DiasExMachina 4ED Update

[Dias Ex Machina]

The Social Network is an awesome film and let's move on…

The title is set.

The decision has been made. Our finalists are Amethyst: Fracture and Amethyst: Factions (with Fracture in the lead). We decided to go with Amethyst: Factions. That being said, there is a possibility Factions may be the third book, not the second. More on that in the next few weeks.

Also, anyone seen the new game, Brink? I did and I found this…

That is concept art from the game.

And this is the preview for NeuroSpasta and Ultramodern4. Our image was commissioned and completed late last year. Just wanted to make sure people know that.

...and ours is better...

I'm not accusing anyone. I know this is a pure coincidence as both probably took inspiration from this image…

Finally, some of you may know that before Amethyst and DiasExMachina.com, I ran a fanpage called SerenaDawn.com. DEM is hosted off the SerenaDawn account. That original site actually gathers more hits and unique visits than DEM's site, probably because SerenaDawn is old. It's really old. How old? Well, let's just say that I've owned the address longer than Gabe and Tycho have owned Penny Arcade. In 2008, I discontinued my blog on that site. I maintain it because it's a part of my life I don't need to sacrifice. On it are my old free game adaptations. There used to be quite few, but I've limited it to Pathfinder (a science fiction game using GURPS that predated Firefly/Serenity—for those that check), my renown Alien-FUZION RPG (the site's largest attraction) and the last project I did before committing to Amethyst, a Ghost in the Shell D20 conversion.

I bring this up because a guy named Gershom Reese Wetzel created a truly fantastic character sheet for the Ghost in the Shell D20 RPG. It's really good.

http://www.serenadawn.com/Files/Ghost-in-the-Shell-D20-RPG-CharacterSheet.pdf

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

Amethyst Factions is moving right along and is still expected this winter. I can confirm that not only will we be offering three new races (pagus, kodiak, and tenenbri), but also new lifepaths (including a loophole to put clerics back in the game). On the side of magic, we're finally including the ultra-powerful foundation spells along with mystic rituals. For technology, we have weapons designed around the new "nuclear" keyword, super-heavy weapons, and larger powered armor (up to 30 tons). Aircraft are being included from the single-seated York Wasp to the massive Selkirk Armored Zeppelin. Armor piercing, high-explosive, hollow-point, tracer, and rubber rounds are being offered as alternate ammunition. And that's not all…

I feel like a rep from Ronco.

We mentioned a new echan/techan class, the vanguard. Along with the class, we're also including alternate class features and powers for all four original techan classes from Foundations. These are substitute features that replace existing features, like the grounder's Action Shot class feature, which replaces his Area Denial power. Each class will also offer a dozen new alternate powers including a sixth 1st level at-will option.

What else? Eight new paragon paths. Twelve epic destines. 100+ feats. Yes, that's right, over one hundred new feats tied specifically to races, classes, lifepaths, and regions. Every race gains new feats that boost racial abilities and alter their class. With techans, we have more firearm feats and a whole bunch of vehicle- and explosive-based feat powers. I haven't even gotten into the twenty-plus mixed martial arts powers we cooked up.

…As for the second half of the book…

Demons are finally making their appearance, raising the stakes and advancing the setting. More monsters, both technological and organic. After all of this, we end it all with a huge chapter detailing ways to create and run your own Amethyst game along with a bunch of story-based mini-adventures you can run.

We still have enough content for another book but I think this is good for now. After Factions comes Ultramodern and NeuroSpasta.

 

[davidwillson]

You see, originally, we had stat boosts for techans via a nano/micromachine injections, an idea I carried over from my free Ghost in the Shell D20 RPG from Serena Dawn. Basically, it was a way for techans to up their stats without having to wear powered armor all the time. The problem with them was the fluff. By definition, they were high-tech, and thus hard to find. Technically, they would also be expensive. I stated earlier that a Tech Level is now an enhancement bonus (and also sometimes an item bonus) to various applications including hit and damage bonus (Didn't I mention that? Oh well, I did now). So in effect, the micromachine injections would be breaking the rules unless we only offer them at a +4 bonus, making techan characters underpowered in respect to a fantasy party until they got them.

To explain the rest, I need to set the "way-back" machine to last week when I was creating enhanced equipment for technology. The lazy approach (and hopeful this won't upset other companies doing it like this) to creating said gear would be to create cloned equipment that operate exactly like their fantasy counterpart....like a cloak of techno-invisibility or cyber gauntlets of robot power (I know Jibblets is going to declare that a super awesome idea...I'm waiting). I decided against it and instead created items that would logically offer said bonuses based on probable progress. So, even though we still have goggles of darkvision (Infrared nightvision headset) the majority of the other items make sense. This unfortunately opened a gap in technology. There was simply not enough technology for 30 levels of techans. I mean, when you actually add up all the fantasy magic items, we are talking over 600. There cannot be six levels of aforementioned infrared goggles. I even had to invent generic power armor with scaling costs from 175,000 to 3,000,000 to offer some variety. Therefore, this left a significant gap, specifically, with cloaks. Some powered armor offer additional enhancement bonuses to Reflex and Fortitude but they don't offer anything to Will. All techan players have a bonus to will because of their resistance to magic (until they welcome it in), but there is simply no techno-cloak to offer bonuses to Reflex, Will, and Fortitude.

So, back to injections. Initially, this became our solution. Micromachines would alter your body and instill the bonuses naturally. Since techans equipment does not work with echans and echan magic items do not work with techans, we could get away with creating a new "slot" just for techans. However, there was still an issue with availability. There is only one bastion outputting high tech in Canam and they're xenophobic. There had to be a way to make injections accessible to lower level characters.

Drugs...well, not just drugs. The lineup is as follows: TL1 and 2 = +1 and +2 bonuses = drug injections. TL3 and 4 = +3 and +4 bonuses = Viral/Gene therapy. TL5 and 6 = +5 and +6 bonuses = Micromachine injections. This offers players to access lower tech bonuses that make sense in the fluff. Naturally, this offers up an additional issue. While micromachine injections and gene therapy could be permanent, drug shots would not be. So these injections via jet hypo would be temporary and only last to the end of the encounter. They are much cheaper than the TL3+ injections, requiring players to shoot up if they really feel they need that +2 bonus to Ref or Will. I feel this angle is a wonderfully dark approach to the material, forcing techan players to make tough decisions about what they are willing to risk and sacrifice for that extra edge. These bonuses are also not exactly like cloaks, so there is not one that offers bonuses to Reflex, Will, and Fortitude. Each injection adds a bonus to one with an additional ability. You can have up to two in your system without problems and being enhancement bonuses, they do not stack with cloaks or bonuses offered by powered armor.


Agility: This booster improves overall reaction time and swiftness.
Enhancement Bonus: Gain the TL as an item bonus to Reflex Defense.
Property: Gain the TL as an item bonus to Acrobat checks.
Property: TL1&2—Power (Encounter) Minor Action, stand up from prone. TL3&4—Power (Daily) Free Action, reroll an Acrobatics roll you just made. You must use the new result. TL5&6—Gain a +1 item bonus to speed.

As many have read, there is an update to the GSL coming soon (most likely after GenCon) which will address certain issues 3PPs have had with the wording. They promise (or hope being a better word) to alleviate restrictions within the license. How will this impact the development of Amethyst?

__________________
watch movies online

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

I can't make any assumptions until said GSL update is offered. I will repeat as I often said that Amethyst was made better because of the GSL, as it forced us to create original content, where before we might have just re-branded an old monster.

I assume that any GSL would be offered to update to the current rules compendium, but more importantly, to the essential classes (like in Heroes of Fallen Lands). The point is the rules were altered but it doesn't affect the core experience, and even if they don't change the GSL, it doesn't prohibit us from addressing the evolved game.

For example, we could offer "Essential" alternatives to techan classes without an update to the GSL. Goodman did the same thing with the first 4E modules they released before the GSL was official. We just can't directly reference an Essentials product. It is something we are seriously looking at for the next book.

As for clerics (something a lot of people are bringing up), we are offering a loophole in Factions to permit their inclusion. But the setting won't change one bit...

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

The news today deals with Essentials and how it affects the future of DEM. Recently, WOTC…released…another…update…to D&D. This one reflects most of the design changes showing up in Essentials. It doesn't directly alter the original classes but makes the system receptive to the new ones arriving with the Essentials line. I neither purchased the Red Box nor the Rules Compendium, though I did have the opportunity to read the latter. Funny story there, when I sat down at a table at my local gaming hole, I found an open copy of Amethyst next to me. Being idiot that I am, the first thought that entered my mind was, did I open this book like four months ago and it's been open ever since? No, someone was reading it. Beyond that, the rules aren't dissimilar to the rules in the original 4E…IF you update it, which I have done.

By the way, don't do that.

I spent six hours pasting rules directly into my books and the result is efficient but appalling upon a cursory examination. It was necessary when dealing with creating monsters, which I am currently doing for the next Amethyst book. I did, however, purchase the new Heroes of Fallen Lands. I now understand the mind of Mearls. Do I approve?

Actually, yes.

As a player of D&D.

As a business man trying to write within their system, it's somewhat frustrating. For one, they rewrote mount rules, meaning if you had chosen a Kannos Kavalier, everything the path and paragon offers…you can now do for free. So we may need to address that. WOTC also retroactively changed their races. This means Amethyst should do so as well. At least this way, there is a precedent. Therefore, expect to see an update relatively soon from DEM regarding new revised races for the original Foundations. This will only be the stat block and not a complete reprinting of the race. Those that pre-ordered will get it first, followed by everyone on our facebook page, and then after it will find itself on DEM's website.

Will we do the same for the classes as well? Noooo. 4E is a specific sandbox and Essentials, though using the same rules, feels like a different sandbox. So we won't be erasing the mechanics of the original Foundations classes. That would be cruel and unnecessary. We already announced that the next book will be a partial splat book, offering alternate features and powers for all the techan classes (as well as a new class, the vanguard). What we are currently playing with is the possibility of offering an "Essential" build to each of our techan classes. So far, the experiment has appeared promising. The end result will require someone to own both Foundations and Factions but if you do own both books, you'll be able to create traditional 4E techan classes as well as "Essential" techan classes. For those not endorsing or not liking Essentials, don't worry. We haven't embraced it whole cloth. The Vanguard will be offered in both formats. All those alternative powers are not available to someone using the Essential build. The final Factions word count is incredibly over-budget, meaning it may have to be split in half. I may get groans for this except that I won't be charging you full price for each book…in fact, it'll be about half. But if this does happen, it will be separated into a player supplement and a campaign supplement, which may be a good idea in any case.

As for my opinion on Essentials, personally, I think I'll reserve that for a Living Dice article...

On similar grounds, we probably won't be inserting Essential builds into Ultramodern4. U4 takes the 4E engine and offers even more variety, opening up the system to a new level of complexity. Essentials goes in the opposite direction. Since the system is already complicated enough, it may collapse if I try and cram in another bunch of rules.

I'll leave with our current build of a revised race. Since everyone appeared to complain about the Tilen, I'm offering them up now. This is not official until the file is made public, so if there are issues, speak now.

TILEN
RACIAL TRAITS
Average Height: 5’8” – 6’4”
Average Weight: 45-70 lbs.
Average Starting Age: 30 years
Estimated Life Expectancy: 600 years
Ability Scores: +2 Wisdom, +2 Strength or Dexterity
Size: Medium
Speed: 6
Vision: Darkvision
Languages: Two human languages, one fae language
Skill Bonuses: +2 Heal, +2 Insight
Blessed Body: You receive a +2 to all defenses against necrotic attacks.
Blood Surge: You gain Blood Surge as a racial encounter power.
Blood Vengeance: You receive a +2 racial bonus to attacks and damage rolls against all undead. You also receive an additional +1 bonus to attack and damage against ghulath (vampires).
Reduced Healing: Hit point recovery from healing spells, powers, healing surges, rituals, potions, and any other healing effects are halved. You can offset this with Blood Surge. Keep your unmodified healing surge amount recorded.
Vampiric Remnants: Under direct sunlight, your vision is reduced to 10 squares and you lose all racial skill bonuses. Additionally, when you get emotional in any way (like in a combat encounter, when angered, or in passion), old vampiric traits emerge. Your eyes glow yellow or white or red (depending on the specifics of the character), and your incisors extend. When in this state, you gain a +2 bonus to intimidation, but a -4 penalty to diplomacy.

BLOOD SURGE Tilen Racial Power
Out of necessity, but still filled with trepidation, you drain the blood of a target to heal your wounds.
2/Encounter * Healing, Reliable
Standard/Special Melee touch
Target: Any living creature
Attack: Strength +2 vs. Fortitude or Dexterity +2 vs. Reflex. Increase bonus to attack to +4 at 11th level and +6 at 21st level.
Hit: The target is grabbed. Spend a healing surge and the target takes damage equal to your full healing surge value. Every additional round in the grab inflicts an additional 1d6 + Constitution modifier damage. Increase bonus to attack to +4 at 11th level, and to +6 at 21st level. You are healed the same amount of damage inflicted (which is not lessened by Reduced Healing). Additional damage caused by the power also heals. You do not need to spend a healing surge on subsequent rounds.
Special: When you create your character, choose Dexterity or Strength for the key ability for Blood Surge. This choice remains through your character’s life. If the target is offering itself willingly, you can control the amount of damage inflicted and the amount healed increases by +1d6 (increasing to +2d6 at 11th level and +3d6 at 21st level). Subjects killed via Blood Surge do not become ghulath (vampires). If you already have a target in a grab, this power is reduced to a move action.

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

So the worst kept secret is finally official. Amethyst Factions is being split in half. Simply and truthfully, it's basically getting too large. At this rate, it will be the size of the original Foundations book. Though some people may not have an issue with that, few games have ever gotten away with it. Besides, it will be better for those wanting a player's book and campaign book separately…which is exactly what we're doing.

The two other advantages of splitting Factions are that the first book will be out sooner and will be cheaper. How cheap? Well, exactly 50% actually. So no accusations of mimicking Blizzard here. So the second book is carrying the name Factions and will be a campaign guide. The first book will be a player's guide and go by the name Amethyst: Evolution. It will feature the new races, new class, essential techans, new paragon paths, new epic destinies, new feats, and new equipment (including super heavy weapons and aircraft).

As a result, I can also say we have finished the first draft of Amethyst Evolution and it is now being edited. Still no locked release date yet but I have hopes for mid-winter. Factions should be out by the end of the season, before the release of Ultramodern4.

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

Had my head dug in my netbook for the last month. Just when I think I am done with Evolution, something else pops up I have to put in. But this week does mark the end of the first of two rounds of edits. At this point, Evolution stands at 93,000 words, and it's unlikely to change as we close in on the final. I'll explain how it breaks down.
36% of the book is all fantasy. Which puts about 60% (ignoring fluff) for rules that are exclusively techan. This percentage is skewed by the new weapons and armor. This is to be expected and it matches the percentage of the previous book. For those fearing or hoping that our "Essential" rules may dominate this new book, it doesn't. For one, an Essential class is significantly smaller so even though we got them all covered, both core classes and paragon paths only take up 31% of the total book.

So to cover the specifics
Revision original races
New races (kodiak, pagus, and tenenbri).
Essential techan classes: Front grounder, heavy grounder, officer marshal, mechanic operator, medic operator, gunslinger stalker, sniper stalker, sentry vanguard.
Nine traditional paragon paths
19 Essential paragon paths (translated from Amethyst Foundations)
13 Epic destinies
4 weapons with the new "nuclear" property
3 ESP swarm weapons
7 super heavy weapons
9 techan melee weapons
7 hostile injections
5 alternate ammunition types
5 advanced armors
7 aircraft
5 new rituals…

And I'll leave it with another sketch. Expect the final in the eventual book…

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

Two months ago, I did an interview with Gnomes Stew, regarding the future products of DEM. Since I did this interview, we did announce that we were indeed splitting factions into Factions and Evolution, the latter to be released first. However, it is still an informative interview and I love supporting the "gnomes".

We'll have more information in the weeks leading to the release. For now, here is the link to the interview:

What’s Up With DEM Games - Gnome Stew, the Game Mastering Blog

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

Couple more links today:

First, we have The Hopeless Gamer. Some time ago, he did some coverage of Amethyst. He's now followed up with not only a two-part review of Foundations (written by his GM), but a ten question interview with yours truly.

The Hopeless Gamer: Behind the Screen Part 1: The Sleepy DM’s Frist Impressions of Amethyst

The Hopeless Gamer: Behind the Screen Part 2: The Sleepy DM’s Post-Game Impressions of Amethyst

The Hopeless Gamer: 10 Questions with Amethyst Creator Chris Dias

And then we have Castles & Cooks. He recently posted an article about how you can use certain games with your favorite film or TV franchises. When he reaches Avatar, I was happy to see which game he recommended.

Double Feature: Movies & Gaming, Part 2 | Castles & Cooks

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

Every once and a while, we here at DEM like releasing a preview that utterly confuses people. This image is a figure of a much larger illustration offered as a high-res download for those people purchasing the upcoming Amethyst Evolution. What is it, you ask?

Only time will tell...