David Matalon has been working for years as a screen writer, but is finally giving into his nerdier side to publish a DCC adventure. It took him long enough, he’s been playing DCC since 2012/2013 so he’s been a fan for as long as it’s been a game! Full disclose, unlike other interviews here, I’m involved on this project so have financial incentives for its success. I’m doing layout, managing the Kickstarter, shipping/fulfillment, and general project management work. But I’m only doing all that because I saw how David’s adventure was so amazing and wanted to help bring it into the world.
Read the interview below to find out more about the creation of Prisoners of the Secret Overlords!
Hi David! You're a new DCC creator but have been gaming for quite a while. Care to share your “RPG Origin Story”?
Hey Stefan– and thanks for having me. Yeah, I’ve been playing DCC since it first came out. I was an old school AD&D guy who had migrated to other systems over the years and was longing for that OSR feel. I've always been a DM/GM/Judge. I like storytelling and gravitated toward RPGs that not only had good mechanics but also helped me recreate the epic adventures and moments I so loved in fantasy novels or movies. While reading blogger reviews, I happened on one for DCC and became intrigued. I picked-up the core book and fell in love with its OSR gonzo and innovative mechanics: Luck, criticals, mercurial magic. It had an unpredictability that could lead to cheer moments at the table. I ran my first funnel and my players howled with delight as their sole survivors clawed their way up to first level. The game was scary, exciting, dynamic and cinematic. It’s been my go to ever since.
Tell us about Prisoners of the Secret Overlords! It’s nearly 60-pages long so this is a pretty big adventure, isn’t it?
Yeah, it's a bit bigger than I expected. When I set out to do it I was basically recreating an adventure I’d written as a 6th grader. It was set in a giant prison run by an Ogre Chieftain, served by a hierarchy of Gnolls and Orcs and bugbears and such. When we played I remember the coolest thing for them was opening each cell door and seeing who (or what) they were going to find. I wanted to do that again. Another fun part was how some of the prisoners they found went on to become ongoing NPCS in our campaign (I’ve resurrected one or two of them in Overlords so now their names will live on for eternity). As far as length, I Suppose when I started mapping it, I didn't quite realize how big it was… Writing a lot has never been an issue for me. It's part of my job. There's a saying in entertainment, screenwriting isn't writing, it's rewriting. So you get used to turning out a lot of material in a short period of time. The last project that I sold, I did over a dozen rewrites with producers before we took it out to the market (Just to give you an idea that's roughly 400-500 pages of work).
Do you have a favorite anecdote from playtesting the adventure?
Like I said, it's opening the doors and the different encounters in the different cells. The first thing that most sticks out in my head is all the goo. I don't think I realized just how sticky this adventure was until my players started having to wade through it. I'd say the other huge moment was the discovery of the secret overlords and the horrific realization by my players of the implications of letting them escape into the world.
There’s a bit of inspiration from the old A-series and from Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, right? What made those classic TSR adventures special to you?
Well Expedition just blew my tween mind away when it came out. A spaceship in a fantasy world? Cut to stock footage of a nuclear explosion. And those flow charts! Those wonderful fiendishly difficult flow charts for how to use the technology just filled me with gamer bliss. Lastly, there was the accompanying picture book (which is one of our stretch goals folks!). Those pics of the Mindflayer and Bulette are forever burned into my imagination cortex.
I'm not going to lie, a lot of what drew me to the A series was that Jeff Dee cover art. It's one of the reasons that when we found Kiril, I was so thrilled. Because I knew we needed an artist of his caliber to deliver an awesome cover. And for me-- boy did he ever. I just love it! I don’t know about other folks, but what first draws me to a module is always the cover. Does it make me go– “Oh, yeah! I wanna do that!” Art has always been a huge inspiration for me. I keep art books on my deskside shelf. Among them is Art and Arcana which is just such a trip down Imagination Lane and beside that is a row select Dragon magazines which I’ve kept for the covers alone (Sadly, I have little use for an article on the ecology of a rust monster these days).
Back to the A series, I also loved the idea of players uncovering a growing conspiracy and a campaign that carries you to varied environments and styles of play. So it’s not just a dungeon crawl but a town or a fortress.
I guess we didn't mention that, if things go well with the KS, I’m planning on two more installments. So while the adventure is perfectly playable as a standalone, it will also be the jumping off point for a three-part campaign. So back us now, everyone if you want more (am I allowed to shamelessly plug here?).
Haha. Shameless plugs is kinda what we’re here for. Switching gears, we've spoken a few times about a mutual love of Appendix N books. Where there any literary touchpoints you had when creating the adventure? Or maybe just tell us what you've been reading recently!
I think I consumed nearly all of Appendix N in my youth, but Howard (particularly Conan), Moorcock and Lieber were stand-outs (beyond the godfather of them all… J-double-R). Funny enough, it wasn't Elric that first drew me to the Eternal Champion stuff, but Corum and his battle with the Chaos gods. Other old skool fayvs were The Broken Sword, the Dune series, Witchworld books, John Carter’s Mars fun, and oh yeah, Lovecraft was definitely in the mix. As far as current reads? Nowadays, when I'm not working or building Legos with my son and I actually do have time to read, I've been digging The Lies of Locke Lamora and The Blade Itself.
Now I believe that you also have a follow-up adventure planned. Any hints or would that get too “spoilery”?
Let's just say in the aftermath, when the players arise from the ashes of the climax of prisoners, they discover the menace they believed they had defeated has very likely escaped, and they'll have to pursue their enemy into the mountains. A trail that leads them to the gates of a legendary city full of wonders, danger and adventure in... City Of The Secret Overlords.
Like what you saw? Go check out Prisoners of the Secret Overlords!
What else is going on?
Academia Arcana RPG, my DCC “wizard-school” hack, is now in public beta (which means it’s free)! Go download it over at DriveThruRPG! It’s a very investigative focused game with 3 new classes, tons of random tables to help you create your own adventures and explore the setting, plus an introductory adventure titled Academic Ascension! Download it, play it, and send me some feedback so I can improve it!
Totally Killer releases tomorrow (Oct 6)! David the main writer of the movie and it looks like a hilarious comedy-horror piece!