Keith D Edinburgh won the RPG Publisher Spotlight this month and kindly agreed to a Q&A interview with Geek Native.
Geek Native is based in Edinburgh, so we were awfully curious about that name!
In this interview, we’ve some tips for publishers curious about releasing content under Chaosium’s Miskatonic Repository (MR). We also talk about some of Keith’s other games.
There’s also the chance for you to suggest ideas to Keith, as weird Flashpoint setting guide inputs are being sought.
You can find Keith on DriveThruRPG and via his website. As usual, I’ve put the social links at the bottom of the post.
Who is Keith?
There might be a change of name coming in the future, but it seems like we’ve been a Keith D Edinburgh for a little while yet!
I often start these interviews by asking about the company’s origins and how the people involved met. For you, though, I want to ask about “Keith DEdinburgh” if I may! Is that your name or a brand? Is it D’Edinburgh as in D’Artagnan, ‘Dead-inburgh’, both, or something else? :)
I’ve been Keith D Edinburgh on various socials for years, given that’s (most of) my name and I’m from Edinburgh. Some sites, like DTRPG, only allow one space in a username, so Keith DEdinburgh has stuck and is a ‘brand’ of sorts now. Whilst focusing on Call of Cthulhu, I played on the fact it was to be pronounced ‘Dead-inburgh’, but I quite like the D’Edinburgh version, which makes me sound like the fifth mysterious and slightly sinister Musketeer.
I am considering launching under another brand, but that’s not top of my priority list right now.
How did you get started publishing through DTRPG?
In the summer of 2022, I enrolled in an online ‘Write And Publish An Adventure in 30 Days’ course run by the Storytelling Collective. Its focus was a crunchy syllabus that set the objective of coming up with a scenario, writing it, designing it, playtesting it, then ultimately publishing it in 30 days. It had a number of tracks: one was D&D, another Runequest and the third Call of Cthulhu. I am particularly fond of CoC and came up with a scenario concept set in 1920s Edinburgh called The Pharaoh’s Sacrifice. I published it through the Miskatonic Repository, and it remains my biggest selling product to date (though The Aether Throne is hot on its heels).
After finishing that, I very much caught the writing bug and created 7 more CoC scenarios, some of which are loosely linked into an ‘Edinburgh campaign’ (and a couple of which are novelty one-shots, like The True Housewives of Arkham…)
Call of Cthulhu and the Miskatonic Repository
The Miskatonic Repository is a program from Chaosium that lets writers like Keith design and sell content for Call of Cthulhu legally, and keep some of the profits, too.
What’s it like being part of the Miskatonic Repository? What tips would you have for a Call of Cthulhu fan considering publishing their own titles through it?
The Miskatonic Repository is a great platform, resource and community. There are a couple of Chaosium ‘community ambassadors’ who are always available to answer questions and offer advice.
One tip I would have is to use those fine people wherever possible: particularly as the copyright issues around what you can and can’t self-publish under the MR banner can be a bit murky. People assume all the various Mythos deities and beasties are able to be used, but that’s not the case. Not all of them were the brain-spawn of HP Lovecraft and are still the intellectual property of their authors.
Another tip I’d offer is to join the various communities that exist around the MR on Facebook and Discord – they’re always filled with friendly and helpful souls (and can be a good platform to promote your work too).
Why did you move on to designing your own systems?
Partly because it’s something I always wanted to do. Prior to publishing on DTRPG, I’d dabbled in settings and scenarios for D&D and also developed most of an urban fantasy PbtA hack. After publishing my first few scenarios on DriveThru, the experience I gained gave me the impetus and confidence to tackle something bigger, and I chose to develop my own system & setting. As I’ve always loved steampunk and alt-history stuff, that gave birth to The Aether Throne. Partway through developing it, I wished I’d chosen to do something smaller, but I pushed through with the help of my gaming groups and playtesters and it’s now something I’m proud of. The success of the game also set me on the path of designing more original systems and settings, which I’m now firmly on.
Does that mean you’ve left Call of Cthulhu behind? It doesn’t hold the same dark allure for you as it once did?
Not at all. There are still a couple of scenarios left in the ‘Edinburgh campaign’ I mentioned that I want to publish. It’s a matter of (limited) time and priorities, however. My focus is currently on my own systems & settings, but I will return to CoC – especially as it’s one of my favourite systems and settings of all time.
The steampunk future
As discussed, Keith has built his own systems and settings. I wanted to return to those and scratch a little more at the surface.
You’ve a best seller with The Aether Throne. Congratulations! What’s your quick pitch / description of the game for readers?
Thank you! It’s a pulp steampunk D20 system set in an alt-history version of Victorian Britain. ‘Pulp’ is mainly an excuse for me to use every steampunk cliche going, but players and reviewers have told me they have a blast with it regardless. It includes a playing card / poker hand mechanic to allow heroes to buff and augment things, and has an abstract ‘combat field’ mechanic that allows for tactical encounters without the need for 5×5 grids and the like. The combat field mechanic is something I’ve used in subsequent games, like my Scottish folklore & history setting, Children of the Wyrd.
How does Flashpoint differ?
Flashpoint is intended as a fast-paced system to allow games to be run in any setting. It uses a simple D6 mechanic and a ‘lite’ version of those ‘combat field’ mechanics mentioned above. It’s not tied to any setting, so is more intended as a framework that GMs and players can use to run any kind of game they like. I’m supporting it with modular rules supplements (such as mechanics for spellcasting, vehicles, superpowers and the like) and with ‘setting guides’ that contain worlds, lore and missions that use the Flashpoint core rules. Liberate Mars – a satirical dystopian sci-fi setting and campaign – is the first of those, and I’m currently working on a folk horror setting which sees players take on the role of teens investigating creepy urban legends in a UK council estate in the 1980s.
What do you think a core rulebook needs to do to be a good core rulebook?
Good question. I’ve got examples that are both extremes. The Aether Throne has rules for absolutely everything, including fall damage, airship combat, base building, etc etc. Flashpoint is the opposite — it contains just enough to start playing, and encourages players to collaborate and make up rules on the fly as they play.
Whichever extreme we’re talking about though, I think what makes a good core rulebook is a logical structure, so that it’s obvious where to go to find the character creation rules, the combat mechanics, etc. Make it clear and usable by GMs and players alike, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s 30 pages or 300. Examples of play are also a good thing to include, as those can help bring mechanics to life in an informative way.
The future
A highlight of any interview for me is the chance to look into the future with the publisher and see what’s ahead. In this case, I knew that Keith would be heading to one of the largest tabletop gaming conventions in the UK, which had moved to Edinburgh the previous year. The convention in question is Tabletop Scotland.
It’s still a wee while away but is there anything you’re looking forward to at Tabletop Scotland?
Though I’ve got a couple of regular gaming groups I GM for, the creator path I’ve chosen for myself can be quite an isolated one. TS will give me the chance to mingle with other creators in a face-to-face environment, which is often where the best ideas can spring from.
What are you working on next? Any exclusive news for Geek Native’s readers?
Everything. A Scottish folklore bestiary for Children of the Wyrd. Scenarios for The Aether Throne. Those CoC scenarios I mentioned earlier. Flashpoint modules and setting guides. I try to have 2 things on the go at any one time, which helps stop me getting bored with one project.
No exclusives, I’m afraid, but I’d welcome suggestions for a Flashpoint ‘setting guide’ from readers … give me an idea (the weirder the better), and I’ll create it!
Keith D Edinburgh
- Keith’s website.
- Keith D Edinburgh on DriveThruRPG.
- Keith D Edinburgh on Instagram.
- Keith D Edinburgh on Facebook.
- Keith D Edinburgh on X.
