So, what would you like to see Webbed Sphere do with T&T?

[ProfGremlin]

Good evening, All!

I'm setting up this thread for any responses to okgamer 's post in the Introduce Yourself thread. This should help keep everything in one place and easily referred back too.

Welcome, Ed!

~ Prof.

[ProfGremlin]

Welcome to the TrollBridge, okgamer! We're glad to finally have you over!

Ok, so, my first question, Ed, is can you elaborate on what is meant by 'a robust organized play system for T&T'?

There are many of us here that do not use social media, much less Facebook. So, my second question: Is there an alternative to the Tome of Visages to stay abreast of developments with FBI and T&T?

My thanks for your willingness to engage us here.

~ Prof.

[gaptooth]

Dec 21, 2021 22:45:57 GMT -5 ProfGremlin said:

Ok, so, my first question, Ed, is can you elaborate on what is meant by 'a robust organized play system for T&T'?

I'm definitely interested in this as well!

And I will second the thank you for reaching out to us here, too! This is the best place for thoughtful T&T discussion, enriched by a history of thoughtful discussion that is accessible and memorable. That's what I value about this place over social media sites, where discussions are easily buried, becoming mostly inaccessible, and soon forgotten by their communities.

[okgamer]

Thank you for the welcome. I'm off to bed in a minute, but I thought I'd do a quick answer.

The organized play system is new content, with interlocking scenarios that slowly build a character and world up. So characters might start off in a small village with no real knowledge beyond its environs, but in the next adventure, they may explore a nearby forbidding woods, and then maybe have to head to a regional capital, all the while the threats build up as well. Players would be able to move their characters from scenario to scenario retaining gains from each scenario they participate in. Of course this is in the very early planning stages, and there is plenty of work before we roll out anything concrete.

As for the second question, we have an email list, and any new products would definitely be presented there. We will most likely at least attend GenCon, so information would be available there, and of course the website itself will present information besides being a platform for sales.

[Piper]

First of all, thank you for making yourself available to answer our questions. Pleased to “meet” you.


If we were on Flying Buffalo’s mailing list while Rick was running the company, do we need to sign up again under Webbed Sphere?

[sscrompton]

Ed - Welcome to the Trollbridge! I think that you are going to find that a lot of T&T players are very creative and enthusiastic about T&T. A few may have trepidations about the new ownership, but most can't wait to see T&T grow and Flourish!

When I managed Buffalo For Rick and after he passed away, my main job was to try to finish the Kickstarters, try to come out with new or reprinted products (most of which are on Drive thru as pdfs) But really my main job was to work towards the sale and transition of Flying Buffalo to a larger company. This was something Rick started working on as soon as he knew he had cancer. I know Rick would be very glad to see that we were able to make it happen and put into WebbedSphere's family of companies. He knew some of the main people there quite well!

I've been working with Ed on the transition of the art and digital assets and will continue to be around any time he needs some background info or an assist on something.

I hope you will give him a warm welcome and just remember he isn't allowed to tell you about everything that is coming up (yet) but as it develops I'm sure you will all be hearing a lot about it.

Welcome Ed and WebbedSphere!!!
Regards
Steven Crompton

[viva]

“Some fun things coming up: There are a lot of cool treasures buried in the boxes of inventory, and I'm going to try and get some video going through these, I think it'll be a nice bit of history! I've already found some neat items.”

I’m anxious to help webbed sphere turn a profit on its investment … post more about these neat items and open up some bidding!

Also looking forward to new T&T product. I’m especially partial to high quality solos and collaborations with the Tavernmaster Games crew.

Welcome and enjoy the ride!

[ocasta]

Welcome, Ed! I must say that, as a Kentuckian, I was a bit excited when I heard that Webbed Sphere was the mystery company buying Flying Buffalo. I hope it means that we might get to see some FB presence at some of the regional cons as well Lexicon in Lexington, KY has a pretty big RPG presence and I believe Goodman Games will be running a booth there next year, so you'd be in good company if you could make an appearance!

I don't really have any questions but I also want to express that I'm excited to learn more about the organized play and I can't wait to see hyperlinked PDFs as well. Little quality of life improvements like that make a big difference.

[okgamer]

Dec 21, 2021 23:42:32 GMT -5 Piper said:

First of all, thank you for making yourself available to answer our questions. Pleased to “meet” you.


If we were on Flying Buffalo’s mailing list while Rick was running the company, do we need to sign up again under Webbed Sphere?

It doesn't hurt to sign up again, our email program filters out duplicate email addresses. We have used the mailing list to send out Black Friday promotion, so if you didn't get that, you should sign up, or check your spam filter.

[okgamer]

Dec 21, 2021 23:59:52 GMT -5 sscrompton said:

Ed - Welcome to the Trollbridge! I think that you are going to find that a lot of T&T players are very creative and enthusiastic about T&T. A few may have trepidations about the new ownership, but most can't wait to see T&T grow and Flourish!

When I managed Buffalo For Rick and after he passed away, my main job was to try to finish the Kickstarters, try to come out with new or reprinted products (most of which are on Drive thru as pdfs) But really my main job was to work towards the sale and transition of Flying Buffalo to a larger company. This was something Rick started working on as soon as he knew he had cancer. I know Rick would be very glad to see that we were able to make it happen and put into WebbedSphere's family of companies. He knew some of the main people there quite well!

I've been working with Ed on the transition of the art and digital assets and will continue to be around any time he needs some background info or an assist on something.

I hope you will give him a warm welcome and just remember he isn't allowed to tell you about everything that is coming up (yet) but as it develops I'm sure you will all be hearing a lot about it.

Welcome Ed and WebbedSphere!!!
Regards
Steven Crompton

Thanks Steve. I'm excited to be working on Flying Buffalo! 

[okgamer]

Dec 22, 2021 0:08:41 GMT -5 viva said:

“Some fun things coming up: There are a lot of cool treasures buried in the boxes of inventory, and I'm going to try and get some video going through these, I think it'll be a nice bit of history! I've already found some neat items.”

I’m anxious to help webbed sphere turn a profit on its investment … post more about these neat items and open up some bidding!

Also looking forward to new T&T product. I’m especially partial to high quality solos and collaborations with the Tavernmaster Games crew.

Welcome and enjoy the ride!

I'll see what I can do to expedite the digging!

[okgamer]

Dec 22, 2021 0:39:43 GMT -5 ocasta said:

Welcome, Ed! I must say that, as a Kentuckian, I was a bit excited when I heard that Webbed Sphere was the mystery company buying Flying Buffalo. I hope it means that we might get to see some FB presence at some of the regional cons as well Lexicon in Lexington, KY has a pretty big RPG presence and I believe Goodman Games will be running a booth there next year, so you'd be in good company if you could make an appearance!

I don't really have any questions but I also want to express that I'm excited to learn more about the organized play and I can't wait to see hyperlinked PDFs as well. Little quality of life improvements like that make a big difference.

Whereabouts in Kentucky are you?

[ocasta]

Dec 22, 2021 9:31:43 GMT -5 okgamer said:

Whereabouts in Kentucky are you?

I live just outside of Berea but Im from Lexington originally.

[zanshin]

Thanks for engaging with us here ed.

My first concern for T&T would be to have a framework that facilitates and encourages fan based creation. We have a number of independent producers of T&T who are also big fans of and boosters for the game. I really hope you can present a framework that will encourage creativity and grow the game. There are various models for this which I am sure you are aware of and I'm not going to plug any in particular. I absolutely appreciate that T&T is your IP and we don't want another Hobbit Hole producer type trauma for the game, but I am sure we do want to leverage the creativity of the community.

Secondly - more content produced to a professional level is likely to get snapped up by the people who frequent here.

Thirdly, I am aware of adventure paths from D&D - but have not experienced play of them. If you were able to create some solo adventure connectivity (in the way the meta arcade app aimed to) I think that would be a definite positive. As a model to make the game accessible, I think that GM or solo adventures that grow organically are a good idea. My go to introductory GM adventure for new players to T&T is The Dungeon of the Rat
www.drivethrurpg.com/product_info.php?products_id=98876

Fourthly Tunnels and Trolls has a flavour to it that is not Heroic Fantasy (though you can do that with it) and of course it's individual to each player, but I think the classic solo adventures, the spell names and the 'make it your own' approach to the rules give it a style that is it's own. If you can pull off the trick of maintaining those elements of it's USP while appealing to a wider audience you will be doing really well

Fifthly the meta arcade app was pretty well regarded. If you can get it working, great. If you can add things to spend gold on, and adventures for casters then many people would be happy about that.

Best of luck!

[gringnr]

First and foremost, I'd like to see the "spirit" of T&T remain unchanged. High fantasy with a focus on fun and ease of play. It needs to keep its sense of humor. It does NOT need to try to be like D&D. Nothing against D&D, but the things that make T&T great are its differences from that game.

Aside from that, I'd like to see more of a focus on GM adventures. Solos are great, and in many ways, they are the T&T brand. BUt GM adventures allow the entirety of the system to shine. T&T really needs a good GM to balance encounters, and recent indie efforts such as Ragnarok Tunnels and Fiend Factory have had built-in "difficulty sliders" to make adventures challenging but (probably) survivable. This is something that can benefit T&T.

Speaking of solos, I'd like to see more along the lines of City of Terrors, whose individual NPCs make sure it doesn't play the same way for everyone. To use another old example, the James Bond 007 adventure, On Her Majesty's Secret Service is another solo that uses randomizing elements to change up challenge levels, and make solo gaming more than a "choose-you-own-adventure-with-dice".

As Zanshin noted, a program that allows the independent creation of T&T content to continue to thrive is a must. The dedication and quality work coming from these people is amazing. Unparalleled.

I've seen chatter on social media about the remainders of two unfinished adventures, Uncle Ugly's Underground and Isle of Darksmoke, having been acquired. These would be an insta-buy from me, and, I'm sure, many others.

"Organized play" sounds great. I'd love to see (and participate) in that.

Overall, I've felt optimistic about the sale. T&T was a labor of love, obviously, but if I'm being honest, I think it needed to be in different hands to grow and achieve the success it deserves. Much love to all the trolls, and I mean no offense, but that is just my opinion.

Best of luck!