The Depths of Doomhold and The Future Of The Ctrl+Alt+Del Patron Comics
Okay, this is something I've been working on for a little while now.
Late last year, during a Q&A video, I mentioned that it was my intention to eventually close out the current Patron comic storyline, and start fresh with something new and fun and less totally weird and random.
My dream was to create something that not only challenges me as an artist and writer, but also involves you guys in a way that I'm not sure has ever been done before. I've finally put together enough of a draft of what that's looking like, that I can share it with you so you have an idea of where I'm headed.
The Depths of Doomhold is basically one of my Choose Your Own Adventure series, but ratcheted up to eleven. Rather than just offering a couple of choices every so often like I do with Starcaster, I'm curious to see what we can do if I let you guys provide input on nearly EVERYTHING.
I am fully aware that this is incredibly ambitious. It scares me because I don't know what it looks like in practice; I'm still brainstorming some particulars and fine tuning certain aspects. It might turn out really awesome, or it might be an incredible disaster. But I THINK, either way... it could be really fun to TRY.
And if we're being honest... I'm not sure anyone is SUPER invested in the current Patron comic "story," anyway. When I originally created that tier, I had no idea that people would hold onto the pledge long term, and that I'd need to keep coming up with stuff to do with those characters. Now that I have a better idea what that looks like, I think maybe we can make something more interesting for all of us.
But obviously, the reason I'm posting this is that I want to hear what you think. Does this sound like a fun experiment to you? Do you like the idea of getting to vote and make suggestions to help craft an interactive story like this? Hit me up with some feedback, ask questions, etc!
Comments (27)
Sounds good to me though I'm not sure how much I'll personally be able to participate (I usually check Patreon once a week though I'm currently catching up after nearly 2 months of not checking).
This sounds like an absolute blast and honestly makes me want to back at that tier, and try something like this with my friends. Can't wait to see where it all goes!
Well I'm excited. I've actually looked forward to the patron comic it's fun, weird, totally off the wall and very amusing. This possibly has the potential to be great...we'll see lol
This is a very cool idea! I can't wait to see where it goes!
I'd love to see a midway-point tier added that isn't the full $100, but maybe allows us to tier into being a relevant NPC for the story, if such exist. No extra creative control implied, just having our likeness in the story.
For what it’s worth, I am really enjoying the Patreon series! This new idea also sounds super interesting 🙂
I was just thinking the same thing while reading the Patron Comic this morning. While I've found the extra content entertaining (and thank you to all who supported it) I'm glad to see something new. Other than the 4 top-tier players, will there be an opportunities to join in, for a smaller amount to be featured as an NPC or Villain?
I really like this idea, let's see how it will go !
Uhh, very exciting!! I might finally get a chance for that tier :) I think it is an awesome idea and even if I still long for the old Ethan stories I do also love the new content. This sounds like something entire new and fresh and I concur with the others that I think you can pull this off. Let the story begin!!!!
Very cool.. One question that pops to mind is: How do you keep them 'honest' with the dice rolls, if they do them themselves? Or will you use some other mechanic? (Or doesn't it matter?)
There are a handful of options for dice rolling when you're playing play-by-post or play-by-email campaigns. I'll find something like that we can use.
I would like to see how this comes together.
Alright Tim, this is an ambitious task with many unknown variables. Your TN is 14.
So this looks like a modified Cypher system. This should be fun -- an RPG thing that *isn't* D&D for once!
First, I support you and your work, not a particular story line. Though I do enjoy this one, as I have every other one you've done. Secondly I'm completely game for whatever you bring up next.
Super stoked about it! Very cool idea, Tim! Btw: I can recommend a Podcast you might like: Fool & Scholar Production (The White Vault, Tales from the Tower and other stories of the Liberty P&P system they've created, Dark Dice - a D&D party as audio drama) Very entertaining and inspiring. They also have a Patreon account *winkwink* :D
Pretty cool idea, curious to see where you'll go. That said, knowing what you can do, I'm quite confident this'll turn to be just great ;) Interesting choice of system btw, that's the one from Numenera or a variation of it and it'll work pretty well I think.
This is the most exciting patron content I've ever heard of. I'm excited to see what happens even if I never vote/participate.
Sounds cool to me. I would enjoy participating.
This sounds absolutely fantastic! Hopefully it gets the support it needs to be a thing!
Yes please
I like it, I think this is an interesting idea! I liked voting in the Starcaster Chronicles, it gives an extra sense of investment in the comic. And something like an ongoing dungeon has the potential to be a continuing story that does not have to be too complicated or involved but can still be a ton of fun for patrons to read.
I'm game. One question that comes to mind is the tier structure. The Top Tier is clear enough. You currently have multiple lower tiers. Will each tier have input on a different game aspect? (Perhaps cumulative, such as tier 1 = aspect A, tier 2 = A&B, etc) Voting weight based on tier? Some other differentiation? Or are lower tiers all the same for the purposes of the game?
Currently, the lower tiers all get to vote on the dungeon side of things. Though some of the more involved participations may be saved for the high(er) tiers. For example, one of the heroes rushes to open a door. I turn to all my patrons and they vote to decide if the door is trapped or not. BUT, the adventuring party enters a dungeon room that has a scary Lich in it, and I decide I'm going to draw that Lich in the likeness of a random Patron? I may pick from my $5+ Patrons for that particular bonus. I dunno, I've got to see how some of this stuff works in practice to get a better idea of participation, etc.
Sounds awesome. Are there only the 4 classes though? Stuff like Druids and Paladins and Enchanters and such would be cool.
Eh, no not exactly. I shouldn't call those Classes. They're more like Archetypes. So if someone wanted to be a Paladin, they could choose a Warrior flavored with magic, for instance. So like "I am an Honorable Warrior who Channels Divine Blessings" and we could achieve that.
This. Sounds. Awesome. Looking forward to seeing how it goes!