On Character Creation in 2.0

'With the new version comes a new way of generating characters. On paper, it is vastly different to the first iteration of the game, but in actuality the process is very similar.

In the original, a character recieved the following; six ability scores, racial bonuses, defence bonuses, hit points, and the typical plethora of armour and weapon proficiencies, skill points, spell growth, attack growth and healing surge count.

Providence Classes were built on the concept of three abilities to define a class and its play style. Paladin had Divine Aura to detect alignments, Divine Challenge to control and tank targets, and Domain of the Order for their class- orientated growth. Here, the aura and the challenge can identify and isolate enemies, while your domain choice and the traits within that choice will alter the way that character is played. As an example, this Paladin is a smiting heathen guy, so he choses the War domain, from the War Domain, he chooses access to a permanent melee damage bonus, the ability to fly into a divine rage, and improved AC. On top of all that, he also gets a 1st level feat, gear selection and so on and so on. Let us call this knightly paragon Sir Roderick of Ormley Fields, hunter of the wicked and defender of the weak!

In the new version the three abilities per character is still in effect, and is the main method of creating your character.

To recreate this character in the new edition, we select the three abilities suited to the class we want to make. Firstly, Divine Soul is functionally identical to Divine Aura, so choosing it gives Sir Roderick his ability to hunt out alignments. Divine Challenge has been replaced by Challenge; both abilities are marking tools, the new ability lets Roderick make free move actions instead of auto-damage. This makes him sticky, tanky, and surprisingly mobile. Lastly, we choose Divine Magic to allow Roderick access to a handful of Divine Spells.

So far, Roderick handles almost the same between the editions, the only major change is the mechanics of his marking tool. However, here is where the divergences begin to appear.

Hit points are not determined by class, but by which abilities where chosen. To calculate Roderick's 1st level hit points, we add the bonuses provided by the abilities to his CON score.

Roderick is a healthy man, boasting a CON of 16. Roderick generates 6 Hit Points per level (2 from Divine Soul, 3 from Challenge and 1 from Divine Magic), and so his starting Hit Points become 22.

When Roderick levels up his Hit Points will rise by 6, and his CON modifier will be added to that. Since his CON score of 16 gives us an ability score modifier of +3, his Hit Points rise by 9 for a total of 31.

Defences and skills are similar in that each ability comes with stock bonuses. Both Divine Magic and Divine Soul grant Roderick a +2 bonus to Will and Challenge offers a +1 bonus to Fortitude. However, these bonuses will never rise or change. The only way for defences to rise is through ability score adjustment.

Each ability comes with a +2 bonus as standard. Challenge offers a Nobility bonus, Divine Magic grants Spellcraft, and Divine Soul allows the choice of any skill. On top of these bonuses, we may choose from another selection of skill bonuses limited by our ability choices. Not having abilities befitting of a skill monkey, we choose Religion and Endurance for Roderick to play to his religious and knightly strengths. Other abilities would have granted him a greater selection of skills. Sneak Attack grants a Stealth bonus and an additional three bonuses from its list. However, the obvious trade off is fewer hit points per level and a list of skills that may not fit into Roderick's play style. What use is a sneak attack if he needs to be in the open, challenging things to mortal combat?

With this in mind, these particular abilities could make a funny, dishonourable knight, the kind that jumps out from the bushes and stabs a man in the back, and only then shouts "I challenge you!" Combined with some of the stealthier and sneaker Divine Spells, you can really abuse the bonus movement from Challenge to stick to the poor, poor victim.

Replacing Feats and class based growth are Talents. Each Ability comes with its own list of Talents to choose from, which in turn is supplemented with a General Talents list that offers options anybody can take. A character chooses three talents at 1st level, and they gain another one at every level thereafter.

However certain options are no longer available - in this case the Divine Rage ability doesn't exist.  If one were to make a holy warrior with a violent streak, Divine Magic could be replaced with Berserk Rage to capitalise on melee attacks and the inherent speed granted by Challenge, but Sir Roderick is not that man. Sir Roderick is a man of Divine purpose! Great, unmitigated justice! Say it again - JUSTICE~! Roderick's strengths are his speed and smiting power in a well armoured package, backed by his spells.

The first Talent Roderick chooses is Tactical Break; by ending the effect of his Challenge, Roderick can make a move action for free. This means he can move forward into challenge range, challenge his target, end the challenge and break forward, letting him get to melee range and going in for the kill. It can also be used defensively if he needs to get away. Say Roderick's Wizard friend is under threat. By shifting back and using Tactical Break, he can gain ground on the attackers and rescue his erstwhile companion.

Secondly, Roderick chooses Attacking Aura. This grants a +1 bonus to all attack and damage rolls for Roderick, and anyone in his Aura. By taking it again for his third talent, this +2 offence bubble provides Roderick and his allies a forward base, as it were, to benefit from his attack bonuses and capitalise on the protection he grants them.

So, between the editions, what's new?

Roderick is less aggressive and more supportive, although the aura and abilities could be built with killing in mind and provide even more damage instead. With the change to Challenge, Roderick can move significantly faster, and in theory, provide more coverage for the party. The number of spells he possesses have not changed, nor have the majority of their effects. However, character growth has slowed significantly.

Any defence, attack or skill increases are all talent based, it's up to the player to decide where their characters should grow. So between the two versions, the characters are pretty much equal at 1st level, minus one feat and a some increased skills. However, the difference between levels is more jarring. Character growth is a slow, natural evolution rather than a set of sudden power jumps.

In the endgame, 2nd ed characters will be weaker than their 1st edition counterparts, but their growth is more varied. Magic items and customisation selection are more important, and Sir Roderick as a character will, or at least should, grow into the man the player wants.

What do you think of fully customisable characters? We're still very much in a beta phase, but more abilities and talents are being continuously added! I see exciting times!

Pains and Painting

I am a terrible 40k collector. I have something of hobby ADHD; I build an army list, get the models, assemble and base the models, and then do nothing with said models for months at a time. I'm also a bit of a codex whore, I'm the sad act who owns every major digital rulebook release, save for the dataslates.

Recently, I've taken an interest in the Orks (thanks to the hilarious ravings of the Ork Mekboy from Retribution, mentioned in the previous post), so I dusted off the remnants of my Black Reach box set, long forgotten in the tides of modelling yore, and started gluing stuff together.

This Warboss isn't quite finished, he needs a few more layers to him, some brighter skin, another wash, and a good, thick swampy basing, maybe some mushrooms here or there!

What I find important about this little deviance is not the army, but the painting. My beloved girlfriend said to me "can I paint one?" So I dug out an old, unpainted metal Chaos Chosen and let her go mental. I taught her the basics of brush care and which brushes to use when, the importance of washes and thinning pains, and this is what came out! Meet George, Chaos Chosen:

What humbles me is that I had never expected my other half to take an interest in my hobby. I had never even considered the possibility of painting with her, and I had been ignorant enough not to ask. When George was finished, she smiled, and laughed, and said "oh he is just the coolest guy!" Or something to that effect. The important bit is her enthusiasm reminded me of what it's like to see your army roaring into combat, with every model painted and based to the best of your ability. The old adage that painted models play better than unpainted ones rings true if you really put your heart into it. It doesn't have to be perfect quality, and it doesn't have to be a studio level job, but if you feel like it was your best work, you're obviously going to be proud. You can feel that your unit is going to accomplish a great feat in the course of the game, and you feel their loss more keenly when they're off the board. 

I cringed as a volley of Necron warrior fire shot down one of my anti-tank  Stormtalons, but I whooped and cheered as the remaining two swung forward and peppered the monolith to death. Tactical Squads have drop-prodded in, bearing flamers and heavy bolters, who had to defend an objective against Deathwing terminators. Did they die? Yes, and horribly. They were completely out of their depth, and they didn't have the weapons for the job. But they held the line, the second combat squad counter-charge and survived combat long enough for the Chaplain and his own terminators to do something about them. They even brought two of the bastards down themselves, and the Chaplain's Terminators wouldn't have won the combat if the tactical squad hadn't engaged. With two tactical marines left, they held the objective and hid behind the remains of the drop pod.

Now that is an epic event, a mote of action in a much bigger game. If written up, it'd make an awesome action scene in a novel, and would open up the two survivors to some character development, perhaps promotion to Sergeants of other tactical squads. I put a purity seal on each of them, and I remember that battle very clearly. Whenever these regular Bolter boys hit the field, I feel that the squad they're in is destined for great feats.

When my girlfriend jumped for joy at the birth of George, I felt a little spark of happiness in my heart because I'd ignored the call of the hobby for too long. My head was wrapped in competitive lists and model orders, paint schemes and basing effects, future release rumours and current cheese-mongering strategies. Sometimes, we just need to take a step back and say to ourselves "I'm going to paint my Orks with bright pink lipstick, because I think it's funny!"

RETRIBUTION

The big drive of Providence 2.0 is character customisation. If you can imagine a character, you can build them. Don't expect first level death machines, but you can easily imprint your idea into a game. The system is by no means perfect; skill growth is relatively static, and relies on ability score increases and specific talents, and the skill list is a bit too big for my liking. However, there are lessons to be learned everywhere.

One of my favourite games is Dawn of War: Retribution. It is a standalone expansion of Dawn of War II, and is widely considered as a magical series of strategy games.

I'm a big fan of the 40k universe and it's racist, xenophobic outlook, and how the nicest race in the setting is a proponent of forced indoctrination and planetary sterilisation.

One of the best bits of the game is the Last Stand mode; one representative from each faction is put in a pit with two other random players to beat down waves of regular enemies. There are only two arenas, and the wave layouts are set in patterns and all the enemies come in the exact same formations. Each of the eight characters have their own level based system, whereby new equipment is unlocked, although the stats remain the same.

Sounds like a grind? Yes, it is a grind, very much so, but the gameplay is immensely addictive, and I believe the glory lies in the customisation.

Each member of the roster fills a different battlefield role, and each have their own strengths and weaknesses. The Space Marine, for example, is very tanky and benefits from a large selection of armour, weapons and health regeneration items. Does this mean he can be used exclusively as a tank? Absolutely not. With the holy Bolter, he can gun down light infantry, and use his abilities more often (an ability that comes at a premium for said character). With a thunder hammer, he becomes a vehicle assassin. With the lightning claw, he chops up most infantry easily. Give him a jet pack, he is an alpha striker, able to wreck units before they reach the meat of the arena and using his increased survivability to win close fights. With a plasma gun equipped, the space marine can fly out of range, taking pot shots and generally running interference.

Aside from weapons and armour, characters can take equipment and a Leadership item, an item that changes the game immensely for said character. The Marine has health regeneration, the ability to summon a dreadnought and the power to issue an orbital bombardment. Combining these abilities with the appropriate weapons and armour can lead to amazing consequences.

The bolter's ability to refresh the space marine can lead to a lethal bombard spam, the bane of any horde force. Stacking the highest armour and Regeneration leads to an unkillable tank, who can act as the an anvil, against which the enemies are struck. Instead, the Dreadnought can kick ass and take names for the glory of the emprah! How the marine is built changes the relationship with the dreadnought. With the tanking build, his regenerative and healing items will keep his ally alive, but with the pot-shot build, the two make a scary tag team, able to fell the mightiest of foes with relative ease.

But what of weaknesses? The Space Marine is slow. Without the use of the jump pack, and thus a vital equipment slot, he has extreme difficulty reaching groups of enemies in time. Secondly, the marine's energy meter, the method through which abilities are used, has very few buffs. Only the Bolter, arguably the weakest weapon in his arsenal, improves regeneration rate, meaning that his abilities are at a premium. Although they are powerful, a space marine player must choose abilities carefully lest they find themselves overrun.

This is one example, and I haven't even scratched the surface of it. I could rant for ages on the uses of the Tau Commander, the Farseer, or the game changing lag machine that is the Ork Mekboy. Each of them belong to their own role; the Commander is a ranged damage dealer without peer. The Farseer has the widest selection of support abilities in the game. The Mekboy deals damage, but his greatest strength is running interference, dicking all over clusters of enemies and tanks alike with strange contraptions, bombs, and severe teleportation abuse.

I heartily suggest picking this game up from Steam. It is a paragon of character creation where every item has uses and nothing is worthless. The animation is sleek and the voice acting is fantastic. If you design tabletop games, or want to, Retribution is a pick-me-up. Whenever I'm feeling down or frustrated, one round of the Last Stand puts me back into the mindset, and I go back to tinkering with Providence.

See you I'm the arena!

Here in the now and the now to the Future!

 I are back! I apologise  for the lack of activity of this blog, it's been an immensely busy year and despite what I've wanted to do and write and say here. Here's a rundown:

The move went well (ish), and the new town was great.

Relationships end, relationships begin, people die and babies are born. I am now the proud uncle of two nieces and two nephews!

I was accepted to do my PhD. I work full time at mcdonalds to pay for it.

And last but not least,  Providence  has had a massive overhaul.

So, what is the future of Providence?

Well, firstly, that weekly story I promised hasn't happened at all. All of my creative time is now almost completely consumed, and the rest of my time is at a premium. I can't promise a story, but I can promise weekly updates, every Monday! I'm going to branch out from my usual game based articles, and start talking about other things close to my heart and closer to my expertise; writing, game design, computer games, and, of course, McDonalds.

I still run and test Providence, and I have those glorious boys at Alcon to thank for it's new lease on life.

At Alcon, I pitched Providence to the role playing group and it essentially got munched. Issues such as odd level scaling, imbalanced races, vaguely translated spell lists, odd resistance management, a strict class paradigm in a game based on customisation, the problems with half level scaling and skill points and so on and so forth. Basically they made me sad, but never fear! It has spawned the Providence 2.0!

Sometimes it takes the hardest hit to make the biggest change. Criticism is like dentistry. It is an unparalleled force for good, but it can hurt. The good news is 2.0 is awesome.

UPDATED RULES!

The half level growth, skill points and Hit Dice rolling are gone, and ability score increases have been added. Every character gets a +1 bonus to one of their ability scores every level. Magic item creation is simplified, magic has been standardised, and equipment selection is free form. Anyone can wear and wield anything. Items have been removed to compensate, and there is no longer a list of wondrous items. It's up to the game's designer to make any special items for their campaign, I can't shoehorn things I think should exist in someone else's world. Stats for weapons have been adjusted, and races have been balanced with comparable traits, optional ability score bonuses and a wider selection of skill bonuses. The rules for combat are largely unchanged, with only the smallest of tweaks.

CREATE A CLASS!

Instead of picking a class, you choose three abilities from a massive list, all drawn from the old class abilities. These essentially create the play style you want for your character; want a knight? Select Challenge, Equipment Optimisation and Dominate the Field for a sticky, hard to kill and hard hitting beast. Fancy a war priest? Berserk Rage, Divine Magic and Light Affinity will deliver healing and buffing and asskicking in equal measure.

Feats no longer exist, replaced by Talents. Each ability chosen for your character has a set of unlock able talents that comes with it, so you essentially create your own Talents list as well. The multitude of Feats written for the first edition have been culled and rolled together into General Talents, which can be chosen by any character. Talents are now the sole growth of everything, including skill bonuses, abilities, powers, spells known and spell slots available. You can specialise in one of your abilities, taking all of your Talents from one list, or mix and match them to cultivate the play style you want.

Hit Points and Skills are determined by the abilities you chose; abilities with more Hit Points tend to have fewer skill bonuses attached to them, whereas those with fewer Hit Points will have a greater variety of Skills and skill bonuses to choose from. The legendary CON modifier still applies to Hit Points, so careful planning can make a brutal tank or a tough little rogue.

THE ADVENT OF THE MONSTROUS!

The monsters of 1st Ed. have been rewritten. Instead of monstrous classes and racial specific bonuses, now all that there is is the racial profiles. The average monster will have one character ability to its name, save for bosses, who have three, and the rare campaign critical bosses have five (!) abilities to their mighty name. Indeed, all of the monsters have their own unique quirks, and their  profiles are just as good for PC's, if you so desire. 

I encourage you to write your own rules for your own monsters, tinker with the existing paradigms. How about an ethereal creature that manipulates reflections in a hall of mirrors, and give said ghost Sneak Attack?

The new system is being tested with a new campaign. All seems to be running smoothly, and no game breaking combination has been found, as of yet. It's a brand new dawn for this game, and I hope to share the ride with you! See you next Monday!