Black Flag So What's In Kobold Press' BLACK FLAG First Playtest?

Black Flag, the codename for Kobold Press' new open TTRPG, announced during the height of the recent OGL controversy as an open alternative to 5E, has put out the first playtest packet. It's 12-page document of character creation rules. So what's inside?

The introduction summarises character creation, defining 5E concepts like level, hit dice, and so on. It introduces the game as being backward-compatible with 5E.

Black Flag -- like Level Up: Advanced 5E, and Ancestry & Culture--divides the 5E concept of 'race' and 'subrace' into inherited and cultural elements. Black Flag goes with the terms Lineage and Heritage.

It goes on to present the Dwarf, Elf, and Human, along with a choice of two heritage traits for each--the heritage traits for dwarf, for example, are Fireforge and Stone. Elves get Cloud and Grove, while humans get Nomadic and Cosmopolitan. You can choose any heritage for your lineage, though. These are analogous to 5E's 'subraces', although the inherited/learned elements are separated out -- Cloud Elves are a lot like High Elves, and Grove Elves are a lot like Wood Elves, for example.

Following that are two backgrounds -- Scholar, and Soldier. They each give the usual array of proficiencies plus a 'talent'.

Magic, martial, and technical talents are essentially feats. You get a talent from your background, and can substitute an ability score increase for one.

The playtest feels to me much like a 5E written in their own words, but with 5E's 'race/subrace' structure replaced with 'lineage/heritage', the biggest thing being that the heritage (what was subrace in 5E) is cultural.

As a disclaimer, I do of course publish Level Up: Advanced 5E, which shares the exact same goal as Kobold Press' project (BTW, check out the new A5ESRD site!) It will be interesting to see how the approaches diverge; while both are backward-compatible, they already have different ways to handle what 5E calls race -- Level Up has you choose a heritage (your inherited species, basically), and any of 30+ cultures (learned stuff from where you grew up). Black Flag goes with lineage (again, your inherited species), and a choice of heritages for each lineage. And the bestselling 5E book Ancestry & Culture on DTRPG, uses those terms -- so there's plenty of options to choose your heritage/culture, lineage/heritage, or ancestry/culture!

Whatever happens, the future certainly contains a choice of open 5E alternatives!

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I may be off base, but my impression was that Colville's game is sort of 4e inspired, but zigs in the places that 13th Age zagged.

That seems to the starting point for where they were coming from, yeah, but a bunch of bizarre decisions in the recent design phases have taken it to a weird place. I really think "funky dice" are 100% going to be the touch of death for it, too, which is sad.

 

[Faolyn]

I realize I'm getting ahead of where the playtest document is right now, but I would like to see 5e's skill system made more customizable. I know we're stuck with the +2 to +6 proficiency range, but I would like to see something like "specializations", where you get a bonus for certain aspects of a skill, like "Tracking" for the Survival skill. I think Level Up does something like this already. And here's a longshot: a stunt system akin to the AGE system.

<cough cough> Level Up <cough cough>

 

[tetrasodium]

That seems to the starting point for where they were coming from, yeah, but a bunch of bizarre decisions in the recent design phases have taken it to a weird place. I really think "funky dice" are 100% going to be the touch of death for it, too, which is sad.

I dunno, they seem to be using them in a way that's able to meaningfully justify their use & result in more than novelty. I ran fate during the 4e era & fudge dice were hard to find at the time but d6+sharpie was always an easy solution & 3d printers are accessible now in ways that weren't really even a plausible near term thing at the time.

 

[Jaeger]

There is already a 5e lighter game as well: Bugbears and Borderlands

There is also a middle ground of design between core 5e, and rules light B&B, 5 torches deep, into the unknown.

No one has treaded that 5e middle ground design paradigm yet.

They have either explicitly added crunch like Level up, or gone total rules light like B&B, 5 torches deep, and Into the unknown.

I think that there is a market for a streamlined, but not quite rules light version of 5e.

I'm not sure what would have made you think this was their aim given compatibility with their 5E back catalog was a key element.

But even in the preview packet - they already have some thing that if followed to their natural conclusion means that all past published subclass options will not be valid.

I guess the best thing I can say, especially at this early stage in the playtest is ... please have faith.

What are the design goals?

Define exactly how 'backwards compatible' project BF will be:

The [Core Fantasy System] is backward-compatible with 5th edition
and can be used in conjunction with any existing 5E material.

Because even from the preview given, I don't see how that can be 100% true.

If you really are going to have 'innovation' in the core rules, then it really can't be true.

If it is going to be a cleaned up clone; then explicitly come out an say so.

If you are looking to refine 5e from the ground up; come out and say so.

Playtest groups cannot give constructive feedback without understanding the overall design intent.

And yes, I did give feedback in the link...

 

[vivsavage]

<cough cough> Level Up <cough cough>

I know it has skill specializations, but does it also have an AGE-style stunt system?

 

[Reynard]

No one has treaded that 5e middle ground design paradigm yet.

That's because 5E is the middle ground from most folks' perspective.

 

[Sacrosanct]

There is already a 5e lighter game as well: Bugbears and Borderlands

Sorry can’t figure out how to link on my phone

Well I can certainly help with that

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

That seems to the starting point for where they were coming from, yeah, but a bunch of bizarre decisions in the recent design phases have taken it to a weird place. I really think "funky dice" are 100% going to be the touch of death for it, too, which is sad.

Has MCDM started a playtest? I wasn’t aware any info on there system had been released.

 

[Reynard]

Has MCDM started a playtest? I wasn’t aware any info on there system had been released.

They are doing design diaries on their patreon.

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

They are doing design diaries on their patreon.

Ok, I’m not a supporter so that explains why I’m clueless. Personally, that project is the one I’m least interested in