Remaster Mechanics II

In addition to the Tension touchups mentioned last time, I want to try and put some bandaids on the Character-scale combat system. What that system really needs is a full rewrite, which is beyond the scope of the remaster, but I think I can at least tweak the numbers here and there to make things a little bit better.

In general the Match subsystem suffers from being: 

1) Heavily skewed towards PCs trained in fitness + combat 

2) Exceedingly lethal to PCs without awareness + willpower both 

3) Not very engaging even when you have all those things. 

In theory, Matches are for the Fitness specialists to show off and get things done in a single roll or two, much like PCs with other builds can get things done in other scenes the same way. In practice, gaming groups attempt to stick the whole party in Matches and most of the players have a bad time while one (or two) carry the rest.

Fortunately, one of the changes to the Remaster already addresses point 1 somewhat by buffing Deathblows and making Offensive Miracles worth using. This way you can use Charm (+ Temperature) or Awareness (+ Phantasm) to keep up with a Fitness + Combat specialist, albeit at the cost of self-damage plus lower damage output once you run out of free Deathblows. A focused combat specialist will still be better, as they should be, but at least there's ways for other PCs to keep up.

For point 2 I want to add a change to the way PC Damage works. Right now, everyone who loses Layers of Plot Armor must Test Willpower vs fairly high DNs (10, 15, 20) to avoid defeat. This method is fine for NPCs but it's too random and disempowering for PCs so I'm going to tweak it a bit. The DNs for resisting Defeat will be 5, 10, 15 and further instances of Damage past that will need a 20. Additionally, Grunt NPCs in Matches will only have one Layer of Plot Armor and are immediately Defeated with no need to roll once it's full. This gives even Intellect builds (for which Matches are supposed to be one of their main weaknesses) a fighting chance against a Grunt or two if they can score some lucky hits before the musclewall NPCs bully them into submission. 

As for point 3... Well, it's still not an engaging subsystem, but it's not meant to be. It's there to provide another form of gameplay when you're not doing mecha combat.

In addition to all this, I also want to tweak the Invasive Feature a little. Right now, it's confusing, has math + memory complications and makes PCs drop out of combat to one bad roll, which, while that's definitely part of the terrifying intent behind Invasive, it's probably too much. We're gonna make Invasive (and Crush the Insect) use the same DN 5, 10, 15 and 20 benchmarks for the Systems Tests to give low Systems builds a chance to be in the fight for more than a Round or two and let high Systems builds take it easy for a bit knowing they're safe until they lose one or even two Layers. Also, I'm going to tweak the wording of the Invasive ability itself so it's not a pain in the ass to manage. Here's the new rules text:

Effect: Halve all Damage you do to Enemy Mecha. At the end of your Turn, if you've dealt 3 or more Damage to any Enemy Units during it, their Pilots lose one Layer of Plot Armor. Pilots damaged this way Test Systems instead of Willpower to avoid defeat. For each 3 additional points of Damage dealt during that Turn, they suffer a Disadvantage to the Systems Test. 

The trigger is much more limited in that it can only affect one Layer at a time and doesn't work with off-turn damage abilities, so the amount of Damage needed to lower from 5 to 3. 3 Is high enough that Bombardment spam is not going to be enough to insta-wipe all the PCs (because it's all halved) but it is also low enough that any moderately optimized Grunt stands a reasonable chance of doing that much. Rivals and Bosses will be compensate for this low Damage output with Disadvantages to the Systems Test to compensate, making even the first or second attacks moderate threats.

That's all for now. Next month I hope to have the next version out, if nothing goes wrong. See you then.

Gimmick Out.

Remaster Mechanics I

The Remaster's v1.4 rules update has a whole bunch of mechanical changes, which are mostly explained in the accompanying changelog, but I never really sat down to explain the underlying philosophy of the changes as a whole.

I want the Remaster to feel like an upgrade that seamlessly improves the experience for as many players as possible. Obviously, pleasing everyone is an impossible goal, but I think most of the changes work as intended. But more on that in a bit. Going back to the philosophy of the Remaster, most of the changes fall under the following categories:

• Streamlining rules or abilities that were unnecessarily complex.
• Buffing abilities that were too weak.
• Nerfing only for the most blatantly overpowered abilities or adding limitations to the most easily exploitable of them.
• Removing or changing rules that weren't being used as written to how they were supposed to work.

So if I made a recurring joke of repeating the reasons for some of the comments in the changelog, it's because the underlying logic is very consistent and it's (presumably) a better read than having me say "This was unnecessarily complicated and also weak so now it's simpler and stronger." a couple dozen times. The one big exception to these principles are the Allied Reinforcement rules, which got a major rewrite. I considered these safe to rewrite because they're an optional rule that only comes up at the GM's whim during specific battles.

Now let's look at the negative side of the v1.4 update: The way the Tension cap affects all the builds designed around Tension buffs.

The Tension cap hurts basically everyone who uses Techniques and outright makes the hyper-specialized builds designed around one big attack unplayable. On one hand, it's impossible to balance the absurdity of these latter "all or nothing" builds without making them unplayable. On the other hand, many of the Tension buffers feel like a gamble that you may not get the full (or any) benefit out of, depending on how the mission goes. I Am a Loose Cannon, in particular, will semi-regularly hit the Tension cap while doing a whole lotta additional damage to themselves for no extra benefit. That feels awful to play with and not even in a way you can play around since it's a luck-based Power.

Something's gotta change there.

Below is my current idea for how to further tweak the Tension cap and its associated problem abilities.

Tension Cap: Techniques can raise the cap to 20. 

For the more casual Technique users, this is basically the same as having no Tension cap, so it's a considerable buff to them. 20 is a pretty big number, to the point it still allows all-in hyper-focused builds to exist, but they won't be hitting 30+ Tension in Turn 1 like it was theoretically possible to get before. So overall this is potentially dangerous but still balanced by the existence of Genre Powers like Impregnable Defense and Take Cover!

I Am a Loose Cannon: It now rolls 1d5, dealing twice that much self Damage and gaining the result in Tension until the user's next Turn. 

This change works on multiple angles. First, it most obviously halves the total Damage taken and dealt. Second, it works not just for one attack but until the user's next Turn. (Also the 1d5 is just a shortand, it's a 1d10 but halved) The first bit means it's useful for builds that want to inflict a bit of self damage but don't want to potentially kill themselves. The second bit means it can be used to boost multiple attacks, trigger secret equipment and is compatible with things like learning computer and lightspeed assault. That gives it more of a niche than just being another GP on the big pile of buffs for Technicians that make a single big attack.

So that's two of the things I'm thinking of changing. As usual, I'd like to hear opinions of this before running forward with it.

Gimmick Out.

The Setting of BCGR

I said last month that I wanted to write a new setting for BCGR. Today I want to talk a little about it, just enough to give you an idea of what kind of experience I'm hoping to accomplish.

The stage is set 2000 years in the future. Humans are rebuilding civilization after a terrible war forced everyone to hide in underground Arks for centuries. The Holy Technocracy, a transhuman cult that worships the AI known as Deus Machina, wants to brainwash and convert all of humanity to their hivemind. Standing between this machine god and world domination are the PCs who, using the advanced humanoid robots of Steel Dragon Industries, must put a stop to their conquest plans. Meanwhile, a plague of cyborg monsters emerges from the bowels of the Earth and attacks the cities of both warring factions. Can the PCs find a way to stop both of these threats, before the world is destroyed once again? 

There are three key themes to this setting that I want to emphasize:

Big Heroes vs Big Villains: While the Holy Technocracy are convinced that they're doing everyone else a favor, they are capital-V Villains. They brainwash people, raze the terrain and chew the scenery while doing it. And the monsters? Those are even worse, their armies are a seemingly-infinite force of nature that cannot be stopped or reasoned with. The PCs and their allies are the only ones who can fight against both of these threats on equal footing.

Evolve and Adapt: In order to overcome the challenges of the new era, humans are changing. Fantastic advances in biotechnology allow humans to manifest psychic powers at the cost of burning their cells and risking shortening their lifespan. Genetically engineered babies can be bonded to symbiotes granting anything from regeneration to shapeshifting. The PCs can even ride domesticated breeds of the giant monsters that would otherwise be enemies.

The Responsible use of Technology: Cool as they may be, giant robots are extremely dangerous and must be employed with care. Collateral damage destroys the fields where food is grown, levels the homes of the people that live in them and risks stirring the dormant monsters underground. The PCs must protect civilization and nature both, while preventing the enemy from recreating the frightful weapons that once brought about the end of the world.

That about sums it up, I think. There's a lot going on in the setting and I think it's really cool, to the point that it would be compelling even without the giant robots. I view it a lot like UC Gundam, in that it's a developed setting that just happens to have giant robots on top. There's a lot of work left to do until it's finished though, so I won't be able to show it in full for a while. Luckily, the Remaster gives me a lot to talk about so there'll be plenty of updates until then.

Gimmick Out.

Introducing Battle Century G Remastered

I really wanted to post this last month, but it wasn't in what I'd call a presentable state. It's still incomplete, but what is finished is good enough to use. Without further ado, let me tell you about Battle Century G Remastered.  

This baby's got big 80's energy.

In order to explain what Battle Century G Remastered (BCGR for short) is, I first need to explain what it isn't: It is not a second edition of the game. BCGR is an update and improvement to BCG, but doesn't break away from the mold enough to count as a second edition. If the current version of BCG is v1.2 and the suggested balance changes & errata I posted a while earlier are an unofficial v1.3, this would be the game's v1.4 update. 

Here's what the finished version is going to have:

• A compilation of the rules in BCG and BCZ.
• Integration of the errata and suggested balance changes posted way back in 2018. 
• A handful of additional improvements to Intermission abilities (Miracles, Equipment, etc.)
• Substantial editing and rewording to make the text easier to parse.
• Improvements to the alternative rules modules in BCZ (plus some new ones).
• Updates to the premade NPCs in BCZ.
• A better, more fleshed out and cooler setting.
• A premade campaign scenario 6 to 12 episodes long.

Currently, I'm up to the first four bullet points. You can check out the System Reference Document here. The remaining four bullet points (particularly the final two) are going to take longer to finish.

Here's the full v1.2 to v1.4 Changelog: LINKING IT BECAUSE IT IS SEVEN PAGES LONG. I'm also noting which ones are from v1.3.

So I've been wanting to make a second edition of BCG for a while, because there are a bunch of things in the game that I think I would do differently today. There are two problems with it though: 1) It's very different from BCG, it's like the jump from GGG to BCG. Still recognizably the same game, but I can see some considering it a downgrade. 2) It's gonna take a long time to finish and I think I owe you all some content before that's done.

This Remaster is that content. BCG:R is my way of saying thank you for sticking with BCG after all these years. I don't want to spend millenia tweaking and adjusting rules again, but I think I can make a few changes here and there to make the game just a tiny little bit better for everyone.

I've learned a lot about game design since BCG came out. Making MP, in particular, has given me the chance to practice with tighter worldbuilding, easier character creation for beginners and premade campaign scenarios to help give GMs a good idea of how the game should go. I intend to put these skills to use. Once it's finished, the Remaster will be the same BCG experience but with a prettier package and easier to learn.

The one thing I will be sad to see go is the flavor text. The little references like Sunbot 3 and the Nu Ganmen make me smile to this day, years later after having written them. But BCG is a game that can be somewhat difficult to get into and a more cohesive and better written out setting makes that part so much easier. Flavor text can be a big help to properly convey worldbuilding so I should redo every entry from the beginning. Some references may survive the process, others may not. I think it's a worthwhile price to pay.

So that's what I'm doing. I haven't said anything about what I want to do for the setting, modules, etc. but I'll get to that in future posts.

Gimmick Out.

I'm alive

"I should make an update about updating" I wisely told myself this week. People love updates about updating, right? Just a reminder that you're alive and totally working on something that you can't show yet. Always the sign of good project management... It's almost like I'm a real content creator! Anyway, as I sat down to do it, I looked at the date of the last post.

Nearly a year since the last update. JFC. Had I been a week later, it would've been the anniversary of the last time I posted something here.

You've already heard plenty of jokes about 2020 having made time meaningless. They're no longer funny (that is if they ever were intended to be funny, rather than a mere coping mechanism for the writer and reader alike to bond over their shared circumstances) but the joke being old does not make the fact that the world was frozen for a year any less true.

Basically, I had no idea it had been nearly a year since the last blog post. I even stopped posting about MP, partly because I was too busy being overwhelmed by last year's events, partly because I realized that I associate this blog more with BCG than with MP so writing something about the latter didn't come to me as naturally as the former.

Enough rambling. I just wanted to say that I'm 3 weeks away from the delivery date of the last bit of MP kickstarter content. After this, I want to do some BCG-related stuff. So stay tuned, actual content will be coming soon.

Gimmick Out.

Monsterpunk is out.

Here is the updated System Reference Document.

And Here is the DTRPG link to the full version.

I'm not gonna lie, this game is a blast to play and make and I love working on it, but I'm just bursting with inspiration with ideas for BCG and can't wait to get started on writing about giant robots again.

I have a bunch of stretch goals to fill out first though, and by this point I think you know me well enough that I'm the type to take my time and try to get things done right rather than rush to get them over with, so... It'll be a while.

I have never wished to have multiples of me this much, that's for sure.

Monsterpunk v1.11 (aka Errata Edition) is now out!

I'm going to wait until January for the physical release to keep making corrections - you know me, I make a lot of typos and often word things in a way that isn't entirely clear. The PDF version can be edited and updated in a matter of hours, so I don't want to delay it any further.

Here's the System Reference Document. Like the BCG one, it's got the whole of the core rules. Unlike the BCG one, it's also got a bunch of alternate rules for character customization, character art and is in full color.

You can get the full version from DTRPG as usual as well.

The physical version will probably go up sometime in mid to late January. I'll take one to two weeks to look for things to fix and then submit it to the printer, then the process should take two or three more weeks after that to be ready for release.

Until then, Gimmick Out.