Posts from 2019-05-21

May 2019 update and devblog

Hi everyone, we've got a few big things to talk about today so let's get straight to it!

The Split

I've completed separating the scifi manual into the core rulebook and starships supplement. This entailed some cover art work, as well as making sure the right information ended up in the right book, but the results are excellent. Originally, I was advised by a friend that they should be separate books to begin with, but even with the starship stuff in the core system manual, it came to about 370 pages - perfectly fine. 

Since then, we've added the full set of science inventions, and then the genetics section, and more detail on other parts of the system and the manual size was just blowing out. This change has reduced the core rulebook down to about 382 pages, with the starships book coming in at 72. This makes it easier to navigate, and gives both room to grow as we continue to add bits a pieces of information to both. I've moved everything starship-related over to the new book, including the Zacharial species, as most of their special abilities are space-based.

 

New Character Sheets

I'm really excited about this! Since the beginning, I've wanted to do graphical character sheets instead of ones made in MS Word with tables, and with some new advice I was inspired to get it done. So all character sheets have been remade, with the aim of making them easier to follow, easier to look at, and more informative. I've also created fillable PDF forms for them, available for free on DriveThruRPG. I tried them out at my local game this past weekend, only using my tablet to maintain my character sheet, and it worked really well - I highly recommend them :) 

 

Demo Module

The Scifi demo module is pretty much done - I just have to finish its cover art, (re)make the character templates with the new system and it's ready to go. I've decided I won't be going ahead with lots of story modules, as I feel most GM's prefer to make their own stories so they're not limited to the scope written in the story. Plus, I like having all of the world I'm running the game in within my mind so I don't have to look things up, and I suspect a lot of GM's do this ;)  So I'll get this demo mod out, and probably one for the starship system too, and that'll be it. I'm actually eager to write a scifi novel, which I want to start in a couple of months, so I'll do that instead. 

 

Bestiary and Encounters manuals

Okay, so with the new-look character sheets done, I'll be going over alllll of the templates using the new look, and refining things as I go. I've done a few for the bestiary and it looks fantastic, but there's a lot to do so I'll just peck away at it and get them all done at some point. I'll do the Bestiary first, then the Encounters manual.

I might get on to doing more artwork for the Bestiary, but I think most of my time for now will be spent on this update. We'll see what happens.

Otherwise, there's just the usual refinements and additional information for the system with the rest of this update. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the new content :)

 

v1.12 Scifi Core Rulebook

* Added 'Spore Cannon' Arborean talent.

* 'Rain of Thorns' Arborean talent now grants up to 360 rounds per day at 99% skill.

* Venators have wider ranges of fur colour.

* Added 'Synergy Link' psi talent.

* 'Telepathy' psi discipline now has stats for use with a Psi Console.

* 'Rad Gun' invention now requires uranium and lead instead of a pocket reactor.

* 'Security Matrix' requires 10 laser pointers instead of wrist radar.

* Vehicles and starships now take half damage instead of immunity to collision damage with a ram plate.

* Critical hits on starships now go through subsystem HP, then onto ship hull. Noted that a crew member fumble will damage their system 1d6 hit points.

* Added 'Ram' action to ship pilot list.

* 'Bio-enhancer' invention is now correctly listed as High Tech era.

* 'Tactical Analyser' invention is now a modern era invention with different material requirements.

* 'Serpent Combat' talent's bite option now deals 1d4 damage, but gains the Perforate trait.

* Clarified that moving to any square takes 1 point of Movement by default (there was no mention of diagonal costing 50% more!)

* 'Polarise Armour' manouevre only works if you have at least 1 AP of armour.

* The Teach skill now provides 10% extra based on the skill being taught, not the Teach skill itself.

* 'Overcharge Shield' manoeuvre now lasts for the entire round.

* 'Barrel Roll' and 'Defensive Roll' manouvres are now a Reaction to use.

* Offensive/Defensive flying now grants 10% bonus/penalty instead of 20%.

* 'Decryption Engine' invention is now called 'AI Construct', with new abilities.

* Point defences now consist of a pair of weapons, mounted top and bottom, and can engage in a 360 degree sphere.

* 'Fire &  Steel' talent now also allows unarmed and martial arts attacks.

* Clarified the text for Sentry Turrets that using a Reaction to command it allows it to us its own action to attack.

* Added 'Weapon Strap' longarm mod.

* Clarified that 'Control Movement' also prevents the use of manoevures or other abilities that provide movement.

* All manoevures that involve an attack bonus and are used as 1 Action, now clarify that you get to attack as part of using them.

* Added 'Blind Fighting' and 'Blind Fury' Perception manoevures.

* The core rulebook now has new artwork, and the old artwork has been updated and used for the starship manual.

* Added 'Quick Reflexes' general talent for acrobatics.

* Updated all primary and NPC character sheets with new version. 

* 'Muzzleloader' pistol talent has been renamed to 'Rapid Reload'.

* 'Pistol Whip' talent has been replaced by 'Gun-Fu' talent.

* Removed 'Stock Slam' talent.

* Added 'Pistol Whip' and 'Stock Slam' manoeuvres for Pistols and Longarms respectively.

* Revised wording of 'Point-Blank Shot' pistol manoevure.

* Removed the Starships section and the Zacharial species, along with related talents, and moved them to their own manual to free up space.

* 'Bioweapon' veiran talent no longer grants additional lightning damage, but allows a successful hit to chain onto another target.

* Fixed the duplicated upgrade name for Power Leech invention.

* Mentioned under the Insight skill that it can be used for memory checks.

* After sleeping off the Intoxicated condition, the subject is now Nauseated for 4 hours.

* Reactor Upgrade is now called Capacitor Upgrade for clarity.

* Beam Splitter and Sawnoff weapon mods prevent any other range mod from working.

 

Starship Manual v1.0

* Added details of fuel scooping, and the cost of buying standard and military fuel at stations.

* Added 3 console varients for each crew position, listed under the crew section.

* Skyflash missile now takes 3 slots.

* Vehicle Docking Bay upgrade now uses 5 slots (no cargo) and limits vehicle by length.

* Ramming prow is absorbs collision damage on targets that are the same size or smaller than the ship, and ship takes 1/2 damage from anything larger.

* Scanning Specialist talent has been replaced by Stardrive Expert, allowing you to send other ships through the fold.

* 'Positronic Brain' upgrade for ships is now 'AI Construct', uses the invention of the same name to gain its benefits for the ship's computer.

* Added starship templates here and removed them from the Encounters manual.

 

v2.93 Fantasy Premium

* The Teach skill now provides 10% extra based on the skill being taught, not the Teach skill itself.

* 'Fire &  Steel' talent now also allows unarmed and martial arts attacks.

* Clarified that 'Control Movement' also prevents the use of manoevures or other abilities that provide movement.

* All manoevures that involve an attack bonus and are used as 1 Action, now clarify that you get to attack as part of using them.

* Added 'Blind Fighting' and 'Blind Fury' Perception manoevures.

* Added 'Quick Reflexes' general talent for acrobatics.

* Updated all primary and NPC character sheets with new version. 

* 'Muzzleloader' pistol talent has been renamed to 'Rapid Reload' (for clarity).

* Removed 'Stock Slam' talent.

* Added 'Pistol Whip' and 'Stock Slam' manoeuvres for Pistols and Longarms respectively.

* Revised wording of 'Point-Blank Shot' pistol manoevure.

* Mentioned under the Insight skill that it can be used for memory checks.

* After sleeping off the Intoxicated condition, the subject is now Nauseated for 4 hours.

* Added 'On the Move' acrobatics manoeuvre.

 

v1.76 Fantasy Basic Edition

* The Teach skill now provides 10% extra based on the skill being taught, not the Teach skill itself.

* Clarified that 'Control Movement' also prevents the use of manoevures or other abilities that provide movement.

* All manoevures that involve an attack bonus and are used as 1 Action, now clarify that you get to attack as part of the manouevre.

* 'Muzzleloader' pistol talent has been renamed to 'Rapid Reload' (for clarity).

* Updated all primary and NPC character sheets with new version. 

* Removed 'Stock Slam' talent.

* Added 'Pistol Whip' and 'Stock Slam' manoeuvres for Pistols and Longarms respectively.

* Mentioned under the Insight skill that it can be used for memory checks.