Everyday Heroes (free quickstart at evilgeniusgames.com) is bringing d20 Modern gaming with a D&D 5E refresh. And in 2023 a Season Pass of Cinematic Adventure brings eight movie RPGs (like Kong: Skull Island and Pacific Rim) using the system! Dave Scott, owner of Evil Genius Productions, was kind enough to answer some questions about the RPG and the kickstarter kicking off in May.
CHARLIE DUNWOODY (CD): Please highlight the rules, tone, and GM support provided in Everyday Heroes.
DAVE SCOTT (DS): We’ve developed a complete RPG manuscript spanning over 500-pages. It gives you all you need to play a modern action RPG. The rules are cinematic in nature, offering really fun options to roleplay your favorite action movie hero. Over half the book is for the GM, assisting them to build amazing roleplaying worlds. In the GMs section, we cover everything from Cyber-hacking to drug addiction.
CD: Releasing eight movie settings for Everyday Heroes in 2023 really makes the RPG stand out. Are the Cinematic Adventures settings, adventures, both, or something else altogether?
DS: Think of these Cinematic Adventures as campaign settings similar to the Ravenloft or Eberron setting. They are worlds in which you can run adventures. But beyond providing an adventure, we wanted to do more. So, each book will offer new mechanics that can be brought into any of your 5e campaigns. For instance, the Universal Soldier book will introduce mechanics around Cybernetics. The Total Recall book will introduce mechanics around Mutations. If you want to run around Skull island battling monsters with a mutant arm that gives you a strength of 20 and bionic legs that increase your run speed by 10, you can do that with our system.
CD: Will the Cinematic Adventures support long-term campaign play or is each one more of a single adventure experience?
DS: We have exciting plans for both Pacific Rim and Kong: Skull Island. For Pacific Rim, expect a World Book, a guide to Jaegers, and a Kaiju Monster Manual. For Kong: Skull Island, expect a World Book, a guide to the Corporations (like Monarch), and a Titans Monster Manual. For both of these properties, we have billion dollar franchises to draw from which gives us endless inspiration.
CD: Which of the eight movie settings are you most excited about and what new options will the setting offer GMs and players?
DS: I’m most excited about Kong: Skull Island. When we signed the deal with Legendary, they gave us the Monsterverse Bible. This 1,000-page document gives us access to all the monsters, past and present, that exist within this universe. I personally love the monster hunter concept and we’re going to give it to you in spades.
CD: You have a kickstarter for Everyday Heroes in May. What items are you offering through this kickstarter?
DS: Within the kickstarter, we’re offering everything. We have multiple versions of the Core Rulebook from a $25 PDF to an $80 Twentieth Anniversary Edition honoring d20 Modern. You will also have the ability to purchase any of the Cinematic Adventures for $20 each, or all of them in a bundle for a 20% discount. We also have an amazing partnership with Roll20 where anyone who buys our core rulebook will get the Roll20 version for free! And what would a movie be without a great soundtrack. That’s why we partnered with Syrinscape to provide SoundSets for every Cinematic Adventure we release.
CD: For players of fantasy RPGs like D&D, what does Everyday Heroes offer that might convince them to take the RPG out for a spin?
DS: Everyday Heroes uses the 5th editions SRD which should make it easy for current D&D players to try our game. And if you’re an action movie lover like me. We’ll give you the chance to play out your favorite action scenes. In addition, it’s 100% compatible with your homebrew 5th edition game. If you want, you can build a Highlander Immortal that begins in the Ravenloft setting, solves mysteries in your Call of Cthulhu game, and then pilots a Jaeger in your Pacific Rim game. It’s all possible with a fully balanced 5e system like ours.
CD: Where can fans go to find your work?
DS: We’ve assembled a group of amazing designers who have been responsible for some of the greatest roleplaying games of all time - Spelljammer, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Star Wars RPG, and Marvel RPG. You need only to look on your shelf to see the work product of our team. But to see what we’re up to now, please visit our website at www.evilgeniusgames.com.
CD: Any final comments you’d like to share with the readers of EN World?
DS: Our Kickstarter launches on May 17th at 7AM PDT. For Day 1 backers, we will be offering a free 5-part adventure played by Gen Con CEO Peter Adkison on GenConTV. If we are successful with this kickstarter, expect more exciting movie IP to come to life in the future
CHARLIE DUNWOODY (CD): Please highlight the rules, tone, and GM support provided in Everyday Heroes.
DAVE SCOTT (DS): We’ve developed a complete RPG manuscript spanning over 500-pages. It gives you all you need to play a modern action RPG. The rules are cinematic in nature, offering really fun options to roleplay your favorite action movie hero. Over half the book is for the GM, assisting them to build amazing roleplaying worlds. In the GMs section, we cover everything from Cyber-hacking to drug addiction.
CD: Releasing eight movie settings for Everyday Heroes in 2023 really makes the RPG stand out. Are the Cinematic Adventures settings, adventures, both, or something else altogether?
DS: Think of these Cinematic Adventures as campaign settings similar to the Ravenloft or Eberron setting. They are worlds in which you can run adventures. But beyond providing an adventure, we wanted to do more. So, each book will offer new mechanics that can be brought into any of your 5e campaigns. For instance, the Universal Soldier book will introduce mechanics around Cybernetics. The Total Recall book will introduce mechanics around Mutations. If you want to run around Skull island battling monsters with a mutant arm that gives you a strength of 20 and bionic legs that increase your run speed by 10, you can do that with our system.
CD: Will the Cinematic Adventures support long-term campaign play or is each one more of a single adventure experience?
DS: We have exciting plans for both Pacific Rim and Kong: Skull Island. For Pacific Rim, expect a World Book, a guide to Jaegers, and a Kaiju Monster Manual. For Kong: Skull Island, expect a World Book, a guide to the Corporations (like Monarch), and a Titans Monster Manual. For both of these properties, we have billion dollar franchises to draw from which gives us endless inspiration.
CD: Which of the eight movie settings are you most excited about and what new options will the setting offer GMs and players?
DS: I’m most excited about Kong: Skull Island. When we signed the deal with Legendary, they gave us the Monsterverse Bible. This 1,000-page document gives us access to all the monsters, past and present, that exist within this universe. I personally love the monster hunter concept and we’re going to give it to you in spades.
CD: You have a kickstarter for Everyday Heroes in May. What items are you offering through this kickstarter?
DS: Within the kickstarter, we’re offering everything. We have multiple versions of the Core Rulebook from a $25 PDF to an $80 Twentieth Anniversary Edition honoring d20 Modern. You will also have the ability to purchase any of the Cinematic Adventures for $20 each, or all of them in a bundle for a 20% discount. We also have an amazing partnership with Roll20 where anyone who buys our core rulebook will get the Roll20 version for free! And what would a movie be without a great soundtrack. That’s why we partnered with Syrinscape to provide SoundSets for every Cinematic Adventure we release.
CD: For players of fantasy RPGs like D&D, what does Everyday Heroes offer that might convince them to take the RPG out for a spin?
DS: Everyday Heroes uses the 5th editions SRD which should make it easy for current D&D players to try our game. And if you’re an action movie lover like me. We’ll give you the chance to play out your favorite action scenes. In addition, it’s 100% compatible with your homebrew 5th edition game. If you want, you can build a Highlander Immortal that begins in the Ravenloft setting, solves mysteries in your Call of Cthulhu game, and then pilots a Jaeger in your Pacific Rim game. It’s all possible with a fully balanced 5e system like ours.
CD: Where can fans go to find your work?
DS: We’ve assembled a group of amazing designers who have been responsible for some of the greatest roleplaying games of all time - Spelljammer, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Star Wars RPG, and Marvel RPG. You need only to look on your shelf to see the work product of our team. But to see what we’re up to now, please visit our website at www.evilgeniusgames.com.
CD: Any final comments you’d like to share with the readers of EN World?
DS: Our Kickstarter launches on May 17th at 7AM PDT. For Day 1 backers, we will be offering a free 5-part adventure played by Gen Con CEO Peter Adkison on GenConTV. If we are successful with this kickstarter, expect more exciting movie IP to come to life in the future
