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Today we talk with Dungeon Mister Ty, creator at https://adventureslang.com, you can find him as @dungeonmisterty or @adventureslang on X and Bluesky. Let’s hear from Ty!
How did you get started in TTRPGs?
I started in 1983 while in middle school. My friends told me there was a kid in the library that had a game called “Dungeons & Dragons” and they wanted me to ask him to teach me how to play so I could teach them. Cue the forever DM role. From there I also discovered Gamma World, and dabbled a little in some of the other TSR products.
How did you decide to start Adventure Slang Productions? Can you describe what Adventure Slang does?
After working as a freelance game editor, writer and design consultant starting in 2016, I figured I’d try my hand and something of my own after retirement (I am a long way from retiring yet). Five years later, in July 2021, I had a dream about playing the system and setting, and after several weeks of brainstorming I decided to create the game and started Adventure Slang Productions (A.S.P.) on August 1, 2021.
ASP is a game design and publishing company. Nuovarden is our flagship project, but there are several other games in the queue, mostly TTRPGs but also board game concepts.
You created Nuovarden RPG, can you describe that project?
Nuovarden is an earthpunk fantasy TTRPG driven by the Fortunes d4 System. Both the setting and system are original. It is not medieval high fantasy, but rather a sort of psychedelic nature fantasy set in a garden dimension in the time after a great paradigm shift called The Emergence. It’s really a creation story not unlike the many creation stories in human mythology, though there are no human beings per se in this dimension. In place of magic there is a manifesting energy. Creatures manifest their powers by drawing on this energy and attempting to manipulate it with Primacy. Explorers venture across the changed land attempting to learn about the new world while also exploring lost knowledge and artifacts of the past. Before the Emergence there were only two humanoid cultures in this world: the Lanplac original people, and the visiting Starnam; an alien people that brought the manifesting energy with them. The first day after the Emergence at least six other cultures appeared, and the world – including the flora and fauna – had changed forever in wondrous, and often dangerous, ways.
The Fortunes d4 System is pretty much what it sounds like. Players have a pool of two to four d4s, and the mechanics center around hitting a “4” on any die, or in some cases “doubles,” for success. What began as a rules “light” concept has become a rules “moderate” system, but the focus is and always has been on player agency. If you can think of it, and if it fits within your discipline, you can try it. No Vancian slots or limited-use special abilities. The system is resource-based, but even if you use up your resources you can still attempt to ‘do the thing.’
You’ve also created a podcast, how did that start and can you tell us a bit about it?
A few months after I began work on Nuovarden, my daughter and I started the Adventure Slang Podcast where we interview all sorts of people in the industry to highlight what those folks are doing and share the love of gaming. The podcast is about two-and-a-half years old (six months behind the company). We’ve had a variety of guests already, from game masters to livestreamers, cosplayers, writers, therapists, game designers, and etc. I have a new podcast project in the planning phase as well, but nothing specific to announce yet.
What’s your favorite TTRPG right now?
Outside of Nuovarden (which is currently in layout), I enjoy several games and will jump at any chance to play. Call of Cthulhu is one of my favorites, and in that vein so is Mothership. I also like Mörk Borg. The first game I worked on professionally was a 5e cyberpunk hack called Carbon 2185 for Dragon Turtle Games. I am having a great time running players through that over on Twitch for the next few weeks.
For home games, do you prefer to GM or be a player?
I absolutely prefer to be the GM. For some reason I feel far more capable managing all of the world details than I do staying accurate with the specifics of one cohesive PC. I am also a lifelong writer, and I take incredible pleasure in writing and presenting plots and details that my players can enjoy and make into their own while I watch. As a GM, I can sometimes sit back and let the story develop in front of me before eventually stepping in to adjudicate an action or advance the plot. Roleplaying is my favorite aspect of these games (as opposed to combat or problem-solving, say) and I enjoy observing the player interactions.
What advice do you have for someone looking to publish their RPG settings or adventures?
First, write the story you want to play. Commit to finding/correcting plot holes and make sure the story makes sense in every way. Secondly, be sure to look at other publication formats and styles. Realize that a home game allows for loose format and half-baked ideas, but published work requires attention to detail, clarity, and fresh ideas. STEAL good ideas from your favorite shows, and realize that good ideas don’t have to come directly from the genre you’re writing in.
What advice do you have for someone looking to get into producing an actual play podcast or stream?
Production is a whole skillset in itself. There is the front-end mic work, personality stuff, and the similar demand for solid story development as in publishing. On the backend there is all of the editing stuff. It takes a bit of an education, and it helps to have a collaborator that knows some of the technical aspects. I am going through the technical production learning phase myself, just so I know how to do “everything” for when I want to add new stuff to the ASP offering.
What else would you like our readers to know about that we haven’t asked yet?
Whether for profit or not, professional anything takes patience, time, and education (formal and informal). Use your strengths as a starting point, and do it for the pleasure of the creation rather than hopes of getting rich quick. For my part, I bring years of administration and writing/editing experience to what I do. In recent years I have had to, and continue to, learn new skills: technical, business management, hiring, bookkeeping, etc. Above all, have discipline and faith. Everyone has good ideas. Not everyone stays with it through what entrepreneur Seth Godin calls “the Dip.” Push through the dip.
Where can readers find your creations?
Everything is on my website at adventureslang.com!
Thanks, Ty!
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