When most folks think of indie TTRPG creators, they think of the solo creative, crafting their games alone before releasing them into the world. But the truth is, so many indie TTRPG projects are the result of a team of enthusiastic, skilled creators, each bringing their unique talents to the design.
Balsamic Moon Games Collective is a perfect example of that. I was able to carve out some time to speak with three of their team during a very busy and successful Kickstarter campaign, to get a look behind the scenes of their project, Witches of Midnight.
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Brent: Thank you for taking the time to talk with me. For our readers not yet familiar with your work, please tell me a bit about yourselves.
Andrea: I’m Andrea. I’m the Creative Lead and Co-Author of Witches of Midnight and one of the founding members of Balsamic Moon Games Collective.
Gavin: I’m Gavin! I’m the Lead Developer and Co-Author of Witches of Midnight and the other founding member of Balsamic Moon Games Collective.
Mia: I’m Mia, known online as robotRainbows and I’m a freelance illustration artist. I’ve mostly done illustration gigs for Canadian anime conventions as well as my fair share of private commissions.
B: What drew you into tabletop roleplaying games? What was your “origin story” in the hobby?
A: Gavin introduced me to the wonderful world of TTRPGs about 14 years ago when we met. My first character was a Lupus Bone Gnawer (in Werewolf: The Apocalypse). Playing her helped me develop past a lot of anxiety issues and helped me find my voice.
G: I was a huge JRPG fan in my youth and started making games with my friends. We used a calculator’s random function as “dice” and a chess board for simulating an encounter scene. We didn’t find out about “real” TTRPGs until a year later.
M: My team lead at my day job years ago invited me to a D&D 5e game after work hours and I fell in love with it. From there on out I started seeking settings that were more flexible with one shots and were less combat focused, so I got into World of Darkness and then met the folk at Balsamic Games!
B: How and when did you shift from player/GM to designing your first game? Was that gradual or did you jump in right away?
A: The impetus for me was a lack of a system to tell the stories that I wanted to see. Why shoehorn my ideas into a game that was not meant for them when we could build one ourselves?
B: Mia, what drew you into creating art for TTRPGs?
M: My favourite commission pieces have always been those that are a portrayal of someone else’s character. I love bringing other people’s ideas to life. Like nothing brings me joy like the look on someone’s face when I nail exactly what they had in mind for their character idea. Creating art for TTRPG seems like a logical continuation of that to me and I’m super thrilled to do illustration for that purpose for the first time.
B: Witches of Midnight uses Powered by the Apocalypse as its framework. What is it about PbtA that attracted you? How have you varied Witches of Midnight from that familiar framework?
G: When PbtA games first hit the scene I became incredibly excited about game design for the first time in a while. Early PbtA games we tried seemed a bit bland (I blame 20 years of World of Darkness lore and metaplot).
A: Forged in the Dark games had both lore and shared narrative control. Scum and Villainy hooked us and A Fistful of Darkness hog-tied us.
G: Witches of Midnight iterates on the FitD framework by taking FitD elements and integrating them directly into the game’s loose metaplot. Rather than Devil’s Bargains, we have unspoken Fae Pacts which (if not taken care of early) blossom into Contracts which the Fae will eventually call due in the form of a personal entanglement.
Our biggest addition to the PbtA and FitD movement is Wyld Magic. This power is the central point of conflict in Witches of Midnight. All PCs have access to this reality warping power that strikes fear in mundanes. The powerful Factions of Midnight (both bound witches and mundanes) will stop at nothing to stamp out this power.
M: I honestly knew nothing about Powered by the Apocalypse until meeting Gavin and Andrea so I’m just following their lead on that front.
B:Reading over the rules, tarot plays a key role for both the players and Lore Weaver. Can you talk about the choice to incorporate tarot into the design? Did that come first or was it a later development?
A: I have always struggled with the idea of using tarot in a game because I see them as very dear tools (and friends). The idea of them in game-play seemed disrespectful at first, so when we decided that we wanted a tarot deck, our first priority was that the cards were given the respect that they deserved. Which is why they are so important in character creation and in the overall story of the game.
G: I’ve wanted to design a game that incorporated tarot cards for about 30 years, this setting seemed like a perfect opportunity! While they aren’t used for Action resolution, they integrate uniquely into each character’s personal story and can be used by a Lore Weaver to pick random Grimoires, Heritages, Factions and Familiars. We even have a custom tarot spread a Lore Weaver can use to generate a random Undertaking.
M: We discussed it in the Discord a lot too. I recall something like “What if there were tarot cards?” and a bunch of the community is super into all that is occult and witchy.
G: It really just made sense.
B: You’re creating a tarot deck specific to the game. Mia, could you talk about what you draw on for inspiration when developing tarot art for an imaginary setting? What are some of the challenges?
M: I draw a lot of my art inspiration from JRPGs and video games in general, as well as western fantasy literature, movies and series. In the more recent years I started reading more horror novels and listening to horror podcasts as well, which has undeniably steered me towards Cosmic horror and all similar genres. Honestly though I have to admit, I am relatively new to the entire concept of interpreting card readings. I had been considering getting Tarot decks for years but only really started exploring them 2 years or so ago. Now I own a few! Thankfully, Gavin and Andrea have a lot of knowledge regarding real life spirituality and are helping and guiding me to ensure the designs are in line with the fantasy of Witches of Midnight as well symbolism that will appeal to real world witches.
B: In a game about witches, magic obviously plays an integral part. What is the driving philosophy of magic in the world of Witches of Midnight? For example, does magic have agency or is it simply a force like gravity?
G: To me, that is a perfect question to start your own campaign of Witches of Midnight with..
But, my “proper answer” is… Magic is intention, force of will, and a balanced connection between the witch and their environment (their community, the local fae, flora, fauna and mundanes). Essence is the ebb and flow of magic around and through a particular character. A character’s Essence has a property called Resonance (based on a character’s Grimoire, Heritage, Aspect and even Trauma). I see it as a force that permeates the physical world and all of the realms.
A:Similarly, I have always viewed magic as a connecting force that flows through everything. Witches in Midnight shape it with their will and intentions.
G: When it comes to individual characters, players are able to shape the way their characters interact with magic when they choose or devise their casting style during coven and character creation.
B: You are funding Witches of Midnight through Kickstarter. What made Kickstarter an attractive platform for you? Can you talk a bit about how you found the process of using the site?
G: We knew we couldn’t do layout by ourselves, so crowdfunding was likely so that we could bring on Francita Sota (@byFrancita). Later, when we decided we needed our own tarot deck, it became a necessity. Doing all of the illustrations is daunting, time consuming and expensive, but we wanted to make sure it was done right which is why we asked Mia to join our team. Using Kickstarter hasn’t been the most intuitive or enjoyable process, but knowing there are so many people that want to see our game succeed has been great.
B: At the time this interview goes up the Kickstarter will have been underway for a week. What are some of the highlights people can expect? Are there any stretch goals you are particularly excited by?
A: I’m excited for the extra Grimoires and the indie devs helping us make them. They are all amazing and beautiful. I can’t wait to see what all of them can do in this world we built.
G: Yep, we have already fully funded (in only 12 hours). So, by the time this is live I expect we will have unlocked the Carnicula Grimoire by @ThisMayBeGraham (of Under the Autumn Strangely) and be heading toward the Hellgrinder Grimoire by @monkeyEcho (of A Fistful of Darkness).
M: I’m really looking forward to additional Grimoires as well. Maybe I will get to draw more art!
B: As designers, what other games are grabbing your attention? What are you drawn to as a designer and as a player/GM?
G: Our Stretch Goals are basically a list of designers we pay close attention to. They are contributing Grimoires (playbooks) in their unique style for Witches of Midnight.
A: Agreed, the games and devs we are most excited for are all on this project with us! But at the base of my “attention grabbed” pyramid is World of Darkness (mostly Werewolf and Vampire).
B: It may be too soon to ask, with your Kickstarter underway, but any future projects coming up for any of you? Anything you can tease or talk about?
G: We have an idea for a small-scale, touching one-shot Breathless game in the vein of 10 Candles where everyone plays resurrected gnomes who each have a “final wish” they want to fulfill before they “return to the earth” when the sun rises.
We also have several potential expansions for Witches of Midnight floating around in our heads (one is teased as a Stretch Goal). We are also working with several people on translations and localizations of the game’s Grimoires and Factions (such as Oslo, Deseret and other regions).
A: I’m really personally interested in doing an Appalachian expansion. There is so much fun folklore here that we think it would make an amazing addition to the game.
B: Thank you again for talking with me! Where can folks find you if they want to see what you’re up to?
M: You can find me @robotRainbows on most platforms (Twitter, Tumblr, ArtStation, Facebook, instagram) and I am most active on Twitter at the moment, although I have half a mind to get back to Tumblr these days.
A: I’m @Wyldwood_Witch on twitter, but I post most often on Instagram as wyldwoodwitch about our mini-farm (chickens and mini-pigs).
G: I’m @GavinTheGM on twitter, our company is @BalsamicGames just about everywhere and the game itself is @MidnightKith on twitter.
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If you want to back Witches of Midnight and help unlock some of those excellent stretch goals, the Kickstarter runs to July 22. And make sure to follow the team and stay on top of what they and Balsamic Moon Games Collective is up to.
Stay tuned next week for another interview with a TTRPG creative. Take care!
