So, I broke The Flats down into a series of books because
- It became so large that it got unwieldy.
- It became so large that it was going to be too expensive.
- It became so large that it was hard to navigate.
- It became so large that it just made sense to somehow separate at least some of the information from the corebook.
I knew going in that this was going to be a sprawling mess of disheveled notes, overwritten entries, and high concept ideas - some of which might not land. So I did everything I could think of to both bring my vision to digital print while making it as accessible to as many gaming groups as possible. I also wanted it to be modular, so you could plunk it down in your existing campaign without much problem, so breaking it into smaller parts fit that mold, too.
The sequel is much stronger than the main entry, but even though I didn't really expect that since they were largely written at the same time, it makes sense that I would learn a few things from the first one. In fact, that's another reason I broke them into separate entries: To make a few mistakes early-on where it matters less.
Now that the heavy-lifting is done and the corebook is out there, I can delve into all the fascinating details that make mine a setting worth using. Not only is it the only one like it available, it's actually pretty good. I use it myself when I play HERO urban fantasy; it is literally my campaign setting.
My goal is to bring a lot of related products to market to support The Flats as best I can, even after I have moved on to other content, which I plan to do after a suitable time. I would love to bring some of my ideas to other systems, where I think they better fit the material. Some of these include Chill, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Call of Cthulhu, and even some D&D.
In the 1980s and 90s, the cartoons were advertisements for the toy lines on which they were based, such as was the case with Dungeons & Dragons. In some cases, such as The Smurfs, the cartoon came first but I don't think that was the norm. Despite the amount of sci-fantasy, Dungeontubers, and cartoons I watch, I don't see many commercials targeting my interest in these subjects. Were I to create a marketing campaign for The Flats, I really wouldn't even know where to place it.
Nowadays, it seems the majority of new players come from video games (not that it's a bad thing). The direct pipeline between print media and motion pictures, and TTRPG just doesn't seem to exist anymore - and certainly does not exist to the extent that it once did.
Apparently, D&D has already licensed the name to a streaming channel or is otherwise trying to establish a Dungeons & Dragons brand streaming presence. This may have been around for a while, but I just discovered it. It has what you would likely put on there if you ran it: Some liveplay shows and the 1980s cartoon, but it also has a cooking show and who knows what else (like I said, I just found it). I figured this was a direction they were going at some point, regardless, and it beats slot machines.
Although that appears to be all there is right now, a trivia game show would be nice. As would a curated movie selection. I wouldn't fault them showing some fare like Xena or Legend of the Seeker, even though they aren't specific to D&D the way licensed/branded shows will be. And a revival of that cartoon show would be amazing. Either way, I've decided to give it a few days to see what I think of it. It may be on Pluto, but I came across it on Prime Live.
© The Weirding, 2025
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