Knights of the Falling Stars Now Posted

I’ve posted Knights of the Falling Stars for Resolute: the Superhero RPG 2E. This is my take on a certain sci-fi universe that I’ve loved for 30 years…

Included are rules for spaceships, the mystical powers of the source and the void, a handful of characters, and an introductory scenario. Swing by RPGNow and check it out.

Mike

Revision Notes: Resolute Supers 2E Revised Edition

As I continue to refine Resolute, I have made some tweaks to the game system. While hesitant to release constant updates for the game, I also want to make sure that you have the cleanest, clearest and strongest system to work from. In working on Knights of the Fading Suns and Battle Suits: Mecha and Exoskeletons, I’ve discovered a few ways things could be cleaned up and some abilities that could be simplified. Therefore, I’m releasing this update to the game. Here are the changes between 2E and 2E revised:

- Changed ‘armor’ to ‘invulnerability’ for consistency with other Resolute system games.
- For game balance, revised several abilities that were usable each round to be usable once per scene.
- Clarified uses of hero points vs. fate points; included option for trading in unused fate points at the end of the issue for hero points; removed option of using hero points in place of fate points.
- Changed omni-powers to work as magic does in Arvandoria, with each additional application linked to the primary application, each usable once per turn and purchased as a fixed ability. Also simplified the way ability bonuses are combined.
- Revised and expanded options for exchanging wounds.
- Revised and simplified rules for awarding hero points.
- Simplified rules for exchanging wounds to be compatible with Arvandoria.
- Re-worked terminology on vehicles for consistency and clarity, added a vehicle ability and upgraded vehicle wounds.

Thanks for playing!

Mike

Hero's Handbook Now Up

The Hero's Handbook for Resolute: Towers of Arvandoria is now posted on RPGNow. A resource for players of Resolute: Towers of Arvandoria, the Hero’s Handbook provides a wealth of new options for heroes of Arvandoria. Within, you will find:

- Two new heroic races: leprechauns and stoutlings.
- Fourteen new heroic abilities.
- Four new magical powers: chaos magic, eldritch, sorcery and valor magic
- Twenty new magic spells.
- Eleven heroic archetypes. This layers an optional, simple class system over the existing rules; each player can choose to take or not take an archetype as desired.
- Rules for making your game crunchier, including different weapon and armor types.
Innovative rules for adventurer’s satchels, wherein you generate your backpack in play.

As with all Resolute releases, your purchase includes both the illustrated screen version and the printer-friendly black and white version.

Resource Management

As I wrap up work on the Hero’s Handbook for Resolute, Towers of Arvandoria, I find that the game is growing in a direction I didn’t quite expect. The further into designing this game I go, the more I find that the game is primarily about resource management, especially at higher levels. The game gets crunchier as you pick up additional abilities that grant these resources. As a player, you have a lot of control over this, and how it impacts your play experience. Generally speaking, the game rewards those players willing to take on an additional burden of keeping track of resources. Here are some examples, using ‘fighter types’ to give you some examples:

At the most basic, you can become a wood troll berserker, giving you only a few resources to manage: you have your wounds to keep track of, and the bonus from greater frenzy to factor into your rolls once you activate it. That’s about it. Similarly, a storm dwarf myrmidon gives you an escalating bonus to attacks over four rounds; once you hit your peak, there’s nothing else to keep track of (other than wounds), if you don’t buy it.

At the far extreme, you can become a human templar with the leadership ability and a variety of spells. Now, you have a bunch of stuff to keep track of…
- You have a pool of wounds to distribute among allies to heal them.
- You have a pool of shield points to distribute among allies to protect them.
- You have a pool of bonus fate points (from leadership) to distribute among allies to help them.
- You have your own wounds to keep track of.
- You may have an energized weapon, giving you a pool of bonus wounds you can deal.

As you can see, your approach to character design can vary wildly between comparable hero ‘types’, leaving you with a plethora of ways to build your hero that are all viable. This doesn’t just apply to melee fighters, either… you can build a single-minded caster (primarily dealing ranged damage), or you can build a versatile caster, purchasing dozens of unique spells and minor abilities.

This applies to monsters as well: where you can build a simple foe with only 4-6 abilities, you can build complex, multifaceted foes who wield a number of options, having over 20 distinct abilities, most of which it will use during a single scene.