News Roundup: SCIRE Comes to PAX Unplugged + VTT Updates

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This week’s issue is jam-packed. We have an exclusive interview with Mythworks about their upcoming megagame at PAX Unplugged. There are two massive updates for popular virtual tabletops that players may want to check out. Plus, the Mighty Nein premiered early.

Mythworks Brings CYBR+PNK “Megagame” SCIRE to PAX Unplugged

Megagames are, for the uninitiated, special events at conventions where large groups of players are pulled into a TTRPG experience or board gaming experience telling a story that only large groups of fans can enable. If you’ve been to local conventions or national ones like GenCon or PAX Unplugged, you might have seen them on the schedule. But what exactly do they entail?

Mythworks (The Wildsea, Slugblaster, etc.) is the latest TTRPG creator to host one. The company hosted SCIRE, its cyberpunk-inspired megagame back in August at GenCon. Now it’s making a return to PAX Unplugged.

TTRPG Insider had the opportunity to interview Graham Gentz, Mythworks' play and culture lead, about SCIRE, its inspiration, and what is expected.

What inspired the project? Why make a "mega-game?" How does that compare to a traditional convention game?

Great questions! CBR+PNK is a paired down Forged in the Dark game, so using the mechanics and loop of Blades in the Dark to make a slick cyberpunk one-shot heist. One of the “Plugins” pamphlets that all come in the game is the “+WEIRD” which adds magic and fantasy creatures to your setting. Sound familiar? You bet it does. But it’s particularly that inciting incident of that particular Day Zero scenario that interested Ray Chou and I so much when we began the design project.

So I love megagames. I think they offer something for everyone. There’s every kind game for any kind of person. And not every game doesn’t need to be for everyone kind of person. We need chess and Euros as much as we need crunchy, tactical roleplaying games and storytelling games and backyard horseshoes and everything in between. But I think megagames are unique. What I think makes games special is the people playing them. So in megagames you tend to be on teams, which feels good and supportive. And all the different elements of narrative and mechanics are there in support of this larger ecosystem, since the player counts can be 50 or 100 or more!

When I think of a “traditional convention game”, it’s usually just the means of playing the game. Maybe you don’t own the game and it’s being provided in this public space. Maybe you don’t have anyone in your friend group who can or wants to play that particular game. Maybe you’ve just never played before and want to. Or love it and want to play it again. It’s certainly not impossible or even improbable you could play a round of Splendor or Nightwitches outside a convention. But that’s the draw.

With megagames, you can’t really just run them at your house. They take a ton of time, planning, effort, and coordination. THey’re really somethin’ else.

What's the story behind SCIRE? What's the "in-character" reason for it? 

So it's set in a CBR+PNK world of high tech and low life. And SCIRE (which stands for the Self-Contained Industrial-Residential Environment) is an arcology in which the action takes place. It’s a whole city in a single building and the game begins when there is a sudden and mysterious lockdown of SCIRE.

What should people expect going into SCIRE? What preparation should they do? How familiar do you recommend being with CBR+PNK?

Players can expect a reactive and dynamic game, filled with numerous stories and mysteries to uncover. It’s full of asymmetry and their creative thinking matters. The only preparation they need to do is obtain a ticket and respond to the Player Role Survey. It’s very important for the onboarding process that I get a sense of what kind of play each person flourishes in. That’s what really makes these kinds of experiences sing.

CBR+PNK is a light, narrative-forward TTRPG. You always check it out to see what great visual and mechanical designs Emanuel Melo put under the hood! However, it’s intended to be a pick-up-and-play experience, even in more traditional settings, and our GMs are there to ground and orient our players from the start. 

How did the last one go at GenCon? IS this one a canonical continuation of that story or a separate arc?

I hadn’t considered making it a continuation! The group in Gen Con got to experience their game in their way. The stories were a direct result of what those 30 people did during that game. So trying to pre-load more canonically information is not just a bigger ask for 60 entirely new players, but also they’re not going to have the context or emotional buy-in as the first group did to the story they got to shape.

What should be expected at this event?

That it’s gonna be big, exciting, reactive, emotional, surprising, and that the game runners are here to support you and your ideas throughout!

Is this something that fans should expect at future GenCons or PAX Unpluggeds?  Perhaps other cons?

I hope so! You learn about a megagame and its design by doing it. And we learned a lot from GenCon and are excited for what this version can do. Other Mythworks games, too, beg for strange and wondrous stories told by players in a grand way. Everyone on one big ship in the Wildsea? Maybe some mighty leviathan… Possibilities are endless!

CBR+PNK: SCIRE is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 21 at PAX Unplugged. Tickets are still available.

Might Nein Episode Premieres Early Online

The first episode of The Mighty Nein went up early this week. The first three episode, which will set the stage for the popular heroes of Critical Role, were initially scheduled for next week but the first episode went online. The episodes are longer than The Legend of Vox Machina and clearly tell a more political story than TLOVM. I’m personally excited for more, but we’ll see how the rest of the show pans out.

Alchemy Launches “Version 1”, Abandons Subscription Model

Virtual tabletops are the unspoken tool that has become increasingly necessary to succeed in the marketplace. This week, several of the key tools that DMs use got major updates.

The most significant update was the cinematically-oriented Alchemy VTT, which updated its interface with its “Version 1” update. This is the first major software update for the platform, featuring changes to its visual design, a community hub for players to share their content, enhanced user experiences, and updates to its hubs. Most notably, a subscription is no longer required to access all that Alchemy VTT has to offer.

Why move away from a subscription model? “We relied heavily on the recurring revenue from the old Alchemy Unlimited subscription,” the company wrote in a blog post. “But something became clear as we grew: the tabletop community around us is built on support, not obligation.”

“It’s built on Kickstarter, BackerKit, Patreon, Bits, Ko-fi—on people lifting each other up because they believe in the work. It’s a community built on integrity, inclusivity, authenticity, and a deep, shared distaste for corporate bullshit.”

“If the OGL crisis taught us anything, it’s that chasing profits at all costs will cost you everything. So we’re abandoning that mindset entirely and betting our jobs on something real.”

Subscribers, or “Alchemists” as they’re called, will now have the ability to inform what features and games Alchemy will strive to support in the future. They will also get credits that they can spend on “games, assets, profile upgrades, and other evolving rewards.” Finally, they’ll get a discount, access to the developers, early access to features and special badges.

If you really want to get into the weeds of the software, please visit their website or check out WolfkinzTTRPG’s overview video on the changes.

Fantasy Grounds Goes Free to Play, Abandoning License Model

The other significant change involved Fantasy Grounds VTT, who announced at their annual online convention that FG was now Free to Play. The platform previously required DMs to acquire a license to run the software.

“By removing the license barrier, we’re making Fantasy Grounds more accessible to the global tabletop gaming community,” said Doug Davison, president of FG VTT owner SmiteWorks. “Whether you’re a veteran GM or a first-time player, we want everyone to experience how powerful and immersive virtual tabletop gaming can be – with zero upfront cost.”

Now they can do so without a license. Players will still need to buy the books and content, but this should help more people adopt the tool.

The company also launched early access for its online reader, which will let DMs and players read all of their purchased content regardless of what device they’re on.

“After seeing the impact that digital readers have had on the hobby, I’m thrilled that Fantasy Grounds fans will now be able read their content whenever that random rules question comes to mind or wherever inspiration strikes to confirm what the book says,” said Adam Bradford, CDO at SmiteWorks. “Combining the flexibility of the online reader with the offline access that already exists in the Fantasy Grounds app is a powerful combination.”

Both the reader and the new licensing policy are available now.

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Other Stories from TTRPG Insider

On Tuesday, we published our interview with By Night Studio, who organize some of the largest Vampire: The Masquerade events in the United States. This included chatting about their plans, the TTRPG-to-LARP pipeline and a lot more.

Finally, we got to speak with Modiphius Entertainment about Royal Flush, the newest quest book for the FALLOUT TTRPG.

That’s all for this week. A quick reminder that we’re heading to PAX Unplugged next week. Expect normal stories on Tuesday and Thursday, followed by various posts throughout the weekend that may be newsy followed by a big roundup sent your way on Wednesday.

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