Graham Ward is a lifelong tabletop adventurer; one who's spent countless hours exploring the ins and outs of any (and every) tabletop game, campaign setting or single-encounter adventure that he could get his hands on. His first period of serious Dungeons & Dragons involvement came during Second Edition, when different settings were regularly released as self-contained box sets. New worlds were being introduced on what felt like an annual basis and many look back on the period as one of tabletop gaming's golden eras.
It was during this time the world would be introduced to many of the alternate campaign settings that tabletop players are still enjoying to this day. Projects like Planescape and Ravenloft expanded upon the core D&D rules, introducing everything from new locales to updated game mechanics, encouraging players to try out different play styles for each world. The same can be said for Ward’s creation, Darkplane.
"The setting will contain a lot of new elements. Mostly back story, lore, new deities, factions, NPCs, things like that," Graham told iDigitalTimes. "But there are also a whole slew of game mechanic options that I've been play-testing since Fifth Edition was in play-testing."
Those additions include all manner of dark magic, conjured from blood, mysterious runes and similarly unnatural points of origin. Magic users are feared by most, given the arcane power's seemingly-unholy roots, and a smorgasbord of horrors await the party around every corner. At its best, Ward envisions Darkplane as a conduit for the same sort of lingering dread common to Lovecraftian horror.
It's a plane that players will find in truly dire straits, thanks (primarily) to the death of the deity who created it, and one in which many familiar aspects of Dungeons & Dragons will be replaced with mechanics meant to make players feel at as though they're truly at the mercy of the darkness encroaching upon the world of Vinramar.
Ward envisions Darkplane as the perfect campaign setting for a small group interested in experiencing a tale of horror, dread or misery. Ideally, the Darkplane creator says he envisions the setting as the perfect locale for parties of three to four. However, the first-time game designer says he's making sure to leave room for larger groups to experience the horrors of Darkplane, too.
"I've also run games with five, six or more. It just depends on the vibe," Ward said. "But it does feel like the more players you get, the more it devolves into a typical adventure scenario. It's more difficult, I guess, to invest eight players into a horror game to the point where they're actually scared."
To facilitate such a wide variety of approaches, Ward is planning to release a substantial map for the world of Vinramar, featuring 11 major regions -- comprised of dozens of nations, cities and city-states -- spread across the planet's five continents. Each will play home to unique cultures, some of whom will be have access to steam-powered technology. Ward hopes the various settings will give game masters an ability to pick an environment that enhances their group's preferred play style. The variety also offers Ward, and particularly creative dungeon masters, quite a bit of flexibility when it comes time to create new gear for those exploring Vinramar.
Creating such a massive world comes with its own challenges. As a content creator, Ward has a voracious media appetite and it can sometimes be difficult to ensure you're paying homage to an idea without retreading ground. Particularly when it comes to Lovecraftian horror; a sub-genre specific enough to be named after its most-prolific author yet still vast enough to accommodate a steady stream of new material.
"I spend a lot of my time consuming entertainment. I'm reading stories or books. Watching TV shows and horror movies. And all these things slowly inform whatever I'm working on at the time," Ward said. "I've recently been reading The King In Yellow anthology and it's had a massive impact on what I'm writing."
Now, for the bad news. Despite the fact that Darkplane is generating significant interesting in the tabletop community, drawing more than 400 backers and four times the requested funding, Ward currently has no plans to sell Darkplane after its Kickstarter campaign comes to a close.
"As of right now, the material that's going to be available through the Kickstarter will be available exclusively through the campaign," Ward says, acknowledging that probably won't be the answer that many Darkplane newcomers are looking for. "So if you didn't pledge now, you would probably need to wait a year or two. Depending on how the whole process works out."
"The last thing you want is to do is be six months or a year late on deliveries for Kickstarter rewards."
While there's no official plan, Ward says he'd like to continue developing upon his new campaign setting in the coming years. Over time, he's considering additional crowdfunding projects, each of which would fund a book about another of the four worlds of Darkplane. Ideally, some combination of these projects would give fans the opportunity to acquire Darkplane materials they missed out on the first time, but it's going to be a few months before Ward begins trying to nail down such plans.
"I'd love to do a book for each world, with a fifth book for the Darkplane itself," says Ward. "Each one delving a little bit deeper into the setting. Giving more races, more class options. All centered around whatever world we're talking about."
Given that our interview began with a discussion of interesting secondary materials, it's probably fitting that the discussion ended with a brief rumination on why the Darkplane Kickstarter turned out to be so popular with the tabletop community. After all, this was Ward's first attempt at crowdfunding and there are no shortage of people/companies who've failed to raise money on the site. He has a theory, though.
"It doesn't hurt that Fifth Edition is a very narrative edition," Ward said. "What made those [box sets] great has come back...So there's never been a better time to do this."
Those interested in keeping tabs on the Darkplane campaign are encouraged to keep an eye on the game's Twitter and Facebook pages.Ward says he'll also use the project's mailing list (sign-up here) to provide updates on the development of Darkplane and any future projects he decides to undertake.
What do you think of the new Darkplane setting being developed by Graham Ward? Not sure you'd be interested in a tabletop game that puts most of its emphasis on Lovecraftian horror? Hoping Graham reconsiders his plan to only make Darkplane available during the crowdfunding campaign?
Let us know in the comments section!
