A tag-based cyberpunk-fantasy roleplaying game in a megacity of tech and myth, powered by City of Mist.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Full Rules + Action Database Are Here!
6 months ago
– Tue, Nov 14, 2023 at 02:36:48 PM
Hi there ancient tribal warriors with cyberspace souls,
It's time for another update, and this one is extra juicy. Ready for this drop?
As always, if you have individual issues of any kind, especially with receiving files, please reach out to us at [email protected]or via a Kickstarter message so we can help you.
Beautiful art of a hacked KOCMOC delivery drone feeding the poor, by Sebastian Szmyd
READY TO ://PLAY?
We just sent you the playtesting copy of the complete rules chapter of Metro:Otherscape, titled ://PLAY. In addition to all the rules in the previous file (part 1), you'll now find there:
Cinematic Moments, including Downtime, Flashback, Suspend, and Credit Roll
A sample playthrough
The full character evolution rules, including the City of Mist adjacent upgrades (improvements) and Evolution, but also...
Essence Specials, the rules for what happens when your character changes themes, and how the balance of Self, Mythos, and Noise in them turns them into: Nexus, Cyborg, Spiritualist, Transhuman, Punk, Singularity, Conduit, and the rarest of them all: Avatar.
DIVE INTO THE ACTION DATABASE
We also just sent you the playtesting copy of the Action Database, which was the reason for this release being a week late. You'll see immediately why that is - it is massive. So massive, in fact, that we are considering releasing it as a separate booklet together with the Metro book. Here is where we would like your feedback:
Do you think the Action Database should be a part of the Metro:Otherscape core book, or external to it, as a separate booklet? Please answer in the comments.
Note that the action database is not a rule book. It is a collection of suggestions on how to use the open system to reflect almost any conceivable action in the world of :Otherscape in the most fun way. Some of you will not need it at all, especially if you like improvising and feel comfortable in a narrative game -- you can use the core rules as they are. Others, who prefer a more well-defined system, will revel in it.
We'd love to hear your thoughts about this new type of content! Join the discussion on Discord: https://discord.gg/jH686wH
WHAT'S NEXT
With the completion of this engine overhaul, we return to the final approval process of the remaining chapters of Metro:Otherscape, namely ://CREATE (character creation) and ://RUN (MC guides, Challenges, and starter adventure), and then continue to do the same with Tokyo:Otherscape. More on that in the next updates.
HEADS UP OCEANIA AND SOUTH EAST ASIA
If you are in Australia, New Zealand, or southeast Asia, and you ordered CityofMist items in your pledge, you will be receiving them soon ahead of your :Otherscape books. Our fulfillment partner Aetherworks will reach out to you for an address update before shipping, so no action is required on your part yet. If you have any questions or requests, please reach out to us at [email protected].
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That's all for now, stay tuned for more!
- Amit and the Son of Oak Team
Action Directory Coming This Weekend!
6 months ago
– Tue, Oct 31, 2023 at 01:20:39 PM
Happy Samhain everyone!
Are you ready for the night when the veil is pulled back and Mythoi freely roam the Megacity? It's time for another update on :Otherscape progress. Let's dig in:
What's the status
We're hoping to complete the rules chapter for Metro, titled ://Play, and share its second half with you all by the end of the week. This will include the Action Directory, which is practically a one big HOW TO dictionary with dozens of universe-appropriate actions your can take in the game. Following that, we aim to finish reviewing all texts by the end of November. This will set us up for finishing up the PDFs by end of December or early January, going to print early next year, and putting printed books in your happy backer hands in March-April 2023.
Why the Delay: Recap
For those of you who haven't been following closely: As we have explained in the past, this delay is happening because we grossly overestimated our ability to accelerate development by hiring more writers. In the end, when it came down to creating a good, FUN, tag-based engine, a bottleneck formed where only a handful of people could work on the engine. We originally gave ourselves 6 months (!!!) to create a whole new game and core book + a rich setting book. Instead it took 18 months, which admittedly was more realistic.
What was gained during this time
In addition to a beautiful setting and a Japan expansion, we created an incredible game engine that takes the City of Mist rules into the world of adventuring, a flexible system that will provide years of enjoyment in many different genres going forward. (We already shared the text-only version of these rules last update, so you can already read and play with them.)
We also built a great game-making team. From a creator + editor dev team we have grown to include a developer, game designer, and an incredible roster of talented writers. This has allowed us, for example, to complete writing for City of Mist: Local Legends much faster than :Otherscape. We continue to improve on that front, creating better and better processes.
In Other News
- We're getting ready for our next Kickstarter next year, but we won't launch it before this KS is released in PDF and has gone to print. If you liked what we revealed from the new engine in previous playtesting materials, you'll love this one: a fantasy RPG titled Legend in the Mist. At this point we're only launching the preview page to begin collecting followers.
- Our annual Black Friday All Month sale on the City of Mist website starts tomorrow! If you haven't had a chance to grab City of Mist in this project or if your friends want to get in on the misty noir action, this is a great time to do so, with 30%-45% off on book bundles and sets!
- Speaking of friends, we are also about to launch a referral program for City of Mist ambassadors called Awakeners. For every friend referral you make as an a Awakener, you will get an exclusive piece of yet unpublished City of Mist content including a new character folio, a new collection of Dangers, and a new Small-Time Villain. Stay tuned for more!
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That's it for today, check your inboxes this weekend for more playtesting content!
And as always, please refer all individual queries to [email protected] or hit us up with a message here on Kickstarter.
Until next time!
- Amit and the Son of Oak team
Shiny New RPG Tech!
7 months ago
– Tue, Oct 17, 2023 at 01:25:05 PM
Hello there Siberian werebears with cyber implants,
Today we have the update which many of you have been waiting for!
For any questions specific to you and your pledge, please reach out to us here on Kickstarter or at [email protected].
The Engine Revealed
We just sent all backers the first and by far larger half of the Metro #2 - PLAY PDF, which reveals and details our improved game engine. This is a much enhanced but still true to the core and backwards compatible version of the City of Mist rules. As we have detailed in the last update, this version improves the way the conversation is structured, does away with the moves so you can choose just how much mechanics are really needed in each roll, makes using statuses easier, adds the Loadout rules, and much more. If you have been waiting for a preview of the rules -- please, dig in and let us know your thoughts!
While this is the final draft of the document, we are still open to feedback and we are still fixing a couple of minor kinks. Next, we will be editing the 2nd half which includes the cinematic 'moves' (such as Downtime, Flashback, Credit Roll), a playthrough, character evolution, and the Action Directory, which will guide you through all the actions your characters are likely to take in our mythic cyberpunk universe!
Our graphic designer, Manuel Serra Saez, is continuing to lay out the chapters that have already been completed. Meanwhile, Producer Omer Shapira and his art team are continuing to crank out beautiful art to complement the layout. We will soon start releasing PDFs of finished chapters.
A laid out page from chapter #2 of Metro:Otherscape
Tokyo:Otherscape chapter cover, based on a scene from the included adventure
WiP Metro:Otherscape chapter cover. Mythic elements are still being added.
A detailed isomap for a mini-adventure location based in a gang-controlled sento (bathhouse)
Codex / Alchemy RPG Clarification
There seem to have been some confusion regarding out last update about replacing the Codex App with Alchemy RPG. Here is our clarification on the matter:
The Codex App was designed to be a phone reader for :Otherscape content. We have decided to replace this in-development app with a finished, exceptionally crafted, and well-supported reader app that is provided by Alchemy RPG, called Universes.
You will not be charged for reading your :Otherscape content on Alchemy. All you need is a free account (the same as you would need on the Codex App). You already paid for the content by backing this project, and you will get a code for the content (the same as you did and would have on the Codex App).
This move is completely unrelated with Virtual Tabletop software (VTTs). The Codex App was never going to be a VTT product and there were no VTT elements to this Kickstarter. You are not in any way locked into using Alchemy as your VTT of choice - you can user their reader to access your :Otherscape content and use another VTT (as you would have been able to do with the Codex App). We do think their VTT is exceptional and are blown away by what they did for CoM, so we do highly recommend you'd check it out, but nothing in this announcement locks you into it. The VTT is separate from the reader.
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This is it for today. As explained above, we will come back with more content on our next update. This will be building towards a full digital release before the end of the year and a printed release early in 2024. For any questions, please reach out here, on Discord, or to [email protected] .
Until then, stay true to your Self!
- Amit and the Son of Oak Team
A New Engine Rises + Alchemy RPG Announcement
7 months ago
– Thu, Sep 28, 2023 at 11:08:47 AM
Hey there infernal demons with eight cyber-arms,
An update is long overdue, so let's dig in!
Status Report
The continued delay this month, both in releasing chapters and with updates, was caused by our decision to completely overhaul the game engine for :Otherscape. Over the past few years, we have been testing a next-gen system that has taught us a lot about what we could improve in the current CoM engine, which as you know works great for City of Mist but may not fit perfectly other games. We also playtested the suggested engine for :Otherscape (the one from the demo) and found it wanting. We realized it was now-or-never for our team to bring everything we've learned into this game, rather than release something that didn't represent the culmination of all of our game design knowledge. Read more about the outcome below.
This detour to rebuild the engine did set us back by about a month. We've marked end of October as our new deadline to finish all content, and end of November to complete layout. We'll keep you posted on our progress more regularly, going back to the two-week schedule.
Layout of ready chapters is ongoing
New Discord Updates Channel
To keep those of you who want even more regular updates in the loop, we started a new channel for :Otherscape updates on our Discord server. Please mosey on there to read more detailed explanations about the engine changes, engage with our dev team, and give your feedback about some of the new features. Feel free to mention @macdaire (Amit) if you have any urgent questions.
So what was so dramatic about the recent Engine changes? Here's are the details of the engine overhaul we did this month.
Scene Flow: Establish, Take Action, Deliver Consequences. The somewhat insinuated soft move / hard move system has now evolved into a clear three-phase round structure, and the terms soft move and hard move have been replaced with Threats and Consequences, which take place at specific moments in the conversation.
Only One Type of Roll. All moves have been replaced with a single roll+Power roll. The roll has three outcomes as usual for CoM, but modified: miss (Consequences), mixed hit (success with Consequences), strong hit (success without Consequences).
Quick vs Tracked actions. You can now better control the pacing of your scenes and avoid unnecessary use of mechanics. Some actions don't need anything beyond a roll. These are your quick actions like a short chat or trying to sneak, where you just want to know what happened narratively without getting into the weeds. Other actions like attacks, set-ups, etc. will be tracked by using Effects.
Effects: This is the best part. If the action is tracked (so, not for everything), on a hit, you'll be able to spend your Power on different Effects. (This puts an end to the situation where you rolled Investigate and got 3 clues, but you really wish some of them were Juice). The Effects are Attack (give a harmful status), Influence (give a compelling status), Disrupt (give a hindering status), Weaken (remove a useful tag or status), Bestow (give an ability tag), Create (give an object or being tag), Enhance (give a helpful status), Restore (remove a harmful status or recover burnt tags), Advance (increase a progress status), Set Back (decrease a progress status), Discover (get a valuable detail) and Extra Effect (achieve a secondary goal).
Statuses: The mechanics based on filling status boxes failed to give Son of Oak's signature cinematic feel at the table. We also didn't want to keep the CoM status stacking, so it was rebuilt entirely to make it much more intuitive.
We are in the process of finalizing the engine details now (things like how Collectives work), adding the learn-as-you-play segments, and writing up an Action Directory which will explain how to take specific types of actions in the game. Once this is ironed out, we will release this in a playtesting PDF for your playtesting and feedback.
The new :Otherscape game engine now has a clear and simple game loop.
It's official: :Otherscape is coming to Alchemy RPG as Codex App will close
We want to focus our efforts on making incredible games, and thanks to our partners in Alchemy RPG, we can now take another important step towards that. Son of Oak Game Studio and Alchemy RPG have expanded our collaboration on City of Mist to also include :Otherscape. This means once :Otherscape is released, all of its books will be "ingested" onto Alchemy RPG and all backers will receive free codes to access the game on Alchemy, respective of their pledge.
Just take a look at what their amazing team is already doing with City of Mist Ehanced Edition, and imagine similar treatment of :Otherscape : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sonofoak/city-of-mist-rpg-local-legends/posts/3909772 If you are not familiar with Alchemy RPG, we strongly suggest visiting there right away. They have an excellent reader app and theater-of-the-mind VTT which is available on mobile and desktop.
Since Alchemy will be covering all of the features of the Codex App, in addition to some incredible VTT support, and since Alchemy is -- let's face it -- a much better product, we have decided to replace the Codex App with Alchemy RPG entirely (this was actually the original plan, but at the time Alchemy wasn't ready). Once :Otherscape is available and codes are distributed, we will shut down the Codex App.
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That's it for today. Lots to digest in this update -- if you want to discuss it with the dev team and others, please meet us on Discord!
Until then, (don't) surrender your mind to the Noise...
- Amit and the Son of Oak Team
Final Draft of METRO Chapter #1
9 months ago
– Thu, Aug 03, 2023 at 10:19:01 AM
Hi there soul-perfecting theurgists,
(That's my new favorite :Otherscape character archetype!)
We just added the final draft of Chapter #1 - ://IMAGINE to the Metro:Otherscape DriveThruRPG download. Please log into your DriveThruRPG account and download this new version!
The final draft of this chapter was the first thing that had to be completed, because it is the tuning fork for the entire game line. While the two books have been written and edited for the most part, for me as a publisher it was essential to finalize and polish the 'vibe' of the Metro universe and what this game was all about.
WHAT'S NEW ABOUT THIS VERSION?
This chapter now better defines the typical characters you'll see in :Otherscape, the jobs you'll do, the key players that run the world (it's not just corporations) and it explores more deeply the effects that the return of the Mythoi and their Sources had on the backstage war for control over resources and power. Some names and archetypes were updated to give them more of that 'City of Mist' snazzy cool factor, but in cyberpunk flavor. You can compare it to previous version to get more insight into the process we're taking this game through.
As a final draft, this text needs now to go through sensitivity and proofreading, and then layout, to become the final product. Hence, we're still not looking for typo corrections, but more general feedback on themes and details of this setting chapter. This process will be happening side-by-side with the continued release of more final drafts.
Let us know in the comments what you thought of the new and revised key players, character archetypes, terminology, and more in Chapter 1!
WHAT'S NEXT?
From here on out we'll be releasing chapters sequentially, so the next chapter is Chapter #2 - ://PLAY which will contain the finalized game rules. We will probably be releasing it in parts, starting with the core rules and then moving to the Action Directory (working title), which explains how to use the simple CoM:Reloaded rules to take many different actions in the world of :Otherscape.
We know it's the most anticipated part of the game, so we really have to get this right. I want this engine to really unshackle cyberpunk role-players to really bring to life the cyberpunk stories they want to tell, without being burdened by overbuilt mechanics.
