Hi everyone, time for the monthly Sabre update, and this time we've got some more streamlining of character creation and a bunch of other tweaks. Let's get to it!
Core System changes
This applies to both fantasy and scifi systems. I've been looking for ways to pare back the system to make it easier to get into, and this is what I've come up with this time:
* All skills are now calculated by one Attribute score, times 2.
* All Characteristics are now calculated from only one Attribute score.
* Four Common Skills, namely Boating, Conceal, Dance & Sing, have been removed (they ain't that common).
* Pistols and Longarms skills have been combined into the new Small Arms skill (scifi), or Firearms skill (fantasy).
* Pistol and Longarm Manoeuvres have been merged into one Small Arms/Firearms category.
Our beta testers have confirmed this makes things much easier and a bit quicker during character creation, so it's totally worthwhile! The upshot of this is you can get more Hit Points, Spirit Points and Initiative Rank too. I've gone and updated NPC templates for the Encounters manual, but I haven't had time to do the Bestiary templates yet. I'll try to get to that next month, but the numbers are pretty similar anyway.
There's plenty of other adjustments and improvements done to the scifi system, mostly as a result of the modern era alien fighting campaign I'm running. The vehicle system works really well, and we're having a great time with it.
One last thing, I've taken the sample bestiary out of the premium fantasy edition, it's taking a lot of space and it's extra work to maintain it. Those templates can be found in the basic edition, or the bestiary anyway :)
I've added some more bestiary art, from stock images of course, but we're past the halfway point now! Anyway, that's all for this month, play on :)
Sabre Scifi Core Rulebook v1.15
Core System
* All Common and Professional skills are now initially calculated by 1 Attribute number x2. This makes it much easier to do the initial skill calculations.
* Revised calculations of Characteristics based off 1 Attribute instead of 2.
-Damage Modifer is based only on Strength.
-Hit Points are equal to Constitution.
-Initiative Rank is equal to Agility.
-Reactions are based on Agility.
-Spirit Points are equal to half Willpower.
* Android, Automaton and Veiran Spirit Points are now equal to their WIL Attribute.
* Increased Buff Points for character creation to 23 standard (up from 22).
* 'Roboticist' background now gets 2 background events.
* 'Medical School' and 'Science Institute' backgrounds now gets 2 background events.
* 'Prodigy' background has no contacts.
* Pistols and Longarms skills have been combined into the new Small Arms skill.
* Pistol and Longarm Manoeuvres have been merged into one Small Arms category. Modified Diving Fire, Opening Salvo, Double Tap. Removed Rapid Fire, Hold & Shoot, Pistol Whip.
* All backgrounds have 1 less common skill to freely choose from.
New!
* Added 'Epic Driver' and 'Epic Pilot' manoeuvres.
* Added 'Burn' trait option to Pyrokinesis.
* Surgery skill can now only be used once per day.
* Added 'Major Operation' surgery talent that allows the operation to last much longer, and heal more Hit Points.
* Added B.A.D. Lever longarm modification.
* Added 'Double Smash' Unarmed manoeuvre.
* Added 30mm Chain Gun vehicle weapon.
* Added 20mm Chain Gun vehicle weapon.
* Added 20mm Cannon to the ranged weapons category (for personal use).
* Added 'Detoxatol' modern era addiction relief medicine.
* Added 'Stinger Launcher' modern era vehicle weapon.
* Added '40mm AA Cannon' modern era vehicle weapon.
Everything Else (Sorry for the disorganised list, I'm pressed for time).
* Revised the 'Commander' leadership talent - it is no longer tied to anyone's initiative skill, you can just arrange your party initiative as you wish, but only for your party (the GM's inititive roll stays where it is in the sequence.)
* Removed 'Expanded Cartridge' crossbow modification.
* Added modern 'Multi-Shot Crossbow'.
* 'Vanquish' crossbow talent only affects ancient armour AP.
* 'Deep Wound' bow talent now functions on any hit, doesn't have to be a crit.
* Increased damage on modern bows.
* Serpent Combat Bite Option loses it's Perforate attack, begins at 1d6 and gains a special extra attack.
* Serpent Combat Grapple option now deals its Unarmed damage as collision damage each round.
* Corvid beak attack is now 1d6 damage base, cannot be used with unarmed weapons.
* Ravenous talent can also be taken by Corvid and Aleerata, grants Perforate and double damage modifier bonus instead of additional attack.
* 'Martial Warrior' talent can now be taken with the Unarmed skill.
* 'Psychic Shield' now grants +10 AP as a baseline, and gains +5AP and +5% result bonus for each spirit point put in after that.
* Veiran Lightning Bolt manoeuvre now requires only 50% skill, deals +1 damage for each spirit point used.
* Characters with the Amorphous trait (Veiran and Shifter) get "Your Unarmed/Martial Arts attacks can gain or lose Reach & Longreach as desired."
* 'Thunder Fists' Unarmed manoevure now only affects your baseline Damage Modifier.
* Plasma Caster and Improvised Flamerthrower inventions now have a clip size of 30.
* Diamondback talent no longer gives a bonus against plasma or laser damage.
* Electronic Engineering and Mechanical Engineering talents now also require INT at 12+.
* 'Narcotics' and 'Xenobiology' talents now require 12+ INT.
* 'Advanced Surgery' talent requires INT at 15+.
* 'Nanotech' and 'Implant Cybernetics' talents now require INT at 17+
* 'Renowned Surgeon' talent now requires INT at 19+
* Mentari Attribute penalties are now -3 for STR, -3 CON, instead of -6 STR.
* 'Dimensional Shunt' now has a base range of 10 squares, and it and 'Circuit Spike' can increase by increments of 10 squares.
* 'Howl' intimidate manoeuvre now called 'Roar', because it's more awesome.
* 'Thunder Fists' Unarmed manoevure is no longer limited to empty-handed attacks.
* 'Animate Dead' veiran talent now works with a Concentration or 1 minute duration as normal.
* Corrected short description for 'Archery Master' talent.
* 'Martial Fury' manoeuvre has been moved to Unarmed manoeuvres.
* Noted for Skill Combo and Skill Mastery talents that manoeuvres of different activation times are still limited by when you can use them. i.e. 1 action still must be used on your turn etc.
* Replaced 'Hardened Systems' and added standardised 'Composite Armour' upgrade for Powered Armour, Vehicles and Robots.
* Composite Armour heavy tank option now grants invulnerability to electrical damage.
* Powered melee weapons all have 10 charges.
* Electrical Foil, Taser Glove and Shock Baton now deal bludgeoning (or piercing for the foil) damage, but separatly add +3 electrical damage. Taser Glove cost reduced.
* Psychic Shield is an opposed check against incoming damage rolls, thus it works like a shield.
* Removed Acting and Oratory Professional skills, and Boating, Dance, Customs and Sing common skills. Boating is now under Seamanship. Acting and Dance are under Art. Sing is under Musicianship. Customs is under Culture. Oratory is under Influence.
* Semi-Auto shotguns are now Huge in SIZ.
* 'Renowned Speaker' talent now applies to Influence skill, 90% requirement.
* 'Artist' talent now only applies to art or musicianship skill, 90% requirement.
* 'Renowned Musician' talent now only applies to musicianship skill.
* 'Researcher' talent now applies to either Knowledge or Science skills.
* 'Thunderous Report' applies to longarms mounted on vehicles now.
* Removed the 'Mounted Weaponry' vehicle talent.
* Fully auto shotgun has lost suppress trait, clip size is now 12, damage is 1d8+8.
* 'Redundant Organs' genetics enhancement only gives +5 HP now.
* 'Enhanced Senses' genetics enhancement no longer makes you unsurprisable.
* 'Precision Circuitry' talent now only applies to building or repairing robots.
* Fixed erroneous instances of 'Organic Component' references.
* 'Dragon Strike' and 'Double Slice' manoevures now only apply the damage dice of off-hand weapons.
* Removed 'Fast Reload' heavy weapons talent and replaced with 'Firepower' at 90% skill.
* 'Shrapnel' heavy weapons talent is now at 70%, and can apply from heavy weapons mounted on vehicles or starships.
* Setup weapons trait no longer requires weapons to take 2 rounds to reload.
* SUV's and Light Trucks have an extra slot and +1 Movement.
* Shell-type weapons can use Explosive and HESH warheads.
* Added Depleted Uranium shell ammunition.
* FMJ rounds can only be used on bullets up to .50cal in size.
* Suppress attacks no longer use the Perforate trait.
* Stinger Launcher is now 3 slots.
* Added details for making special shells and warheads to Ammunition invention.
* AI Construct can now learn any talents using its Computers skill to qualify.
* Taking a nose injury using the Maiming rules also results in -1 CHA.
* 'Medic' talent can now also be taken with the First Aid skill.
* Missile trait now only gives +10% to hit larger targets.
* 'Guidance System' weapon mod now gives +10% to both rockets and missiles, but is now specifically listed as High-Tech (as it requires a Wrist Radar).
* 'Inspiration' and 'Forced March' leadership manouevres are now C1 duration.
* 'Fusillade' pistol manoeuvre now simply gives you the gatling trait for 1 round.
* Fixed the listed ammunition bonuses for FMJ, Hollow Point and Solid Slugs in the ammunition invention. Also added extra time cost for some special ammo.
* AI Construct invention only gains extra actions and reactions if attached to a turret, starship or base at 99%. 90% ability lets it learn talents with its Computers skill. Invention takes 64 hours to program now.
* EVA suit now stipulates it can be worn over armour, and suffocation rules apply once it is breached.
* The 'Possess' veiran manoevure now states that you use your Psychic skill for all skill checks while in possession of another entity.
* 'Rebellious Spirit' is now listed as Quick.
* 'Signal Disruptor' is now called Signal Jammer.
* 'Repair Bots' nanomedicine is now called Repair Meds (to prevent a clash with actual starship repair bots).
* Added 'Faultless Aim' longarm manoeuvre.
* 'God of War' hvy weapons manoevure now lasts for the entire round.
* Explained that direct piloting of a robot (or using an AR visor) allows you to use the robotics skill by default for all robot tasks, or use your own specific skills and talents if you have them.
* Starship Control robotics upgrade now correctly states that you use the Robotics skill to control ship functions instead of Computers. They can also gain the benefits of a console if they have the appropriate skill and talent.
* 20mm Cannon now has a clip size of 5, matching the vehicle mounted version, and costs 25k instead of 30k.
* Further refined Anti-Air weapon trait to "Weapon has +10% to skill result vs flying targets, -10% skill result vs ground targets."
* Added 'Airborne Tracking System' heavy weapon mod.
* 'Heavy Lifter' manoeuvre now requires only 70% skill and allows wielder to ignore Setup requirement of weapons.
* 'Airborne' weapon trait has been changed to 'Anti-Air'. "Against flying targets, weapon ignores standard -10% penalty & gains +10% to skill result instead."
* Tweaked the language on 'Airborne' ranged weapon trait to remove penalty for shooting at flying targets.
* 20mm Cannon and 20mm Autocannon now deal 1d12+15 damage.
* 30mm Autocannon now deal 1d12+20 damage.
* 40mm Cannon clip size is now 5, slot requirement is also 5.
* Stinger Missile has a range of 5km, deals 1d8+20 fire damage and has Explosve trait. Reduced cost of Stinger/Skyshield ammo.
* Interceptor Missile deals 1d8+25 damage.
* Removed 'Bunker Down' heavy weapons talent, replaced with 'Weapon Training'.
* Revised 'Linked Weapons' vehicle and starship upgrade for a more efficient mechanic, can now also be once again used in turrets.
Starship Manual v1.05
* Docking Bay upgrade is now 15 slots instead of 25.
* A ship's Length is now listed as it's Size, which is in cubic metres/yards.
* Hardened Subystems upgrade is now 'Armoured Subsystem'.
* Added 'Composite Armour' upgrade.
* Added a section about Repairing a Starship to the manual (better late than never).
* Hull repairs now take 5 hours per hull part.
* Added 'Interdiction System' upgrade.
* 'Intense Flame' talent now gives Invulnerability to fire damage instead of a plasma damage DR bonus.
* 'Fearsome' talent is now an opposed check to be frightened.
* 'Fold Space' talent now requires only 70% skill, can travel to other star systems at 90% skill.
* Doubled the movement in space from 'Psychic Travel'.
* Tweaked Zacharial 'Breathe fire' manoeuvre to be deal damage more efficiently, with a lower maximum.
* Fleet Command talent now extends to 10 space squares by default, 20 squares if you have the Decisive Leadership talent.
Sabre Fantasy Premium Core Rulebook v2.97
* Raelani now have -3 to STR and -3 to CON, instead of -6 to STR.
* Separated Common Skills and Resistance skills.
* Added 'Double Smash' Unarmed manoeuvre.
* 'Thunder Fists' Unarmed manoevure is no longer limited to empty-handed attacks, but only affecst baseline Damage Modifier.
* 'Martial Fury' manoeuvre has been moved to Unarmed manoeuvres.
* Removed Acting and Oratory Professional skills, and Boating, Dance, Customs and Sing common skills. Boating is now under Seamanship. Acting and Dance are under Art. Sing is under Musicianship. Customs is under Culture. Oratory is under Influence.
* Pistols and Longarms skills have been combined into the new Firearms skill.
* Pistol and Longarm Manoeuvres have been merged into one Firearms category. Modified Diving Fire, Opening Salvo, Double Tap. Removed Rapid Fire, Fusilade, Hold & Shoot, Pistol Whip.
* All backgrounds have 1 less common skill to freely choose from.
* 'Renowned Speaker' talent now applies to Influence skill, 90% requirement.
* 'Artist' talent now only applies to art or musicianship skill, 90% requirement.
* 'Renowned Musician' talent now only applies to musicianship skill.
* All Common and Professional skills are now initially calculated by 1 Attribute number x2. This makes it much easier to do the initial skill calculations.
* Revised calculations of Characteristics based off 1 Attribute instead of 2.
-Damage Modifer is based only on Strength.
-Hit Points are equal to Constitution.
-Initiative Rank is equal to Agility.
-Reactions are based on Agility.
-Spirit Points are equal to half Willpower.
* Acadian Elf Spirit Points are now equal to their WIL Attribute.
* 'Dragon Strike' and 'Double Slice' manoevures now only apply the damage dice of off-hand weapons.
* Taking a nose injury using the Maiming rules also results in -1 CHA.
* 'Inspiration' and 'Forced March' leadership manouevres are now C1 duration.
* Added 'Faultless Aim' Firearm manoeuvre.
* Removed Drive manoeuvres.
* 'Howl' intimidate manoeuvre now called 'Roar', because it's more awesome.
* 'Thunder Fists' Unarmed manoevure now only affects your baseline Damage Modifier.
* Removed the sample bestiary, as it's a lot of extra upkeep.
* 'Martial Warrior' talent can now be taken with the Unarmed skill.
Sabre Fantasy Basic Core Rulebook v1.81
* Raelani now have -3 to STR and -3 to CON, instead of -6 to STR.
* Separated Common Skills and Resistance skills.
* 'Martial Fury' manoeuvre has been moved to Unarmed manoeuvres.
* Removed Acting and Oratory Professional skills, and Boating, Dance, Customs and Sing common skills. Boating is now under Seamanship. Acting, Dance and Sing are under Art. Customs is under Culture. Oratory is under Influence.
* Pistols and Longarms skills have been combined into the new Firearms skill.
* Pistol and Longarm Manoeuvres have been merged into one Small Arms category. Modified Diving Fire, Opening Salvo, Double Tap. Removed Rapid Fire, Hold & Shoot, Pistol Whip.
* All backgrounds have 1 less common skill to freely choose from. Adjusted skill options after removing the 4 less desirable ones.
* 'Renowned Speaker' talent now applies to Influence skill, 90% requirement.
* 'Artist' talent now provide expanded critical to an art-related subskill. 90% requirement.
* 'Renowned Musician' talent now only applies to musicianship skill.
* All Common and Professional skills are now initially calculated by 1 Attribute number x2. This makes it much easier to do the initial skill calculations.
* Revised calculations of Characteristics based off 1 Attribute instead of 2.
-Damage Modifer is based only on Strength.
-Hit Points are equal to Constitution.
-Initiative Rank is equal to Agility.
-Reactions are based on Agility.
-Spirit Points are equal to half Willpower.
* Acadian Elf Spirit Points are now equal to their WIL Attribute.
* 'Double Slice' manoevure now only apply the damage dice of off-hand weapons.
* Removed 'Inheritor' background as it contained abilities not present in the basic edition.