Matt Wilson is the creative director of Privateer Press. He and Brian Snoddy lay at the very foundation of the world that now has grown into the Iron Kingdoms (IK). As such, Matt's been one of the driving forces behind all of the developments in the IK world, and specifically the brand-new IK Character Guide (IKCG) and the upcoming IK World Guide (IKWG) - 2 source books for the IK role-playing game.
Although it's whispered that he hasn't taken a single day off for the past 2 years, he kindly agreed to spend some of his scarce spare time on this interview, so we could ask him about the IK and all the work put into it.
First of all, now that the Character Guide is complete and the World Guide is taking shape: how do you look back on what has become of the Iron Kingdoms?
I'm thrilled with how the IK has developed. Taking an extra year to work on the IKCG and flesh out the world to our satisfaction was a difficult pill to swallow, but one in the end that will allow us to realize the goals we set for this book(s). Over the two volumes, readers will get an incredibly comprehensive description of the world. I believe we'll be forgiven for taking the time that was required to put such a project together. Even as the creative director, I have been surprised myself at particular details or developments that made it into the book, and I relish all of them. I can't wait to read the IKCG from cover to cover on my own!
In the end, this will be the book we set out to do, and I think we will have little regret or reservation about the time it took, as we're leaving nothing out.
One main difference is that it's about twice as large. We never intended a two volume setting, but it did turn into that. The world evolved some as it developed as well.
What role did you play in forging the Iron Kingdoms?
I've spearheaded the development of the world since Brian Snoddy and I originally sat out on my back porch nearly four years ago, smoking cigars and musing that it would be fun to make some RPG material. I created the characters and plotted out the storyline of the Witchfire series, in addition to art directing and setting the look of the world to come. I have acted as a creative director on the world from the Monsternomicon and on every product since, as well as leading all of the concepting of the look of the environment, characters, etc. In the end, everything that has gone into our books has somehow been guided by the vision that I've set forth for the products and the setting.
Is there a unique Matt Wilson mark on the world?
Well, it's impossible to identify any one unique mark, as basically, I've overseen the entire effort. Before it sounds like I can't get my head through a door though, I must add that none of this could have been achieved alone. The first step would have never been taken, were it not for the collaboration and inspiration of Brian Snoddy, who continues to illustrate the world in a way that only he can. Joe Martin, our EIC has strictly controlled the continuity of the environment, and managed a crack team of writers, to achieve a level of quality in our books that is simply amazing. Every writer or artist who has worked with us has contributed greatly to the final, end result, adding detail, originating concepts, and expanding the vision to become a living, breathing entity in itself.
Discovering the Witchfire trilogy only after we've started playing WARMACHINE, we quickly found out that steamjacks were there from the beginning, only almost as a sidenote or an afterthought. How did you come up with them and their workings (and the colossals before)? Did you specifically want to include gigantic steel behemoths in a fantasy setting from the very start?
In the very, very, beginning, we set out to make generically compatible D&D adventures that anyone could use. Our primary focus was the quality of the products, and that we would introduce some interesting new races, like the Trollkin. Steamjacks were not on the block until a short time later.
We always knew we wanted to include firearms, and an appropriate level of technology. As discussions of the setting ensued, we realized that we all appreciated a higher level of technology, and shortly, we found ourselves in the midst of an industrial revolution. Steamjacks made an entrance, and with that, mechanika. The world took shape, and we suddenly realized that it wasn't generic D&D anymore. We'd created a world setting and it needed a name. Brian proposed 'The Iron Kingdoms', which fit only too well.
How did you flesh out the steamjacks? And who came up with warcasters?
We knew right away that 'modern' steamjacks were the smaller evolution of their colossal predecessors. Much of this was for the sake of imagery - note the giant head, overgrown in the swamp in Shadow of the Exile. Warcasters were the last part of the equation. We imagined what warfare in the IK would look like with these massive metal soldiers. They needed commanders that were special, so I developed the idea of a warcaster and how they would interact with the warjacks in battle. This quickly led the way to WARMACHINE. The big building blocks of the setting really came together quite quickly. We rolled with what felt natural to us, what we found exciting, and what we believed people wanted out of fantasy today.
How volatile is the world of the IK? Should we expect major events changing the history or the power equilibrium?
For us, the IK is in constant motion. We have a grand story arc planned, and the major events of the world will follow that. But the story of the IK will unfold over time, through the RPG, WARMACHINE, and any other products that we do. We're not setting out to do a player-interactive-living-environment. Rather, we're telling a story. You can jump into it any time you want, and experience this grand epic from a variety of viewpoints. Years from now, there will be a history, and events, and things that people have seen change and grow. Every product we do will move the story a bit further in time, but at our pace, and not at any predetermined increments.
For instance, WARMACHINE: Escalation, covers a year in the Iron Kingdoms, picking up after the events of the Witchfire Trilogy. Future RPG books will reveal new information about the ever changing political landscape of the IK, and war will leave its mark. Things you take for granted will be gone, maybe before you even have a chance to realize that you'll miss them. The Iron Kingdoms isn't going to be just a setting, it's an experience, and one that will be enjoyed over time.
Great! A planned out overall plot does wonders for the setting. Consistency is a prime requisite for us players to really get into a world. Are the writers, modelers and illustrators as enthusiastic, though? How free are they to colour the world like they want?
The big arc is planned, yes. At least to a certain point. Grand events will take place as the setting unfolds over various platforms and mediums. The nature of a property like this, though, is to sustain its life by continually breathing new life into it. That means you have to be adaptable, reactive, and willing to evolve. It also means you can't plan out every single detail ahead of time. We've set way points or road markers. We're at point A. We're heading toward point B, then C, etc.
With Escalation, for instance, we've completed the journey between A and B. We have a vague idea of what lies before us on the next leg, but we know the final destination, so the rest is filling in the details. And that's the hard part - God is in the details, as they say.
When we work with writers or artists, we give them a strong guiding hand to shape the world to be a single, cohesive vision. If a writer strays in a direction that doesn't 'feel' like the Iron Kingdoms, we guide them back to the vision... or shoot a harpoon in their leg and drag them back, in some instances. We try to work with people that 'get it'. Not everyone grasps the nuances of the Iron Kingdoms and WARMACHINE, and some creators often slip into what I would call 'traditional fantasy', which is often counter to the IK vision.
Many people have had an opportunity to influence the world development in a variety of ways, though few have done so on the first pass. In large part, the final results people see are the products of a collective effort guided by a singular vision. In terms of creative freedom, I wouldn't say that there's a lot of lateral room. If you want freedom, you go off and do your own thing. What the IK offers is a chance to carve one's name into a project bigger than just one person. It's a great thing to get to be a part of, on any level.
What about technical progress in the IK? The development from a steam engine to a train to a 'jack to a tank is possibly not that unimaginable. Will we get an arms race, in which the current 'jacks will soon be outclassed by the newly invented?
The IK is founded on the concept of an arms race. The Orgoth had more powerful magic and weapons, so the people of Western Immoren developed mechanika and warjacks. Once the fighting turned inward, that same technology accelerated in an attempt to best the enemy. Like the real world, war inspires progress. Already, new technologies are making their way into the environment. Cygnar, for instance, has been doing some remarkable things with electricity lately...
Does this mean that magic will slowly come to fall under the axe of technological advance?
Magic cannot be abandoned. It is a fundamental core principal of the Iron Kingdoms that magic is a science, and in every way goes hand in hand with technology. Steamjacks, for instance, are not possible without the magically created cortexes that give them autonomy. Traditional fantasy has seen magic and technology as opposed disciplines. In the Iron Kingdoms, though, they are combined to a better end. Magic and tech go together like wine and cheese.
How should we see races and factions mixing? Are Khadorans often seen in Cygnar? And does an elf strolling around in a Menoth city solicit strange looks? At the moment, the setting has a somewhat reclusive or even xenophobic feel to it, with the several lands enveloped in a web of intrigue, politics and mistrust.
We're trying to make the world feel real. As a result, human nature must be modeled into the political scene. You'd never see an elf walking around a Protectorate city. But nationalities cross boarders, citizens defect to other countries, and people do what they can to make a good life for themselves. Not every kingdom can provide every commodity, so the web of trade in the IK is especially important. However, in the end, the kingdoms are very distinct in their cultures, and this of course will be preserved. You can see, though, like in the real world, 'ethnicity' and 'nationality' are two different things, and 'ethnicity' will often cross borders, creating interesting cultural biases and situations.
The thing to understand about the IK is that we want it to feel like it really could exist. That means accepting some things that might not be idealistic regarding the truth of human nature. It means that we're not throwing everything into a big happy fantasy blender, or giving equal opportunity to every gobber, trollkin and ogrun in the IK. There is prejudice, discrimination, religious persecution, and political conflict. These are the elements that make great stories.
There's a lot of military information in the IK as well. Do you specifically focus on hierarchy and structure of the world you're creating?
We've all always been fiends for detail. The militaries play a major part in the epic conflicts, and so get a great deal of attention. But everything gets attention to detail in the IK - look at the slang list in the Primer for instance, or explanations of mundane topics such as the origin of a 'league' in the Witchfire books.
Is there something you like best in the IK setting? Something you're just not able to delegate to anyone else? Your own 'baby' in the IK that no one may touch?
What I do is control the big picture. Many people are filling in the details and making the world live and breath. My goal is to make sure Doug Seacat's work is fitting with Bryan Steele's work, and that the minis game feels like it's in the same world as the RPG. I've given the broad strokes to the story line, and set up those A, B, and C road stops.
In terms of details though, I wouldn't say there's one thing that I own, except for the visual concepts, most of which aren't seen until they've been rendered by someone else. I do most of the design work for the models in WARMACHINE, and I've set the look and feel to the costumes of various nations.
I'm also very character oriented, so I spend a lot of time molding the individual characters, especially the warcasters of WARMACHINE, as I believe they are in the end, the force that drives the setting and the story. Alexia was another character I spent a great deal of time on, directing her character arc so that she could transform and grow over time. So... visuals and characters. That's my direct influence. Once in a while, I throw in some fluff, and of course, I do a decent portion of the finished artwork, but my biggest efforts are probably more behind the scenes.
How do you playtest an entire new setting and character classes? How do you balance stuff?
People. We have fantastic people. There are a number of close groups that we rely on for playtesting, checking continuity, and keeping us on track. Will we fumble somewhere? Most likely. We're human, after all. But we've done our best to surround ourselves with likeminded, intelligent individuals that add to the quality of the products we make. It's a whole world, in the end, and even the leaders of our real world can't keep everything straight all the time. We do our best, and we greatly value the input of the folks who have helped us along the way.
Will there be any crossover between WARMACHINE and the RPG? Events happening in the IK world influencing the powers on the WARMACHINE game, or vice versa?
There is no separation between WARMACHINE and the Iron Kingdoms RPG in terms of storyline. They exist in the same time and space, and the same characters are present. The difference is the focus. WARMACHINE focuses on warcasters and the grand conflicts that span the continent of Western Immoren. The RPG focuses on the independent adventurer, existing among that backdrop of a war torn landscape. Every product we create will take a different angle on the world, but it will always be the same world.
With the IKCG out, what's the status of Lock&Load (L&L)? Is it rendered obsolete and should we advise new players to buy the new book(s)?
Originally, we set out not to make L&L obsolete in any way. In the end, we found that in order to give the players the best value, much of that information would make it into the new IKCG, particularly because of all the updating that was necessary for the 3.5 rules. L&L is an outstanding value, and serious IK players will most likely be glad to have both. However, the IKCG and the IKWG will be comprehensive, and it will not be necessary to have the Primer to play in the IK setting. The Primer will be out of print very soon, and there are no plans to reprint it at this time.
What's next on the release schedule? Should we expect faction or campaign related books, monster/equipment guides, new character classes, or something else?
The next book will be the Iron Kingdoms World Guide. Where the IKCG is about characters and crunchy bits, the IKWG will be about the world setting in general, the history, the politics, the commerce, the cities, etc. It will be background and 'fluff' with less crunch, and more 'ahhhhh'. Following that, we'll finally see the 3.5 compilation of the Witchfire Trilogy. Then it's off to new material: a book that will bring the IK and WARMACHINE into focus together, some new adventures for the IK, the Liber Mechanika - a comprehensive guide to mechanika - and eventually, a second volume of the Monsternomicon. The future will see complete city guides, books on kingdoms, and all manner of resources. Unfortunately, the line will grow over time, as it's impossible to produce everything at once, but we intend to cover every aspect of the Iron Kingdoms in the same detail that has made the books so much fun so far.
Are there any novels planned? Or do we get our fluff solely from source books?
Yes. You heard it here first.
Dates and specifics are to be announced, but they are in the works.
Yowza! And we're already aching for the RPG related minis you announced some time ago. Will you create all major characters from the campaigns? Or should we expect generic Human/Elf/Dwarf/Trollkin/... adventurers? And are these ever going to cross over into WM?
We're starting primarily with PC type models, giving players something they won't be able to find anywhere else. Characters in the IK have a unique look and feel, unavailable from any other manufacturer. So, we're providing adventurer types that are specific to the IK. As well, we're mixing in some of the best monsters from the Monsternomicon, and ultimately, we'll see a number of famous personalities from the Iron Kingdoms show up as well. Many of the models will be based on art existing in current books or coming out in the IKCG. We're bringing what you've seen come to like to life in 3D. The models will be previewing soon and stand beautifully alongside the fantastic range of WARMACHINE figures that we've already established.
Well, thanks for the interview - and getting our expectations up! And a big cheer for the effort you put into creating the game we love to play. It's really appreciated.
(Images courtesy of Privateer Press, except the last one. Ehr... In an odd way, including the last one. Oh, well, what do I know)
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