14/09/2020

Hello! Another week, another update. This past week I've been mostly focused on getting the Lifepath character creation system done, and it's almost there! I think it works nicely, and it's a fast and fun way of creating a character, for when you don't have time (or don't feel like it) to meticulously create a character from scratch. It has some built in protection to avoid ending up with garbage characters, since you are allowed to redistribute some of the skill points at the end of the process. I think it's going to be fun to use, and see how you can link the different results into a cohesive story for your PC. Initially I was inclined to incorporate the Advantages & Disadvantages from the Narrative Playbook, but I decided not to do so, so if you want even more depth you can still roll those aside! Remember those are not mechanical, they only add depth to your PC's background and story, and it's just 2 extra rolls, so I think it's a good idea to do so.

Aside from that, I've been working hard on the cards for Seekers Beyond the Shroud.  I've spent a lot of time testing color schemes for the card backs, because I'm afraid that the text may be too dark. Since this is going to be printed via DriveThruRPG, I need to make sure it's all good! I've ordered cards from them before though, and the quality is great, so it should work nicely! I've also been fooling around with some ideas for future content. I think we're still not there yet, but I really want to add the rules to allow players to make non-affiliated mages, so you can see how the game plays without the support of the Omphalos. This would mean you lose Omphale's Embrace, but you would get your freedom back, and other things... I like ambiguity in things, and despite the Omphalos presenting itself as the saviors, the ones bringing order to chaos, things are not that simple. Many would call them fascists... You shouldn't always believe the stories they tell you. My goal with this is two-fold: allow for existing characters to leave the Omphalos (good luck with that!), and creating new characters from scratch that exist outside of the Omphalos. Unfortunately, before I can really tackle all that I think the game would benefit greatly from adding the same style narrative rules as Disciples recently received, so I'm making that my biggest priority for when I'm done with Under Ashen Skies and my big secret project after that.

Speaking of UAS, Vi (editor extraordinaire, and the person behind Collabs Without Permission) is helping me out with a bit of writing, thanks to your support! This is their first writing gig, and the results are fantastic. I'm very slow at creating room content and descriptions, so I have Vi writing those. It's great to be able to hire someone as talented as them. Let's hope I can continue to do so! The character sheet has also seen some progress, and I cannot wait to share it with you, once it's finalized!

So if everything goes as planned, this week you'll see the Lifepath rules going up here on Patreon. After that, I'll start working on that strange Archetype I really want to add. I think it may need a quest or something in order to get it... I'm really excited about it!

That's it for now, have a great week!