Novel(s): These are still stuck in editing hell. I’ve been thinking about little changes here and there, and I’m still working on adjusting a few changes that required a lot of editing in and of itself. While it’s still on the back burner until I get the TTRPG wrapped up, I very much would like to get the novel done, and make some progress on the sequel.
I’ve also got a fair amount of short stories still rattling around in my noggin, but I think I need to read some more of those, as I don’t quite have a grasp on how to write a good short story. Many that I’ve read actually bother me, as they don’t have a satisfying conclusion.
TTRPG: I’ve been doing a lot of brainstorming and internal play testing. Which has led to an adjustment to some of the core systems.
- Pushing checks is going away. I may keep this as an option for attribute checks, but as far as skills go, it just felt clunky. This also means that mishaps are going away (except for attribute checks if I do that).
- After looking at the odds across the range of dice pool values, I noticed that failure was pretty much non-existent at 5-6 dice. But the Botch chance stayed at a reasonable level.
- This means successes need to be emphasized as meaningful. Which they are. As they contribute to damage bonuses, wearing down opponents in social situations, and more. But I feel like the original text didn’t stress that enough.
- Difficulty Values (DV) are no longer thresholds, but gates. So long as you reach the required number of successes, all of the successes count. Previously, you would have successes to spend at the DV or higher. Example: 3 successes vs DV2 = 2 successes. Going forward, this would be 3 successes.
- There was also a disconnect between pass/fail check and extended checks. Previously pass/fail checks counted as a success when you reached the DV, but only additional successes counted towards “boosts.” In an extended check, all successes counted towards reaching the required number of successes.
- This also means that we are dropping the concept of “boosts.” Which were successes beyond the required amount to complete the task/check.
- One complication of all this is that weapon damage needs to be reduced by 1 across the board. As getting 1 success as the base DV of 1, means you have 1 success to use on damage. Before, only boosts would contribute to bonus damage.
- Wounds are changing as well. I had previously had 3 (or technically 4) tiers of wounds. Light, Moderate, Critical, and Lethal. Now there will be “hits” and “wounds.” The lethal threshold still exists, but it’s more of a trigger for secondary effects than a wound tier/type.
- Hits are replacing light wounds. These contribute to your wound
threshold, now Durability. Hits have no negative penalties otherwise and if you are downed with hits only, you will be knocked unconscious briefly. - Wounds are replacing moderate and critical wounds. These are now more serious, and slightly harder to achieve (depending on armor and weapon damage, of course). Wounds do have a DV penalty unless treated, which simplifies things considerably.
- If you are downed with wounds (even if they are treated), you will receive an injury. This adds consequence to being downed, rather than just being able to recover with magic or nano-med treatment. This is not dissimilar to what was already in the rules, but removes the distinction between moderate and critical wounds.
Between the adjustments to the way DVs work and the adjustments to the wound system, that puts a pretty big dent in the existing system. So off we go to 0.2.2 (previously 2.18).
I’m also working to simplify things wherever I can. I cut down the skill list considerably (after previously expanding it). The idea was to try for an approach based skill list. Things that could be combined or removed, have been. I also dropped the advanced tier of skills at rank 4. I had to do a lot of gymnastics to make those bonuses something other than a stacked bonus. Unfortunately, many of those additional mechanics were either too complicated or overpowered.
I do want the game to be able to be played with the book closed much of the time, only looking up tables, perks or spells if need be. But that may be too much of a stretch, even for a simplified version of the game. It’s still not as straightforward as a narrative first style game.
I have dabbled in narrative rules, but my brain just doesn’t really jive with them. I keep wanting to make it more complicated. Which defeats the purpose.
I’m rambling again, and I’m sleepy.
Until next time,
-Anthony