January's Progress Report

Much to my frustration, I am a month late. I would have really liked to finish the MP update this month but it's obviously not going to happen.

The main reason is that it blew out of proportion as I noticed more and more things that I would like to change. It was originally going to be Humanity + Fiends rework and the removal of Character Feats/Role Techs. Now nearly every class has had some fun/balance issues fixed, I've added more alternate rules to compensate for the loss of customization with the removal of Character Feats, I've written a bunch of advice for players and GMs alike... It's honestly kind of ridiculous but I'm really happy with how it has turned out for the most part. I don't plan to add any more content, so we're on the final stretch in this regard. I've got a couple pages of advice left to write and then there'll be a lot of reviewing to go through it all looking for mistakes but that's all.

Also it's summer and it's always a miserable experience full of nothing but bad news so maybe it could've been possible to finish things up last week or the one before that but the random events table for this season is the worst.

I'm gonna have to talk about all the mechanical changes at some point, but for now I just want to share some of the advice I've been writing. First, Chapter 1 is getting the "Going Independent" section that was at the back end of the book after the introduction of all the factions. Second, at the end of Chapter 2 I'm adding a page of advice for playing PCs of each faction (including independent ones). Third, I'm adding campaign ideas for each faction using them as either protagonists or antagonists in the GM section between the survival rules and NPC creation.

I'm going to post some of those now, they range from the classic "save the world" epics...

The Order is preparing to launch a satellite called the Angelsong. This satellite is a mass brainwashing device powered by countless human brains. The siren’s call of the Angelsong will convert humans into fervent believers, instantly winning the war wherever it strikes. The PCs must attack the various facilities that are key to the completion of the Angelsong. This includes the factory producing the satellite parts, the brain extraction facilities, the brainwashing program control station and perhaps the launch base itself. The climax is a large-scale battle between the PC’s faction and the Order’s forces in which the Strike Team must self-destruct the Angelsong from the inside to destroy it once and for all.

...to the gameplay gimmicks...

The Valkyrie Unit, a stealth airship with a couple dozen Raptor suits, is staging hit and run attacks on the PC’s home base. The PCs are part of a response team designed specifically to catch these enemies that a large force would struggle to keep up with. Can they predict where the enemy will show up and successfully whittle them down until landing a killing blow? And how will they deal with the Valkyrie Unit when they in turn adapt and start setting up traps of their own to bait the PCs? What if the Valkyries decide to prioritize eliminating the PCs and attempt to assassinate them by blowing up their sleeping quarters? This one is a bit tough since the players must design their team in a way that they can all deal with long-range flying threats, but that’s what makes it an interesting departure from the norm.

...to the just plain ridiculous.

The earth rumbles as the mountain-sized terapede DaiOhMukade stirs in its sleep. The creature is largely harmless outside of causing tremors every few weeks or so, as it has spent most of its life preserving its strength in stasis, like a dormant volcano who could erupt any moment but most people now take for granted it won’t. The PCs are tasked with protecting the massive arthropod and keeping others from disturbing it, less it cause a cataclysm when it wakes up. The problem lately is that a lot of Gaian teams are coming around to try and not just wake it up but also bring it to their side of the war. DaiOhMukade has no intelligence whatsoever and is probably impossible to communicate meaningfully with. Its awakening would probably destroy not just the PC’s home but also doom the rousing Gaians themselves. Stop these deluded fools by whatever means necessary.

There's something for everyone here and I'm glad that I took the extra time to write them, because it's either gonna come in handy or be an interesting read at the very least.

Until next time, Gimmick Out.