OLD is NEW Core Book ?

[Primitive Screwhead]

Hoi chummers,

I am prepping for a revisit to OLD with my group, and wondered when-ish we can expect to see the "OLD is NEW Core Book" that the Fantasy Career book says it requires....

Better yet, can we get an update of the projected release dates for all of the upcoming books?


and yes, I know you dislike setting dates... but between the playtest material I have against the SRD's gradual {and unannounced} updating, and my players inquiries.. I am being quite tempted to set OLD aside for the time being and go with a game system I at least have all the rules for.

 

[Morrus]

Definitely my most often asked question! I really should save it in a notepad app somewhere! Basically, they're all coming out as fast as the two layout designers can possibly get them laid out. One is ploughing through the OLD stuff, the other is on the NEW stuff.

OK, here goes...

[WOIN] Fantasy Equipment has just finished layout. I just did the final proofread, so the PDF will be available in the next day or so and the softcover a week or so after that.

[WOIN] Future Core is in layout, almost finished. I check in on the layout artist every few days asking "is it done yet?"

After that will be entering layout:

[WOIN] Fantasy Core (for OLD)

[WOIN] Building A Universe (for NEW)

[WOIN] Elements of Magic (for OLD)

[WOIN] Building A World (for NEW)

I'd note that Future Core, Fantasy Core, and Modern Core are all almost exactly the same book. You'd only need one of them (which is why the other books say "requires use of a core rulebook", not the core rulebook). There are cosmetic differences, different art, and different extended skill task examples, but they're all essentially the WOIN core rules in a fantasy/sci-fi/modern wrapper.

Then all the NOW stuff.

Here's Fantasy Equipment, all finished, waiting for release any moment:

View attachment 74706

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Thanks. You could probably pin it alongside the errata listing.

Something jumped out at me while looking at your screenshots... and this is a knee-jerk reaction to a case of stupid many year ago...

Shield Customization... Weightless. Does not encumber vs weighs zero {0} lbs. I love the idea of a shield/armor that does not encumber {ie, doesn't count against the total weight carried or restrict movement} so I can have the swashbuckling adventure climbing up in the ships rigging in plate mail..... but having had a rather lengthy argument over the whole 'you are wearing armor.. you sink', it would be nice to be crystal clear about how a 'weightless' shield affects your weight as opposed to how it affects your encumbrance.

Yes, it was that stupid, and even tho it was decades ago I still get finicky about the topic.
Long story short: Pally in full plate, large metal shield, and a claymore walked into a deadly quick-sand filled swamp with 'But my armor is magic, it doesn't encumber me so I won't sink!'

 

[Morrus]

I'm afraid that book is locked in now. No more changes. Sorry!

"Weightless" and "Unencumbering" are two different enchantments.

 

[Morrus]

(In fact, it just went out to Kickstarter backers. Layout on the next book is the focus now!)

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Just downloaded my copy

That screen shot shows the verbiage is specific enough to avoid a misunderstanding.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Okay.. question time. Am I reading this right.

Determining Physical and Ranged defenses.

1) Create a dice pool based on attribute, skill and equipment.
STR 12 = 4D + Dodging 4 = 2D + High Quality Armor = 1D ; total = 7D
2) Cap by character Grade
5 traditions = 5D CAP
3) Refer to table for average value
5D = 18
4) Adjust for Size bonus/malus
Medium = +0
5) Adjust for Armor Def malus
light = 0, medium = -2, heavy = -4
6) Adjust for Shield Def Bonus
Small = +2, Medium = +4, Large = +6
7) If less than 10, treat as 10
*this is basically stating that any attack has to exceed 10 and the targets defenses, but written wonky

So... your defensive values for a starting medium character, Grade 5, are between 10 and 24... with the majority being closer to the 18 range. A High Stat and moderate defensive skill will hit the grade cap.
A Gigantic Rank 5 creature might as well not bother with shields or defensive skills.

As you increase in Grade/Rank, the top end of the scale moves upward by about 4 points each rank, but the lower end stays at 10.

I assume this is to reduce the swingy-ness experienced without the die cap.

 

[Morrus]

Yeah, gigantic creatures don't tend to dodge stuff much. A blue whale is an easy target, but it has SOAK and lots of HEALTH. DEFENSE is about whether you get hit, SOAK and HEALTH are about what happens when you get hit. I like to give big critters hardy instead of one of the dodge-style defensive skills.

The maximum dice pool does, indeed, reduce the swinginess found in early playtests. It's a broad mechanic used across the whole of the game.

Anecdote: for a while, we playtested rolling DEFENSE each time, instead of using the average value (effective making each attack an opposed roll). While I liked how that worked, the extra dice rolling slowed down play too much, and I settled on the average value. But it certainly added a certain dynamic to the game.

 

[Morrus]

Oh, and a gigantic grade 5 creature would be very unusual. Gigantic creatures tend to have STR 50+, which gives them 9d6 right there, before you account for skills or anything. While you *could* make it a grade 5 creature, that would be pretty weird.

A grade 5 character with an attribute of 12 would be pretty unusual, too!