Legend in the Mist was designed to lunge for D&D’s throat

City of Mist was always one of those tabletop RPGs you see recommended in every subreddit, thread, and forum post where beleaguered players would beg for alternatives to Dungeons & Dragons. At first blush, the crime noir, whose characters moonlight as reborn gods and legends, seems an odd fit. But the lasting popularity of its Powered by the Apocalypse-style design has quietly propelled Son of Oak from a one-game outfit to a studio that believes it can take a serious bite out of D&D’s audience.

At least, that’s what founder Amit Moshe told Rascal during a recent interview. Moshe and Son of Oak’s team are enjoying a rash of wins over the past couple of years. City of Mist is preparing to release Local Legends, a collection of nine new, stylized boroughs expanding the eponymous City, along with one-shot adventures set amidst their streets. Son of Oak reportedly scouted the best talent currently working in tabletop to represent a diversity of cultures and backgrounds.

The studio’s third official title, :Otherscape, is a “mythic cyberpunk” engine and setting that trades one pulpy genre’s trappings for another, but purportedly cleaves to the studio’s penchant for character-focused, dramatic storytelling. It’s a problematic literary tradition, one Moshe claims to be fully cognizant of, and he says the team isn’t stepping blithely into a ‘80s/’90s Shadowrun situation. :Otherscape’s engine will form the foundation of Legend in the Mist, an upcoming fantasy RPG that Moshe discussed with a tone halfway between reverence and a performer’s anticipation. Rustic and a little gritty, Legend in the Mist is an intentional fantasy heartbreaker that Moshe believes is happening at exactly the right time. Amidst it all, Son of Oak’s leader expressed faith in the direction and pace of his modest studio. 

This interview has been edited for clarity and flow.