4.0.0 Update: Tensions Rising

Player Characters

  • This patch focuses on Support Card Identity, Game Flow improvements and combating the large amount of resource flood plaguing the game. With those tenants in mind, Actions have been reworked.
  • Minor Actions return. Before or after their action, players may Spend an Omen to Move 1, Examine or Activate Gear.
  • Due to an overwhelming amount of confusion, time wasting and game breaking, Invent has been removed.
  • Details are returning to being theatre of the mind. Active Details are removed.
  • To ensure an Aspect focused environment, Momentum is being  replaced by Tensions (Scene Aspects). Each game will start with 5 Tensions, that may be Locked, Unlocked and Modified by both players and enemies alike. At game start, each player creates a Tension, and the Narrator fills in the rest.
  • Discovering has been re-incorporated into Movement. If a player enters into an undiscovered zone, it ends the movement option they have selected. The Move text may be into any adjacent zone or off the map if Open Zones exist.
  • Chances and Luck recovery is in a state where if a character does not take any Luck, Chance recovery is almost guaranteed. However, if a character takes lots of Luck, they are likely to death spiral. As such, we will be trialling a new system. From now on, All Chances are recovered between missions and Luck is only regenerated at the end of a Major story point.

Enemies

  • Enemies no longer have public information. Instead, enemy concepts and chains can be discovered with actions and recorded by players.
  • Chains are now stacked in order to allow more fluent design of monsters. When a player Examines, they now see how long the chain they are attacking is and what the vanquish will be.

Phases

  • Priority: Players select their actions
  • Reveal: When cards are revealed, but before the Highest Priority character acts
  • Planning Phase: When a character’s priority is selected but before they act.
  • Action: This character’s action.
  • Reflection Phase: After this character’s action has been resolved but before the next one has begun.

Terminology

  • Analyse: Learn a piece of information about an enemy.
    • Skill Rating
    • Examine
    • Enemy Concept
    • Other?
  • Aspects: +5 before or +2 or reroll after
    • Defects: A Harmful Aspect created in an encounter
    • Traits: A Character’s Aspects
    • Tensions: A Scene Aspect
  • Challenge: Roll vs an Enemy. Challenger’s Advantage.
  • Context: Key word for Narrative Permission
  • Meet: This character must roll this number to succeed
  • Melee and Ranged Overcomes are now Up Close and At Distance
  • Required Total: The number to meet when rolling a Skill Check or Challenge
  • Success: Enemies require a certain amount of successes to be defeated.
  • Victorious: When a character is successful on a dice roll

Skills

  • Assemble has been removed and now falls within other skills
  • Speciality has been removed. Savvy added.
  • Larceny has been replaced with Precision
  • The Endurance based skills have been reworked in order to spread out the narrative permissions between the skills. Resolve and Guts were must picks with vague interpretations, but by spreading them out, hopefully they will be clearer and also not auto included on most characters.
    • Guts: Physical Endurance. Enduring pain. Staying conscious. Stamina.
    • Composure: Mental Endurance. Determination. Focus. Memory.
    • Principle: Social Endurance. Conviction. Resolve. Sticking to values.

Upgrades

  • Upgrades are a point of development that is incredibly behind everything else. Most Upgrades are just guess and check. This is the first step in the ongoing process of character upgrades and progression.
  • Upgrades are being broken down into their core pieces so they can be studied as individual mechanics. Players will notice a series of changes to their gear. The words attachment, gadget and trinket are being retired.
  • Timing: When an upgrade activates
    • Activate: Flip 1 during a Minor action to use.
    • React: Flip 1 when criteria is met to use
    • Static: A bonus the character always has that only activates in certain situations
  • Type: What the upgrade does
    • Specialisation: Gain +2 to X skill vs X skill, detail or situation
    • Technique: Modifies the Context of when a skill applies
    • Context: Modifies Context for the character
    • Augments: A card text that upgrades an Option or game mechanic
    • Quality: A text that introduces a new mechanic
    • Gambit: Mechanics involving taking extra Options
    • Resource: A unique resource generation
    • Challenge: A Unique Challenge
    • Prioritisation: Manipulate the Priority
    • Companion: An extra token on the map that this character may manipulate
    • Other: A unique mechanic that occurs that isn’t otherwise listed
  • Targeting: Who the Upgrade affects
    • Self: Targets the character using it
    • Player: Targets player(s)
    • Enemy: Targets an enemy(s)
    • Detail: Targets a Detail
  • Range: How far can the Upgrade target
    • Self: Only affects this character
    • Close: Within this character’s zone
    • Adjacent: Within this character’s zones or ones adjacent to it
    • Scene: Anywhere within the scene
    • Context: The targeting is determined by the text