MCDM's New Tactical TTRPG Hits $1M Crowdfunding On First Day!

Matt Colville's MCDM is no stranger to crowdfunding, with three million dollar Kickstarters already under its belt. With the launch of The MCDM RPG, that makes four!

This new game is not a D&D variant or a supplement for D&D, which is what MCDM has focussed on so far. This is an all-new game which concentrates on tactical play, with a fulfilment goal of July 2025. It comes in two books--a 400-page 'Heroes' book and a 'Monsters' book which is an adaption of the existing Flee, Mortals!

The MCDM RPG

Whether you’re a group of local heroes sent to investigate mysterious goings-on in the nearby haunted wood, or famous mercenaries plotting and scheming in the big city, the MCDM RPG makes building adventures and fighting monsters fun.

www.backerkit.com

The game takes aim at traditional d20 fantasy gaming, referring to the burden of 'sacred cows from the 1970s', but point out that it's not a dungeon crawling or exploration game--its core activity is fighting monsters. The system is geared towards tactical combat--you roll 2d6, add an attribute, and do that damage; there's no separate attack roll.

At $40 for the base Heroes PDF and $70 for the hardcover (though there are discounts for both books if you buy them together), it's not a cheap buy-in, but with over 4,000 backers already that's not deterring anybody!

Even more ambitiously, one of the stretch goals is a Virtual Tabletop (VTT). There's already a working prototype of it.

 

[Velderan]

This is one of the times where I'm not sure how much of a post is a joke, but we do know a fair bit about the design, but it just isn't finalized yet. I posted this earlier, but this is a report from a session they ran at Gamehole Con. You can get some ideas about the mechanics, but I think it's more important that you get a sense of what kind of a feel they are going for in the game. It's described as "heroic" and I think this session gives a pretty good example of what they mean by it.

They have said a lot of the level 1 game is done and it sounds like that's what they've been playing. They still have a lot of work to do to flesh out levels 2-10, but it sounds like so far their focus was on making the level 1 game playable to test mechanics and see how the core classes they've developed work within those mechanics. The patreon subscribers will get a playtest packet this month, so there's definitely a lot of ideas they feel comfortable enough to share.

 

[MacDhomnuill]

This is one of the times where I'm not sure how much of a post is a joke, but we do know a fair bit about the design, but it just isn't finalized yet. I posted this earlier, but this is a report from a session they ran at Gamehole Con. You can get some ideas about the mechanics, but I think it's more important that you get a sense of what kind of a feel they are going for in the game. It's described as "heroic" and I think this session gives a pretty good example of what they mean by it.

Having the lvl 1 mechanics sort of hashed out is nowhere near the point at which I would say you could get a feel for the game. this is an unfinished manuscript that's missing at least 80% of what it needs to be complete and ready for editing.

 

[SteveC]

Having the lvl 1 mechanics sort of hashed out is nowhere near the point at which I would say you could get a feel for the game. this is an unfinished manuscript that's missing at least 80% of what it needs to be complete and ready for editing.

I think that really depends on the game. I played in playtests run by WotC for both 4E and 5E. Both of them showed me only a tiny fraction of the game. In both cases I got a sense of what the game was like and what I could expect out of it. Yes, there's many feats/spells/powers that I'm going to learn as the character levels up, but I know what the game is like in mechanical terms. I have run the Beginner's Box for PF2 several times to teach people about the game. Again, there's a ton of things that PF2 characters learn after first level, but you can get a pretty solid idea of what the game is like from playing that adventure.

Just about every class and level game I can think of would be similar. I wouldn't know how a character develops at various breakpoints as they level up, but the core gameloop? I'd definitely know it.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Boy, even Matt's Backerkit updates are completely in his voice. It's really charming.

 

[Velderan]

I think that really depends on the game. I played in playtests run by WotC for both 4E and 5E. Both of them showed me only a tiny fraction of the game. In both cases I got a sense of what the game was like and what I could expect out of it. Yes, there's many feats/spells/powers that I'm going to learn as the character levels up, but I know what the game is like in mechanical terms. I have run the Beginner's Box for PF2 several times to teach people about the game. Again, there's a ton of things that PF2 characters learn after first level, but you can get a pretty solid idea of what the game is like from playing that adventure.

Just about every class and level game I can think of would be similar. I wouldn't know how a character develops at various breakpoints as they level up, but the core gameloop? I'd definitely know it.

Yeah, I don’t really get the problem here. I think the core mechanics can demonstrate what the game is about at level 1 quite easily (which Matt has said their level 1 is closer to 5e’s level 3 in terms of what the player can do so you should have some tricks beyond “I attack”). Then it just becomes a matter of making sure the cool stuff your characters learn to do in later levels don't break those core mechanics, which they have 18 months to figure out how to not do that.

 

[Nightfly]

Unfortunately, I won't be doing any more recaps of their video chats. I hope everyone enjoyed what I previously did.

 

[Aldarc]

Unfortunately, I won't be doing any more recaps of their video chats. I hope everyone enjoyed what I previously did.

Is there a new video chat or are you saying this about any future ones?

 

[Velderan]

Is there a new video chat or are you saying this about any future ones?

I was under the impression they were done as their team takes the holidays off. I’d guess we hear more in the closing days of the campaign after the new year holiday.

 

[aco175]

 

[deganawida]

I may have to bite the bullet and get in on this. He has a lot of good ideas which he’s expressed in the videos for this, some of which I’m saving for my own house rules.