Hi everyone, we've got some big updates for the scifi system, and some related tweaks for the fantasy system, and an announcement about the future of sabre.
Let's just get that big announcment out of the way. I've signed a deal with a US publisher for my series of fantasy novels which are being edited and touched up at this moment! This basically means I'm now a professional novelist, which unfortunately means I no longer have time to continue the artwork for the system, specifically the bestiary. Thankfully I managed to finish the scifi system before this came along!
I'm still running games and tweaking things as necessary, but I won't be doing any more major updates to the system for the foreseeable future. I had planned on adding genetics to the scifi system, and a siege warfare section, more maps, modules etc, but yeah, obligations come first. On the plus side, there's a posibility that I'll be able to pay someone else to finish/redo the art, we'll have to see how things go.
Science!
Okay, scifi updates. Firstly, a new species that is *highly* experimental (i.e. hasn't been playtested yet) is the Veiran. Here's a shiny picture :D
They're sentient, psychic virus clouds with a partial physical presence in the world, held together by force of will (and science!) The original idea was for a sort of energy-based life form, but how they'd interact with the physical world proved to make it rather complex to use. So they're a virus and therefore physical in nature, but they can generate electrical charges and concentrate their gaseous form to manipulate physical objects. They're also able to infect and even take over non-sentient animals and machines for a brief time too, so they should be pretty exciting to play! My beta team and I are experienced enough to balance things in advance (at a theoretical level), but you never know how things will work out, so I *think* they should be fine, but might end up being too weak or too strong. We can always adjust things later :)
As a consequence, the Mentari have lost their native psychic skill, but they've retained their innate telepathy ability which now works more effectively. They now have a native science skill instead, which fits much better with the bonus traits which tend to be crafting related.
The carapan species have lost their temperature related bonus, which proved to be based too much on the whims of the GM, so instead, they have a new gem-based ability which functions a lot like medicines and nanotech, giving them a lot more flexibility. As such, the prospecting and gem tables have been expanded for more granularity in gem and jewel types, which works for regular gameplay as well as for this species.
Otherwise, there's a lot of calibration of numbers and clarifying of concepts throughout the manual, as noted in the changelog notes below. That's all for this month, have fun!
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v2.83 Sabre Fantasy Premium Core Rulebook
* Bodkin arrows are now more expensive.
* Added bolt of cloth (silk) to the tools list.
* Expanded the gem and jewels table for more granular results, including the prospecting table.
* 'Fast Mover' manoeuvre bonus has been reduced to -10%.
* Added 'Counterpunch' martial arts manoeuvre.
* 'Solid Defence' martial arts manoeuvre grants +2 SIZ increases instead of 1.
* Changed all references to mail into chain (chain shirt etc).
* Expanded the 'Teach' skill to cover talents and manoeuvres.
v1.68 Sabre Fantasy Basic Core Rulebook
* Bodkin arrows are now more expensive.
* Added bolt of cloth (silk) to the tools list.
* Expanded the gem and jewels table for more granular results.
* 'Fast Mover' manoeuvre bonus has been reduced to -10%.
* Changed all references to mail into chain (chain shirt etc).
* Expanded the 'Teach' skill to cover talents and manoeuvres.
v1.01 Sabre Scifi Core Rulebook
New Stuff!
* Added high-tech arrows/bolts.
* Added Shock Grenade.
* Added bolt of cloth (silk) to the tools list.
* Added 'Advanced Bowstring' modern and high-tech weapon mod.
* Added 'Nanobot Gun' device.
* Added 'Repair Bots' nanotech.
* Added 'Heavy Plating' and 'Ammo Feed' upgrades to Improvised Armour invention.
* Added 'Reactive Armour' upgrade for vehicles.
* Added 'Missile Rack' upgrade for powered armour.
* Added 'Crystal Alchemy' carapan talent to enable them to gain special effects from all sorts of gems.
* Added Veiran ship design philosophy.
* Added the formula for Silksteel to the large fabricator description.
* Added the Veiran species.
* Added 'Fortify Hull' ship upgrade and added space for Damage Reduction to the defence sheet.
* Added 'Stealth Mode' vehicle upgrade.
Changes
* Healing skill is used for installing cybernetics even on androids.
* Networking talent now specifically mentions robots, sentry turrets and starship turrets.
* Incendiary grenades are more expensive and deal 1d20+4 damage.
* Bodkin arrows and Explosive-tipped arrows are now more expensive.
* Damage dice progression goes from 1d20 to 2d12 (instead of 3d10).
* Added information to the crafting section on what's needed to craft explosives.
* Noted under fabricator details that modern ammunition uses the Improvised Ammuniton invention info to produce ammo, but in half the listed time.
* Increased the damage on Plasma cannons and railguns.
* Silksteel armour is now appropriately priced for its crafting materials.
* Exoskeletons now list the benefits of being built from exotic materials.
* Combat Expertise talent now correctly lists Heavy Weapons skill as an option.
* Added information about a vehicle's agility bonus to the chassis and vehicle combat sections, as well as starship Reactions and Ramming sections.
* Micro power cells are now correctly listed as 0 ENC, and Large Power Cells are 3 ENC.
* Full-auto shotgun clips now have 30 shells.
* Increased STR bonus for Improvised Armour invention.
* 'Improved Ride' vehicle upgrade is now called 'Off-Road Suspension', for wheeled vehicles only.
* Robot fist upgrades remove the use of Unarmed-class weapons.
* Saw blades robot upgrade now gives only +1 DM.
* Demolition Rig robot upgrade now gives a +2 damage bonus instead of damage modifier.
* Electronic and Mechanical Engineering talents now only require 2 Parts per HP to make engines, correctly based on their Armour Points not their Hit Points (which they don't have).
* 'Impair Movement' archery and thrown weapon talent doesn't affect vehicles.
* 'Sideswipe' vehicle manoeuvre changed so that you take only half of the collision damage.
* Carapan are nourished for one day for every 10cr of gem value, increased from 5cr.
* Removed the benefits of low temperatures for carapan.
* Expanded the gem and jewels table for more granular results, including the prospecting table.
* Noted that piloting a ship in space without the Space Pilot talent incurs a -20% skill penalty.
* Increased the chassis weight on Heavy Duty and larger vehicle chassis.
* Increased the damage on the 'Compact Explosive' invention to 1d8+8
* Added information about the time to get into and out of an exoskeleton.
* Removed the 'Weapon Brace' powered armour upgrade.
* Upgrades to powered armour must be of the same material type.
* The 'Heavy Duty Suspension' powered armour upgrade applies to both legs.
* Corrected prices and stats for Heavy Disruptors, Interceptor missiles, Heavy & Light missile pods and 20mm cannon.
* MLRS Now uses heavy missiles and its clip size is larger.
* 'Fast Mover' manoeuvre bonus has been reduced to -10%.
* Added description for the 'Detonate' ability.
* Diamondback talent and robot Armour Plating upgrades means you are effectively wearing medium armour for the purposes of qualifying for light armour talents and manoeuvres.
* Mentari have lost their native psychic abilities, and gained the science skill by default. Their species manoeuvre uses Resolve instead of Psychic.
* Clarified 'Bio Enhancer' 'Efficient Conduits' upgrade.
* Added a note in the Raising Attributes section on raising attributes when using cybernetics.
* Added a note on what the 'Bypass' weapon trait does.
* 'Counterpunch' martial arts manoeuvre cannot be defended against.
* 'Solid Defence' martial arts manoeuvre grants 2 SIZ increases instead of 1.
* 'Mneumonic Enhancer' cyber upgrade gives WIL instead of INT.
* Reactor upgrades now also increase reactor fuel usage for every 5 installed.
* Increased slot requirement for Particle Accelerator and Mass Driver ship weapons.
* 'Berserker', 'Bloodlust' and 'Righteous Fury' talents sap Spirit Points instead of applying fatigue when used by automatons or androids.
* AMT's and industrial fabricators can create clothing from bolts of cloth.
* A full set of armour plating on an exoskeleton grants immunity to suppression effects.
* Ship hulls now have a baseline atmospheric speed listed for each one. Moved 'stardrive range' reference to the stardrive system, since it's the same for every hull.
* All basic hulls are 'Open Form' type, but you can choose a Streamline hull which doubles listed Atmo speed but reduces slots.
* Thruster Upgrades now grant +50% to atmo speed.
* Changed all references to mail into chain (chain shirt etc).
* Noted the time required for the vehicle repair system to work.
* Corrected references to nanotech which still listed titanium as a requirement (now says circuits).
* Expanded the 'Teach' skill to cover talents and manoeuvres.
* Masterwork Toolkits are now know as Specialist Toolkits (to differentiate with masterwork items).
* Increased the weight of Large and Very Large chassis.
* Increased the slot requirements for the two largest engine sizes.
* Increased the power output of the smallest engines by +5.
v1.01 Sabre Scifi Encounters
* Updated incorrect instances of the Targeting System upgrade on robot templates.
* Fixed AP calculations for robot templates.
* Fixed a link that erroneously read 'Venator Prowler', renamed to 'Crook'.
* Updated instances of Two Weapons and Dual Wield talents on npcs, removed Twin Weapon Defence.
* Updated templates for all modern ground electric vehicles, and most of the ICE vehicles (using the proper layout and with correct calculations).
