Mongoose's "Holy Grail"

Dr Rotwang! · June 14, 2007, 12:38:04 PM

I shouldn't be mean. Serenity wasn't unplayable, just...I dunno, seemingly incomplete.

Maybe Mongoose is landing Star Trek? Harry Potter is a taller order, though...huh. This has me curious.

jrients · June 14, 2007, 12:56:28 PM

Quote from: pspahnThere's a whole lot more to a setting than what's published in the books/movies. Take Harry Potter magic for instance--most of what we see is a small glimpse of wand magic with a few fortuitous spells and magical effects appearing when needed, but the writer sees the bigger picture* so you have to see his/her notes to get a full understanding of what magic can and can't do. If you're really making an effort to emulate the novels, you don't want to graft a detailed magic system onto something that's more freeform and vice-versa. I'm not saying this is the case with Mongoose, but I can see where it might be.

Pete

*usually--I think Rowling makes a lot of it up as she goes along

While you have a point, I think as a fan I'm primarily interested in a licensed game that does what I see in the published source material.

And I agree that Harry Potter is the one of the few 'Holy Grail' licenses out there that I can think of. It's been proven that Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Marvel, and DC licenses can make money, but it's also obvious that they're not slam dunks. From a strictly business perspective, I'd pursue Naruto or Pokemon before I'd try another Trek game.

flyingmice · June 14, 2007, 12:58:31 PM

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!I shouldn't be mean. Serenity wasn't unplayable, just...I dunno, seemingly incomplete.

Well, it wasn't unplayable, but it certainly didn't HELP any, and my players hated it with a passion. Made me change system after one session.

-clash

Pierce Inverarity · June 14, 2007, 01:00:09 PM

Quote from: jrientsThat sounds like a remarkable example of not having one's shit together. They're busting ass to secure a license and they don't even know what the hell they're gonna do with it?

Par for the course.

Here's how, according to Matt himself, they acquired the Conan license:

Scene: The Mongoose offices. Matt's pardner is on the phone with some translator.

Pardner: "HEY MATT! Looks like the Conan license is available. Do we want it?"

Matt: "zzzzzz... what? Uh, sure."

Dr Rotwang! · June 14, 2007, 01:03:27 PM

Quote from: flyingmiceWell, it wasn't unplayable, but it certainly didn't HELP any, and my players hated it with a passion. Made me change system after one session.

-clash

I got through two. Switched to D6.

ElectroKitty · June 14, 2007, 01:06:11 PM

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!I shouldn't be mean. Serenity wasn't unplayable, just...I dunno, seemingly incomplete.

Maybe Mongoose is landing Star Trek? Harry Potter is a taller order, though...huh. This has me curious.

Mechanically, I think Serenity seems to work fine (I think they're calling their core rules 'Cortex' now), although d2s can be a pain if you don't have dice in that range. Hell no, I ain't flippin' no gorram coin, neither!

But yeah, it's really lacking in 'verse "crunchiness", 'specially an indepth gazeteer.The different ship schematics are nice, tho. Still, I haven't read Out in the Black yet, so maybe it'll address all my issues.

ElectroKitty · June 14, 2007, 01:08:14 PM

Quote from: RezendevousHarry Potter, maybe - I can see that as being more a holy grail than LOTR. I know that Rowling has said she won't allow an RPG, but maybe that's what the long negotiation is all about. And Mongoose is probably one of the only companies that would have a shot at it. Odds are it's not that, though, of course.

Hmm... interesting. I musta missed when Rowling said she wouldn't allow an RPG. Did she give a reason?

pspahn · June 14, 2007, 01:09:24 PM

Quote from: jrientsWhile you have a point, I think as a fan I'm primarily interested in a licensed game that does what I see in the published source material.

No, I understand that, and that's probably what you'd see in the game, but from a design perspective you have to have the full picture before you start writing. If (using Harry Potter again) you make up a traditional wand-based magic system based on the seven novels and then Rowling comes out with an eighth novel where she reveals that magic actually comes from the demons that dwell inside all wizards, the company loses a lot of credibility through no fault of their own. Again, this is all just hypothetical. I seriously doubt Rowling is going to license Harry Potter as an RPG, but I think it would be a blast.

Pete

Sosthenes · June 14, 2007, 01:09:36 PM

I never get it why you need a license for stuff like Serenity. If you're not playing the main actors, what do you get from this universe? It's not like the author really cared about creating a huge, convincing, detailed universe. Wasted money for some pretty pictures... Don't get me wrong, I liked the series a lot (hated Buffy/Angel), but I could run that on-the-fly with about any system thrown at me.

Hmm. Popular TV series... Lost: the RPG? CSI the RPG?
(*shudder*)

flyingmice · June 14, 2007, 01:12:21 PM

Quote from: SosthenesI never get it why you need a license for stuff like Serenity. If you're not playing the main actors, what do you get from this universe? It's not like the author really cared about creating a huge, convincing, detailed universe. Wasted money for some pretty pictures... Don't get me wrong, I liked the series a lot (hated Buffy/Angel), but I could run that on-the-fly with about any system thrown at me.

Hmm. Popular TV series... Lost: the RPG? CSI the RPG?
(*shudder*)

The reason you want the Serenity license is to make money. It's already gone through 5 printings IIRC. Your serial numbers filed off Sixguns & Starships isn't going through any 5 printings...

-clash

ElectroKitty · June 14, 2007, 01:13:20 PM

Quote from: SosthenesCSI the RPG?

Hmm... does the CSI:Miami supplement come with a Sunglasses Quip feat?

jrients · June 14, 2007, 01:14:24 PM

Quote from: flyingmiceThe reason you want the Serenity license is to make money. It's already gone through 5 printings IIRC. Your serial numbers filed off Sixguns & Starships isn't going through any 5 printings...

I have this little number at home all about tramp freighters and run-ins with the law. I'm pretty sure it went through multiple printings. If only I could remember the name. Something beginning with a 'T' I think.

arminius · June 14, 2007, 01:19:05 PM

Yeah, but that was then.

Not that I see the attraction of most licensed properties, personally.

Sosthenes · June 14, 2007, 01:29:55 PM

Quote from: flyingmiceThe reason you want the Serenity license is to make money. It's already gone through 5 printings IIRC. Your serial numbers filed off Sixguns & Starships isn't going through any 5 printings...

I certainly understand why a publisher would want to get that license, but I never understood why so many people would buy it. No other sci-fi RPGs available? On the other hand, there's lots of really creepy Whedon fanboys... I'd rather face ten overweight wannabe Klingons than a couple of Buffy fans in their 40s...

jrients · June 14, 2007, 01:32:26 PM

Quote from: Elliot WilenYeah, but that was then.

Yeah, I was just being silly.

QuoteNot that I see the attraction of most licensed properties, personally.

Some days I can barely work up enthusiasm for someone else's campaign world that's been designed from the ground up for roleplaying.

Licenses seem to be a hard sell, because you have to be able to woo the roleplayers who also happen to be into the license. And even if their tastes are wide enough that they would play anything besides D&D, you have to deal with the fact that the average roleplayer only likes a small number of systems. It seems like a tough row to hoe, not a license to print money.