So far, many of the RPG adaptations I’ve reviewed are completed games where you can compare the game to the source material. With the Crown & Dragon RPG, I’m getting in on the ground floor as this Kickstarter will fund the adaptation of award-winning author Stephen Hunt’s first novel, For the Crown and the Dragon, to the Savage Worlds ruleset. This flintlock fantasy RPG will let players experience “1797 and regiments of soldiers march and fight with muskets and bayonets as well as culverins and cavalry. Arcane magic is wielded by Weirdsmen and Mummers, enchanted forest known as the Tumble cloaks much of the land and strange creatures pose a threat to the great warships and merchantmen that ply the seas.” Arion Games’ Graham Bottley talked about how this came about and their plans for the game.
EGG EMBRY (EGG): Thanks for agreeing to discuss this adaptation. For the Crown & Dragon RPG, you’re using Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE) RPG by the Pinnacle Entertainment Group as the engine for this game. What makes it the right system?
GRAHAM BOTTLEY (GB): Savage Worlds is a very cinematic game. The heroes are Heroes with a capital H. What I wanted for the adaptation was something that would emulate the novel, and all of the related non-fantasy Napoleonic heroes in literature. Enemy soldiers are “extras” and should drop easily, but at the same time they are still a threat. I have wanted to adapt the novel ever since I first read it twenty-five years ago, and when I read Savage Worlds, I just knew it was the right fit.
EGG: Can you tease some of the mechanics of the new creatures or the Weirdsmen or the Mummers you’re planning?
GB: Well, Weirdsmen are pretty standard mages or wizards. They blow things (and people) up, destroy castle walls and can even teleport. Fairly direct and obvious powers. Mummers on the other hand get into people’s heads. They can read minds, extract information and even control victims. There are some new spells for both, and we also had to add in a Corruption mechanic for those who wanted to make use of the more primal powers that Vulcanus first offered to the Romans!
EGG: Can you share the pitch for the novel that’s the inspiration for this RPG, For The Crown & The Dragon by Stephen Hunt?
GB: This book was, at the time, fairly groundbreaking. It was the first of its genre and created an atmospheric mix of Napoleonic Wars, muskets and sabres, fantasy and magic. At the time, when fantasy meant elves and dwarves in a medieval-ish world, it felt very new. It is a great read, following the fortunes of the one-eyed Captain Taliesin and his small squad of Dragon-Browns as they undertake a mission of great importance for the Queen. To say much more would spoil the story.
EGG: This is the first novel of the “Flintlock Fantasy” subgenre? For those not familiar, what is Flintlock Fantasy?
GB: As mentioned above, it is either adding in magic and fantasy to a historical setting later than the middle ages or adding muskets and other gunpowder weapons to a fantasy setting.
EGG: For The Crown & The Dragon is a standalone work and Stephen Hunt’s first novel. What made it the property you wanted to pursue and adapt?
GB: I have read and re-read this book again and again over the past two and a half decades. And every time, my gamer brain would scream at me to run this setting for my group. My publisher brain would also ponder whether this is something others would like to play. I knew it would have to happen one day, so I finally gave in.
EGG: Is Stephen Hunt actively involved in this project? Is there any chance he’ll write a new short story for this as other RPG Kickstarters have inspired?
GB: He is. I am hoping so, although he is always very busy. There is also a short graphic novel that was published a while ago that I am hoping can be republished too.
EGG: How did you go about securing the rights to adapt this property?
GB: An easy one. I sent an email to his website and got a standard response from his PA. So I emailed again until he said yes!
EGG: Is this the first time one of Stephen Hunt’s works has been adapted for tabletop gaming?
GB: I believe so. I am not sure why because he writes such “gameable” settings!
EGG: Are you hoping to adapt more of Stephen Hunt’s books for tabletop?
GB: That is something for the future, but if this partnership works out, I would love to work The Jackelian series. I can see lots of opportunities there.
EGG: When I searched Amazon, I did not find a Kindle version, or an Audible, of For the Crown & the Dragon. [Correct me if that’s wrong.] Do you know if the original novel is in print? Assuming it’s not, do you think that the inaccessibility of the source material will impact the popularity of your adaptation?
GB: It is not available. It is very likely that a Kindle or other ebook version of the novel will be available in the very near future and I see no reason why a print version could not be made available.
EGG: Certain RPG Kickstarters included the rights to create the RPG and reprint the short story/novel it’s based on, is that option on Arion Games’ radar for this book?
GB: I think it likely that Stephen will republish the book himself as he already has his own in-house publishing company. He also wrote a followup that was never published, and I am hopeful that this could also be released. I know the book is available second hand but it would be great for a whole new generation of readers to have access to this great novel.
EGG: Tony Hough (Fighting Fantasy) is doing the art for this, what made him the right choice for this project?
GB: I have known Tony and his art for many years through my publication of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG and his art has a certain “otherworldliness” that just seems to fit my mental picture. Working with an artist you know and have worked with before is so much easier for a project and adaptation that has almost no extant visual references. Given the nature of this sort of crowdfunding, Tony is ready to go, but I don’t want to give the green light until I am sure it will fund…
EGG: This is not your first RPG. For those that are not familiar with Arion Games, what games have you produced? Is this your first RPG adaptation?
GB: Well, we are probably best known for the Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG and all of the recent supplements (it has also been translated into French and Japanese), but we also produce the Maelstrom RPG (another 1980’s classic) and the updated Maelstrom Domesday and various supplements and settings. Then there is the Sorcerers of Ur-Turuk RPG, human(ish), Vikingr and other bits and pieces. This is the first novel adaptation, but all of these games used existing rulesets tweaked to fit a particular genre or setting (or in the case of AFF updated for a modern audience).
EGG: Thanks for talking to me about this project. For fans of your work, Stephen’s work, and this Kickstarter, where can they go to learn more?
GB: My website is Arion Games and although it is in desperate need of updating (I spend too much time writing!) I do have a fairly active forums there. Stephen’s webpage has a fairly active online presence on various social media sites. The best place for information on this game at the moment and the Kickstarter in particular is the Kickstarter campaign page itself where all of the latest information will be posted.
Crown and Dragon RPG by Arion Games
END DATE: Sat, September 7 2019 4:12 AM EDT.
“A Roleplaying game set in the Triple Realm and based upon the novel For the Crown and the Dragon by Stephen Hunt.”
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