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!