury stuff you can find
scumm bar, they're on their discriminatory.
Mm, a whole lot of stuff. And then, as I said, like a lot
of It's two other Frontiers come things and you put out cattle,
Dash the Affinity brushes are fantastic.
Maps are fantastic like all of those things and even the art
pack for organ trail, that you talked about, which is
fantastic. So if you want to actually run
the game, there are tons of resources on the McDonald at
North each page that I have already sent to RDM, so he can
start prepping because as we were talking about before we
will be running Frontier scum. I'm pretty sure. 100%
confirmation and I think we're either going to do Oregon rail
or we're going to do walls Adventure.
So we'll see, I won't know until he decides to tell us because I
haven't read them. Just in case I should get to
play. But yeah, make sure you check
out if you if you did not get a copy, that really sucks for you
because I got to. So, wait for the second
printing, but check out Frontiers come.com.
It will take you to all the links for the rest of that
stuff. And as he said before, make Dad
no Latin or make data not lore on Twitter and itch for those
things Carl. Seriously, thank you so much for
coming on the show. This has been an incredibly
insightful conversation. I can't wait to get you the
review tonight. It is at our time.
It's about 11:15. So to be 6 p.m.
Pacific, we're going to be hopping on myself and Hunter and
actually doing a read through and review of the game this
evening. I assume you'll probably be
asleep at that time. So yeah, it's like three.
My time. Yeah, I won't be here but yeah.
Also shout-out to Walton Woods Park which of carcass country
and shark dance, very cool, blood moon vernissage which are
22 of the several awesome Frontiers come Adventures that
are I have absolutely nothing to do with, so check those out as
well. And I think there's a pole going
on on Twitter. The right now and between Cyborg
and Francesca, I don't think it's really you should.
Well, I think everybody should vote from their scam.
I think he got blown out of the water.
Pretty quickly Frontier scum, you know.
I think it had tripled cyborg real quick.
And I messaged Jason was like, hey, I think I think Frontier
Sheldon's going to win this and he was like I think so too and
he just started prepping Frontiers come with that point.
So there's still some couple of days left so hey, I think Key 1
I think I think regardless I think no matter how it plays
out, we're going to end up running both so so you can you
can be rest assured that front your skin will become into
actual play on the adventure archive.
And speaking of the adventure archive, that is what we are
under on YouTube. We Are The Adventure archive.
This is a weekly scroll podcast, you can find this on Twitter at
weekly underscore scroll and on Instagram at the VDOT.
Weekly dot scroll again. Carl thank you so much for
coming on. I really appreciate it.
I know you are on the other side of the world.
And that this is not the most ideal time, but I generally do
really appreciate you coming on and I'm super excited over the
game. So, again, thank you so much.
Thank you, thank you. And yeah, thanks for having me
and just a reminder that no one under any circumstances should
lick the binding. I'm not sure if its food safe,
so please don't, I don't wrinkled suit.
So if you listening now, you know to do, all right?
Thank you, everyone for being jaggery.
Appreciate it. And you guys all have a good
evening. So much have it.
Good? Bye bye.