DISCLAIMER: I wrote a story for Bloat Games’ superhero anthology, Tales from Vigilante City (which I and the other authors discuss here).
When Eric Bloat, who I’ve roleplayed with, reviewed, and interviewed several times, and Brandon K. Aten announced they were updating and kickstarting Bloat Games’ Dark Places & Demogorgons from OSR to 5e via Wet Ink Games, I knew I needed to discuss why they were making the transition, who was involved, and what this new edition would involve. Fortunately, they agreed to talk with me about their project.
EGG EMBRY (EGG): Today I’m joined by two publishers, Brandon K Aten from Wet Ink Games and Eric Bloat of Bloat Games. Thank you both for talking with me. You have a Kickstarter that brought your two companies together, what can you share about it?
BRANDON K ATEN (BRANDON): Dark Places & Demogorgons 5e is an awesome game based on the hit OSR product by Bloat Games. We’ve known Eric for years and we’ve always been stoked to work with him on various projects. It was only a matter of time before we teamed up for something cool.
ERIC BLOAT (ERIC): I’m very excited to be collaborating with Wet Ink Games on Dark Places & Demogorgons 5e!
EGG: Dark Places & Demogorgons already exists in an OSR version, why convert it to 5e?
BRANDON: There is no denying the popularity of 5e, and people are always looking for new books with great ideas and player options. DP&D 5e is exactly that and scratches a big itch in the community.
ERIC: The number one question I get most often about DP&D is, “When are you going to make it for fifth edition?” So, the idea for converting has been at the forefront of my planning and dreaming. However, I really thought the scope of the project was a little too large for Bloat Games to take on, so I had been hesitant to do so until now.
EGG: In a sort of reverse of the Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon, how do you take fantasy 5e to a 1980s setting?
BRANDON: DP&D5e is less of a fantasy game in the 80s, and more an 80s teen horror movie that uses the rules of 5e that players are familiar with. Balancing the responsibilities of school, family, friends, and social commitments while trying to investigate the crazy things happening in your town are all part of the story. We have taken some “big bad” monsters and other minions and brought them into scenarios along with more mundane threats of your town that help you craft the arc of your adventure.
EGG: Dark Places & Demogorgons (OSR) has over a dozen supplements including a bestiary. How much of that line will be recreated through this Kickstarter?
ERIC: This isn’t a simple rules swap with the original core rule book. More so, it’s kind of a remix of the entire existing product line with a healthy dose of new concepts and ideas added over the familiar ruleset of fifth edition.
EGG: What new content not in the original DP&D OSR books can fans expect?
BRANDON: Whenever I get a 5e product, either official or from a third party, the thing I always look for first is the inclusion of cool player options. One thing that 5e does extremely well is allow the players to play heroic level characters as they go out into the world to become epic defenders of the realm. DP&D5e offers players the ability to explore characters who are just now learning the supernatural even exists, and who are simply trying to enjoy being kids, but are thrown into a much darker world around them. These rules are not only new to 5e players, but also OSR players. New monsters, new art, and new threats are all included too!
EGG: Who is working on this?
BRANDON: We’ve put together a fantastic team of writers, designers and artists. You can see all of them here!
EGG: Eric, why partner with Wet Ink Games? You did the OSR, why not handle the conversion to 5e in-house?
ERIC: To do this project the way it needed to be done was beyond the current capabilities of Bloat Games, at least now without a considerable amount of help. And above all else, I wanted this done right! That’s where Wet Ink Games comes in. They’ve done larger projects like Never Going Home and Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall, so I knew they had the experience and the capabilities to take my concept and do it justice. And Brandon is a great friend, who I knew I could trust with my baby. It really is a great partnership.
EGG: Brandon, recently Wet Ink Games kickstarted Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall, which was more of a publisher project for you than a designer project since it is Banana Chan and Sen-Foong Lim’s game. Do you see DP&D 5e in the same light as Jiangshi or as more of a designer project for you?
BRANDON: This is a little mixture of both. While we are acting mostly as a publisher, we have been able to assemble a great creative team to build on the great ideas Bloat Games brought to project. We’ve been able to do a lot of really cool things from a creative perspective, but we’ve made sure to keep Eric in the loop from the beginning and he’s chimed in along the way to make sure the vision still shines through.
EGG: Does this open the door to SURVIVE THIS!! Zombies! 5e or SURVIVE THIS!! Vigilante City! 5e?
BRANDON: I’ll never say never, but I want to make sure we’re the best partner for Eric and Bloat Games that we can be, and if other cool things happen down the line, that would be excellent.
ERIC: There’s always a possibility that those properties could be converted to 5E. However, right now, we’re solely focused on DP&D5E and doing it as a standalone project, separate from the other intellectual properties owned by Bloat Games.
EGG: Beyond this project, what else are you working on?
BRANDON: Wet Ink Games has a number of projects in the works, including the upcoming Heckin’ Good Doggos, and FROST roleplaying games.
ERIC: I’ve cleared my schedule to focus on this project. There may be another zinequest project for Bloat Games but that is still a few months off for now.
EGG: Thanks for talking with me. Where can fans of your work follow you online?
BRANDON: You can always follow Wet Ink Games on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
ERIC: [Facebook or our website.]
Dark Places & Demogorgons 5e from Wet Ink Games and Bloat Games
End Date: Thu, November 19 2020 9:01 PM EST.
“80s high school horror compatible with the 5th edition of the worlds most popular RPG.”
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