Q&A with the man behind the Unity Tabletop RPG
As you might know, last October I backed a Kickstarter to fund the development of a new tabletop role-playing game system called Unity being created by Zensara Studios. As a writer and lover of high fantasy worlds, I asked the head of the project, Anson Tran, if he would like to answer some questions. The following is the Q&A that follow, which was conducted via email.
Draconic Author: So tell me about yourself. Who is Anson and what inspired you to create your own tabletop role-playing game?
Anson Tran: These questions are always hard. I’m a working professional in the IT industry who’s always had a love for stories and games. I was introduced to tabletop gaming a little over 13 years ago and I fell head over heels in love with it as a hobby because it combined my two favorite things when it comes to entertainment. Before tabletop gaming, I had been an avid fan of video games since I was a child. I was blown away by the freedom and openness that tabletop roleplaying afforded me while still giving me the same feelings I get as I sink my teeth into a good video game. Growing up, I always had this burning desire to create my own game but it was very daunting when the only medium I was familiar with were video games. I would ruminate a lot on game design ideas and it was a nice escape for me from the real world. This was done with the caution and understanding that I’ll probably never get to design a video game. Stepping into the tabletop gaming world blew the doors wide open on what was possible and made design and creation a very real thing – I feel the very act of GMing games acts like an educational institution for design. Certain unfortunate life events (that might have been a blessing in disguise) coupled with my burning desire to create something and fulfill a dream I’ve had since I was a kid pushed me over that edge of “this would be a cool idea” to “oh my god I’m doing it!” I was afforded a small reprieve from work and I started creating Unity and testing it with my local groups of players. The feedback was positive and it spurred me to continue down the path that I am currently on.
DA: That's a great feeling to have, and anytime I share my own work with people it encourages me work on it even more. Now. I’ve been a fan of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) and role-playing games (RPGs) since I first got Baldur’s Gate on the computer almost 16 years ago. Things have changed a lot since then, especially how people play. What was important for you to make part of your game that you enjoyed over years of gaming?
AT: Baldur’s Gate! Many, many a good hours were lost over that game and its sequel for me. I think for me, gaming and how we game may have evolved significantly over the years but the feelings remain the same. It was important for me to understand those feelings and really drill down to get to the heart of them and what were the triggers that made them possible. I believe it’s subjective so I can only speak from my own experiences, but some of the best gaming moments I’ve had were shared with friends. There are some amazing single player experiences out there and I’m a huge fan of the single player experience, but for me, working together with a buddy or two to accomplish goals and sharing in the adventure as we reach those goals was paramount and the reason that I kept playing. When designing Unity, I focused a lot on teamwork, synergy, and gently prodding players into a dialogue with each other and rewarding them for it. Those were the most fulfilling moments for me when playing games over the years, video or tabletop. Something that ties in with this was also remembering the frustrating moments in my gaming career where there were barriers or obstacles that made it difficult to achieve those fulfilling moments I previously mentioned. It helps to keep me cognizant of designing rules that might impede the central concept of Unity.
DA: You mention in your Kickstarter Project video that your professional career makes you a good candidate to trust with completing your goals for Unity. What exactly do you do and how does it make your project one that Backers can take comfort knowing their money will be used as they intend: to complete the project and provide them with a product?
AT: As mentioned earlier, I work within the IT industry and have held roles as a project manager and analyst. The stakes are higher in my industry as it’s focused on healthcare IT but the general challenges are the same when it comes to the majority of project work. Doing the Kickstarter and entering a new industry (tabletop gaming) has been an incredible learning experience and part of that has been translating the skills and knowledge from previous IT projects and finding a way to fit them to some of the more specific/unique challenges that have cropped up with designing a tabletop RPG.
Planning is so critical to project work and even more so when you are dealing with systems that save lives. Being immersed in the industry for 5+ years really drills this into your head and I’ve done my best to let this rigor spill over into everything I do for Unity. As it’s a new industry for me with its own unique challenges, I tried to install as many safety nets as possible to provide my backers with confidence that completion and delivery are inevitable conclusions. One of these would be the fact that I invested a large portion of the money, time, and effort upfront to have something substantial to show the world that I was dead serious about delivering a quality product. Another would be having contingencies – backup printers, backup artists, back up fulfillment etc.
DA: If you could have included something into Unity that didn’t make the cut and wasn’t revealed as a stretch goal, what might it be?
AT: I would have loved to include an additional bestiary, a separate supplement just filled with monsters and foes to fight.
DA: You released your Kickstarter under Zensara Studios. Where does the name come from and who makes up the studio besides yourself?
AT: I’ve always been a pretty spiritual person and that’s reflected in the name. Zensara came from Zen and the “sara” is from Samsara (which alludes to the infinite cycle of life and death). Zensara Studios is largely myself with my contractors for artwork and things that will take me far too long to learn (like animating videos). I have a business partner who is hands-off creatively but helped me get the company going initially. As the Core Rulebook nears completion, we’ll be looking to expand the company a bit by bringing in additional writers to help with the stretch goals.
DA: How far do you see this project going? Dreams of a phone call from Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast? Paizo Publishing? How high is the ceiling for Zensara Studios?
AT: Honestly Shane, if people are enjoying Unity and want more then I’d love to deliver more. One thing I’ve learned from this whole experience is that it can be a balancing act to make sure you don’t burn out on the thing that you love and you don’t slowly turn the thing that you love into a chore. Because I own all the creative aspects of my game, I’ve found the balancing act achievable and it sometimes makes me wonder if I could maintain this level of passion if I was making someone else’s game. Because of this, I haven’t really been spending my daydreaming hours thinking about a call from the big dogs. Thought it would be better spent trying to see how I could fit more lizardmen into Unity because I know that makes certain people giddy.
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| Giddy is an understatement. Have you seen my page banner? |
DA: Just from your Kickstarter page, any veteran D&D player would recognize the page style used in your samples, but your book looks to be much more colorful than the standard D&D handbook. What considerations did you put into your design style? Do you think the benefit of having a full-color book outweighs the added costs of production?
AT: Unity has been a passion project since the beginning. I knew I would probably lose money but I’ve been enamoured with the idea of a little guy like myself releasing a high quality product, not just content wise but production values as well. When you ask if I think the benefit of a full-colour book outweighs the added costs of production, the answer would be that it depends on the creator’s goals. My goal as mentioned just now, is just to have the kind of game book that I would be salivating for myself, that I would feel really good to hold in my hands and flip through, that I would be super excited to bring and show my friends and try to rope them into trying the game with me. In that sense, yeah it’s worth it.
DA: I’m a huge fan of what Wizards/Hasbro did with the Fourth Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, especially coming from 3.5. Before 4th, melee characters were limited in most combat situations to just swinging their weapon, even with the horde of supplementary content, both official and home-brewed, while the casters had a plethora of effects and options. 4th gave everyone a ‘spell book’ of sorts to choose from, each with effects that could help allies and hinder enemies while adding flavor and appeal to combat.What was it about the Power Card system that you liked so much, and in what ways do you think you improved it?
AT: The Power Card system gave me that video game feel and as an avid gamer all my life, it was incredibly comforting tucking into that when 4th first came out. It also spoke to video gamer sensibilities about ‘balance’ in that you didn’t have caster types having all the fun, and martial types had variety and depth beyond “I swing my sword.” as well. I’ve always been a huge proponent of every type of class having depth and variety. I felt pigeonholed into playing a caster in earlier editions of D&D and some other tabletop RPGs because they actually had a bunch of different things they could do (fun!) even though sometimes I really wanted to play a warrior type.
One thing that became apparent as we played 4th more that didn’t jive too well with my groups was that there were a lot of fiddly bits and coupled with an individual turn/initiative system for all units on the battlefield, combat began to feel incredibly long and tedious. I understand a lot of folks don’t mind this and embrace the long combats inherent to 4th but it wasn’t our cup of tea even though we loved the variety of powers and the tactical nuance that was afforded by them. I’m always loathe to say “we tried to make X better by…” because tabletop gaming is so largely subjective to individual tastes but for us streamlining the powers on top of a system that supported simultaneous turns made combat feel smoother and faster while still remaining a fulfilling and thrilling experience that rewarded smart and creative thinking.
DA: We had our problems with combat taking forever too. Fourth Edition also made role-playing feel secondary to combat. With so many combat choices, role-playing (in my experience playing) could feel stunted by confusing skill categories and ‘Skill Challenges’ which made the game more about ‘roll playing’ than role playing. That said, a good Game Master/Dungeon Master (GM/DM) can make any system better with effort. Did you have similar experiences? Was and is making role playing a key foundation in Unity as important as making players feel powerful?
AT: Absolutely. Unity is this abomination child (said with all the love a father can muster) that has both parts roleplaying and gaming tweaked to the tastes of myself and the groups I play with. You have the combat and the powers that are rigidly defined with rules and conditions, and then you have something like Core Paths which are open, free-flowing, and a bit nebulous. I tried to make the game in a way where I could have my cake and eat it too. Roleplaying is hugely important to me and speaks to that side that loves hearing and telling stories. I like being taken on a rollercoaster of emotions and I’m always trying to find ways for players to buy tickets to that very ride. Things like Core Paths, Spark Points, and Failing Forward are my way of saying this isn’t just a game but also a story that you’re all writing together.
DA: While reading through the Early Access Packet I saw an interesting side-bar titled “Shades of Grey” describing Unity as a game of heroes and cooperation. The most important aspect of an RPG is the role playing. While I always play some form of Good Sword-Wielder, I know people who love to play the villain who is out for himself and more than willing to leave the ‘meat shields’ behind. What made you point this out in your game? Why did you feel it necessary to tell players that the game isn’t meant to be played as an evil character? Could you have worded that differently?
AT: I pointed it out specifically because I wanted to inform the reader in a nice way that I did not put a single thought into making the game support evil campaigns. In fact the name of the game itself is about cooperation and working together. I actually am unsure how Unity would play if someone decided to make an evil character. Could be a fun experiment. I also might have something tucked away in the corner of my mind about another game where you are encouraged to make evil characters.
DA: Okay, last question for now. The idea of Synergistic Combat Solutions (to paraphrase my favorite nonsensical Cards Against Humanity card) is one of the reasons I Backed this project. The scene in The Avengers when Captain America deflects Iron Man’s repulsor blasts around a corner is visually appealing, and to be able to create combos between players is a first in my tabletop experience. Sure, casting Magic Weapon on an ally's weapon is a neat buff, but throwing the barbarian over a wall so his ground slam attack inflicts more damage is usually something done at the DM’s discretion, not built into the rules. What gave you this idea, and what sort of crazy combos did you build into the game? Do you expect players to find new ways to synergize powers that may be ‘broken’ or overpowered? What (if any) is one that you didn’t add that sounded like a good idea in theory but didn’t work out when the rules were applied?
AT: What you describe about throwing the barbarian over the wall so he can land with grand aplomb and send his foes scattering through the air while possibly caving in some ogre’s skull with his hammer from the force of his landing is pretty much what gave me the idea for this “Synergistic Combat Solutions” :P We found over the years, we were doing a lot of these GM discretion moments when we gamed and almost every time, it would be AWESOME. It made us look voraciously around for a game that had this built into the rules and supported it but we came up pretty short of what we envisioned.
There are a lot of combos that come to mind and many more still to be discovered. One thing that surprised me in a session was watching my players utilize a 3 person combo to land some significant damage on a monster. The Primalist class has an ability called Aspect of the Rhino that encourages the Primalist to move before they attack as every range band they cover adds a chunk of damage on top of their normal attack damage. The 3 players tried to create and cover as much distance as possible between the monster and the Primalist. The Dreadnought in the group used a power to swat the monster back a range band further and the Sentinel crouched down low with her shield braced to launch the Primalist another 2 extra range bands, who was charging across the battlefield with Aspect of the Rhino up. The resulting hit was massive and instantly killed the monster. Having players discover these combos is an incredible feeling.
I absolutely expect folks to discover some broken combos out there. The nature of this type of system creates many different possibilities. As you add more powers or more classes etc, things begin to multiply. But now that the Early Access Packet (EAP) is out and folks are playing, we’re getting a lot of good feedback and will hopefully catch some of these overpowered combos. With regards to your question about something that I wanted to add but didn’t, to be honest, I didn’t have this struggle BUT you might notice the Overdrive power Prismatic Shard for the Primalist in the Early Access Packet. It’s an idea that I’m fond of but I’m unsure if its execution and rule set are easily understood by the player/GM. I deliberately left it in there to see how folks with fresh eyes will utilize it (if they can) and I’m watching the feedback on that power closely. I’m hoping it makes sense and people see what I’m trying to do there but it could very well end up removed/replaced and that would be my answer to your question.
Thank you, Anson, for your time and for answering these questions for me. I look forward to more meaty updates to test and possibly another -more punctually delivered- round of questions with you. For those who want to learn more about the Unity RPG, please visit the links below.
