Hello, and welcome to sneeze return at the top roleplay podcast. My guest today has seen not just what is over the next horizon, but as in fact deep into the dark between the stars and gazed upon the wonders of the third horizon. He has sculpted the mystical nature of the Arabian Nights, along with the cosmic influences of science fiction, and created an amazing game is an absolute pleasure to welcome Mattias Lilja of Free League publishing to the show. Mattias. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for having me. Before we get into why I invited you on and and the game system that I'm really looking forward to hearing about, would you mind telling us how you got into tabletop role playing games, please?
Mattias Lilja:Sure. started a long time ago. I was I think it was 12 or maybe 11. It was the Redbox mentionner basic diner, some dragon set, beautiful, more cover that had me hypnotised. And without CSRS, I couldn't get enough of English to actually play the game, at least some version of it. That sort of worked. I absolutely loved it. Around the same time, Swedish language RPG started to come out as well. So more or less shifted to them. And then played as I got older, I got back into d&d and part of masquerade and Warhammer Fantasy roleplay, and whatnot. I've been playing, playing ever since dming, ever since and creating your own content for as long as I can.
Snyders Return:Right? And so from from those early days of playing from the red box and into the Swedish ones, and through those other systems, you've mentioned how, how did that lead from sort of doing it as a hobby to now sort of where you are now, what was that progression?
Mattias Lilja:Well, we started the I've sort of been zigzagging my, my career and one of those people who my mother said that would never do RPGs would never probably be anything. So she probably went homework, I insisted. And so I've done a tonne of stuff. But in 2001, we actually started a company to create, not just create games, we've done that for a long time, but published games, created ourselves. So but that was part time and sort of a side business and everything so so it's been on and off actually did a decade and a bit in the video games industry, interactive. So I've mostly been in that space, full time. But I've also managed to produce a couple produce on the side. But now I'm actually deep into deep into RPG, RPG production, including publishing and all that. So it took a while. But finally, I'm aware I hoped it would be just took a bit longer. Maybe maybe expected, but
Snyders Return:super happy to be here. Absolutely. And a very passive just means different influences. Open to. Exactly, exactly. And sort of drawing on some of those influences. Tell us about the game that you've created and and taking a hand in creating. Sure.
Mattias Lilja:But the first one we want to personalise since product called mutants will create the diversity version called air. So the doom that is now there was the forerunner of the new teacher zero that is currently being punched by a freely. And then we actually the second one I did was actually Coriolis, the first edition Coriolis. And then we moved on to a couple of other games and symbolism is perhaps the biggest one now I've also collaborated on other games but not been in the driver's seat, so to speak of driving the development as much so those are the three main ones there. Even though there have been shorter affairs and in other areas as well,
Snyders Return:yeah, of course. Yeah. And with respect to Coriolis, you, you sort of created and designed the game, is it is it still in that first iteration or?
Mattias Lilja:No? It's actually in the second edition now in the hands of free league. But it isn't a bit of an interesting story freely. It is the freely publishing that the publishers designed and published the second edition of quill They actually took their name from one of the factions in the first edition that I created. So they were, they showed up as fans, first of mutants and then of Coriolis, then they took the legacy of those and turned them into something, I would say better in many respects, which is cool. So then I got to work with them on some games and then joined forces full time. And so it's a it's a, it's a back and forth between between creators and Fabien, fans of each other's work, and also, taking what we think could be made better, sort of spurring each other on plugging each other at same time. Yeah,
Snyders Return:absolutely. And freely publishing itself is sort of building up a head of steam as a publisher and putting out some some fantastic products, including the ones you've mentioned so far. But if someone has maybe gone to the freely publishing website and seen various other other games, would you mind? And they sort of looked at Coriolis, and they weren't too sure, would you mind sort of giving a brief introduction of what Coriolis is, please?
Mattias Lilja:Sure. It's a science fantasy game, I think would be the fairest way to describe it. There's not a super realistic science fiction game. Imagine space as, as the ultimate desert. We're, we're humans go with ships like caravans between wases and trying to find that point of light or that rest. And then different groups, of course, come and go. It's a it's a, it's focused on it has several layers, maybe come back to but it has more of a horror lovecraftian maybe horror, with the darkness, the dark between the stars, that influences people and we use that to highlight your vulnerability as a, as a human in that, in that vastness of coldness in the cold space. There is also the the cultures and the vibrant cultures. And then you of course, that disagreements come along with that. And in the game, focuses, runs a lot on the on the clashes between people's view of the universe and the idea of humans, of humanity's place in it. Of course, always fueled by by fighting over resources, but a lot of it is a it's a lot of a fight over ideas, tribes, many of the factions in games, maybe more than maybe more than I guess, basic resources that are pretty, quite plentiful in advanced space. Civilization. So that would be my not so smooth COVID pitch, but that still covers some of the levels that I think you can move between.
Snyders Return:Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And so, touching on mechanically does the does the second edition of Coriolis use the use zero engine? Or does it have its own? Yes. Getting
Mattias Lilja:in? Yeah, it's a it's a, it's a version of that adapted to the setting, which of course, has quite a lot and quite advanced technology to be able to work travel to space and all those things.
Snyders Return:And, and while you were in the process of creating Coriolis, and yeah, and there's there's a number of books, I'll change it to a sales pitch. Where can people find Coriolis? yourself and Coriolis,
Mattias Lilja:they can go to free league publishing. I guess.com and check our store. I will just just Google freely publishing or Coriolis RPG Yeah, they'll find it. That's where they can read up on it. There's I mean, we have social media forums and you can look at the products on that to get an idea.
Snyders Return:Well, I will make sure that social media links are available in the description below this podcast please go and check them out. It is available on Drive Thru RPG so definitely gone and either go through the official really publishing website or drive thru RPG, you will find it on there. And available out at the moment just for Coriolis. There's there's a raft of things available for for players, both settings and adventures and accessories. Is that a fair?
Mattias Lilja:Yeah, I mean, we've, there's a number of setting pieces you can you can use to expand on it. We are to parching in a three part campaign called the mercy of the icons. So we've done release two parts of that and we're gearing up to release a third which which takes you on sort of a grand tour and epic saga, the what we call the third horizon, which is the place where the game plays out. But there are also others other things you can use. But it's it's of course modular, so you don't need a tonne of stuff. If you'd like to create your own stuff. There's plenty of things to go go from Brian within the Peace Corps book. Yeah. I will ask you a long time, it depends on what kind of game most of you are, I guess.
Snyders Return:I wonder what seems to want everything. So sure I get everything and then like, great. Well, speaking about is the so you've released them published all this this fantastic content available both through the store and and other places, as we've mentioned, what about community content? Is that something that?
Mattias Lilja:Yes, there's, there's first off quite a lot of, of course, everything we do is available in digital formats, you don't have to go with paper, if you don't want to, you can check it out. And we also have what we call the free league workshop, which is a, it's where people can add their own whatever they want. And we just released a fantastic community Atlas over over the celebration, where a lot of people have contributed. And just expand helped us expand that. The third reason, especially for English speakers, since the game launched in Swedish originally, so we were caught up but it took a while. So they're on par now but so ever really good feeling worship, as has a lot of cool stuff, you don't really run out. A lot of the fans are really getting the setting and taking it in whatever direction they want. Weird or beautiful, whatever they want to do with it. But actually what we want to happen with the game.
Snyders Return:Absolutely. And you mentioned, as I have this, there's various official releases, there's the the the Atlas and the community content going but one of yourself what has been your favourite piece? I mean, you created the game. But is there a specific piece of law or a setting or something about the game that has really sort of stayed with you as a sort of particular point?
Mattias Lilja:Yeah, sure, sure. There's there several, they started this game has been with me for a long time long before I started writing it, then it goes back to me. Whereas I started the history and history of ideas and science. And I started seeing the both the sort of clash between the East and the West, but also how a lot of stuff that was lost during the classical period was was sort of kept alive in the, in the east and came back, often through violent means. So it wasn't necessarily a nice time or a very peaceful time. But you know, the reconquest of Spain actually brought Plato and Aristotle back, took him to mediaeval Europe, there was pretty dark, grim place at the time, also, philosophically speaking. So it was sort of that that idea that conflict, basically, cultures meeting and in one hand clashing horribly, on the other hand, they enrich each other locally, and could include new things could come out of that, that was sort of one of these ideas that not it's not an ideal in any sense with just a picture or an image they have wanted to take with me into a game and it fitted well to this, this game that has a lot about cultures clashing, and the other, of course, is sort of lovecraftian I think I mentioned hope, cosmic horror, and humanity being so so small, we're super important in their own lives. And from a cosmic angle, we don't really matter at all. And in Coriolis, humans, travelling portals built by another civilization left behind the long gone, ascended, maybe wipe themselves out or just got bored and moved on. So you can jump between star systems, but it's not really human. We just piggybacking on others that came before so humans are humanity's both wondrous and multifaceted, and all that and rich in lore, but we're also small and vulnerable at the same time. So people sort of got that into the package. And I think if I had to choose, I think the darkness between the stars is the dark between the stars, as we usually call it, is the thing that I like the most, because you can absolutely use that for a lot of things in the game. Players can be afraid of it or be intrigued by it. As a Game Master, you can you can just hint that it gently or threatened with it, or you just throw it into the game or right you know, you can have it after the jump, something really weird has come on board your ship. That's what it's about. It's a survival game for you. But from this point, I don't care where you're going, thinking this is what it's about. So you can use that mechanic quite a lot to not not disrupt, but you can take the game in different different different angles and both players and in Game Master, can you do that and use that to bounce off. So that is perhaps if I had to pick something, otherwise, I really love the factions and how they did stuff. It's the classical tale of the blind men and the elephants, right. Some Some say that it's They're trying to describe an elephant that they don't see just feel different parts of it. Right? Nobody sees the elephant, they just know this is very hard. And, like, it's the you they feel that sort of the ivory in suffering, no, it's pretty soft, warm to the touch. And, you know, it's like that kind of thing. of all these cultures, or factions are trying to describe when nobody has the full picture, and they argue a lot. It's sort of what we're going for. I think that's the, that's the cultural side. So both of those are pretty cool.
Snyders Return:And you mentioned the faction, so would you be able just to touch on each of them briefly, um, you can go as deep as you'd like, but just, there's quite, there's sort of two,
Mattias Lilja:there's, I would guess, two, two sides of it. One of those is what we call the those who have been locked them. Humanity has, of course, moved through three, two horizons previously and then ended up with this third horizon, which is populated to a large extent by free thinkers and people who want to get away from from a past oppression journeys. And so they move there and have their I guess some of them would rather be called sex, I think, and they're all sort of there, they're all there, they have a group, often a very peculiar idea of the world, they often have survived because of control over some specific technology that they have. One group has like animated armour and is really tough to handle, have been able to use that, but others have gone really far into other areas. And then later came another wave of humans who came on a generation ship and they are more, I guess, industrious or, or they it's them who opened up many of the all the routes. Okay, got it, because they built the station Coriolis, which is now again, bringing all these old factions back together in a very uneasy collaboration was in a sort of Coriolanus Council. That's so there's, there's a bunch of faction, both those are the two major generations of colonisation. They. So they might be, they can, they can be different, but they, the older ones are usually more deeply, they can, they can often be deeply religious, or very interested in sort of a mystic, mystic version of religion. Whereas the other the new commerce are slightly more practical, maybe more, maybe more focused on commerce and technology in the circumstance, but but they're not better because some of the old factions have very ancient, very, very high tech, but often they're focused into a small area. So it's a it's a, it's a, sort of a tapestry landscape. So many of the many groups there, you can, you can freely I guess, is one of the groups that you likely come across they are, they're almost like, maybe a union would be a good, good way to put it there. Everybody has their own ship, they, they, they've joined the forest system to try to get an edge against what's called the consortium, which is the sort of bigger behemoths in trade, they won't have a chance, like so. And they run too fast, smaller, faster ships that can be good in certain instances, maybe going to an outpost where you don't send the big ship because it's too small, or you need a random located or you need to maybe smuggle something somewhere or get an LOI hastily to someplace to stop a conflict. So so the freely is often one of those smaller factions that many you don't have to block them, there's not it's not a you can pick and choose or not belong to anyone but but that's pretty rare. A lot of player groups gravitate, because that's the sort of level that there are, they're drag themselves, they have a ship, it's not very big. So they need to find a reason for that you can't go up against the public traders, right? That's that's, you know, enormous shapes that take enormous amounts of cargo you're not going to have anything to do with that. So you need to go to the least the less you need to take the road less travelled so to speak and find a way to walk survived first and then maybe overtime prosper. Good.
Snyders Return:That sounds really good. So developing all these systems and as you mentioned, the players being able to sort of drop in these factions and so the players get a ship right off the bat. Is that part of the
Mattias Lilja:Yes, they do. Well, it's probably not there's probably somebody a lot of money or they got over it, they got their hands on it in some other way which means that now run with someone who really wants it back. So what what do you do at the beginning of the game, you create your your characters, you decide on a basically a concept for your group, who are you and why are you travelling together and that could be it could basically can be traders or mercenaries or you could be outlaws if you want to or you can be you can basically be a travelling circus if you decide to be that but you're and you have access to a ship and you need to Real what shipping is and why you have it. And who's after you have a every group has a nemesis, that will that will haunt them. And it's usually tied to the ship, it doesn't have to be, it could be something else. But it's a handy way, of course, it's, you know, there's somebody after you want their money back, or at least, you know, the payments that you missed. And you also usually have a patron somebody who a good contact you have that helps you or that you can go to you, depending on what type of missions you do, mostly, or take on the patron can help you they have connections to, as I said, the lesser, not so travelled routes or so that you can, so as you can connect, those two will get you started, the world will evolve, whatever direction you go, that's usually I would start with an emphasis in the Patreon ship, you're a bunch of people that have a have a good reason to be together for a longer period of time. On the chip, we're dependent on that working out.
Snyders Return:It's it sounds, it sounds a lot of fun. And the ability to sort of not have to build up to instigate travel and have that Nemesis System, potentially, as you mentioned, playing off against the ship itself, which will be potentially instantly recognisable in some locales, and perform Exactly, yeah,
Mattias Lilja:got it. So it's almost like since that's going to be with you for a long time. And it's in all shape have quirks and they have to be anything. And since it's a science fantasy game, you can have your your ship can be cursed or blessed. Or you can or you have a more mechanical type cork, or you have a very, let's say, you have an older model of a ship intelligence on board that has very peculiar ideas about things. So it's not running super smooth, but it's, it gets you there through some problems. So that's also part of how the how the game runs, a lot of a lot of the fun is actually helped to create the ship as an extra. It's almost like a PC, you need to take care of it. It's got its quirks and sort of works most of the time. So that's what the game is predicated on.
Snyders Return:So it can be everything from a battleship to a life raft.
Mattias Lilja:Yeah, well, it's sort of somewhere in between those it said some light freighter to a some something a bit heavier, but it depends on how you want to play I mean, if you take a bigger ship, you get a slightly different playstyle if you have a slightly smaller usually a faster ship that is better, a better stealth, stealth capacity, you can do other type of missions, you can as I said, you can some ship some systems are cordoned off or because the leading faction in those areas are, might be extremely Senna phobic, or it might be a war and there's, there's located and stuff like that. So a bigger ship might get into trouble, whereas smaller, nimble ship can go pass through. So you will have to talk about that when you make when you start Google type of game play.
Snyders Return:So just the gaming include sort of a space combat system.
Mattias Lilja:Yes, it does. And you can lean into that as little as much as you want to generally speaking, you either proceed most most groups either focus on being good at fighting or good at not counting up in fights. So but yeah, it's pretty it's pretty fast paced and you you probably better again depend you can you can build you can have a ship that's pretty competent, when it comes to fighting if the crew knows what they're doing right and then you can be more aggressive and you can can push that type of game you can be a course or yourself like a Buccaneer or you can be a mercenary, taking on those missions where attacking will be all you have to attack right. But usually people take a some do that some, I think more lean towards let's try not to get caught or, you know, you fire up a couple of couple of torpedoes you shoot out some countermeasures you know to not be blown in the sky yourself that you're trying to find some anomaly space and then you know flick it's more of a bit of like a submarine okay type gameplay where you can like let's go and sleep everything just go silent hope they don't see us crater the icons that that they're not going to pick us pick up on us now because we sort of almost turned off the reactors slow going if you have to start over again. So those types of gameplay so you get to and you get to choose. So that
Snyders Return:sounds a lot of fun. A lot of fun to take note of those aspects and you mentioned before near the start. That you dm and GM Are you are you still dming and jamming and if so sure.
Mattias Lilja:Turns out that a lot of my friends don't have that much time. So if we're going to play somebody has to dm em as I seem to be the guy who does that? Mostly so I'm not sure right running our gaming coriolus right now I'm running a gaming syndrome and also fifth edition d&d from time to time and then, but the same old guy, crew that used that part of creating Coriolis, you actually meet up was here. We used to do take pick up like an exotic locale and go there. We went to Istanbul and just spent a couple of days in a hotel playing role playing games and then just went to see the sights. Yeah, we went to a college in Oxford. We had the one where they used I think the dining hall is the inspiration for the Hawksworth Hawksworth dining hall. So we had, that's where we had breakfast, then we took a tour of the city and went to the eagle and child where JRR Tolkien and the other guys used to sit around and then we went back to the we hired we rented a basically a student dorm. Okay, that's where we were doing assignment, just play with, like role playing, is usually do that. That is was trying to do once a year. Closer to home now for Sweden hasn't been in lockdown, like formally so we can meet if we behave. We can't travel far
Snyders Return:enough. And it's good that you're still getting your hand in even as a de facto Game Master Dungeon Master, depending on the system. Yeah, I
Mattias Lilja:think that's that's time I'm one of those people who actually prefer to play with narcissistic, perhaps, but I play games that I designed myself. To a great extent, it's part of the fun of creating them. And also then training mouth and house rolling my own system and going back and forth. I think that's part of part of the fun. It's not the only thing I do. I mean, d&d has become like, it's like fibre in my diet. It's like, it's all goes away. Regardless of addition, I played all of them. But then I, of course, try other things. But But
Snyders Return:yeah, well, you mentioned you mentioned that some barroom trauma had a hand in in creating that. And so what does that been like to work on? It's it's different. I think that's a fair, fair statement from Yeah. So what what what has it been like to work on that product? Because that's obviously going through a big a five year transition, as well as sort of supplementing the core rules. Yeah. So would you mind giving us some insight on your environment?
Mattias Lilja:Yeah, I think that we gave fantasy, just like we approached science fiction with a specific angle and idea when we create the Coriolis, we use the same not details, of course, but the same sort of approach, coming into fantasy and creating similar. So we wanted to, we wanted the same room to be, again, a layered game where you can play, you can go, if you like the aesthetic, you can just walk into the forest and hunt for Crusher, that's fine. If you want to engage in intrigue with with all the human factions, or elves or whatever, you can do that. And there's a deeper sort of metaphysical idea what's really going on here, or there's a deep metaphysical conflict, where most manufacturers even though they will not admit it, they actually they dance to a drum way more powerful than they maybe don't even hear it. But it's there. They're doing someone's bidding, or, you know, on like a cosmic principle. And then we like that. So we have, so we tried to build our games in sort of these layered fashions that you can, you can move between you don't have to spend time pondering metaphysics, that's not really the point. But if you want to recap, because that sort of give depth to the experience. So as you said, we moved into the 5g space, because we found out we have a lot of fans who said, I want to play the similar of setting, but I don't want to our I don't want to or I can't get my players with me because they're they're not going to shift the game system. And there are similarities between the game systems, and of course, a lot of differences. But we actually did a trial balloon that we sent out a lot, maybe six, some 6000 downloads, I think, so we got pretty nice feedback on it, and it was still constructive. But we also felt that we can actually do this so we're going to try to run we're going to keep producing content and have it run on two different game systems if you want a bigger fan base there because obviously exists. Hmm, yeah, definitely.
Snyders Return:Something I like about the corals my I mentioned this in a previous interview about symbolism is that the game master doesn't roll dice. It's all on the characters to help create and generate that story. And I love that mechanic. I've seen it in other games, but I love the way that some barroom sort of brings the story to live using.
Mattias Lilja:Collect you like it. I mean, that's one of my favourite things, too. I actually dm like that in most games, if if the systems if they allow it. I play d&d like that as well, I just shift everything around. So it's a armour class, is this a play a role, I just say that the architects you to 16 attack, defend yourself. I don't roll anything. Because it's sort of if I start probably my limited ability to keep a lot of stuff in my head at once. I think it's easier to make be a good dm or GM, but it mostly focused on the story or what other people are doing or and not so much on the on the mechanics on the on the on the enemy set mode. And here's the truth. Most enemies exist for three rounds in combat, maybe five. So the amount of effort you put on them is low, they should have a cool personality, they should look good, they should have a good idea what they're doing. It should make sense within the setting. And it's nice if they have a tragic flaw or something that makes even the players sort of sympathise a bit, even though they have to fight them. But mechanically, I think it should be fast. They're not going to be around for too long. But I liked it. And I also liked so the facing roles, I realised they don't fit every system. But
Snyders Return:yeah. Well, respect to that. And you gave your take on Jim Indian, would you have any advice for people gamemasters looking to run either Coriolis force environment, I accepted, they are separate systems. But any hints tips and and thought processes from yourself? invaluable? Sure. I
Mattias Lilja:mean, there's sort of no way around that you need to understand the game you're going to dm, The Game Master needs to have a fair grasp of the game, not the details. And I think what I like to do, what I also suggest is you talk having a talk a good talk before the game starts, either in the form of a sort of session zero, when everybody doesn't have to be a session, you can do it over email or whatever. But get everybody on board with who the characters are, why they are together, and also find out. I mean, I have people in my guys in my groups, all of them that are better with the rule system than I am. And I wrote some of those systems. So I lean on them quite a lot to make, I need you to we're in a situation, I don't know what happens, I'm looking at that person and say, you understand the system very well, what would be the appropriate thing in this situation and have them be the judge of that, even though they're actually also playing. And, and I always tried to be open with all the roles and everything. So there's no secrets, what's going on, on my side, if I roll poorly, well, they were lucky. If I, if I wrote like a god, it's not just their day, right? I don't care, the system should be able to handle it. So be transparent and talk to involve your players in the in the game, especially if they're more experienced, they probably they can take in, they can switch roles between like being now supporting the game as a whole. And now I'm playing my character. quickly what which of your players want to do that and can not so I would not, I would fret too much I would talk I would read up on the system, talk to my players and try to involve them as much as they can in the actual game would be my to tune to it. It's more fun. It's also easing your burden and lowering the burden on the on the GM is, is good because that's often a blocker to to gaming, you know, y'all feel that you have to prepare, like a lot. And if you can lessen the burden on that, that's good. I guess the final thing, because I've become when I was younger, I was more interested in I often have an end in mind that I want to happen. And I've given up on that tirely because the best endings are the ones that just happen. So it's also for me, let's see where this goes. Yeah, definitely. I think that that that that frees me to think that and follow the I've always followed the initiative from the players and all that but being more like I'm absolutely fine if the grand finale fight I look forward to never happens because they solve the problem in some other way. And so again, but back to if you prepare everything in detail, maybe you want it to happen, but if you have a slightly so that's usually how I think the game when everybody's surprised. I think it's usually the best. So those are the best sessions. That was really smart. You guys made it instead of fighting that when you're ready to deal with that one, huh? Think about That's excellent. That's one with that, that this is what happens.
Snyders Return:Definitely. I guess that's what happens when X amount of players are combined against a single dmdm. Mind. Yeah, of course. Yeah. And you mentioned they're freeing, freeing up the dmdm. And allowing them to sort of run the game better. using that word as a tenuous link. so busy, Coriolis, building towards the next release, stuff out there all the time, plus the community content symbolism going through the 5g transition, and having more core books out for itself. So you're clearly very busy. What is it? Do you do with your free to? Do you get free time? Do you get downtime?
Mattias Lilja:Sure, I have a family. I live out in the archipelago outside of Stockholm. So now, summer's coming. So I've got my kids, my wife, you may, you may exercise, I try to do all of that used to meet friends. But I'll get back to that. It's about planning. And then they're not they're, you know, working like if I like working, but it can't be too much. That's sort of sucks the joy out of it. So, but, again, it's one of those I guess I like to keep, I like to keep busy. And something sometimes, as I said, I run campaigns, in games themselves developing. So of course, it's free time. But it's also when I start to come back to start working, I probably have a couple of ideas that came up that that should be there should be an option or that we need to look at Or how about this adventure? I didn't do? You know, so you caught you create a create a feedback loop around my own games by playing them that's actually really helpful,
Snyders Return:but actually sort of makes it its own question. If I may, your sort of creative process, say, you think of the next adventure for Coriolis are all one of the other systems you're working on? Do you jump on the computer and write it all out? Your bullet pointed? Do you put it on post it notes in 200 million places? What's your what's your creative process to bring these games to life?
Mattias Lilja:Well, I like to my preferred is to not overdo the first draft, but create it pretty quickly. The process we have inside free league is we pitch an idea. We tried to get enough stakeholders on it so we can start working out almost like a pre production where drafted were really like this is what I'm thinking, What's your guy's thought on that, to try to get the sort of iteration going quite fast. It's good for me is I'm not for those who just want to go retreat into my chambers and be gone for a long time and come out with a finished piece of work. That's not me. And I'm more of a reaching out. And this is my idea. That also means I need to, I need to swallow some of my pride, because I know that what I'm coming with isn't super good yet. And I want feedback. So I'm like paratis Be gentle, but be straight shoot straight, right? I want to know what's, what's up with this? What can what can be cooler and what needs to go or all of that. And what, what happened was that I'm not as sensitive anymore, because I've done a lot. So I can I can. So the answer is I tried. I actually, I, I usually try to scope the idea early, like what is it? How long is it going to be? What's the purpose of this thing. But I also have a separate many separate documents that were just called seen and just write it down? Or this is an MPC that should exist somewhere, or where are we not doing anything with? Like, I want this basic says Roman in combat, murder, and then, you know, give me like, I have no idea why it's there. There's like a scene where I felt like, I'm not gonna make a game about Roman Cameron's murder, but I might like, okay, so there's a military camp, there's some stuff in it might you know, it might come up. So I have a there are two parts of it. One is pretty structured when I want to do something and the other is like, more of a, like a dot a stick poem almost just flows with stuff that I think at one point thought could be a cool idea. So if I if I, if I'm running, if I run out of ideas, I usually go there. Yeah. If any of that makes sense. So those two sides to it.
Snyders Return:Yeah, that's that's brilliant. And with so much fantastic. 3d publishing content out for Coriolis with most of the icons coming soon. will say at time of recording. Yes.
Mattias Lilja:We're working on right now. We have other people I'm not actually driving that. We have other people running it. I'm involved. But the heavy lifting is done by Erica and Troy and the guy who made the second part of it last declared, he's also going to do the majority of the third. instalment looking really good. So we he basically sent me his full draft or treatment, and then we work that through and he started. So let's go back and forth. That's how we like to do it. I'm not really sure. I would give you a release date. If I have one. We're talking about end of this year early next will be my sort of guests. Most like, just past next, pass the holidays. Next year, I would I would
Snyders Return:assume something to look forward to. Definitely at the end of Yeah,
Mattias Lilja:I think it's going to be the end of the campaign. It's been, it's been going going places. So some some really old and nasty forces are coming back and and all the all the factions are striking. You're finding new alliances. So it's a it's an intriguing and action, action heavy thing.
Snyders Return:Yeah, absolutely. So with that to look forward to, and plenty of stuff in the core book and and the other two thirds of the trilogy adventure out there for groups to really get engaged with. You know, that's, that's all out there on the line. So we've spoken about that and touched on symbology. Is there anything that we haven't spoken about ttrpg wise that you would like to bring up at this point of the interview?
Mattias Lilja:Now you've, you've asked the question, I thought you did that a few smart ones that I didn't see coming. I appreciate. Thank you. No, I think that's, that sums up where I am right now, pretty much. And we should probably get together at some other time where some of the things we're working on behind the scenes can can stand the light of day to talk about that.
Snyders Return:That would be amazing. Absolutely. I will keep in contact with with the south and ball and it'd be fantastic to have you back on the show. Love to have to return. So links to freely publishing and the Coriolis stuff will be in the links below this podcast. So please go and follow those links, go and check out Coriolis view groups in barroom as well, taking a different approach to some amazing fantasy law in divakar. But as it's been absolute pleasure to have you and I look forward to speaking to you again, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for listening. If you'd like to learn more about the show, then go to WWW dot Snow's return.squarespace.com Alternatively, you can find us over on Twitter. At Return Snyder, you have a link tree link in the description of this episode. And if you want to support us, come and join us over on Patreon. And we also have a Discord server. Please leave us a review because we'd love to learn how to improve the channel and provide better content alpha for those who are listening until we until we speak again. Thank you