Many threads came together in the years 2005-2006. One of them was the continued magnetism of cross-genre games, this time with Etherscope. Another was the Dungeon Crawl Classics line of pewter miniatures. 

Etherscope (2005) is another game published by Goodman Games but developed by outside designers, in this case Brits Nigel McClelland and Ben Redmond. The game envisions a world where the fifth Platonic element, Ether, is discovered by Victorian scientists, giving the British Empire a technological edge that extends its power and influence into an alternate historical timeline. Based on the d20 Modern rules, it’s a very steampunk world of difference engines and Etherspace demons and Scope cities (essentially Ether-driven cyberspace hubs). The corebook establishes a unique look, a fusion of Victorian and Art Nouveau aesthetics that is crisp, new and unlike anything else on the market at the time.

“It was great! Victorian steampunk mixed with The Matrix,” says Goodman. “I always enjoyed the cross-genre stuff, so it fit in with Dinosaur Planet and Dragonmech.” It was successful enough to support five releases beyond the core rules, lasting until 2007 when general weakness in the d20 market led to slowing sales. As ever, it’s the core book that makes the money and the supplements that eventually lose it. 

The line led Joe to an important idea. As was common practice then, the core book was first published in hardcover, which sold out. Around the same time, the game garnered an ENnie Award nomination for Best d20 Product. “I'm gonna give myself a pat on the back,” he says, laughing, “This was me understanding how distributors and retailers worked. I realized if I just reprinted the same book, they treat it as a restock, and I'd sell a small number, but if I made it a brand-new SKU as a softcover, I'd get initial stocking orders and sell more. And I thought that would do better, especially if it had the big sunburst saying it was ENnie-nominated. Of course, regular book publishers have been doing this since forever, but in our little niche industry, it felt like a big innovation.”

The idea of reprinting a core rulebook in a softcover format would come around again for Goodman Games in important ways later.

The miniatures line was something of an evolutionary marker. Pewter miniatures were nearing the end of their era as 3D printing and cheap mass-produced plastic miniatures were taking hold. Soon Kickstarter would completely change the miniatures market. But for a few years around 2005-2006, the DCC minis line had a good run. Here are a few photos from that era.