MIR creators reveal how their dark fantasy TTRPG is pushing boundaries
Secrets, Trauma, and Moral Dilemmas: Inside the creation of a new genre-defining RPG from France
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Hello and bonjour, fellas. Can you introduce yourselves and tell us about your connections to tabletop RPGs?
Bonjour à toi (Hello to you)! We are Little Dusha, a small TTRPG company composed of two members, Adrien and Valentin. I (Adrien) am a scriptwriter (comics, video games, cinema...) and Valentin is a former member of a big corporation but then his fixer betrays him and… well. Let's just say he’s now working in TTRPG.
We met when we were twenty, during a Warhammer RPG v2 game that turned into a ten-year campaign. During that blessed time we could play 10 to 48 hours - never doing it again but it’s a thing to do in life! We’re very impressed by some games such as Games Of Thrones, L5R and, of course, Vampire the Masquerade - and quite frankly all White Wolf productions. Valentin has a special place in his heart for Shadowrun (and trying to lighten this system) and some US indie games with thematic systems such as Dogs in the Vineyard.
During this time RPG was the glue of our band of friends and our way to speak about ourselves. Just as with a lot of teenagers or young adults, we’re in between things and without “gaming about,” I don’t know what I would do. Psychiatry and writing help a lot but it do not have the same purpose. Without these countless hours spending writing a hundred - maybe more - scenarios, campaigns, narrative arcs and systems, I wouldn't be able to write today. Actually it was an RPG that saved me from a downfall spiral when I was in a depressive state after failing a job. Valentin asked me if I wanted to create a company with him to help people write their own scenarios. The company itself had a mixed reception but the process of transforming a game into something professional was so intense that I began to believe in something bigger - actually me.
So, in a few words, what is our connection to TTRPGs? I would say almost everything. Every writing, drawing, creation of any sort we present has been connected to. It’s a strange feeling: I’ve been teaching scriptwriting and helping people sell stories, even improving their lives with them. But for me, I’m still not entirely comfortable if I’m not writing through RPGs. It’s easier with a game, even if for you it’s way more than that.
I can tell from reading MIR that you guys harbor a real passion for RPGs. Can you tell us about MIR: what it is and where it started?
MIR was born on the night of December 31st - or the morning of January 1st, depending on your point of view - as we climbed the hill leading to the medieval tower in my village. It was a rather silly ritual where, all drunk, we walked through the cold mist, singing. During the climb, I remember imagining a universe where Europe had experienced an apocalypse and the survivors had forgotten all about the past. The various post-disaster states would face “monsters” from the sea in search of bodies and artifacts - in reality, drones piloted remotely by humans on paradise islands - the real survivors - in search of bodies or materials left behind in Europe. The characters had to fight against these creatures, unaware of their true nature, or even of the men behind the machines.
In short, the idea was to propose a universe where the defenders of “good” would, in reality, be far removed from the truth they thought they were defending. And where the hated monsters would be the true heirs of a marvelous past regarded as paradise by the characters.
The idea didn't strike me as well thought-out and all too common in science fiction, but there was a basis for something, and that's where MIR started out: playing the defenders of Peace and the World (which is what MIR means in Slavonic) while at the same time being the agents of repression.
From a game system point of view, MIR takes its inspiration from Vampire the Masquerade, L5R 4th edition, Games of Thrones, Dogs in the Vineyards, etc. While all these games are different, what they have in common is that they have a system representative of the theme. Some of them are old and suffer from comparison, but remain elegant because the form of the game matches the substance of its purpose. And that's exactly what we wanted to do with the evolutionary system: Valentin modifies and updates it free of charge for all purchasers. This seemed logical to us, given the link with the public - now almost permanent - which takes us away from the days when you had to wait for a particular version to be updated. I think former Warhammer (and 40k) players will recognize themselves in this!
Finally, the overall design of the book was a very important subject for Valentin. Firstly, because role-playing gamers - which we are - are collectors. I haven't played my entire collection, but I like beautiful books whose design tells a story, or intrigues through its cover. Here again, form and beauty don't have to be ostentatious; they're information vectors. I've been too disappointed by collector's editions in imitation leather costing two or three times as much, with no real extra work done on them. We wanted to create an object that was beautiful, intelligent and, above all, made you want to open it.
And all in keeping with the theme of the sacred and repression.
Valentin came up with the idea of a boxed screen, reminiscent of the old medieval codexes hidden from the eyes of the uninitiated, but also to make transporting/storing the book more practical! I could go on like this for a long time yet, as the examples of how and why MIR came into being, but I think I've already gone on a bit too long, so I'll conclude.
MIR is a kind of distillation of twenty years of role-playing, psychoanalysis and artistic research. We wanted to do the best job we could to show that even a discovery kit could be beautiful, durable and intelligent. There are only two of us (but we're well surrounded!), but we're fighting for a different idea of role-playing, where real memories of adventure in imaginary worlds are made.
You’ve mentioned psychiatry and psychoanalysis. Can you explain how that has fit into the development of MIR?
I've always been interested in character-driven psychological plots, because I believe that a person's greatest adversary is themselves. Most of MIR's psychological inspiration comes from Japanese animation and manga. My favorite scriptwriter Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Paprika, Paranoia Agent, to name but three) and the Evangelion series (Hideaki Anno) - but also Claymore (Norihiro Yagi), Elfen Lied (Lynn Okamoto) and Good Night Pun-Pun (Inio Asano) are all great sources of inspiration.While all these stories are different, they share the common thread of having a simple, engaging premise (defending the earth against angels for Evangelion etc.) to sell a more psychological subject - theoretically unable to attract such a large audience. In France, we often take the opposite approach: we prefer to create elitist stories with explicit premises that will interest nobody - or very few. With a MIR, I wanted to create a universe that held together, with secrets, real characters, civilizations with proper identities and an assertive design to allow all fantasy fans to immerse themselves in it. Only once you're in, will the symbols and subtexts become apparent to readers and players alike. The idea is, as in the aforementioned works, to play the game to understand, through the game, the theme and its stakes.
As I said earlier, MIR is psychoanalytical in the sense that I evoke my traumas, desires and doubts in a more fictionalized way than in a classic role-playing game. I realized this when I was working on the lore of each of the peoples for the concept artist (Magdelena Mieszczak). This bothered me at first, because I didn't want to go back to that typically Parisian pompousness where the author gargles his personal problems in order to sell books. Fortunately, this isn't the case, and the feedback I've received says that it adds several levels of reading to the universe.
On a more prosaic level, we're working with a French psychiatrist - Wayne Guillaume - to tackle certain subjects and understand how to deal with them. For us, role-playing is psychotherapy - cheaper and more fun - but just as relevant. You're confronted with your “absolute self” when creating a character - the part of you that fantasizes the power you'd like to embody. The aim of a game is to give you a framework in which your fantasy can express itself, encounter adventures and - if you're lucky - evolve or die (sometimes symbolically).
Since the launch of the English campaign, we've been receiving a lot of e-mails from military veterans who use role-playing as a therapeutic tool, and even from psychologists, psychoanalysts and other professionals. This enthusiasm is heart-warming, and it seems that the American public is much more aware of the psychological impact of role-playing than the French, who are still very much influenced by the idea that “it's just a game”. We've therefore included a large chapter dedicated to managing emotions and how to react in the event of conflict during a game. This part will be written by professional psychiatrists/psychologists in the chapter dedicated to the game master, and will cover how to manage a conflict, apologize, reopen a dialogue, understand and know how to talk about psychological trauma... Our philosophy is to allow discussion and exchange of opinion, not to censor a subject on the grounds that it is “violent or dark”. Reality is violent and dark.
Running away from it is never the solution, any more than pretending it doesn't exist.
Role-playing must allow you to test reality, to discover it through layers of imagination, to explore it without risking injury in order to discover yourself and obtain the weapons to achieve your own goals.
In conclusion, MIR is first and foremost a role-playing game - but if we can help people the way role-playing has helped us, that would be its greatest achievement.
In the setting, the organization that your PCs work for (or belong to, really) is actually called MIR. It’s a sort of remnant of the past that once saved the world from the Ruin, but is now largely undervalued and even hated. And yet, they aren’t necessarily good guys either in terms of their recruitment tactics or the treatment of their agents. What inspired you to make the core organization of the game so deeply conflicted and morally ambiguous?
I think that one of the constitutive points of Dark Fantasy, apart from madness and the question of the sacred, is moral ambiguity. Warhammer emphasized this point with the gods, both good and evil, all creatures of chaos. There were many other elements that followed this logic, but most were erased over time - or cast aside. But it was too late: my love for works that deal with disillusionment was already well established.
Dramaturgically, it's a simple maneuver that can be summed up as “showing the dark side of good and the light side of evil”. By the same token, I've always had a problem with Manichean universes. A gray or morally ambiguous universe is always considered darker than a dystopian future filled with nightmarish creatures. It's indicative of a reality: we seek escape through story. And it's up to the author to bring us back there through cunning and symbolism. Some use force with ultra-gory horror, but it's no more realistic. It takes darkness to accept light, and light to dispel darkness.
In MIR, you're the saviors of reality, your battle is hard and you're expected to make the ultimate sacrifice. But your battle is also that of a dictatorship that does not speak its name. To defeat Ruin, the MIR had to censor people's history, ban their traditions and silence their opponents. “Peace” - MIR in Slavonic - is a state of immobility and perfect order. The dream of a dictatorship.
In “1984” Orwell wrote “war is peace”, and I understand this maxim as a justification for absolute order in the constant fear of fantasized chaos. I include myself in this thought because I'm terrorized by chaos and all forms of excess, even if they fascinate me. MIR lies, tortures and murders. But without it, the world would sink into chaos - or is that just another lie?
I wanted to convey this strange feeling of being a savior but also an executioner. Two roles that are often opposed and yet so close. Echoes are monstrous, but they're only a reflection of what's hidden and unacknowledged. Your first task is to make sure they disappear, not to solve the problem that gave birth to them. Players can of course do this - it's more rewarding - but it's far more difficult because it requires sacrifice. And more than once, your character will be tempted to misuse his or her influence. MIR is written in the style of a thriller, where the heroes are cynical but disillusioned cops. They still believe to suffer and perhaps redeem themselves. The agents are monsters - corrupted by the energy of Ruin - at the service of humans who despise them. The MIR, a feared organization above the law, is now decried. Its propaganda has worked too well, and people have forgotten the Ruin. They now consider the MIR tax useless, and would like to recover the knowledge and technology of the past. The MIR is neutral, but must increasingly meddle in politics, if only to obtain funding.
This is the paradox I'm proposing to players: embodying powerful characters in need. Beings capable of manipulating reality, yet obliged to deal with it.
Ultimately, what makes MIR a dark universe is not violence, cruelty or sex scenes. It's being in the position of the decider in a universe where, like ours, right and wrong are often relative.
To decide is to assume.
This is often the role left to the antagonist, but in MIR, it's that of the players.
In the setting there are three main schools of thought called the Tenets which have fallen out of favor except for agents of MIR and certain elites. What are these tenets and how are they supposed to be employed in actual play?
Tenets serves 3 purposes in MIR.
First, they are interpretations of the Ruin: the organization's agents are divided over its nature and how to manage the Echos beyond protocol. The three interpretations are opposed to each other and have in the past been at open war - a dark period which the MIR tries to hide at all costs. One of the vestiges of this era is the respect for balance when creating an MIR Chapter - a group of agents. Normally, all the Visions are represented within the group, even if not necessarily equally (there are also Chapters with two Tenets or just one, known as “pure Chapters”, but this will be revealed in the Core book). Each Tenet is linked to one IRM doctrine and opposed to another:
The Eagle is a vision of Ruin through a sacred prism, and hopes for redemption through spiritual elevation. Agents of this Tenet are tolerant of all cults - even the most deviant - but particularly intransigent in destroying the traces of the past.
The Serpent is a pragmatic vision of the Ruin, where survival depends on gathering information and preserving the technology of the past. The agents of this Tenet are better educated, but also ready to do anything to preserve knowledge - even if it means lying to the organization or betraying their oath.
The Monad is a political vision of the Ruin, where only by uniting in a new empire can the greatness of yesteryear be restored. It's the most open Tenet, but also the most militant: its members support the return of the Systerin Empire and will do everything in their power to favor its adherents, even if it means going against their mission.
None is right or wrong: each Tenet is part of the truth. They are identities affiliated with the member peoples of the MIR Pact, who reflect their way of thinking and their opposition to one another.
Secondly, from a gameplay point of view, the Tenets are objectives to be achieved in each scenario. We've decided not to use them in the Discovery Book to avoid confusion, as they are linked to character creation and experience management. To give you an idea, a character in MIR evolves along three different axes:
1- His narrative arc
2-The narrative arc of his Chapter (group)
3-His evolution in MIR
The Tenet play an important role in each of these three areas, bringing conflict, opportunity and solution. Finding allies, creating rivals, even enemies. Obtaining obstacles to rise above... as well as bridges to bypass certain problems.
I'd like to take this opportunity to point out that these points are not opposed in nature, but tell different stories at different times. And of course: it's all work in progress!
Thirdly, from a meta point of view, the Tenets are a way of giving shape to the Ruin, a phenomenon in which each civilization provides contradictory elements of information. In the core book, you'll find a set of MIR laws similar to bushido - and like bushido, impossible to fully satisfy. The Tenets are ways of guiding the player through these MIR laws, a kind of moral to justify his mistakes while incriminating the other way of thinking.
In conclusion, I'd like to say that we've been tempted by ideas of confrontation between players, but we've abandoned them because they were too problematic for the game master to manage and probably not rich enough in story. That's not to say that agents can't clash or even kill each other, but the Tenets are first and foremost there to provide a narrative line for the character ... and confront him or her with Ruin.
It’s probably for the best to avoid PvP, especially in a game that has so many other carefully crafted conceits that inherently rely on PCs not killing each! The Discovery book introduces two non-human races, which are referred to as elves and dwarves. But these are not bog-standard Tolkien/Gygaxian elves and dwarves. Can you tell me where the inspiration for these very darkly reimagined fantasy races came from?
The question of elves and dwarves has caused quite a stir in France, where some people don't understand why we keep these names when their descriptions are so far removed from the concept conveyed by fantasy. In reality, I've simply traced the concepts back to their origins and worked from the symbols. I must say that I admire the work of Tolkien, who is - and will remain - an absolute master. But there were also the Grimm brothers and other tales in which the wonderful creatures of Western folklore were portrayed in cruel ways…
Before we get started, I think it's important to talk about species in the role-playing world, which are all too often treated as a kind of human with a peculiarity of their own. In my opinion, dwarves and elves are different species from humans, with whom they cannot reproduce or conceive of the world in the same way. The term “species” implies a real difference in biology, as opposed to race - all humans are of the same race, but a cat and I belong to different species.
But the world conceived by man - like that conceived by cat - depends on their vision of it. In other words: reality and how we organize it depends on the format with which we view it. Culture affects this format, but the essential points remain. When I go to the USA or Japan, I expect to find toilets, even if they're not the same as in France. There are variations, but no fundamental changes.
Now let's imagine there was a nation of intelligent cats with whom we'd be in regular contact. What would their grooming be like? Their street? Their advertising? Would they even have advertising? Their world would be incredibly different from ours, because their perception of it would have nothing in common. We don't see the same colors or hear in the same way. Our bodies don't offer the same possibilities, nor do our ways of conceptualizing. In short: the elves and dwarves in MIR are non-humans, species in their own right with unique perceptions. Forget Gimli and the human-like Legolas and think back to civilized cats - and thank God they're not!
Let's start with dwarves, often portrayed as honorable but terribly irritable little Vikings. I really like this version - often more inspired by Warhammer than Tolkien, incidentally - but I wanted to propose something new and more intimate inspired by different tales - or retellings like the dwarves in Snow White from Bill Willingham's Fable. So I opened my dictionary of symbols to “dwarf” and read on. In it, we discover that dwarves are larvae from the corpse of the giant Ymnir. Repulsive, they are gifted craftsmen but envious of surface beings. The dwarf is a symbol of unfulfillment (as in Tolkien, but I won't go into that!) of envy towards man, like a child towards an adult. They are reclusive beings whose organization and hierarchy are as mysterious as they are disturbing. They speak of rejection, of working together, of revenge. So I imagined dwarves with a hive mind - non-carbonated, silicone beings - to match their ability to change appearance and structure, like the dwarves of legend. Like them, they've lost their shadows, making them easy to recognize. I've added a crystalline side to them, with a ruby embedded in the forehead - a legacy from their original father, with whom they have much to contend.
Finally, I've removed their beards - which I'm afraid will go down in the grudge book - and their honor. MIR dwarfs are ultra-competitive and value independence over hive-mindedness. The more influence a dwarf has on the hive mind, the more power he has over his own kind, and the higher up he is in the hierarchy. Of course, it's a never-ending race as dwarves strive to become the equal of their father, with whom they are at war, but that's another story...
For the elves, I also went back to the original concept, which I mixed with that of the Greek nymphs - very similar in fact. Perfect beings, gods of sorts, were perceived as cruel and superior in every way. Immoral - but isn't that the human view of beings whose existence is beyond their comprehension? What would animals say if they could express themselves on our behavior? How would they describe us?
Probably the same way.
So it seemed natural to make elves predators at the top of the food chain - which we are for animals - but outnumbered by mankind... Their former livestock. The gods consume the flesh of humanity in many myths and legends, and it often happens that this same frightened humanity manages to regain the upper hand - even if it brings chaos and destruction in the process.
The elves were the gods of humans, hunters with great claws and insatiable appetites. At least, that's how we used to describe them. For them, elves are in decline - as they're called in fantasy - because not only are they under the control of their prey, but they can no longer transform. Indeed, elves perceive the world in four dimensions - to put it simply, they can visualize and use the temporal dimension. This, too, is a basic aspect of divinity status: to be beyond the format of humanity, beyond our three dimensions. Like many of our fellow animals who can't comprehend what we look at or imagine, elves are beyond our understanding. But no - for all those smart alecks who wonder why elves haven't changed the past - using time doesn't mean going back!
To conclude, I'd like to talk about morality. Presented as universal in Fantasy works, despite the differences in culture and, as I said, format, it's the same for all species in these universes.
This makes no sense to me.
How and why should cats - to use my example above - have the same vision of good and evil? Morality, like a house and a toilet, are arranged according to our needs. But cats' needs correspond to their format - which is radically different from ours.
Like the elves and dwarves in MIR.
Infelicitated with humans, these two species offer totally different gameplay, far beyond what each of the game's human civilizations already offers. Dwarves can actually change appearance and have dedicated gameplay mechanics, while elves can use the fourth dimension - that's a simplification of a theory, mind you! - by increasing and decreasing their corruption. In short, they are a game within a game, the story of peoples losing out to the triumphant story of humanity - another inspiration from classic drama!
I appreciate that approach to the non-human races in the setting. I really dislike what I call “zoo settings,” where there are two dozen different humanoid species but they’re all kinda samey and human-ish. So, cartographically, you’ve superimposed the continental setting of Delnerar over continental Europe, North Africa and Eurasia. This is a gigantic swathe of land, which begs the questions: what’s the total population at this point? And how do people traverse these massive distances?
Haha this question is very unexpected! So the total population would be that of Europe in the 18th century, but falsely inflated by certain nations at the expense of others with much smaller populations.
Before talking about travel times - which also vary greatly depending on the country and the means available - I'd like to dwell on the origin of the Delnataar continent, which has raised a lot of questions in our own country. The map is inspired by Europe, one of the sources of inspiration for MIR. In this reading, the “Ruin” would be the Second World War, and MIR would be a kind of forced and decadent European Union.
This reflection came from reading Robert Mckee's "Story", in which he explains that European stories are "dead" because it's impossible to invent a new world after the horror of the Second World War. I have to confess that I very much subscribe to this thinking in the sense that the tragedy of the Second World War is the founding bedrock of modern European thought - and of MIR in a sense. This disappearance of the sacred (in the human sense, not just religious) - and therefore of new creation - marks the idea of peoples and their space.
For example, Anicea takes the place of France geographically, but above all in terms of its civilization - Celtic Gaul and medieval France - and its themes - courtly love and honor. The Gaulish/French chivalry mix may seem unlikely, but it works very well with the themes I wanted to develop in this space! The same goes for the Vénéatori, who represent less Italy and the Netherlands than the European city-states - and the merchant boom of the 13th century.
Finally, some aspects of the map have helped us to publicize our civilizations when our sources were not very popular. The best example is the Systerin Empire, modeled on the Byzantine Empire, a nation little known to the general public. To make it more accessible, we've included Slavic, Armenian and Mediterranean elements to mark memory. The capital, the junction between East and West, is a reference to Constantinople, but here too the line has been drawn to make the concept more accessible.
Which brings us back to the original question: how do people travel such enormous distances?
Well, as in medieval / renaissance Europe, most people don't travel very far. In my village in France - admittedly remote - a stranger was a person from the next village ... 10 km away. For Americans, this notion of distance must seem ridiculous, but you have to think back to a time when there were no cars and no horses. The people of the MIR Pact have mounts, but - as in the real world - they are expensive to maintain. The people most likely to travel are merchants, mercenaries and migrants - and, of course, MIR agents. Depending on the nation, travel can be more or less time-consuming - and dangerous. The feudal kingdom of Anicéa is still a wilderness, and many of its roads are not - or hardly - maintained. In contrast, the Systérin Empire boasts an efficient road network used by thousands of carriages and pilgrims every day. In conclusion, I'd say that the “fastest” way to get around - apart from using the arts - is by sea, hence the importance of the trading ports on the map.
In the Discovery (Quickstart) book, there are seven so-called Pact nations described, along with their distinct cultures and cultural curses. In the final core rulebook, will you detail more nations and cultures, such as the peripheral ones named on the map?
The civilizations in the MIR universe are at the heart of our work, each representing a facet of the work's theme. They occupy a central place in the basic book, each with its own layout and character creation. However, the ten or so pages per civilisation - for a total of 70 without character creation and list of Art / Stigmata - is already consequential, it won't be enough to contain all the lore!
At a later date, we'd like to publish people's books in which each civilization is explored in depth, with an analysis of its history, its relationship with the Ruin, its heroes, its cities, etc. Peoples outside the MIR Pact are also described in the basic book in separate chapters.
The Pact of Silence - an alliance of peoples who have also renounced the powers of Ruin, but in a different way from the MIR - is treated as more of a rival than an adversary, even if confrontations are not uncommon.
The exiles of the MIR, on the other hand, are enemies to be slaughtered without hesitation. Each of the peoples of the Silent Pact and the Exiles will be described, but we'll have to wait for future books devoted to their subject to learn more about them!
And yes: a Silent Pact expansion is on the drawing board, but not just yet :)
In the game your character has access to Arts, which are supernatural powers with a cost. Can you provide a few examples of these powers? And what are the key risks and rewards associated with using these Arts?
First of all, let's be clear about one thing: the arts are linked to the culture of each peoples, and therefore to their way of conceiving reality. They represent their ideals and doctrines, a kind of materialized mass psychology. Since the Ruin, the MIR has forbidden the use of the Arts, and only a handful of people sanctioned and trained in schools - the form of which varies from civilization to civilization - can master them. Some of these are selected by the MIR to join the organization, while the rest can continue to serve their country. In all cases, the Arts are central to the history of civilizations. They are responsible - or partly responsible - for their downfall and represent their hubris. And, more concretely, what they regret and fear.
All agent classes - Guardian, Diplomat, Mage, Occultist and Maddling - use Arts, but each class has a different version, depending on its tradition. For example, a Cataphract, the Systerin Guardian, will not have the same Arts and gameplay as its Anicean counterpart, the Anicean Knight.
Each class has Stable Arts - which bring passive abilities to the class - and Unstable Arts, which must be materialized with a Path + Skill roll, equalizing the number of successes requested. That said, the Arts are all inherently dangerous: altering reality requires the use of the energy of Ruin, known as Twisting. If the Art's roll fails, this energy turns against the agent who is subjected to the twisting. More on this later...
Each Art has a Forbidden condition, which is a little restrictive. The player is not obliged to respect it, but if he does, the energy of the Ruin will turn against him and he will suffer a Repercussion - an uncontrolled distortion of reality. The use of Art turns the game in the agents' favor, but always has consequences - especially if the Interdicts are not respected, even if the power still operates!
Finally, each character has several levels of Art, each of which can be upgraded as the character progresses - but you'll have to wait for the core book to see them all 😛
Now that you have all this information, let's move on to a few examples, starting with Callia - a pre-gen character from the discovery book - an Imperial Agent (Systerian Diplomat).
Her Stable Art, “Track Emotions”, lets her know each person's level of Relation to her. Better still, NPC tests - or other players' tests! - to find out their relationship level - and therefore their intentions - require two additional successes. A handy passive for concealing your intentions, lying and manipulating to your heart's content. But this is nothing compared to his Unstable Art, “Attachment”, which allows her to increase or decrease one of your target's Relationships. It's enough to destroy a solid alliance or put an end to a grudge.
The prerequisite for this Art is to touch your target and the Interdict, increasing the relationship with you. Again, you don't have to respect it, but you do have to suffer the Repercussion - plus the twisting: your target will never speak to you again! You can also improve this Art if you've also used "Trace", another of your Unstable Arts, on your target, enabling you to use "Track Emotion" from a distance and thus pass the prerequisite.
Another Unstable Art, more martial this time, is that of Bekan, the Iluvetist Guardian with "Duality". This art allows him to bring his former lover out of his body - literally - to fight alongside him. The Interdict of this Art is particularly cruel, as you can't look your love in the eye - and the character has to pass a test to be able to resist it. The Repercussion, no less cruel, causes you to suffer a Wound that worsens with each turn - your heart and your lover's bleed from memories of the past together...
So, that's a brief overview of the Arts, the mechanics of which obviously depend on each civilization. Aniceans can choose their Repercussion according to Blue Moon or Red Moon, Honor or Love. The nomadic Readarnois can channel their Art - which is weaker than the others - for spectacular results, while the elves use their own corruption as "fuel" to generate effects and so on.
In the game, your Agent will find themselves in a Hunt for so-called Echoes, those remnants of the Ruin that appear at sources of trauma. How does the game mechanically represent the influence of an Echo on the environment and its inhabitants? Or is it mostly up to the GM to describe it in looser, more narrative terms?
First of all, Les Echos is divided into 3 groups, representing the states of their evolution. Some may also appear at a more advanced stage, or even retain their appearance, but all expand over time and increase their influence on reality. The first stage of an Echo is the Echo Lairs: this can be a house, a castle, a field or a school. The progression of these echoes is more codified, but their progress is very rapid.
The second stage of an Echo is the Echo Fiends: the Catalyst - the person who caused the trauma - is often attached to the body of the Echo, which takes on a monstrous appearance. The third stage of an Echo is called True Echo. It often takes on a humanoid form, but can also assume that of an animal or an object. In all cases, the Echo has swallowed its Catalyst to become conscious. It has developed a consciousness of its own, and in this form is no longer guided by its traumatic impulse, making it an unpredictable and hard-to-locate adversary...
To return to the question of how Echo's twisting manifests itself in its environment... It's a mixture of narrative and mechanics. In "An Ordinary Hunt", the fourth scenario in the compendium, the agents are confronted with an Echo whose influence varies as the agents awaken it. In the case of an Echo Lairs, agents must trace traumas back to their origin, the Catalyst. However, reliving traumas is often less interesting than proposing an alternative solution... which awakens the Echo because it's not in line with the memory that gave birth to it. The Echo then locates the agents, “foreign bodies” in its system and sends “projections” to neutralize them. In terms of gameplay, the scenes are much more difficult - even deadly - but the agents can also achieve certain ends in this way.
Once again, the idea is to offer a dilemma.
In the case of the other Echoes and their influence on their environment, we've planned a modular table based on trauma and form, but also on the Catalyst's civilization. The idea would be to use this cross-referenced information to create a customized twisting table for each Echo. However, this information is intended for the Core Book, but don't worry, you'll have plenty to do between the Discovery Book and the Scenario Compendium :p To conclude on the subject, an Echo's influence manifests itself in a way analogous to its trauma, on which - except for True Echos - they depend. A violent trauma will have an aggressive and invasive twisting, a more lanscending trauma might be indiscriminate and "lock" the area in a strange melancholy.
Can you walk me through exactly how exactly an Echo might form in the first place, and what it looks like for that Echo to evolve all the way to a True Echo? An example of one’s life cycle, I mean.
Living beings - humans, animals - affected by Twisting, but also certain “emotionally charged” objects, can materialize an Echo.Once affected by the energy of Ruin, the individual's subconscious will be invaded by Twisting. The victim will then feel the urge to exterminate his pain and frustrations in an unequivocal gesture. The world is responsible for his suffering and must represent it.
If Twisting succeeds in gaining the upper hand over its prey, the Echo will then begin to materialize from the Catalyst onto its immediate reality. In those rare cases where the victim manages to resist the Twisting, he becomes a Madling, a living Echo. These creatures become representations of shame and failure in their culture. They are unstable beings whose arts are powerful but impossible to control. Most have no evil intentions, but their abilities make them living bombs. The MIR hunts them down to destroy them - or recruit them if the agents deem them “recoverable”.
Playing a Madling is an experience in itself, as your Arts can rival those of the legends, but you'll remain in control of the rest of your Chapter. People will fear you, even refuse to speak to you and, worst of all, you'll have no control over your Arts, each use of which will have a Repercussion.
Let's return to the evolution of an Echo.
Even if “swallowed” by his trauma, the victim is not yet lost, for his consciousness is still present. The Twisting continues to devour them slowly, until it has taken complete possession of their being. An Echo evolves every time its prey's consciousness gives way. It becomes more powerful and can grow in size - or change shape. In concrete terms, the Echo seeks to gain autonomy, to become something more than an emanation of its victim. The more the Echo evolves, the more it gains independence from the initial trauma.
Becoming a True Echo is a long and complex process, since once the Echo has annihilated its prey's consciousness, it needs to develop a personality of its own. True Echo discreteness has more to do with a period of analysis and testing than with any real attempt to conceal itself. Some MIR agents speculate that there is a fourth form, but this is denied by the organization. Just like the fact that the Echoes are trying to devour each other...
What challenges do players face when trying to purify a Catalyst compared to simply destroying it?
There are three ways to close an Echo:
The first, Destroy the Catalyst, is the simplest, especially in the case of Echo Fiends, but it also damages the MIR organization by reinforcing the "executioner" image of its agents.
The second, to help the Catalyst overcome his trauma, is complex. It requires understanding the nature and reason for the trauma, then encouraging the Catalyst to accept and overcome it. When you put it like that, it sounds simple, but it's less so when you're fighting off a four-metre creature that's trying to decapitate you. Secondly, this method doesn't consist of “a nice speech”. You need arguments and you need to have experienced - or deduced - the key passages of the trauma to attempt to reason with the Catalyst.
And above all, it requires a sacrifice.
The Twisting will only release its grip on its prey if it can move on to another creature or object of importance to the Catalyst. In desperate cases, this could be an agent, or even an entire Chapter, but the MIR, with its shortage of candidates, doesn't encourage this kind of behavior.
The third way to close an Echo is to collect the Verity on the Catalyst. Madling agents can absorb Twisting from the Catalyst, transforming it into a translucent material known as Verity. This rare substance is the only one capable of curing people's curses, the Stigmata, and protecting an individual from Twisting. Recovering it kills the Catalyst, but the MIR considers this a necessary sacrifice. After all, the organization needs funds, even if it's not allowed to sell Verity.
From a symbolic point of view, the sacrifice required to overcome trauma is similar to that of a healer facing his patient. There's a stage of destruction necessary to creation, of pain to envisage renewal. This morally valued option is not necessarily so from the point of view of the MIR - or certain factions present in the scenarios!
What are the specific rules for conducting the ritual to expose a True Echo, and how does failure impact the agents?
First of all, it should be said that this ritual will actually be revealed in the Core book: the discovery book and the scenario compendium confront agents with the first two forms of Echoes, the Ruin cults, the MIR Exiles and ... other agents. Not to mention Political Intrigue - a subject I'll return to later.
We're saving the True Echoes who are the "main antagonists" in terms of power for a good spot in the core book. And their Hunt, like their confrontation, is very specific. While Echo Lair and Echo Fiends are real dangers, True Echo must be seen as the adversaries of an entire campaign. First of all, in addition to concealing themselves, they can materialize other Echoes and, worst of all, transmit Twisting far more quickly than other forms of Echo.
To defeat these opponents, you first need to spot them, then confront them. Most will refuse a direct confrontation and delegate this task to other Echoes, manifestations they can generate, or even beings who have fallen under their influence. This is not cowardice, but rather boredom. True Echoes question their own nature and do not aim - at least as the MIR teaches - to dominate their environment. Their objective is mysterious, and the agents who know about it don't pass it on to the recruits.
Once cornered, which is at least the framework of a scenario, the agents will have the onerous task of confronting the Echo to awaken the Catalyst. Indeed, the Echo is so fused with its prey that destroying it is impossible in this plan: let me explain.
By becoming a phantasm made real, the Echo becomes unique. It is a being whose nature makes it immune to almost everything, and to injure it, it must be returned to the stage of trauma. The rite is similar in many ways to an exorcism, with the agents urging the victim to regain consciousness and reject the Twisting, but... It's not easy and requires sacrifice.
Once this is done, the battle can begin. True Echo won't stand down and the agents will need all their strength to defeat and destroy it.
With each culture bringing their own unique abilities to a group, is there such a thing as party balance, where a group of PCs all have abilities that complement each other in terms of effectiveness against the various threats in the game?
Yes, and it's deliberate. Agent classes form certain types of chapters, more or less suited to certain situations.
A basic generalist group should include at least a Guardian and a Diplomat, and if it's bigger, an Occultist should be added. Before continuing, I think a quick description of each class is in order.
Guardian: These are martial arts agents. They are not, however, brutes, as they often have secondary specialties to complement their front-line role.
Diplomat: These are agents gifted in trade and intrigue, and sometimes also in stealth and deception. Like the Guardians, they all have specific features that make them more complete. They are often Chapter leaders, representing the MIR.
Occultist: Agents specializing in pre-Ruine traditions. Their Arts often represent the lost culture of their civilization, and they often serve as Twisting specialists. They are invaluable assets for progressing through an Echo or identifying corruption.
Mage: Mages are agents whose Arts are derived from technologies mastered before the Ruin. Feared for their power, they are specialists capable of tipping the balance in favor of the Chapter, but they have little stamina and are vulnerable in combat.
Madling: Madlings are awakened Echoes who have become MIR agents. They are under the control of their Chapter and enjoy relative freedom. They represent the shame and decay of their civilization, but have unrivaled powers of Art. They are the only ones who can absorb the Twisting of a Catalyst and transform it into Verity. True living weapons, they are designed to be unbalanced in terms of gameplay, but can easily lose control of their powers.
To these classes must now be added the 7 MIR civilizations. Each has its own interpretation of the classes, for a total of 35 distinct versions, each with its own Arts.
Yes, writing this core book will take some time!
But back to the point
The pre-gen characters in the Discovery Book form a model group for starting to play MIR and discover its themes. Those included in the scenario book are a little more complex, and complete the picture with a dwarf and an elf.
I'd say that each combination has its advantages, but we've imagined the game as follows: the game master and his players want to create a Chapter, and then...
Ideas fly.
Who's going to play which civilization? This will decide their Tenet and therefore the composition of the group.
Ok - now the roles.
Julie wants to play a Guardian, but not a moron - why not a nimble Phantom of the Readarn?
Bob thought that his Occultist would have to get his hands dirty with this mobile but not very protective Guardian. He opts for an Anicean Cigoben with martial skills... Thanks to its character creation linked to a story …
Character and group creation is probably one of the best parts of role-playing, and we really want to put the best of our work into it.
Pre-starters - and their stories! - already reflect a lot of our ideas for designing group dynamics and conflicts to feed everyone's arcs.
Does the game address resource economy, particularly in terms of the MIR's financial challenges and agent funding?
Yes and no.
MIR is first and foremost a game of horrific intrigue, focusing on the psychological and the sacred. In theory, the MIR and its agents have the right to stay wherever they wish for their investigations, and the inhabitants of the Pact nations owe them obedience...
But this is all very theoretical.
In reality, the MIR is not perceived in the same way in every Pact nation, some not hesitating to obstruct investigations or worse, distort them, to avoid the arrival of agents. Agents have the right to ask for hospitality, but many will refuse, and the obligation has become a tradition that is seldom respected. States - even those sympathetic to the MIR - see this reversal of values as a means of turning the balance of power on its head. In exchange for respecting the rules, the organization has to let them have more control over the Arts, or support them in certain political decisions...
Of course, the MIR is neutral - officially - but the organization's funding, now decried, is in doubt. And for lack of means, agents are increasingly left to fend for themselves on missions. Getting a free pass, like the support of an official, will require agents to get involved in the prevailing politics. And the same goes for obtaining an asset. Agents have enough money to cover small expenses, but no more. And people are well aware of this.
There are exceptions, of course, but in the majority of cases, agents will be forced to play along and get involved in intrigues far removed from their original duty.
You have dedicated a lot of space in the game towards non-combat encounters. Can you go over the general components at play with a social encounter, such as the Relationship meters and the flowcharts used to resolve these encounters?
It's - again! - a great question, but I'm going to have to answer it in two parts. First, a more theoretical and conceptual phase to explain the reason for the system, and then a didactic phase of the system. If you're tired of my mumbo jumbo, just jump straight to the rules, it's quicker and more fun :)
With MIR I wanted to create a gloomy game, not for marketing or to play my edgelord, but to open up a space where we could tackle subjects often dismissed in our modern society. Death, depression, trauma and so on.
When they are discussed, it's often in a victimized way, and we often hear "oh, poor person" when we're often in a similar situation. The victim position doesn't help anyone - least of all the people concerned. Telling ourselves that we're partly responsible for our own suffering (there are, of course, counter-examples, it's not to be taken literally) makes reality more grey. But also more pleasant and, I believe, happier. The idea of allowing players to find themselves in the role of the one who assumes - to be in an adult position - to carry the moral weight of the decision (or lack thereof) was essential for me. Horror then becomes reality, and the effect we had on it. The bloodied muscles of a warrior after a desperate struggle are easy to assimilate. But dealing with the consequences of our choices, our unspoken words, our fears, is not as easy. It's not the same thing, because we live it every day.
So the characters in MIR had to have a way of influencing reality and society. In fantasy, it's a “magical power” - often coveted by evil - that makes this possible. Tolkien makes it bad, other universes sometimes interesting in the right hands. I love this symbolism, which I've perpetuated in a way with the Arts, but it wasn't enough. Not after Games of Thrones and its depiction of power, not after Warhammer and its sects hidden within the elite.
Problems can't be solved with a wave of a magic wand.
You need power to change things.
And to get power you have to influence people.
Promise them a better world, understand them and suffer with them.
And then use them.
The figure of the manipulator is intriguing because it is intrinsically linked to that of the devil in our Judeo-Christian culture, and even more so in the more Catholic Latin culture. Profit and betrayal are evils in our worldview, but we don't teach you how to protect yourself from them. You're warned, you're encouraged to adopt a positive attitude, and you can also be encouraged to take revenge. But never understand the reason for such behavior. It's as if it's not supposed to happen, even though the experience of a human life includes the experience of disappointment and betrayal.
It may be friendly, amorous or even professional. It may not be so for one person, and be perceived as such by the other. But in all cases, this lack of knowledge about the existence of betrayal, of manipulation in a word, of power, prevents us from dealing with it effectively - rather like love, we consider it to be “common sense”. I think this is a mistake.
In MIR, I wanted to give players the ability to experience and understand the role of the "bad guy", the one in charge, in short, the one we hate.
Now for the system.
In each scenario, the NPCs encountered are linked to the story's theme. Even a stranger, if present in the plot arena, carries meaning. Through their choices, agents create relationships with them, both positive and negative.
In MIR, this is a statistic annotated at the bottom of the character sheet called Relationship. We've also created game aids for the game master to note the evolution of relationships in a hidden way. The evolution of a Relation is not known to the player, it is assumed. To do this, agents will need to understand the power logics in place: alliances, who betrayed whom, who wants what and who believes in what.
This is an important part of a MIR scenario, and it pushes players to delve deeper into the universe and question NPCs, as it advances their investigation. Of course, we know that thinking in terms of factions - and branches, but that's another subject - can be intimidating, especially when you're not writing. That's why we're working on generators, but above all on a step-by-step guide on how to easily create factions with opposing interests and defectors. Add some idealists, a few revolutionaries, a pinch of madness and despair, and you've got it.
You have your MIR scenario ready to go.
Now how can agents actually push NPCs in one direction or the other? Most games settle the question with a social test - the famous charisma test. While this may work well in a more pulp universe, it's a bit out of place in dark fantasy, a genre more inclined towards realism. There's a tendency to think that social interaction shouldn't have mechanics, that it should all be managed through roleplay. We don't agree, as our experience and tests have shown that this only rewards the more charismatic. Not necessarily the best negotiators, or even players who understand the stakes.
And that's why we created the Intrigue system. Inspired by the Games of Thrones role-playing game, it allows agents to influence NPCs after an oral exchange played out like a combat test.
You assemble a Path to a Social Skill, pit it against your opponent's verbal defense, Willpower, and the one with the most successes wins.
Excess successes are added to the points invested in the skill - your verbal weapon of the moment, and subtracted from the opponent's Composure (his social health points). Once the opponent's Composure has fallen to zero, the player is forced to perform the requested service. Be careful, the service can't be something stupid or suicidal (unless it makes sense in the scenario, of course).
The value of the requested service is then subtracted from the person's Relationship score: nobody likes to be forced, even by pretty words.
This pushes agents to try to negotiate, or even to make up with NPCs with whom they have a negative relationship. But when all this is impossible, or if an NPC is too difficult to convince, there are still Intrigue Resources.
This could be an NPC's hidden secret, returning an untimely favor, or even evidence of a crime - such as breaking a law of the MIR Pact. All these elements will require investment to obtain, but they will bring you an automatic victory.
In conclusion, this Intrigue system has several impacts:
Social characters have real importance. As well as introducing their group, they are able to manipulate and protect their group from other intriguers. And when they're not present, points invested in social skills are greatly appreciated.
Social phases are fast-paced, violent and feared, just like fights. Their outcomes are decisive, like losing a member in a confrontation. At first, players may fear them, but as time goes by, they realize that they are an opportunity to turn the scenario in their favor. For the game master, it's an excellent way to push certain players to take the initiative, or to bring to the forefront an NPC who's been sidelined.
Players will dig into the scenario to gain as much advantage as possible. They are not forced to do so, and often scenarios pose dilemmas about taking time to research, but they will have to assume the risks of acting blindly.
I find the Intrigue mechanics to be robust enough to serve as a significant, perhaps even dominant, component of the game. Do you think a GM in theory could run a session, or even a campaign, that was mostly social interactions?
Yes, it's quite possible, but I think it would lack the fighting spirit - the physical violence needed to counterbalance the force of words. Don't forget that a player or NPC can leave an Intrigue - even if it's to his disadvantage - or attack his interlocutor. Pushing an NPC's buttons is a viable strategy, especially when you want to cause a scandal. So my final answer would be: yes, an entirely verbal game or even campaign is possible, but it can't exist without the threat of blades.
MIR explores deep themes of trauma, sacrifice, and moral ambiguity. How do you envision GMs guiding players through these emotionally heavy scenarios while maintaining a sense of fun and engagement?
To answer this question, I think we need to define what we mean by “fun”. Personally, I consider “fun” to be something amusing and surprising. As such, MIR is fun. But being fun isn't enough to be played over time: the surprise wears off after a while, and routine erodes the amusement. In short, fun is a launch pad, and without additional content to sustain it, it quickly falls flat.
This is the problem with many of today's games - serious or light - which all show great promise and then fade after a game. That's not to say that you shouldn't play these games, but that they shouldn't sell themselves by promising more.
I remember my twenties, when we had plenty of video games and role-playing games that sold a simple experience without promising anything more. It was raw fun, and it didn't matter if it didn't last.
And then there were games, in all media, that presented themselves more as experiences. They were fun, of course, but above all they were deep and engaging. You didn't play Vampire like Shadowrun or - to borrow from a video game - Silent Hill like Gears of War. Again, this has nothing to do with the quality of the work. None whatsoever. Vampire offers a tortured universe, but will never have the light-hearted fun of Shadowrun or OSR. In short, I think MIR is the second type of game. You can play it for fun, to scare yourself and confront something violent. Why not, it's also a framework for use.
But the universe and the system have intrinsically been designed to serve the theme, which takes time to unfold. I write longer-than-average scenarios to give players time to establish their roleplay and the game master time to get to grips with the first acts. Once you've put your nose to the grindstone, you want to understand the secrets of the universe, replay a branch to see what you've missed - and, above all, continue your character's story.
What's clear after more than a year of launch in France is that the public is hooked on the universe and the game. The game has a fairly confirmed audience, which alternates with other games and urges us to release the core book. Let's face it, that's a pretty good sign.
So I'll rephrase the question as follows: can a serious game be played continuously without becoming too heavy?
Yes, but you have to know how to either alternate with raw “fun” or know how to include it. MIR is not humorless and not all situations are “horrible”. The world exists independently of the players, with its own standards. Walking through the world of MIR isn't about coming across piles of corpses or monsters on every street corner. There are taverns, festivals and fairs, as well as restaurants, shops and temples. It's a world where you can put the emphasis on one thing rather than another - to get away from the horror, for example.
Finally, I don't know of any game with a heavy theme without at least one moment of laughter. Humor is a mechanism for relieving our anxieties, and it's often triggered in these universes where nothing seems to lend itself to it!
With MIR’s strong foundation and intricate worldbuilding, do you have plans to expand the universe through additional sourcebooks, campaigns, or even cross-media projects like graphic novels?
Yes, that's right!
MIR was conceived as a license in which each medium would enrich the theme with its own format. Basically, a novel doesn't do the same thing as a video game or a series. You have to play with the constraints of the medium to get the best out of it, and some universes - Warhammer 40k comes to mind - do this very well. But it's no easy task, and you can quickly fall into the trap of adapting for the sake of adapting.
Without giving any dates or making any false promises - because our schedule also depends on our sales - here's what we have planned:
- Civilization book: Ideally, each of the seven civilizations in the MIR Pact would have its own people's book. These books would give me the space to describe the history, culture and secrets of each civilization.
From a system point of view, each of the books would include Arts extensions for the people, a new class to play and mechanics specific to the nation. Finally, what would a civilization book be without maps and descriptions of its cities and emblematic places, essential for creating scenarios focused on that culture.
And, of course, each book will have a layout in keeping with the civilization's style.
- Scenario Compendium: Ideally, there would be one scenario compendium for each civilization. The one for the Systérin Empire will already be available - in a normal or collector's version - for the kickstarter! To give you an idea, it's over three hundred pages long, contains 80 hours of gameplay and includes 4 new pre-gen characters. And an album has been composed to be played during the scenarios. That's pretty much the idea behind the scenario collections: a dive into every culture in our universe.
The Campaign: I've planned a multi-volume campaign with many twists and turns that will lead the agents to change the MIR universe forever. It's a big project that's going to take a lot of writing time and resources to make it viable. But it's on the cards!
Bestiary, Echo and Exile of MIR: Three different books dealing with the dangers of the MIR universe.
The Bestiary should be released with the Core Book and will serve as a universe guide as well as containing a wealth of information on the universe's flora and fauna - and a nice random encounter.
The Echo Book will focus on materialized trauma, describing in depth how it works, with examples of famous Echoes that have maimed history. There will also be a glossary of sorts and secrets about certain forms...
The Exiles book will deal with the traitor nations and their way of life. As well as offering statistics for including them as opponents, there will also be a module for playing as an Exile.
Pact of Silence: A book about the mysterious Pact of Silence, its history and how it works. As well as providing profiles for creating antagonists, there will also be a module for playing in their ranks.
Short story collection / Novels: I plan to write both in the MIR universe to accompany the release of certain books.
And that's all for now! To be honest, it's already a lot for both of us. Well, that's it for the paper version.
As far as the music is concerned, we're in the process of creating an EP album for the release of the Core book, featuring various metal bands, both underground and well-known.
Most of the bands are in the recording phase, but I can't say any more than that!
As for comics and manga, we haven't got round to it yet, as we have a short film in production and have contacted a video game studio. But then again, we're concentrating on role-playing first, so the last thing I want to do is spread myself too thin :p
Oh yes, there's one last project.
We're working on a hand-crafted copy of the core book. It will be the size of a medieval codex and will be illuminated by hand. The ornamentation will include gold and precious stones, and the cover will be leather of course. This will be a collector's copy, ready to acquire a work destined for the museum. Because we believe that role-playing games, like other works of art, have their place there.
That’s a lot of exciting stuff on the horizon! Oka, finally, how do you envision community feedback shaping future expansions or revisions of MIR?
As you've seen throughout this interview, Valentin and I are passionate about what we do.
Like many gamers, we've waited for patches to come out, only to discover, to our horror, that they were out of date by the time they were released - codex 40k buyers know what I'm talking about!
When it comes to role-playing games, who hasn't come up with their own rules to improve a system? Who hasn't picked up on mistakes and wanted to share their experience with others?
For us, being an editor means trying to provide answers to the frustrations we've experienced as players and buyers. We're not going to lie to you: the perfect system doesn't exist and never will. And that's just as well. Human creations - like ideologies - are perfectible and mortal. This allows us to exchange ideas, to question ourselves and to accept the otherness of others.
And in business terms, that translates as follows:
We don't charge for updates, and never will.
We sell a role-playing game - an artistic project with a creative universe. The system, as important as it is, must be able to evolve faster than the text. That's why we regularly update the PDFs of our books after discussions with players on our discord. A new edition - and therefore a new purchase - means a new set-up and a new point of view. And therefore fundamental changes to the system.
We don't charge for updates.
Please note: this is a time-consuming process, and as there are only two of us, it can seem slow. But it's always happening. You'll have several PDF and patch versions to play with. In fact, the English version is a third version, much improved on the first.
Our ambition is to create a brand image where players feel attached to our creations because they've been able to put their own stamp on them. Even if it's still in its infancy, we've bought the rights to two fan-created scenarios to publish them.
Maybe you'll be next!
Back the Kickstarter for the English edition of MIR: https://bit.ly/MIRdiscoveryKickstarter
Watch my in-depth video preview of MIR on YouTube.