One of the elements that role-playing games and computer games have in common is that product based on a movie license is rarely any good. A few examples of well used licenses exist, don’t get me wrong, and when it works it really works, but more often, the end result is well below par and sells on the strength of the license along which was the reason for purchasing it in the first place.

An exception to this in the role-playing industry was West End Games’ (WEG) Star Wars RPG.

WEG’s interpretation of the Star Wars Universe into an RPG has for many years been the best of example of how to work a costly film license. It was also regularly voted the best introductory RPG due to its simple system and identifiable setting. Whilst some credit has to be given to LucasFilm for the effort they place in maintaining the integrity of any Star Wars licensed product, WEG did an excellent job. The system was quick and simple, and allowed the heroic nature of the Star Wars movies to be simulated perfectly. We may take this sort of system for granted now, but when WEG released Star Wars, very few simple, elegant and heroic systems existed. The many sourcebooks for the system were always of a very high quality, and worked as excellent knowledge works on the Star Wars setting whether you had the role-playing game or not.

It was a much-loved game, for a much-loved setting, but WEG lost the license, and it marked the end of an era in Star Wars role-playing. Now, unlike the Star Trek license, the Star Wars license has been awarded to a new company quickly, and a new era begins…

Wizards of the Coast is the Microsoft of the role-playing industry, and I do not mean this as an insult, or to suggest they should be hauled into court on anti-competition charges, but just as a way to describe their size and influence, and the fact they are the only ones with the strength and power to lead the hobby into a brighter, and bigger future. The fact that they are now owned by Hasbro, a company that is a household name, with ability to get games out of the back street on onto mainstream shelves further increases the potential in Wizards of the Coast.

As the majority of you will know, Wizards of the Coast now own the Star Wars license.

Wizards of the Coast should do two things with this gem they have purchased (for a lucrative amount of money no doubt): Get the system right, and use it as a vehicle to get a role-playing game on the shelves of mainstream stores, and out of the gaming store frequented only by people who are already gamers!

The system to choose is simple, and it is the only choice that I believe exists from all perspectives, marketing wise it works and it is also a solid system that would work really well for the Star Wars universe.

I believe the SAGA system should be the vehicle for the new Star Wars RPG.

First, from a role-playing standpoint it is an elegant system that works, and the basis of the system reads like it was designed for a Star Wars role-playing game, being fast, simple, dramatic and leaving the GM time to weave an epic and mythical story, full of the imagery of the Star Wars universe. The D6 system was fast, but not as fast as SAGA, the rolling and adding up of five D6’s was a trial, and I liked the system. The goals of the SAGA system, ease of use, player involvement in the drama, flexibility and the removal of micromanagement from the GM’s tasks are all things that should present in a new Star Wars system

Still sceptical?

Okay, putting the controversial nature of the SAGA system aside, and thinking of it from a marketing point of view: I want the new Star Wars game to be in a neat box, marketed as an adventure game (it is a naming difference that annoys purists slightly but I can live with it) and placed prominently next to all those collectable card games that sell so well. The Star Wars card games sell by the truckload, and they are in a lot more mainstream shops than role-playing games. These are shops that computer gamers visit (a horde of potential role-players, believe me), young kids hooked on card games, and the mothers of potential role-players who play card games. This is where the cards come in, it makes the game less alien to all those perusing the racks of cards, we know they are just a rule mechanic and possess advantages (and disadvantages) over dice or whatever else you choose to use, but to the people perusing those cards it is a vital known quality that may make him just pick up that box. It is Star Wars. It is a card game. It is not an alien concept, at least while it is in the box on that shelf. The buyer might discover how different it is when he gets it home, but he has it at home and since it has all the romance and adventure of Star Wars calling to him from the pages he may just play it - and to do that he needs players…

Nobody loses, and hopefully we extend our hobby as a result.

This is why I have high hopes for the new Star Wars license and what Wizards of the Coast may do with it, as I think it is more important to the role-playing industry than the third edition of Dungeons and Dragons. The Dungeons and Dragons name will never penetrate the mainstream market, and while we follow its development avidly out of interest of what Wizards of the Coast may do to a game with such a history, it is also this very history that will tie the game to the traditional role-playing market alone. The Star Wars game is different, the very fact it is a piece of Star Wars merchandise gives it a badge that has enough mainstream credibility to move it out of the normal role-playing marketplace. If given the right marketing spin, and a system that is simple and appeals to the masses (and that is SAGA) then this could be the game that we see, if not alongside every copy of Monopoly, than at least alongside those collectable cards.

I hope Wizards of the Coast get it right, as I believe it possible to have the new Star Wars game be a good role-playing game, and a mass-market product. I am not sure any other role-playing game stands the chance of achieving it. A Star Wars game, with Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro behind it, does. I wish them luck.

Graveyard Greg: Who are you? And what the heck makes you qualified for these questions?

Unknown Stranger: I’m Peter Adkison, founder and CEO of Wizards of the Coast. I’m qualified
for the questions because I know the answers?

GG: Oh yeah, I forgot. Well, Mister Adkison, can I call you Mister Adkison?

P: Sure. While my preference is simply to be called “Peter,” I don’t really care what people call me, as long as they don’t call me late for meals.

GG: Enough with the small talk for now–time to get down to the nitty gritty. Give us your past gaming credits.

P: Earliest memories: traditional card games (mainly Peanuchle) since 4 or 5
years old.

Started playing strategy games like Risk and Stratego in grade school and
moved quickly into wargaming. Avalon Hill, SPI, etc. Even had a lifetime
subscription to Strategy & Tactics magazine.

Exposed to Dungeons & Dragons for the first time in 1978. It blew me away.
The flexibility and world creation aspects of the game, as well as the long
term character development angle were fascinating. Started my own campaign.
Trashed it and started another one. Trashed it and started a third one,
called Chaldea–by this time it was 1981–and I’ve been running Chaldea
ever since.

In 1991, one year after starting Wizards of the Coast, I met Richard
Garfield and he explained to me his idea for a trading card game. I was
immediately intrigued. I hadn’t heard any concept that was as innovative
since D&D back in ‘78. Magic and D&D remain my two favorite games.

I’ve played many other games, of course, traditional, strategy,
roleplayings, TCGs, etc. Of all those other games I’d say my favorite is
Twitch. Beyond that it’s hard to rank them, but off the top of my head,
games I’ll play in an instant, include Settlers of Catan, Robo Rally, Call
of Cthulu, Vampire: The Masquerade, L5R RPG, and any of a large number of
wargames.

GG: Sweet! How did you get involved with the gaming business?

P: By starting my own company, Wizards of the Coast, along with several
friends and my wife. We simply didn’t know better.

GG: How did you wind up the President of Wizards of the Coast?

P: By starting the company and squashing all rebellions!

GG: The Bill Gates method, eh? Do you play Magic: The Gathering much?

P: Yes, but mainly at conventions. I love to play limited environments, like
sealed deck or pre-constructed decks. I’ve never been as fond of
constructed formats, mainly because I don’t have time to keep up with all
the tech.

GG: What about other CCGs? What are some of your favorites?

P: My favorites are Vampire: The Eternal Struggle and Legend of the Five Rings.

GG: What about RPGs? Name one of the newest ones you think will be a hot
ticket–you can’t use anything published by TSR!

P: That’s no fair!

I like the stuff AEG does. The L5R RPG is great, and if that’s any
indication, the 7th Sea game will probably be great too. I love the White
Wolf stuff too, although I don’t think I fit their target customer profile
very well! I also watch certain designers like John Tynes, or Gregory Stolze.

GG: Speaking of game designers… OK, Gaming Deathmatch Time! It’s Richard Garfield, Shane Hensley, and Steve
Jackson. Who would win?

P: In any gaming competition my money would be on Richard.

GG: Any predictions for the Origins Awards? Who do you think will win for Best
RPG? (note: this interview was done before Origins ‘99)

P: My guess is that Star Trek: Next Generation will win, although my vote is
for Alternity of course.

GG: What kind of food goes great with gaming?

P: A year ago I would have said pizza and nachos. But I’ve changed my diet to
more healthy foods and, unfortunately, I haven’t quite found anything that
measures up to those. It’s sad, really!

GG: Mmmmmm! What kind of drink to wash it down?

P: Diet Coke is stilly my drink of choice.

GG: Yummy! You know something? Some said CCGs would kill RPGs, but it seems
those people are wrong. What do you think the state of gaming is today?

P: Gaming will always be with us, although it’s going to be difficult to grow
it dramatically, mainly because computer gamers are so good, and they’re
only going to get better over time. But social interaction will always be
best around a table, so tabletop games will be with us always. I think in
the future we’ll see more of a blend between the two.

GG: Any advice for those budding game designers and writers?

P: Stay in school, get a degree in English or something like that if you want
to do writing and/or RPG design. If you want to do traditional game design
focus on a hard science like mathematics or physics. Then start to write
like crazy for independent zines, web sites, discussion boards, etc.,
eventually start going to conventions, and network. Volunteer at the
conventions, get to know the insiders, and show them you have good ideas.
Start with the small companies who are desparate for help, and work up.

GG: Two words for you: ARC System. What happened? It seemed like a good idea. Is
there a future for it?

P: The Arc system strategy lives on in Pokemon, if you stop and think about
it. The real idea was to tie a simpler TCG to a license and expose people
to TCGs that way. That’s exactly what Pokemon is doing. Maybe we’ll use the
Arc system in the future with a big license, maybe we won’t , who knows.
But the basic idea is something we believe in strongly.

GG: Speaking of “Whatever happened to…?” Where is the Netrunner CCG?

P: We actually plan on releasing some new cards for Netrunner in the coming
months. Not a full blown expansion, but a mini-expansion, on the order of
25 new cards or so. We hope to do the same with V:TES, Spellfire, and
perhaps a couple others, depending on how things work out.

GG: Finally, can ya give us a glimpse into WoTC’s future? Say…AD&D 3rd
Edition? Will it have anything to do with Dominara?

P: If we do an AD&D 3rd Edition, no, it won’t be based around Dominaria. We
would love to eventually do a Dominaria line for AD&D, but that’s at least
a couple of years away, due to some other priorities.

GG: Well, thanks Mister Adkison–it was a pleasure to interview you. On behalf
of the Gaming Outpost, I bid you goodday!

P: You’re welcome! Stay on target!

The first brainchild of Over the Edge’s Jonathan “I make the cool
games” Tweet and Vampire: The Masquerade’s Mark “I got a stupid dot in
my name” Rein*Hagen was Ars Magica, a brilliant role playing game of
Mythic Europe that they unveiled in 1987. It revolutionized game
playing with troupe-style playing, sensible character types, the use
of real medieval history as a setting and what is still the most
richly detailed and well-designed magic system in an RPG today.

Twelve years later the game is still miraculously alive. A lot of
this is due to a dedicated and intelligent fan-base: if Ars Magica has
a flaw, its people’s mistaken belief that you need to know Latin to
play. Well, that’s just not true -but it is one of the few games that
attracts historians, philosophers and non-hacknslashers out of the
woodwork in droves.

Ars Magica has seen four different publishers - Lion Rampant,
White Wolf, Wizards of the Coast and now Atlas Games, who ironically
used to be most of Lion Rampant. Now that the battle-weary game has
come home after a couple of near-cancellations, occasional lows and
White Wolf’s obsession with making the game a precursor to their World
of Darkness, new fans can discover Mythic Europe for themselves. It
has been worth the wait.

“The Dragon and The Bear” describes the Novgorod Tribunal, which is
13th century Poland and Russia. Unlike most RPGs, Ars Magica
researchers know their subjects - Simeon Shoul has done a fantastic job
of covering the area, complete with beautiful maps, a complete lineage
for the royalty of Poland and Russia and a comprehensive index.

For those who think ‘real’ history is lame, they have another thing
coming: the Mongols. Yes, the basis for so many faceless photocopied
barbarians in so many bad RPG worlds are here in stunning, vivid
bloody glory, and it is the eminent arrival of these ghastly hordes
which gives this supplement its real punch. Past tribunal books have
posited plots and historical events, but never with such breadth and
depth. No matter where your saga takes place, the Mongols will
affect them, and now all the details are in one place.

Also featured are full rules for Volkhv characters, including the
entirely new system of magic used by pagan characters that resurrects
the old shaman rules from the 3rd edition and makes them shine. I was
especially fascinated by the treatment of faerie in the game, which
receives an exhaustive treatment - the differing natures of Slavic
faeries are discussed, as are Arcadia and the Pagan Gods that live
there.

The Verdict

Atlas Games has really scored with their first tribunal book. They
have expertly woven Slavic myth and reality together into an excellent
sourcebook that will delight any Ars Magica player. “The Dragon and
The Bear” is a true cut above the standard locale books in the RPG
industry, and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in medieval Eastern
Europe. If you have never tried Ars Magica before, now is a perfect
time - Atlas has a wide range of great materials ready for you to use,
and you simply won’t find a better medieval roleplaying game.