The World of RPGs can be Brutal
James Norbury was kind enough to let see what is going on at Brutal Games.
When did you begin playing role-playing games?
My first game was when I was about 16. My friend came to my house brandishing a copy of Werewolf the Apocalypse and suggested we play. After filling in the character sheet he told me I was sat in a room watching TV and that there was a loud noise outside. I was totally confused. I recall asking if I could turn off the TV and was surprised he did not have to find the appropriate rule in his huge book. From there I move onto D&D (Planescape) and started to realise that this was a pastime without limits. You could do anything. I’ve always had quite varied imagination so the possibilities of roleplaying really appealed to me.
Why did to create Brutal Games?
I’ve designed games since I was tiny, using ancient Citadel Miniatures in conjunction with own crude rulesets. When I discovered RPGs I found that it was a perfect medium to bring all my various game ideas to life. After spending 10 years creating Corporation (for my own fun) I was approached by a publisher and we printed Corporation. That did not go well. Eventually I decided that if we had our own publishing house, we could make all the decisions and not have to cater to other people’s needs or deal with situations where we felt everyone was not doing the jobs they had agreed to.
By making Brutal Games we can make exactly what we want, when we want and how we want.
Give us the rundown on Corporation.
In Corporation (set in 2500) you take on the role of a division of cybernetically augmented Agents who work for one of five world dominating corporations. These corporations continually engage in covert and open warfare with one another and the Agents are their main weapons. A typical session would involve you being assigned a mission such as sabotaging an enemy asset, assassinating a key figure, stealing some tech or body guarding a VIP. To help your division you are granted Licenses (which allow you to bend the law), weapons, cash, gear, vehicles and special training. Corporation Agents are not the good guys. You are not heroes and that is one of the things that makes the game stand out. Of course, you can play a moral character if you want to but it can be quite hard to adhere to your principles whilst following orders – that’s part of the fun.
What’s the story behind Monster Dungeon Quest?
Monster Dungeon Quest was designed to be a sandbox fantasy game in the traditional style but with a system which encourages roleplaying above number crunching. Basically when you make want to do something you describe your actions to the GM who will award you a varying number of dice based on how interesting, clever, humorous or engaging your description was. A few dice are also added based on your skills and stats but your descriptions are what makes the most difference. We still have a fair bit of play testing to do as the game incorporates a way to create your own special abilities and magical powers, and it’s pretty tricky to get perfect.
The game is huge and incorporates loads of races, classes, items, magical goodies and monsters. We also created a huge world where it is all based as we wanted to provide a single book with everything you need for years of classic fantasy gaming.
Any updates on Assault on Cardthrower Castle?
The Kickstarter did not work, I was told by someone in the industry that agility based games don’t tend to do so well on Kickstarter and I am not very good at marketing. Saying that, it’s a great game and I would love to publish it. We are working all-out on Corporation at the moment so Cardthrower Castle is on hold for now.
Do you have any other games coming soon?
We have about 10 games planned. So many ideas but not the time to make them all a reality sadly. The Sword Reforged will be coming out soon which is a supplement for the Corporation series and after that we are planning to make a book called Resistance where you can play as a normal human in the Corporation world. This book may well be stand-alone and offer the opportunity to view the entire corporation setting from the other side.
How can people learn more about your RPGs?
Website
Facebook
Youtube Channel
Drivethru Store
Or just write to us – we always reply. 🙂
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