RPGWatch Feature - Monomyth Interview

Myrthos

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Farflame reached out to Rat Tower Software to talk about their game Monomyth, a dungeon crawler in the spirit of Ultima Underworld and which can still be backed for a few hours on Kickstarter.

RPGWatch: Could you briefly compare the world of Monomyth with common fantasy worlds? For example, are there some of the usual fantasy races present? (and will they appear in the game?) Is it low / high fantasy? Do avatars of gods roam the realm?

Rat Tower: Monomyth is set in the world of Ariath. Unlike most fantasy worlds, Ariath is in the process of drawing its last, long-winded breath - at least, from a cosmological perspective. From a human perspective, there is still plenty of time to conquer a broken world that is slowly becoming more and more hostile to its inhabitants. The everlasting storms and ash rain make life on the surface very difficult. This forces people to live underground in isolated fortresses. Many of these fortresses form their own cultures and languages, even though they are just a few miles apart. Some fortresses are better connected than others - for example via extensive systems of caves and tunnels. This naturally makes them better equipped to deal with the dangers that lurk in the underground as well as on the surface - at least as long as they stick together. Conflict and intrigue are fairly common between allied fortresses and some have been wiped out for good as a result.

Demi-humans, are a rarity and often (voluntarily) live in separation. Due to historical reasons, their relationship with humans is quite strained. Nevertheless, some of them - most prominently the dwarvish varieties - act as mediators and messengers between human factions. You will encounter at least one of these individuals in Monomyth.

The gods play a major role in the world of Ariath. Just like languages and cultures, distinct religious sects form in almost every fortress. There are plenty of legends and rumors about deities revealing themselves to mortals or even speaking directly through them. It is a matter of speculation how much of this is true though.
More information.
 
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Great interview, thanks @Farflame;! :)

It's very good timing too, with his kickstarter ending in 20 hours or so, and it looks pretty successful. It must be quite a lot of work for one person!
 
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Ah, Ultima Underground, the groundbreaking subway RPG with difficult moral choices... do you let the turnstile jumper go, or push them onto the tracks?

(Sorry, couldn't resist pouncing on the typo - hoping Myrthos has a sense of humor!)
 
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I backed it shortly after the campaign started after playing the demo. Can't wait to see how it turns out. It's been a long time since anything on Kickstarter impressed me enough to throw in.
 
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This looks promising, even though I'm not someone who has been into this particular niche of rpg genre.

I like that you are only one person, not a group. As far as I know, you usually play as a party of adventurers typically and in first person view, which always felt "off" to me when I would browse these type of games in the past.

Nice classic dungeons design, and the skeleton foes, as well as the combat, look pretty cool too.

Not going to back it, but will be a customer if I hear good things after it gets released.
 
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Ah, Ultima Underground, the groundbreaking subway RPG with difficult moral choices… do you let the turnstile jumper go, or push them onto the tracks?

(Sorry, couldn't resist pouncing on the typo - hoping Myrthos has a sense of humor!)
Typo? What typo? :)
 
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