Needfire

Lights flicker and softly snap on, and the echo of shuffling footsteps comes closer through the empty warehouse. You don’t know where you are as you strain against the shackles attached to a bloody metal table. A manila file smacks down before you, opening to what you did, what you hoped wasn’t true. You look away and wretch as you suddenly realize, "What happens in Vegas DOESN’T STAY IN VEGAS?".

Welcome back to SUNSET, friends. Thank you for your patience. It’s been two weeks of traveling and fighting off the concrud of various fashions. We want to reward you for your tenacity by providing you with an extra special edition of our development diary. After all, so many of you came and rode with Gamble at Dice Tower West and play-tested & demoed SUNSET.

What is this?

Dice Tower West was a really exciting time. So many people who had never heard of SUNSET jumped into games with reckless abandon. We had a special visit from a group of fresh game developers from a “local” high school who provided feedback and told us how excited they were about the prospect of a modern horror rules-lite system vaulting into the marketplace.

That brings us to why I’m writing this: a long time ago, I was one of those kids just learning about the world of games and trying to understand it. I want to tell you a story. Sit back, make yourself comfortable, and let's look at the road to which we owe for getting here.

Early Aughts, A mall in the Midwest, alive, popping, a friendly local game store manned by one of my best friends, Treetop. Treetop is a lanky dude with blue eyes filled with mirth and fair skin, best hidden from the sun, always quick with a hug and a kind word. I greeted my pal as always, exchanging jokes and chatting about our days. I worked downstairs, hawking cell phones and desperately trying to scrape up enough money for gasoline for my 96’ Saturn, coffee, and cigarettes. He had a real retail job and was getting paid an hourly salary where I floundered in the trenches of “commission-based sales.” It was high school, I was a teenager, and I had no idea what I was doing.

I remember just receiving my paycheck and being flush with some cash. I wanted to buy a game. I was new to gaming and quickly learned that some games were not for me. I was never a person for extensive rule sets; there was just too much to remember. I struggled with numbers my entire life; my neuro-spicy flavor made letters and numbers move around like insects under a rock. I hadn’t found my niche yet, but that was all about to change.

“Dude, I think I got a game you’d like. You’re into horror, right? Like Stephen King and stuff like that.”
“Oh. Love spooky shit.”
“Here, we’re getting rid of them. They're getting a third edition.”
“What’s an edition?”
“Uh, it’s like a new set of better rules.” 
“You can do that?” I was shaken.
“Sure, you can. People work to make their rules better. Here.”

Vampire: The Masquerade Second Edition felt heavy in my hands. It had a green marble cover with a rose; it reminded me of Interview with a Vampire and The Lost Boys. I flipped it open and scanned it; the rules are okay: Lasombra, bingo, I want to play that.

“Lasombra are bad guys. Keep going.”

Then there it was. My teenage mind broke at what it was witnessing. There, on a page saying Malkavian, there was a picture. The black and white line art print depicted a punked-out person with long hair holding something purposefully printed upside down. It was modern, not like that weird fantasy stuff that everyone loved. It had power; it had substance. It was saying something, and I wanted to hear more. I needed more of this.

Giants

I often say in professional settings that “we are standing on the shoulders of giants.” I know this is true because I've modeled the universe in which SUNSET exists on the blueprints laid out by experts before me. The World of Darkness has been a major source of inspiration and joy in my life. From playing and running LARPs to being able to work on Chicago by Night from Onyx Path Publishing, I've been blessed to walk that fantastic world many times over. I’ve been able to thank Steve Wieck & Richard Thomas multiple times over the years for their guidance and mentorship. What I never knew was that I'd be able to come full circle with giving a game to another kid just trying to find something they liked.

Dice Tower West was the first time I ran this game for teenagers, while SUNSET explores mature themes, death obviously has no age limit. I told this story that I found my game when I was one player's age, he turned 16 on that Sunday of the convention. Seeing the joy of a game that truly connects with someone is something that I hope all who read this get the opportunity to feel someday. It just clicked for this kiddo, he understood what was going on, was silly but respectful, flippant but poised. He was able to be a “bad guy” safely without consequence and explore some pretty brutal ideas around addiction and religious belief. At one point of learning of the gold in the Launder your Karma demo in our free Quickstart, he mused “sweet, money for buying more cocaine.”

Just like how I was able to explore pretty dark shit while I played my various spooky characters in the World of Darkness, this player was using my game to do the same and they wanted to tell all their friends all about it. That is what this is all about. The big cycle that stories can provide and how it can echo through generations. Those stories matter and change the world. Pretty neat, huh?

What happened these past two weeks

Dice Tower West. Wack. Mike, Jason, Adam, and Thomas all got to have some in-depth conversations about SUNSET and our plans going forward. Remember any Players who play in our demos before publishing may receive a Playtester credit in the core rule book. Feel free to email your name, when you played, and your feedback / constructive criticism to sunset@foretellergames.com so we can review it with the entire creative team and add your name to the tester list!

Sebastian Yūe (a guest writer on Daggerheart and Cosmere) provided their first draft of 2,000 words in which we applied some of their setting design into the demos at DTW to a resounding success. Players stated they “were scared” of certain unnerving innovations Sebastian have set out for Players and Death Masters alike.

We are planning some videos that dive into different areas of SUNSET to start exploring the game design and we are planning more live plays of SUNSET with some delightful people. Stay tuned for more on that front.

Sydney provided us some art on Saturday, we cannot wait to show off her work to the world.

THE WORD OF THE WEEK

isochronal

[ ahy-sok-ruh-nl ]

adjective

1. equal or uniform in time
2. performed in equal intervals of time
3. characterized by motions or vibrations of equal duration

THE SONG OF THE WEEK

“Pedro” by Jaxomy, Agatino Romero, & Raffaella Carra on the SUNSET Soundtrack.

SUNSET FACT OF THE WEEK

When you’re using the Deck of Many Dice and you’re a Death Master you never have to worry about what is happening next. You can scry a scene by just pulling cards and using the Affinity/tarot symbol or dice rolls for however you choose.

Find more about the Deck of Many Dice here.

What’s the plan?

We are working on a series of content to start explaining slices of SUNSET: character creation, the world setting, the goals, the denizens, and more. We have over 300 pages in our unedited corebook currently, and there is a lot to start introducing.

Tell your friends, play the quickstart, and follow the Kickstarter page.