RPG News

Game Format: 3.5 v. 4.0

April 25, 2010

When the Imperium Saga RPG first began being developed, it was done as a version 3.5 d20 game. In the beginning there had been numerous discussions on whether to create something completely unique and from scratch, or adhere to the rules and guidelines put forth in the 3.5 Open License Agreement. It was decided that while everyone preferred a completely unique and original game, that there would be a higher potential of gamer acceptance of the game if it was released utilizing a rule set that they were already familiar with.

The 3.5 Development Team completely analyzed the Imperium Saga novels, went through design notes, and had working sessions twice a week to go over every detail of every race, item, and thing within Bowyer's world. A lot of questions Bowyer had answers to right away or could produce hundreds of pages of source documentation upon request. Others required him to go back and further develop things that had not been needed in the story he told but were for the game version of his world − such as a much more developed deity structure than the few deities referenced in the books (such as Elastriel, Feldrin, and Xeorn). With all requests Bowyer would begin researching and creating new materials that were so developed and complete that in one peer review that the team conducted he was dubbed the "inhuman creative juggernaut."

The 3.5 game was finalized in early 2007 and the focus shifted from developing and polishing up materials to entering playtesting. The first round of testing required some standardization to see how a variety of independent testing groups came up with feedback under very similar conditions. Five extremely detailed game scenarios were created, each with five level breakdowns with storyline advancement to test the game at various stages, including an arena battle scenario intended to completely overwhelm the gamers and attempt to break the game.

Testers were recruited from contacts of the Development team, from gamers connected to the comic shop (TJ Collectibles) that originally recommended turning the Imperium Saga into a game, and from individuals met at conventions. Any issues, questions, or concerns that came up in testing were logged accordingly and the Development team began working on fixes to "bugs" in the game to perfect it before subsequent rounds of testing. Before those subsequent rounds began, Wizards of the Coast announced the plans to release version 4.0 of the game.

The decision effectively put all testing and efforts on hold. Part of the Open Licence Agreement indicates that when a new version comes out, all prior inventory of the older version must be destroyed. To then release a 3.5 game that effectively would only be on the market for several months before having to pull the game off the market did not seem prudent. The 3.5 team was then placed on hold, anxiously awaiting the release of the 4.0 game and to see how difficult of an effort it would be to convert what they had developed into the new format.

While waiting, tragedy struck the team as Ben Mitchell had a stroke and passed away. Mitchell had always been the one to bring passion, excitement, and joy to the project. The original team was never the same and gradually the members backed off of the project before the 4.0 Dungeons and Dragons game was even released.

Bowyer considered the future of the game and whether it was worth proceeding or not. The 3.5 team had essentially committed almost four years to the project, and converting to a new model essentially put them back at the beginning with the development process. But after giving it thought, it was not the years spent that led Bowyer to move forward, but the desire to not lose everything his friend Ben had worked on and developed. In honor of the memory of him, Bowyer began looking to pull back together the rest of the 3.5 team and expand by bringing in new talent.

Bowyer expanded his search, bringing in people who had been involved in the playtesting and had been particularly insightful, other writers and people more familiar with the lifecycle of projects, people who had been familiar with his world since before his first novel was released, and people who had been close to Mitchell and would join him in the fight to keep his vision alive in the conversion effort. Whereas the original team went through materials and created ideas based on the books and truly presented new and innovative things to launch, the new team focused on taking what was already developed and converting it into the new 4.0 format.

Over the past year and a half, the game has changed considerably as some Classes were no longer deemed necessary based on what had been released by the Dungeons and Dragons core books, and the layout of what would be included in the core book and subsequent releases has been changed. At the heart of it all remains a game true to the Imperium Saga and an attempt to capture as much of the 3.5 team's work as possible. The conversion efforts continue, creating a blend of what readers would know from the Imperium Saga world, the original 3.5 team's materials, new ideas from the new members of the team, and the layout presented by the 4.0 format.

If all goes according to plan, the first portion of the game will begin playtesting by the end of the summer. Additional information and articles about what is being worked on, progress reports, and the status of the game will be posted as it becomes available.