After a 4+ month hiatus, I'm back to working on the Sabre RPG :) I burned out pretty hard after getting the second edition finished, and should have taken some time off then before tackling the revised Feydwiir Atlas. That's how it goes for a solo developer ;) Anyway, our local games have started up again thanks to zero covid cases for the past couple of months (until yesterday at least) so I've done a pass on the entire system with a number of additions and fixes, with the biggest change the revision of the Threat Level calculator.
Before, you'd probably need a calculator and spend a minute or two going oer a character to find out what your TL is. Watching a couple of people in our group grappling with the math inspired me to find a more streamlined way to get it done. There's some needless calculation in there, so I pared it back to directly calulating the TL instead of doing a sort of weighted system, then converting it.
The result is the calcution takes about 15 seconds! It's proven very popular with our group, and I think you'll find it makes a big difference. The downside is I had to go through the entire system and recalculate all of the npc templates. Many things came out the same as before, others went down, some went up (a lot). But it's a lot easier, and that's the important thing.
There's a new fantasy race, the Nymph, a high-fantasy concept with interesting mechanics put together by a friend of mine, with a little input from yours truly :)
Part of what I was up to during the covid lockdown here in Victoria, Australia, was to start a new novel. I'm about half way through now, but on the side, I've decided my next sabre project is a Game Master's Guide. Some of the feedback I've had from those running Sabre games is that they don't feel they have a total grasp on what's needed to run a game. All the information is crammed into the core rulebook, and going through 400 pages to find what you need can be challenging.
So I'm going to make a short manual to cover my process for making a module, and all the pertinent information a GM needs, to help people get a grip on what is a weighty system. So I'll peck away at that on the side before getting back on to finishing that Atlas.
Anyway, that's all for now. I hope everyone has a safe happy new year, and that 2021 sucks less than the last 12 months :)
Sabre RPG 2e Fantasy Core Rulebook v1.07
* Priest 'Templar' ability is now 'Zen', granting +2 Spirit Points.
* Paladin profession loses its Resolve resistance skill, but gains the ability to ignore the effects of medium armour on casting cost, and heavy armour only costs 2x normal spirit.
* Paladin's 'Inspiring' ability loses the +2 spirit bonus, gains the Commander talent.
* Added sample names for all non half-cast races.
* Dwarven Craft critical range bonus now applies to all their craft skills.
* Added details of what Difficult Terrain is to the Movement section of Game Mechanics, and added an entry in the Glossary.
* Removed the Gambling skill from the system. Cheating while gambling can be achieved via the Sleight skill.
* The Inheritor profession loses the Gambling skill and gains Courtesy.
* Added Nymph race, talents and the Nature Warden profession.
* Revised the Threat Level calculator to remove unneeded mathematics and to better account for certain abilties within the system.
* Spirit Surge action now cannot be used if already under the effects of Spirit Surge.
* Noted that teleportation-type spells only gain the ability to let you mark 1 sigil at a time.
* Increased the ENC on tower shields, kite shields and heater shields to something closer to realistic figures. Corrected shield ENC figures between basic and premium editions.
* The Thief profession now gains a benefit to detecting traps, and the Looter option loses its Evade bonus, but can use its other bonuses in any armour type.
* The Veteran option for Inheritors also grants the servant access to Soldier profession talents.
* Increased the AP from breastplates, plate greaves, cavalry breastplates and cavalry greaves by +1.
* Snap Shot talent now has a range limit of 10 squares.
* Reduced the Small size Evade bonus and the Double Jointed bonus for Feylin to +5%. Raelani lose the +5% Evade bonus from the Elusive trait.
* Ranged attackers trying to hit a Prone target don't lose their Result Bonus if 3sq above the target.
* Removed mention of adding additional enchantments from the Permanency talent.
* Moved details of fumbled ranged attacks to the ranged attack section.
* Added that casting magic requires the ability to speak, and to have one hand free.
* Modified the Restrained condition to allow spellcasting.
* Vial of holy water now does 1d4 damage base.
* Shield Bash manoeuvre now mentions you can't Block unless shield has the Light trait.
* Added 'First Strike' melee manoeuvre.
* 'Shackle' and 'Hold Creature' spells now pins its targets the round after the target is successfuly restrained (at appropriate skill levels), and paralyses the round after restrained.
* 'Incite Passion' charms spell now pins its targets at 90% skill the round after the target is successfuly restrained.
Scifi Core Rulebook 2e v1.07
* Revised the Threat Level calculator to remove unneeded mathematics and to better account for certain abilties within the system.
* Spirit Surge action now cannot be used if already under the effects of Spirit Surge.
* Increased the ENC on tower shields, kite shields and heater shields to something closer to realistic figures. Corrected shield ENC figures between basic and premium editions.
* The Thief profession now gains a benefit to detecting traps, and the Looter option loses its Evade bonus, but can use its other bonuses in any armour type.
* The Veteran option for Inheritors also grants the servant access to Soldier profession talents.
* Increased the AP from breastplates, cavalry breastplates, plate greaves and cavalry greaves by +1.
* Updated the Inanimate Objects table with an AP column.
* 'Coalesce' veiran manoeuvre allows them to condense down to a smaller size.
* Reduced the Small size Evade bonus to +5%.
* Ranged attackers trying to hit a Prone target don't lose their Result Bonus if 3sq above the target.
* Added details of what Difficult Terrain is to the Movement section of Game Mechanics, and added an entry in the Glossary.
* Added 'First Strike' melee manoeuvre.
* Shield Bash manoeuvre now mentions you can't Block unless shield has the Light trait.
* Snap Shot talent now has a range limit of 10 squares.
* Removed the Gambling skill from the system. Cheating while gambling can be achieved via the Sleight skill.