It’s that time again! We have finally returned to Playtest 1.0 and with your feedback, implemented some changes we feel are for the better. So, let’s get stuck into the newest playtest, v1.1.

Playtest v1.1 is the updated version of Playtest v1.0. This means that you’ll be seeing some changes, some new content, and some content that hasn’t changed from the previous version. If you would like to get a clear picture of what has changed, we have posted the dev notes further below.

You can find playtest v1.1 – HERE

We are still interested in receiving feedback from all you wonderful playtesters, so feel free to provide it with the following LINK

We hope you like the new playtest, the inclusion of curses, and a few more goodies.

We are close to releasing playtest v3.0 (the background system), we are just applying some final touches, then we will format it all. We should be posting it within 2 weeks.

Until next time, we hope you enjoy it!

Ghostfire Gaming

 

Playtest Dev Notes

The following are our notes on what we have changed, added, and why. Feel free to reach out to us or leave feedback if you have any questions.

Amendments:

Advanced Weapons.

1. All characters with access to martial weapons have been given access to advanced weapons. The level cap was still deemed necessary but made universal at level 3.
2. Blackpowder weapons no longer ignore weapon resistance. This is in an effort to promote silvered ammunition.
3. Blackpowder weapons now reference rules for water and getting wet.
4. Scatter weapons have been amended to have a scatter range as well as a shape.
5. Scatter damage has now been amended to a minimum of 1.
6. Pistols are now considered Light weapons. We felt that duel wielding pistols was a character concept many players would like to explore without a feat to do so.
7. Scatter weapons are no longer considered Heavy weapons.
8. The maximum range on rifles and repeater crossbows has been reduced to present a better trade-off for increased DPR.

Feats.

• Blackpowder Expert has been redesigned to better reflect the use of all Blackpowder weapons, not just pistols.
• Within the Bloodhound feat, Blindsight was considered too strong, yet we liked the range of it. We have designed a similar ability that does not include traps, hidden doors, etc.
• Hulking Figure has been reworded to be noncumulative in carrying capacity.
• Hulking Figure now adds your Strength modifier to intimidation checks.
• Hulking Figure has been amended to 1d4 on all melee Strength attacks. At low levels this is balanced by the number of attacks characters can make. At higher levels, the 1d4 damage feels within balance.
• Iron Gut has been modified to have more use in the late game. An action to heal 1 hit dice of HP was considered not good enough for high-level characters. You can now use a number of Hit Dice equal to your Constitution modifier.
• Iron Gut no longer has a number of uses per long rest. Considering Hit Dice do not return until a long rest it was deemed unnecessary.
• Nimble physique and unarmoured expert have become one feat. Neither felt right individually. The AC bonuses from both led to fringe scenarios of extreme balance issues.
• Nocturnal has been reworked to not provide a sneak attack. It has been changed to provide an advantage against enemies in dim light and darkness. This creates a scenario where the player will actively try to remove an enemy’s light source and take them down in the shadows. While powerful, it is situational. Enemies and allies will often create their own light sources, presenting an interesting challenge for a nocturnal player.
• Nocturnal has been rewritten to allow an increase in a Dark Vision radius. A maximum radius has been implemented to prevent fringe scenarios of characters’ dark vision range increasing to game-breaking lengths.
• The Batman easter egg has been removed from Nocturnal. We had a laugh, but it’s time to remove it.
• Revised Mage Slayer has been removed. It has been replaced with Witch Hunter.
• Scatter Weapon Master no longer allows players to ignore allies within range, still posing a strategic choice on when to use them. It now provides the benefit of advantage for allies within the scatter range.
• Scatter Weapon Master now allows you to ignore the loading property of weapons with the scatter weapon trait. This was heavily requested in the playtest feedback.
• Scatter Weapon Master only doubles the damage to creatures in the scatter radius when you critical hit.
• Unarmoured expert has been removed. We felt conceptually it did not need to exist alongside Nimble Physique.

Spells.

• Errors and inconsistencies within spells and the spell lists have been amended.
• Animate Plants has been changed to Conjure Plants. Its casting time has been changed to 1 action.
• Assisted Aim now targets characters, rather than weapons.
• Assisted Aim now provides +2 to hit and targets 3 targets. As it is situational to ranged attacks, we felt it needed to be stronger.
• Assisted Aim’s duration has been amended to 1 minute, in line with similar spells.
• Holy Word has been amended to be more utility.
• Intaglio can now transfer images and text from other surfaces onto paper.
• Intaglio has been changed to a 1st level ritual and concentration spell. Considering it is unlikely to be used in combat, we feel it is resource-demanding for what is a very situational spell.
• Intaglio can now be used to copy a caster’s spellbook.
• Mirror Spell has been amended to work similarly to other reactions. It now interrupts the current turn and resolves before the original spell takes effect.
• Mirror Spell now copies spells of the same spell slot level or less used to cast it. This prevents Mirror Spell from being used to duplicate spells such as Wish before the caster can cast them.
• Greater Animate Dead has been changed to animate undead based on CR. We feel this opens up more choices for players and enables character concepts not previously available.
• Illusory Instrument no longer requires proficiency in the instrument you summon. Many casters who would like to take this cantrip, do not get many opportunities to gain proficiency with instruments.

Additions:

Advanced Weapons

• Advanced Ammunition has been added to 1.1. This is an attempt to bring variety to players who still wish to use PHB weapon types. The ammunition types are as follows:
  • Silvered Ammunition. (We know this exists, but wanted to have it in the same section).
  • Armour Piercing Ammunition.
  • Incendiary Ammunition.
  • Blessed Ammunition
• Advanced Melee Weapons have been added in playtest 1.1.
• The following weapon traits have been added to Advanced Weapons; Brutal, Swift, Guard, and Momentum.
• Racial Proficiencies:
• Dwarves gain proficiency with Blackpowder weapons at level 3
• Gnomes gain proficiency with Scatter weapons at level 3

Feats.

• The Witch Hunter feat has been added to replace Variant Mage Slayer. Due to changing other variant rules it was no longer needed. However, we still felt players need more tools to assist in creating a character concept around specializing in fighting spell casters. Our intention was to make it feel powerful but situational as spellcasters are a less common enemy archetype.
• The Weaver of Maladictions feat has been added to allow players to build character concepts that specialize further in curses.

Spells.

• Curses have been added in playtest 1.1. We are keeping a close eye on the spell level of these spells.