Tonight saw an IRC-based interview with Privateer Press writers Douglas Seacat and Wolfgang Baur regarding their upcoming release Five Fingers: Port of Deceit. Mr. Seacat is a Privateer Press veteran, having a hand in just about everything they’ve published since the second installment of the Witchfire Trilogy, and Mr. Baur was a major contributor to the best campaign settings ever released by TSR: Planespace.

I enjoyed it greatly, in no small part because several of my less-asinine questions were directly addressed. Transcript follows.

The chat session took place in the #PrivateerPress channel on psionics.net. The channel was moderated, so everybody shown below had “ops” or “voice” permissions. Natebot is Nathan Leitsinger, head of the Privateer Press RPG line, Doug and Wolfgang are the writers the chat was providing direct access to, and Geist is the guy that runs the day-to-day operation of this channel when there isn’t an event like this happening (hence and excellent choice for a moderator).

[18:08] Natebot: tonight we will be discussing Five Fingers: Port of Deceit. A 208 page hard-back city source book for the Iron Kingdoms Full-Metal Fantasy setting
[18:08] Natebot: Co-authors Wolfgang Baur and Doug Seacat are here to answers *some* of your questions. We’ll be here for about the next hour.
[18:09] Natebot: We don’t want to give it all away 🙂
[18:09] * Geist grumbles 😛
[18:09] Natebot: Doug Seacat started writing for Privateer Press around 2001, about the time of the 2nd Witchfire Trilogy module.
[18:10] Natebot: He’s been a contributor on nearly every book sense, including the whole of the rpg line.
[18:10] Natebot: *since*
[18:11] Natebot: Wolfgang Baur is a long time industry giant, and has worked on one my all time favorite product lines: Planescape.
[18:13] Natebot: His Book of Roguish Luck caught my eye, so we were thrilled to have him come onboard for this book.
[18:14] Natebot: Ok let’s start with the questions
[18:14] Geist: Thanks nate 🙂
[18:14] Geist: Question for either Doug or Wolfgang (from burrowowl): The IKRPG books are written largely from the perspective of inhabitants of the setting, and thereby can have faulty or incomplete information. Will the Five Fingers book contain information that intentionally contradicts other published works, particularly in regards to matters that may be controversial within the setting?
[18:14] Doug: I’ll go ahead and take a stab at this one…
[18:14] Wolfgang: Doug, all you for the first two.
[18:15] Doug: We definitely consider perspective to be important for all of our RPG products.
[18:15] Doug: We intentionally set out to create a book where we have each chapter narrated by someone different.
[18:15] Doug: Each is an “expert” in their field, but this doesn’t mean they know anything, and each brings biases to the equation.
[18:15] Doug: (er know everything)
[18:16] Doug: We have a number of plot hooks and suggestions in the narratives which may seem contradictory, but in most cases you can trust the narrators, particularly in their field of expertise.
[18:17] Doug: The book is of course focused primarily on the situation in Five Fingers, so there’s not a lot of contradictions to the “big mysteries” of the setting. (For example, we don’t get into the situation of the elven gods in Five Fingers, for obvious reasons…)
[18:17] Doug: However, we also included a special GM chapter after the narrated chapters which provides the “truth” for a GM, or at least suggestions about how to navigate the filtered information in the previous chapters.
[18:18] Doug: We really wanted the majority of the book to be useful to both players and GMs. So the only chapter the players have to avoid is that GM chapter.
[18:18] Doug: And of course a GM can take the book any way they want, and we certainly encourage them to switch things up. We all know players will sneak a peak in that chapter if left to their own devices.
[18:18] Doug: (I guess that’s an answer…)
[18:18] Geist: 🙂 excellent
[18:19] Geist: Another from burrowowl: The Ord section in the IKWG has a more vague breakdown of the demographics for each city than the other kingdoms, which I took to be intentional; what concerns did you have to deal with regarding the possibility of being too specific with settings details? Are we DMs going to have enough wiggle-room left over to keep our game canon-friendly?
[18:19] Doug: Ok let’s see…
[18:19] Doug: We definitely consider it important to leave wiggle room for GMs at all times.
[18:20] Doug: However, as a city book there’s certainly a lot of specific information in the book, particularly about demographics. We give a very detailed breakdown on who lives in Five Fingers.
[18:20] Doug: But in the setting itself there’s no official “census” going on, so these numbers are all intended to provide a sense of flavor, so you can see which districts have a concentration of certain cultural groups.
[18:21] Doug: Even in a book of this size, there’s plenty more we could have said about Five Fingers, lots of places for GMs to invest in and bring to life.
[18:22] Geist: 🙂
[18:22] Geist: From _Rugult_: Five Fingers is obviously based around the city in Ord, Beyond that what kind of use will GM’s running their campaigns in other cities or areas get from this book? Any specific examples of things that will be universally IK oriented?
[18:22] Wolfgang: There are a few that work anywhere: prestige classes, feats for the Societies and cults, that sort of thing.
[18:22] Doug: Yes, and Wolfgang also provided a number of attributes and city ratings which can be adopted for other cities.
[18:23] Wolfgang: Not to mention, some of the High Captains activities reach a long way through the IK.
[18:24] Doug: One specific example would be the organization blocks we use in the book.
[18:24] Wolfgang: For the most part, though, it’s a city book and meant to provide a base for adventuring in the city and nearby.
[18:25] Wolfgang: Yes, the organization blocks are usable anywhere: they’re a quick way to stat up a gang, a cult, or any organization.
[18:25] Geist: that will be very handy to have 🙂
[18:25] Wolfgang: Several of the FF organizations do reach outside the city.
[18:26] Geist: From Denmire> Will Five Fingers advance the setting timeline?
[18:26] Wolfgang: I think that covers it. Next Q?
[18:26] Geist: From Denmire> Will Five Fingers advance the setting timeline?
[18:27] Doug: Ok let me take a stab at this.
[18:27] Doug: The Five Fingers book is set within the timeline, loosely, particularly regarding the current state of events in 606 AR. However, as a setting book it does not “advance” the timeline forward.
[18:28] Doug: It’s more of a snapshot in time of the situation as it stands at this moment, and the various plot hooks and story opportunities opened up by the regional situation.
[18:28] Wolfgang: It’s meant to be a place that can be used anywhere on the timeline. Like most setting books.
[18:28] Doug: So there is discussion about the goings-on elsewhere in the world, and related to the war front, particularly in our chapter on political intrigues, but this is a backdrop for a city which is far from the front line.
[18:30] Geist: From Infested: “How dense are the story hooks/adventure seeds? Compare to the IKWG, which was positively thick with them.”
[18:30] Doug: It’s extremely dense with plot hooks!
[18:31] Doug: Anywhere we could put something in there, you’ll find a hook.
[18:31] Doug: This was particularly fun and easy to do with the idea of presenting everything from a narrator’s perspective.
[18:31] Wolfgang: An amazing number of hooks. For every character and every location.
[18:32] Doug: I expect this will be a book that GMs will find themselves dizzy with the story potentials, and hopefully imagining fifty different campaigns they could run in the city, if they had enough time.
[18:33] Geist: From The_Gun_Nut (forum): Are there any pirate organizations (aside from the Sharde) listed in 5F?
[18:33] Wolfgang: If you want to do The Godfather as a campaign, you can. And if you just want to introduce a quick side trek, those are in there too.
[18:33] Wolfgang: Oh, you are going to be very happy with the book. It’s got gangs, syndicates, cults, and pirates.
[18:34] Wolfgang: All the High Captains are described in detail, and the low captains are introduced as well.
[18:34] Wolfgang: Plus an Enforcer PrC, which works to keep the scum and villainy in line.
[18:35] Doug: Yes, we’ve got a variety of “pirate interests” going on, including those with Thamarite ties, those with Cryxian ties, many independants and of course those working for the High Captains still.
[18:35] Wolfgang: Smuggling gets some detailed attention, too. The short answer: Yes.
[18:36] Geist: For either Doug or Wolfgang: Why Five Fingers? Why not another city such as Caspia or Corvis, considering Cygnar seems to be the center of the iron kingdoms, politically and geographically, as well as being the predominant perspective from which most of the background is revealed. There is even an advertisement for “Corvis – The city of ghosts” in the back of the original Witchfire module that was due for release summer 2001! (Where is this :p) Why did you choose to abandon this ide
[18:36] Doug: That’s a good question…
[18:37] Doug: There are actually a lot of great reasons why it soon became clear to us that Five Fingers was our best option.
[18:37] Wolfgang: From my perspective, FF is just a more interesting place. Free cities and even pirate havens are naturally useful to adventurers who sometimes break the law themselves.
[18:38] Doug: The city is in a great location to serve as a central hub for adventure across the entire western coast.
[18:38] Wolfgang: It has a rich history with the Orgoth and city ownership changing hands.
[18:38] Doug: Being located in Ord allows us to focus on a place that has a unique niche in world events, in a neutral kingdom which is nonetheless extremely interested in the outcome of various plots abroad.
[18:39] Doug: Five Fingers is also a unique city in the setting for its independent attitude, its unique terrain (as a series of islands at a river delta), and its dark intrigues.
[18:39] Wolfgang: Plus hey, it’s a great place for, oh, selling loot that fell off a ship. 🙂
[18:39] Doug: I can’t think of a place in the setting more rife with plot hook potential or adventure seeds, even when comparing to larger cities like Caspia.
[18:40] Doug: It was also felt that adventurers who had completed the Witchfire Trilogy would be seeking a new challenge elsewhere, ready for a different atmosphere.
[18:40] Doug: But we expect adventurers could range quite freely along the Dragon’s Tongue River, and having contacts in both Corvis and Five Fingers has its advantages…
[18:42] Geist: great! 🙂
[18:42] Geist: OK From QSF: The NQ preview calls Five Fingers a “hotbed of Thamarite intrigue.” Is there a lot of material on Thamar, particularly material for Thamarite as PCs or ally NPCs?
[18:43] Wolfgang: The biggest crunchy Thamar bit is the Malefactor of Thamar prestige class.
[18:43] Wolfgang: It’s a beast, and underwent some changes in playtest because the original version was insanely nasty.
[18:43] Doug: Yes, it is a powerful prestige class which any Thamarite PC would be eager to join. Of course they also make for great antagonists.
[18:44] Doug: Thamar and her scions, particularly Bolis, play a large role in the backdrop of the city and its history.
[18:44] Doug: Scion Bolis is discussed at considerable depth, and we included some information on his patronage which hasn’t been printed elsewhere.
[18:44] Doug: There are a number of Thamarite cults active in the city, each with their own agendas and interests.
[18:44] Doug: Getting wrapped up in some of these things could make for an excellent supernatural or intrigue adventure.
[18:45] Doug: Five Fingers is a city where the good religions are relatively weak, and the Church of Morrow has struggled, which in turn makes for a great setting for good-aligned adventurers who want to fight the corruption.
[18:45] Wolfgang: Plenty of information on Thamar; I think we should say there were 4 main areas of play we considered.
[18:46] Wolfgang: Cults was definitely once of them, as were intrigue and crime. (I’m blanking on the fourth.)
[18:46] Doug: It was mainly those three, but any mix of them can also make for hybrid style adventures.
[18:46] Doug: If you want some crime laden supernatural horror, or your intrigue against the forces of darkness, etc. 🙂
[18:46] Doug: Also, pirates.
[18:47] Doug: Always with the pirates…
[18:47] Geist: wouldnt be a privateer product without pirates
[18:48] Geist: and from Cryanger: With the “last minute” change in authorship, was most of the existing work on Five Fingers salvageable, or are there sections left out akin to the “Elven God Portfolis” that Doug Seacat posted in the forums to look forward to in either No Quarter or just random posts?
[18:48] Natebot: I’ll step in to answer this one
[18:49] Natebot: No Quarter will have Five Fingers support material. Nothing was lost in the transition luckly.
[18:49] Geist: thats good to hear. 🙂
[18:50] Natebot: The book did grow larger though. What was planned for a 160 page book grew to 208 pages. And yes some material does get cut.
[18:51] Natebot: But the reason it’s 208 and not 160, is because we kept the very best.
[18:51] Doug: Any book is a matter of macro vs. micro detail.
[18:51] Doug: There’s always more detail.
[18:52] Wolfgang: Sure, but a city book needs to focus on the playable sections. And this one has loads of playable detail.
[18:52] Doug: If anyone would like to privately sponsor me for the 800 page Five Fingers book, you can make arrangements offline for payments…
[18:53] Natebot: Actually Wolfgang has a really cool idea along those lines. Patronage. folks should check out his site about it.
[18:54] * Geist will offer ya a case of beer 🙂
[18:54] Wolfgang: http://customadventure.livejournal.com I’m writing a fairly IK-ish adventure that’s tailored to patrons.
[18:54] Wolfgang: And thanks for the plug, Nate. 🙂
[18:54] Geist: 🙂
[18:55] Geist: ok next up!
[18:55] Geist: From burrowowl: Question for either: Given the additional specificity we can expect regarding the operations and organizations of the High Capitans of Five Fingers, how did you take into account the natural inclination of gamers to utterly destroy anything with hard-and-fast stats associated with them? Are we going to be seeing gaming groups around the world installing themselves as the criminal overlords of Five Fingers? How tough is it going to be for a group of battle-harded adventure
[18:55] Geist: adventures to unseat or edge out one of those dodgy blaggards?
[18:55] Doug: Fun question
[18:55] Wolfgang: Good question, and yes, we realized that was a natural direction for *some* groups to go.
[18:55] * Geist loves taking out organizations 🙂
[18:55] Wolfgang: So we made it easy. There’s a set of mechanics describing how gang warfare works, for instance.
[18:56] Wolfgang: Just killing a few street thugs doesn’t actually win you anything but trouble from the Watch.
[18:56] Doug: Yep players can set up their own criminal empire, but we definitely didn’t make it easy. (In the hands of a good GM, those High Captains are nasty adversaries.)
[18:56] Wolfgang: But if you get a Reputation, people start to listen. And you can, in fact, become a High Captain. But Doug’s right, it’s hard to claw your way to the top.
[18:57] Wolfgang: The other thing to realize about the High Captains and their syndicates is that they don’t exactly tell everyone everything.
[18:58] Wolfgang: It’s probably easier to build your own empire than to try to figure out someone else’s.
[18:58] Wolfgang: People who can’t keep a secret in FF tend to float out to sea, so the gang secrets stay secret.
[18:58] Doug: Yes, and the High Captains are each truly the head of a criminal empire, with multiple groups under their sway. We’ve even provided some handy charts in the GM chapter to get a sense of their organization.
[18:59] Wolfgang: The charts are great. Every syndicate is an octopus of crime. 🙂
[18:59] Doug: I think doing a crime gang type of game is one of the most fun options for play in the city. Particularly with the unique geography.
[18:59] Geist: Im looking forward to seeing that chapter. its something more books need and sounds like you guys have made it very handy 🙂
[19:00] Geist: From Infested: “What’s the number one cool thing you’re most excited about in the book?”
[19:01] Wolfgang: Malefactors!
[19:01] Doug: Tough question…
[19:01] Wolfgang: Say “pirates” Doug, I know you want to….
[19:01] Doug: I think the full color fold out city map. It makes me chuckle every time I look at the amount of detail on that thing.
[19:01] Doug: I love maps.
[19:01] Geist: oh a good map?
[19:01] Geist: yay
[19:01] Wolfgang: And the low captains are pretty cool. There’s a lot to love.
[19:02] Doug: Yes, everything about the High Captain organizations I think came out exceptionally well.
[19:02] Doug: Low Captains, by the way, are enforcers who serve as top lieutenants to the High Captains.
[19:02] Doug: Each of them is also a formidable adversary.
[19:03] Wolfgang: The district descriptions are good too. I think I could visit Dicer’s Isle (AKA Bolis Isle) and survive. Not sure about some of the others.
[19:03] Wolfgang: Ooooh, the High Captain timeline. Nice way to summarize up some of the vendettas.
[19:04] Geist: OK guys we have one final question for you
[19:04] Wolfgang: I just got my hands on my author copy today; I’m still discovering some of the little sections throughout.
[19:05] Geist: From burrowowl: For Doug: To what degree were you able to express your well-known love for the Gobber race in this book?
[19:05] Doug: Very amusing question…
[19:05] Doug: Gobbers, you will be glad to know, are well represented in the book.
[19:05] Doug: Not only that, but so are bogrin, their often maligned cousins.
[19:06] Doug: There is an entire quasi-district called “The Rigs” which is a series of rope bridges and improvised platforms above large sections of the main island, as well as hanging off the sides of others…
[19:06] Doug: These areas are dominated by the city’s rather large gobber and bogrin populations.
[19:06] Doug: Wolfgang also came up with some good stuff for some Native Skill Packages for people who grow up in the city.
[19:07] Doug: As well as some great chase rules for running exciting chases across the city, through its unique challenges.
[19:08] Geist: sounds like it will be a ton of fun packed into just one city 🙂
[19:08] Doug: It’s really like multiple cities in one, thanks to the nature of the islands.
[19:08] Doug: Those islands and the bridges are also a reason why no one person or agency can ever hope to control it all, which provides a great opening for PCs to make their mark.
[19:09] Geist: Thanks for all the juicy Info guys
[19:09] Geist: Thanks for all the juicy Info guys
[19:09] Geist: Wolfgang I know youve got to run so I just want to say thank you to you both for coming out and having this chat, and hope we can do it again soon 🙂
[19:10] Geist: Also Before we unmoderate the channel Nate has a few things he would like to say 🙂
[19:10] Natebot: Thanks Wolfgang!
[19:10] Doug: I can hang around for a wee bit and help answer a few more things once Nate is done.
[19:10] Natebot: I wanted to take a question or two about the rpg line as a whole.
[19:11] Geist: From TomxJ: Judging by what has been revealed about the port of deceit, it seems to be predominantly a sourcebook about Five Fingers, but also a companion guide to running urban adventure within the Iron kingdoms? With this in mind are there other city books in the works?
[19:11] Geist: is what we cropped it down too
[19:12] Geist: whoops ^_^ caught a bit more there than i thought
[19:12] Natebot: heh.
[19:13] Natebot: Five Fingers has lots of details relating to the city alone, although you *could* use the same plots and npcs in any city in the kingdoms
[19:13] Natebot: Right now we want to give you support for Five Fingers though.
[19:14] Natebot: At GenCon Indy, Doug and I will be announcing our planned books along with the status of Monsternomicon II.
[19:15] Doug: Personally I love working on city material, so I’m hoping we can continue to provide details about other areas around the Iron Kingdoms, even if sometimes in shorter pieces like No Quarter Magazine articles.
[19:17] Geist: From burrowowl: for Nate: Three IKRPG books were slated for this year, and half the year has passed. Are you optimistic about getting them all out?
[19:17] Natebot: Yes I am optimistic.
[19:17] Geist: and lastly! rpg line Q: will we ever see any ‘pre war’ products? I.e. pre-war Llael?
[19:18] Natebot: We haven’t planned any at the moment. But the historical Warmachine scenerios seem to hit a cord. GenCon will be an excellent time to bring your suggestion at our Q&A
[19:20] Geist: good to hear 🙂
[19:20] Natebot: I hope everyone got their questions answered and I look forward to everyone’s comments once they get the book.
[19:21] Geist: It was good havng you here again Nate. And thanks for aranging the interview 🙂
[19:21] Natebot: wish we could show you some of the art, there are some real scenes in there… roof top chases, gambling in the alleys, being busted by the Watch…
[19:22] Natebot: So bring your questions on the RPG line, along with your wish list, to our GenCon panels (both for the rpg line AND No Quarter Magazine.)

The free-for-all chat session that followed, once the channel was no longer moderated, was messy and eludes good formatting. Please excuse the raw text format version.