What Judge Dredd/Slaine Material would you like to see?

[Dredd Times]

Having not only created this thread but also following it carefully its nice to see varied responces to what people would and would not like to see come out as JD material.

Sourcebooks
It is obivous that a lot of people seem to want more products based around Mega-City One itself rather than Luna-1, Atlantis or Oz, etc and thats a great idea. Judge Dredd is the toughest lawman in the year 2225, but take away Mega-City One and he is little more than a thug with a badge and a gun and a bad attitude. Dredd would be nothing without his city, in much the same way other icons such as say the Doctor would be lost without his TARDIS, and products do need to relflect the city in all its glory.

That said there are many other angles from which to approach the universe of Judge Dredd, little has been written on East-Meg Two, Sino-Cit or Oz, all of which have featured more than once in the comics long history and all have a wealth of background just waiting to come to the surface.

Books such as Matts Undercity will no doubt add an extra element that is missing from the core rules and expand playablity for those who wish to pursue life below the Big Meg, and the up coming articles in Signs and Portents will feature new and expanded rules for features taken from the core product, as well as new profiles and backgrounds for well know perps.

Perps
It isnt easy coming up with expanded backgrounds for perps in Dredd as he either kills them or they go to the cubes, and with the exception of Mean Machine and Chopper only Death comes close to eluding the character for any length of time. So unless you go back and re-write the histories of characters year by year it can be difficult to avoid the obivious 'Hes Dead' Shes doing 40'.

Background Material
John (Caliber) and I had the idea late last year of writing a year book for each year that would detail events of note that had taken place during that current year, so the first book of the series would have been 2224 and followed by this years current 2225 and so on. Also we thought it would be good to go back to year one and work out back history for some of the lesser know characters and such, and lead up to books detailing important events such as the Apocalypse War.

Sure not everyone is going to want to buy a book that will cover the details of an event that has already happened, but take a look at the Babylon 5 range and you will see that it is an excellent idea, and can not only be fun for the reader but also the author too.

I do intend on working on an Academy guide at some point, in which characters are cadets rather than full eagled judges, and also developing Sector 190 in further detail. Dredd Times has a few ideas for the Academy already up with Red Wing, including a few npcs, and more material will go up as soon as I can get around to finishing off what I have in my files.

Artist Issues
Original artwork vs comic art? Well I collect 2000AD and have almost a full run of both it and its sister comic the Megazine now, plus all the annuals, graphic novels, toys, etc. I always look forward to seeing all new artwork and John did some stunning work in all of the Rookies Guides including my own book Crazes, but I do feel that this is a question of money rather than anything else. When you have access to the full range of comic material, its a little pointles to then pay someone to create a new image for you unless its a completly new idea, and more money forked out for new art means less to spend on new products in the long run.

New Blood
There are a lot of gamers out there who play games such as Dredd and Slaine who want to see all new material, products that are based on something that has not been seen in the comics and is completley new! This again is a great idea but one that is not as profitable for a company as expanding on already created material. Concerned Dredd player states that he/she hopes that Mongoose wont come up with a world trade guide, and thats fine if you dont wish to see it, but there are perhaps more people who would be interested in seeing the world of Dredd expanded to include such details. Players of D&D always want to learn more about their favorite realm and what happens in it, so why not carry on the trend in science fiction roleplaying? I am not suggesting a full product about trade and commerce here, or that you run a campaign based around a firm of real estate brookers, just simply that there is always room in any game for expansion.

Battle Royale
Also the mention of sales of the Dredd line vs the old GW product! Well in the space of two months of the Mongoose games release it had already out matched the Games Workshop game in quantity of releases, and they held the licesne for over six years! I am not sure just how many copies of the game have been sold and its not my place to question such a thing in any case, but the Mongoose game is being well recived by gamers the world over so something must be right! I know many don't like d20 and I can understand why, but when all is said and done these rules are not concrete just guidelines and I am sure that if you do use your own house rules that Matthew isnt going to come around with the SJS and get heavy with the daysticks!

At the moment Dredd and Slaine seem to be on the back burner, with very few products being listed for release right now. Mongoose are naturally concentrating on bigger fish with Babylon 5 and Conan, but support will continue for both Dredd and Slaine, albeit in a diluted fashion. Just because there hasn't been a new Dredd product out since Feburary does not mean that the line is over for good!

Fan Sites
I am really pleased that Dredd is back on shelves of games stores and more than happy to continue to support it by writing new material for both comercial release and free to download products if possible. I do agree that there is a distinct lack of fan based sites around right now, especially for Slaine, and I would welcome the addition of any new fan site for either game with open arms. I will carry on supporting Dredd even if Mongoose do give up or lose the license and will try to take on board a lot of the suggestions that have been raised on the board during this thread and others.


Just a few words, thanks for all the imput on this thread

Marc

 

[Anonymous]

Thanx for the reply Marc - I wish mongoose paid as much attention to the series as you do!

Background books are very important to a series with a history as massive as Dredd - they provide benchmarks for creating new characters and collect important historical/cultural information culled from Dredd in one place - that is my point - make it easy to reference material from the comics, dont forces the readers to have to go to the comics for all the source material, or else what purpose does the rpg serve? The mongoose approach indicates they do not want to attract new players but are targeting the hardcore Dredd/2000ad rpg followers, assuming they know everything about the setting. I personally want to use the comic as canon, the rpgs second up. I been looking in the judge dredd justice central site at the list of criminals from the comics and wonder why most have not appeared in the game? these are iconic dredd villains! By all means create new villains like you did with the brill Kazan clones but lets get the masters' in book format first so we know who the real bad asses are.

I dont dig the idea of your Atlantis book - how long is it? 32, 64, 128 or 256 pages? I dont have many 2000ads but have seen Atlantis mentioned once (escape from atlantis) and it is a boring place to visit, with hardly any judges because hardly anybody stops there - the traffic runs straight through to mc-1 from britcit. Its like a motorway service station with flotsam but no permanent residents apart from traders. I hope the book covers lots of other locations like Texas City and Eurocit or else what is the point?? Atlantis is a minor stopoff point unless it has been rewritten out of all proportion to the comic - the official version - and whats the point of that? If mongoose are not going to support Dredd with more than 2-3 books next year then a rethink is needed - the series may be dead within 12 months so why not try to get as much info from the comics pushed into each release instead of wasting valuable page count and consumers money on reams of alternate universe stuff? I read some old threads on a Dred group about Street Punks Catalogue and that sounds hooey to me - dredd is about characters, not brands of weapons - youre going the route of every other sci-fi rpg (this kind of gun love ruins Star Wars rpg) by thinking the players are more interested in fifty types of handgun rather than characters and interesting locations and scenarios.

 

[hassanisabbah]

Hi Hassansisabbah,
I would guess that the majority of MC1's revenue is derived from Munce and other food products and its export of equipment and technologies to other mega-cities around the world.

Also I think that unemployment is actually higher than 87% and closer to 97% but I could be wrong.

Btw been meaning to post about you Sector 21 thread. Nice work and some excellent ideas there that could make a great campaign setting. Well done

Marc

Thanks on all counts. Currently the game is on hold, but as its a Mafia spoof game set in MC-1 it has become important to work out different scams and rip offs for the mobsters to run. An inspired moment of watching the Sopranos wilst reading Gangbusters and lementing the system.

Its actually quite amazing how much flavour you can pack into MC-1 as there are no real rules and so huge whole blocks can have different themes, infact its so vast you can get away with diabolical liberties, as long as they have a sense of humour to them

 

[hassanisabbah]

My advise to Judge Dredd Villians is to steal them from TV, Books, Movies or History and give them a name that kind of suggests where they have come from. Its the Judge Dredd way.

Guides to parts of MC-1 Life are probably more desirable to myself, though the Brit Cit Guide is very good, and occassionally used, the Crazes guide was devoured by players (they do like their surfing and boing).

That said I did read 2000AD for years, along with the Megazine, so I have some Dredd exposure....

Currently I am building up a gang called the Kittens from Russ Meyer Block, all based around the names of Russ Meyer Films or B-Movie (the Mudhoney extortion gang) with Kitten Nevrdidvids as the leader.

Just about anything is acceptable, I even got away with lethal Chimp Clown Hells Angels that rode supped up highspeed Circus Trikes. They were involved in the Synth-Nana scams. Somehow it just seemed to be very Dredd and went down well.

 

[Hionhurn]

I'd like to see more sourcebooks as these are the books I'd use most.

Also it would be nice if they had more adventure hooks/ideas which GM's could 'flesh' out more for their games, maybe even put on the website?

 

[MongooseMatt]

Hi guys,

Just a quickie - Judge Dredd is not dead, not by a long chalk! We will have releases throughout 2004, and these will tend to concentrate mostly on source material rather than hard rules (I think we have all the hard rules in JD that we need right now - except, perhaps, space travel).

But there could be more excitement on the way. Stay tuned for more Dredd-goodness. . .

 

[hassanisabbah]

Excellent,

Any news as to what they might be? Cursed Earth, Undercity or a guide to life in MC1? Fingers crossed :lol:

 

[hassanisabbah]

So maybe, just maybe we need to do something about it?

Dredd has better fan support from the sound of it but let's not kid ourselves, if you say Judge Dredd to most people, they'll think of the movie with Sly Stallone and Armand Assante. This may be why people aren't flocking. They just don't know...

Keeping the good stuff to ourselves helps nobody - the question is, why are we holding back? Are we displaying our traditional reserve or are we afraid of not being right on this?

Ok what do people want - I get some spare time and have a lot of Dredd Material I could post? Currently I got 8 Judges, about 12 criminal Organisations that make up a mafia, Several Gangs, an extended supersurf set of adhoc rules inc a course with difficuly levels, some new gear and some comedian/entertainers (inc 'The Infamous Meistaah Firenuts'

 

[Matt Sharp]

Excellent,

Any news as to what they might be? Cursed Earth, Undercity or a guide to life in MC1? Fingers crossed :lol:

Well, the Undercity book is already scheduled for January - go to the Judge Dredd subsite from the main Mongoose site and then click on scheduled releases section to see a preview.

 

[Anonymous]

As for new Slaine material, Hassansisabbah's post of 21August is dead on!

 

[solkan_uk]

OK, I have a little web page and a love of Judge Dredd. I didn't know much about it before I picked up the RPG, but now have a subscription to all three comics (2000AD, Megazine & Extreme Editions).
I have no plans to play Judge Dredd at the moment but the next game I'll run with it will be Brit-Cit, crossed with the new Caballistics Inc. I.e. a group of occult investigators in Brit-Cit who sorta fill in the gap - since there are no psi-judges. Occaisionally the Justice Dept will call upon their services to help with some occult threat, but most of the stuff will be off their own back. So a quirkly horror game with an occaisional detour into more trad. judge game with judge support etc.
Anyway, I hope these games carry on, though I doubt the 2000AD line will continue any further - I would have liked to have seen some of the smaller strips given the same treatement, even as stand-alone games with no future support offered. I am a fan of Sinister Dexter, Cabballistics Inc, Tales of Telguuth, plus some other stuff.
See ya later.

 

[Tyrant]

You know,
I've been a fan of Judge Dread since I was 10 years old (I'm 28 now). I was introduced to the world when I went over to my cousin's place and saw the old GW rpg box on his shelf. I was instantly mesmerized. He ran a couple of games for me, which also happened to be my first introduction to the hobby. After that, I was hooked.

The problem is, living in North America, Dread really isn't a household name. I tired getting 2000AD for a while, but I could never get a regular supply of issues from accross the pond through my local shop. And I don't really recall there ever being a concerted marketing effort to make north-american audiences aware of it's existance. So to this day, aside from a small group of niche fans, most gamers here have never heard of it. I'm fortunate in that, being Canadian, we get more exposure to European products, particularly from Great Britain (and for that matter, France, living in Quebec and all...) than our friends to the south.

It seems to me that continued support of the Dread and Slaine game lines is definately a worthwhile endeavor, but should be combined with a bit more marketing. IF the money can put together, and I know that's a big "if", I think Mongoose might want to seriously consider an agressive advertising campaign through "Dragon" magazine, perhaps host some gaming events featuring Mongoose products, but particularly the Dread and Slaine games. Perhaps approach 2000AD for a cooperative effort to increase awareness (and sales) of the games/comic?

Just a thought.

 

[Dredd Times]

Mongoose have had adverts for both Dredd and Slaine in Dragon since both games where lauched, though I am not sure if they make it into the US editions or not!

Dredd is popular with Americans, but sadly not as popular as Superman or Batman, and I know what you mean about the lack of outlets for 2000AD in the states as I send the comic weekly to a friend in New York.

I do think that once news of the new Dredd movies starts to filter through though, more and more people will want to learn about Dredd and it could well see a marked increase in sales of the game and its supplements

Marc

 

[Tyrant]

There's a new Dread movie in the works?
That's good news I guess. I'll admit to not having been particularly pleased with the first one, but anything that helps people become aware of the franchise is a good thing.

I have been toying with the idea of subscribing to 2000 Ad via online order, and hope that I can get the issues on a regular basis that way. Although it's been years since the last issue I got, I would love to get back into it, or maybe get some of the previously published stories in paperback or graphic novel format.

As for future Dread products, I'd be very interested in a Cursed Earth sourcebook. Further, maybe developing the Sov-Block cities might be fun. And I really think that a sourcebook dedicated to technology would not go amiss.

 

[Fluffy]

Finally a player of mine asked a question, that I have had trouble finiding a sufficent answer for. With 87% unemployment, and massive welfare, how does MC-1 Provide a sufficent Ecconomy to survive. Do the 13% make such profits that their taxes allow for the financing of the city and the populace with enough left over to allow small business to prosper.

The only answer I could come up with was that of a planned ecconomy - By the JD Treasury, which is of course the basis of a Communist State.

Don't robots do most of the work done today by the middle and lower classes, like for instance most manufacturing and clerical jobs (which is the reason why unemployment is so high). As I understand it most food comes in from the cursed earth farms (munce ,sausage trees etc)and krill catchers in atlantis whilst most raw materials are brought in from MC-1's offworld colonies.

I agree that it is a planned economy but operates much more like a facsist state that a communist one as there are rich people and a oppressed population (muties)

also it appears circa 2125 MC-1 is in a finacial crisis as they can't afford to get the weather control fixed.

 

[Dredd Times]

The only real work done in MC1 is by the judges and they dont get paid. And according to 2000AD as of last year the unemployment level was almost 97% thats a heck of a lot of citizens with nothing to do but think how to make a fast buck or two.

As noted the majority of those who actually work in the city do so in the food industry, providing munce and other edibles for the Big Meg. Robots still tend to do all the menial tasks that others wont touch, though more and more people have come to distrust robots due to the second Robot War against Narcos a couple of years ago.

When Atlantis finally rears its head from the depths of the Black Atlantic, there is a full chapter dedicated to trade and export and details what comes in and goes out of Mega-City One.

Marc

 

[Ukkothedwarf]

With 87% unemployment, and massive welfare, how does MC-1 Provide a sufficent Ecconomy to survive.

Look at the problem like this: if you had a farm and a robot to gather wood, another to do the farming, another to clean the house, another to fix/maintain the power generator and two 'robot maintainance' robots would you really *need* money?

Now think about that on a grand scale - there you have a society with not much money where people only have the basics but they don't really need to work. That's how I see MC 1

 

[Hionhurn]

I would like to know when we can expect:

Dinas Emrys - the Eternal Fortress, TNO p 57

Drunes: Druids of the Worm God, SRPG p118

The Fomorians - Sea Devils of Lochlann, SRPG p164

and perhaps can we add a larger Bestiary, and information on High Magic as taught by Myrddin and others? at Dinas Emrys.

Or has all the Slaine impetus gone now that Conan is being released?

Any information would be appreciated..

 

[Hionhurn]

also

The Norsemen - Beserkers of Midgard

 

[hassanisabbah]

Slaine is not likely to ever see those books as source texts for some considerable time (if were lucky) or ever.

However a post on the Signs and Portents board points out that the magazine will begin covering such areas, firstly dealing with Cythrons and Leyser weapons.

As to how this is to be done, and how viable the magazine is for this, has not been established, presumably each one will be spread over a couple of issues.

Whilst this is probably not the ideal solution that Slaine gms have been hanging onto, it is likely to be the only likely occurance of such material for the game, which I suspect is not likely to be supported outside of Signs and Portents, for the foreseeable future.