Mortasheen- the official Tabletop RPG!

Hey all! I'm proud to announce that my company, Cat-Powered Raygun Studios, is about to release our very first game. Based on the popular artwork and setting concept of Mr. Jonathan Wocjik of the same name, it is a roleplaying game where you take on the roles of mad scientists who battle each other and the cybernetic godmachines of the Wreathe with their very own personal army of monsters!

It's Mad Science with Mons, my fellow Tropers. And as an added bonus, I have received permission to edit the Mortasheen page with behind-the-scenes preview information, all for your consumption! That information will be up tomorrow.

For now, I am creating this thread to hear your thoughts. Feel free to ask me any questions, and I'll answer them.

And for links, I've got two! This is the link to the RPG teaser page, which not only has some general information, but also contains our beautifully illustrated cover page, as well! http://scythemantis.deviantart.com/art/MORTASHEEN-TEASER-200757879?q=gallery%3Ascythemantis&qo=0

The second is to Mortasheen's own official web page, where you can check out the monsters- all of them fully usable by your player characters!- and bone up on Mortasheen's odd, mostly dysfunctional history. http://bogleech.com/mortasheen.htm

So, fire away with those questions! I'll return later tonight to answer them.

Oh! So that's what that machine was in the lead-up comic! By the by, Scythe mentioned there'd be other big bads than that one you mentioned, including, to quopte him "one of a kind mutations, machines, cosmic horrors or just "people" with very unusual properties" Can you give us some more info on some of them?

Of course!

The Big Bad of the entire setting is, of course, the mechanized hellhorrors of Wreathe. By far the largest problem for the average Mortasheen citizen, Wreathe is... bad.

But that doesn't mean it's the only thing opposing a mad scientist! For one thing, there are other mad scientists. Some believe themselves to be cartoonish anime supervillains, and antagonize accordingly. Others simply have differing viewpoints from the party, and as such will oppose the party. These latter tend to be much more dangerous than the former, for they do not advertise their violence with every step.

For another, the entire world is... incredibly awesome. Seriously, this is a jam-packed world. There's a city of sentient zombies possessed by warring clans of the undead, all of whom could oppose the player; the groups there range from over-the-top monocled miscreants to piratical buccaneers who use massive walkers to move about a literal sea of hungry zombies. An island nation of mechanical defenders, giant robots, and Kaiju based government wars against horrific Wormbrain cults and their prayers to the great Wormbrain colonies in the deep ocean. There is an entire massive, gothic castle of vampires, half in and half out of the ocean's water, that remains unallied with either Wreathe or Mortasheen and have plots that fulfill themselves over thousands of years. And mysterious forces who may or may not exist...

And then there's the Legendary Destroyers, the godbeasts of Mortasheen.

Neat! Though it's kinda sad that nobody else has responded.

Tell me about it :D

I'm a bogleech myself and really like Scythe's stuff, so I think it's pretty cool he's actually getting an rpg made out of his setting. I think Mortasheen has a lot of potential for an rpg setting.

You have no idea. There are TONS of material he's shared with us that nobody else has ever had. Like a Japanese culture based on giant robot battles, vampiric KRAKEN, and the entirety of the villain culture of Wreathe.

IT'S HUGE.

Also, I've updated the Mortasheen TV Tropes Page with some sneak preview information! Feel free to gander over! Note that the spoilers reveal storyline information, so don't read if you don't want to know!

...What

Mortasheen is becomeing a GAME?!! WHAT?!!

HOLY SHIT. This is going to be AWESOME.

I'm going back over that page right now.

Go for it!

I'm just a little sad that the Mortasheen game isn't going to be d20/Pathfinder compatible. 'Cause I *love* me some Mortasheen monsters, and sprinkling them into my Pathfinder game would be awesome.

Maybe an interested party could work out a contract with Scythemantis and Cat-Powered Raygun Studio to license a Mortasheen bestiary for d20/Pathfinder?

We have no position on that at this time.

So, is Mortasheen going to be a Mons game like Geneforge, or more like a Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay world with wackier monsters?

EDIT: answered my own question by reading the article. Doy.

edited 30th Mar '11 8:17:18 PM by mrsaturn

the correct answer is "yes".

I find the setting very interesting, but something about the article bothers be. The exclamation points every few sentences, that is! While some emotion is okay when writing a TV Tropes article, so much excited shouting makes it sound like we're trying to sell the reader a Shamwow, or something. Let's just use periods, and let the creepy-coolness of the setting speak for itself.

Agreed. Also, anybody think that mortasheen needs waaaaaaay more Wicks on other pages if we want peopel t5o know about it? I've been doing it, but I do wonder why Mr. Cales hasn't been at it that much.

Oh man, I remember reading the monster entries a long time ago, and just recently got back into reading them. Its good to see an actual game is being made; will it be released commercially or for free?

I think I read on the forum that it will be available as a $15 download.

In place of my usual webcomics I've been posting preview artwork and info:

[1]

[2]

[3]

I like the idea that "races are suggestions" instead of being set in stone. One day, I will play an RPG as a Venus Flytrap man...

I hope the manual contains more monsters than the ones currently up on the website. I like the variety and all, but they all seem limited to fighting monsters. I want to see more utility monsters, like monsters used for transportation, or a nightmarish flesh-blossom of serrated limbs and grasping claws and probing probosci employed as a chef at a four-star restaraunt. It's been mentioned that there are no laws in Mortasheen, so are there going to be mechanics for kidnapping people for raw materials? Will there be a system for creating our own monsters, because while a vampiric whale is cool and all I don't see it having a big presence on the monster market and there's only one moat monster on the list and nothing that could be used as a permanent hedge for right up against my castle? Will there be rules for mutant generation? What sort of trade system will there be since currency doesn't exist in Mortasheen? Will there be a morality system implemented? How about a sanity gauge?

edited 20th May '11 7:48:46 PM by Gralien

I actually have a TON of pure utilitarian monsters in my to-do list, including but not limited to a lawnmower, janitor, hairdresser, washing machine, vending machine and lamp. Naturally they're all just as good at turning their skills into murder as any other monster.

No specific mechanics so far, but "feral" humans do get snatched up as lab rats. Of course, the life of a tasty, defenseless human in a monster's world can be so tough that a lot of them don't even mind being test subjects or future monsters.

There are monster creation mechanics, including room to mix existing monsters together or work from scratch.

There's no morality, alignment or any other established right/wrong, there is however sanity, though it works in reverse...the less sane you are, the more horror you can handle. You don't want to go saner.

edited 22nd May '11 6:10:59 AM by scythemantis

So I could create and sell, say... scented ghoulanterns? Solvadaris to paint billboards? An Oubliette Sushi Chef?

Shut up and take my money.

Will there be rules for employing minions outside of your monster team?

I don't know about currently, but there were ideas for that when Mortasheen was just a series of drawings.

Also, as a neat little extra, here's a list of some of the older Mortasheen monsters that Scythe threw out of canon, usually for the reason that he either didin't like the design or though they were too dull. Though if you like them, than feel free to homebrew them once the game comes out. Here they are:

Vampires: Knifeslink Crocodemon Ghoulana Hedgehorror Salamire Bunyip Grisliak Gorehound Artereater Blueskewer Hanivile Scorpilisk Sandsneak

Arthropoids: Horrida Katydread Bugpie Ambler

Everything Else: Endo Dreary Sawful

edited 16th Aug '11 11:13:55 AM by Dreamer