Ask Me Anything (AMA) - Answered
over 5 years ago
– Wed, Apr 03, 2019 at 05:01:56 AM
Good day Moonstone Hunters,
These woods have ears I tell you and these three days past we have heard certain whisperings on the wind. Ok maybe not whisperings as such, you guys were pretty clear actually. You had questions. And now - we have answers!
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Agreave (A Dining table set IS required) asked:
Q1. What is the value, in coin (of the realm?) of a moonstone?
A. A metric ****-tonne! Just one, good quality Moonstone will pay all your expenses for several months, that’s enough tea-cakes to feed the Gnome militia for a full day! That’s assuming you can get it to the tower before someone takes it from you.
Q2. What is the coinage used in the world?
A. Crowns & Groats
Q3. Do fairies eat mushrooms or what?
A. The Fae in Tauber are omnivorous, however they have a respect for all life in the world. Unless of course said life has spited them, which in truth, is just about everyone.
Q4. Do the goblins have any kindred in the world who are fair/good/honest?
A. NEWS FROM THE GOBLIN KING HIMSELF! Reports and rumours are being spread across the kingdom that all Goblins are Tricksey and Dishonest! These lies and slander will not stick! Clearly propaganda put out by the Commonwealth!
Q5. If the Faye are magical anyway can a human witch affect them-if so how?
A. Who says the 3 Witches are human?
Q6. Can you detect moonstones locations by magic/divination at all?
A. It is possible, but would require a lot of magical power, and why waste a good wizard’s time, when you can simply pay someone else to?
Supa Hamsta asked:
Q. So you write the fluff (at least most of it) correct? If so, can I have some of what you've been drinking/smoking please?
A. Although originally Tom’s baby, the world of Tauber, where Moonstone is set, was joyfully adopted by Richi and we find the best ideas come about when bouncing back and forth – and yes a few tankards of Agatha's Fancy Ale certainly contributed to some of the best ideas, we can’t deny that! Spend a day with us however, and you’ll very quickly get a glimpse of our humour and interests which inspire a lot of the background you read about. While Tom champions the lighter side with the likes of murder bunnies and pug-dog noble steeds with severe digestive issues, Richi creates complex backstories woven from layers of cultural and literary references that are not so easily appreciated at first glance but lend the background a lot of depth for those willing to dive deeper into the narrative waters. There is a Jin and Jang, humour and darkness, provided by each of us that combines in a way that seems completely appropriate to the original fairytale stories on which Moonstone's foundations are built.
Alberto Casulini asked:
Q. When creating the world and imagery of Moonstone, were you inspired by a particular literature source over others (e.g. the Grimm brothers)?
A. This is best handled as a two part step. Firstly would be the core game; our previous Kickstarter. This was very heavily inspired by the artwork of Paul Bonnar and Brian Froud, and of course the ties that connect to their works such as the movie Labyrinth. Secondly, the Leshavult expansion. The original budding seeds for this was very much coached along after reading the novel The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski and being sucked in to the whole variation between Eastern European, and Western European folklore.
Christopher Allen asked:
Q. What do those wizards in the tower do with the moonstones?
A. Ahh, now that would be telling! All will be revealed in good time! We have big plans and don't want to spoil this one just yet I'm afraid. This is a story that will be dripped out one clue at a time in the narrative of upcoming releases. But we can at least say that they are up to no-good…
Onimusha asked:
Q1. What mythical culture do you like most and what is the number one creature you have in your thought, when thinking about mythical things?
A. Tom: For me mythical creatures of all shapes and sizes have been a huge inspiration from my childhood to present day. I’m particularly proud with the art direction of the Faeries and Fauns, two of my favourite fantasy races. Richie: Interesting question. While not mythical, I have always been a fan of the Mind Flayers from D&D. Beyond that, most mythical creatures have never really resonated with me, and it is why you may notice in the Moonstone writing, where possible the fantastical is often grounded in every day reasoning (every day in a world where magical lumps pop out of the ground along with Fauns who summon bunnies).
Q2. Do you plan to make a miniature with the company name as character name?
A. Already on the way!
Q3. Are you planning on making more moonstone themed scenery for each faction, like mushroom kingdom, fairy gardens, etc...?
A. We would love to make more Moonstone themed terrain! This is something we’ve dreamed of since day one, and being able to work with TTCombat to see it made into a reality, is just amazing. While the MDF works great for the Human Buildings, in future buildings for other races such as Faerie tree-houses would necessitate a much more organic form so we'd be looking than at resin casts, but its definitely on the agenda!
Q4. Could this game be played on a 60x60cm (2x2) board?
A. 2’x2’ boards were considered early on – in fact the previous game Richi and Tom worked on was played on a 2’x2’ so we are aware of the practically benefits. Technically this game could be played on any size board by making adjustments to the deployments zone size, however the current size was decided on for a number of reasons. The greatest issue with smaller boards is how easily players can flee the board once they have harvested moonstones which makes for a less interactive game than you can expect on a 3’x3’where just grabbing a Moonstone and running off the board is far more challenging.
Q5. Since this game is always played during night times, wouldn't it be nice to have night time effect?
A. One of the core fundamentals of Moonstone was to keep the basic rules as simple as possible. That is why rules such as Traverse exist. Take a complex system in other games such as climbing over fences, and make it straight forward. Ideas such as night time rules were thought of, and initially abandoned because they added unnecessary complexity. However as is shown in the Deluxe Rulebook which features story driven scenarios, there is lots of room for 1 off special scenarios, and this is something we hope to explore as the game continues to grow.
Q6. Another one about terrain, what about moonstone underground, does it erode too, if not, I'd like to know if the game could be played inside a cavern?
A. Moonstones are not a mineral, you don’t fine seams of them across Tauber. Instead individual lumps of it sprout at night in almost random locations. For this reason you can’t really have a ‘Moonstone Mine’ but it is possible to have them sprout inside an existing mine or cavern. If players wanted to experiment with building a terrain board that made use of this, then that would be pretty cool in our eyes.
Q7. Who writes the fluff and who is the masterbrain behind the lore, I always love games with named characters involving in stories, so this is certainly a big plus for me.
A. The original concept of the world such as the races you can find, the notion of Moonstones and the creepy Wizards who want them, the Common Wealth and Dominion squabbling politics, the whimsical visual style of the game and the characters in our first Kictsarter, came from Tom. Richie then ran with it from a narrative perspective, fleshing it out in great detail with intrigue and back story, played out piece by piece through much of the narrative you find in our Hardback Rulebook to really bring the world to life as well as creating the locations on our map, and perhaps most importantly of all to this Kickstarter, pitching the concept of Leshavit without which this Kickstarter would not be taking place.
Sander van Beek asked:
Q. Where do the goblins and the gnomes live, and what do their houses look like?
A. Goblins & Gnomes live all over Tauber. The land isn’t split like say, Middle Earth. With one race or faction in one place, and others elsewhere. And while towns will have affiliations one way or another to the different factions, it is not uncommon to find Humans, Goblins, and Gnomes all living together pretty peacefully in the same town.
Dan S asked:
Q: Outside of Moonstone, what are your favourite games to play (miniatures or otherwise)?
A: Richi: I play a lot of games, ranging from the skirmish (Necromunda, Guildball) through boardgames (Monster Slaughter) and RPGs (Dungeons & Dragons, FAITH, World of Darkness) to Videogames (World of Warcraft, Aliens vs Predator, Dead by Daylight, Doki Doki Literature Club). Tom: Again a lot of skirmish as you might expect including Malifaux, Guildball and Bloodbowl but also plenty of Board Games – Spartacus Blood and Sand and Game of Thrones being favourites and finally Collectable Card Games: Game of Thrones Card Game and of course the classic, Magic the Gathering. Although the truth is 99% of all my gaming time these days is just spent play-testing Moonstone!
Christopher Allen asked:
Q1. Moonstone RPG?
A. It’s on its way! Hoping to show off more this summer! Watch this space.
Q2. Are there plans to show any of the world not yet seen? Distant lands beyond the island?
A. Lands away from Tauber is something we hope to explore in the future. But there are countless stories closer to home yet to be told.
Q3. Any plans for Barbarian themed faction?
A. Barbarian characters are something we could nicely look at, much like how we have a number of Viking style characters coming. A whole faction however is unlikely, as we try to keep our factions varied among their characters.
GI Joker Asked:
Q. Agenda cards for Leshavult? Or just more agendas and events in general?
A. Yes! We have heard a lot of this during the Kickstarter, and they are most certainly coming.
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We’d like to extend a big thank you to all our backers who submitted an AMA for this update. We hope it has shed some light on both the background and the future of the game.
Some of you may also be wondering where we are with the alternate pose Zorya. Well, we can confirm a sketch is being drawn up today. Provided it meets our quality standards we should have something to share very soon – watch this space!
Until next time, beware of the bunnies.
-Goblin King Games
