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Buffalo [Created by Masterweaver]
Tall, strong, and imposing, a buffalo's shadow looms over nearly any that stand before it. Don't be fooled, however, as you will never find a truer friend than a native of southern Equestria.

We’re Very Good At This Stuff (2)
Buffalo gain training in four skills at character creation rather than two.

It's not reflavored, it's two copies of an otherwise unstackable racial talent.

Question; Instant-Party states that you summon enough food to satisfy six creatures for the day, and then goes on to say that any player that participates in the party gets the other stuff...

So, if you have seven players in your party, can you feed only six, but give the bonus to all seven?

Colter Bolt wrote:I'm not sure if this is the place for this question, but I was wondering... Why is the pre-req for Howling Chains effecting somepony that they're helpless?

We tackled this one in the Arctic Advent campaign. What it came down to is that if they are helpless, then the move is a great way to reliably bind a subdued target and interrogate them. However it can be used on non-helpless targets via a skill challenge at the DMs discretion, which is what one player did to another player during a race.

So now that the Flight Utiity Talents have changed so there is no Utility Talent specifically called "Flight", what talent do you get instead when you take Form of the Raven whilst using your Shape Shifter destiny?

Flight School. I'll clarify that when I'm not in last-minute prep for an epic finale adventure to the Winter Season of my live Dragonreach campaign. Thanks for the catch. =)

Could we get a clear cute list of how Attack Stuff goes when one get's hurt by damage? Like: (Stuff that interrupts before the damage is done) -> X (base attack damage) 1/2 Weaken - X (Resist) (if zero at this point, no damage) + X (Vul) -> (reaction effects that trigger when you get hurt.)

Also I suggest a full list of how combat attack damage effecting stuff works would be a good addition to the Handbook... That sound like a good idea?

I think it goes like so: Things that modify damage > Weakness > Temp HP > Resistance > Vulnerability > HP > Things that check for damage or HP loss.

But, I'd really like an official answer too.

Ramsus wrote:I think it goes like so: Things that modify damage > Weakness > Temp HP > Resistance > Vulnerability > HP > Things that check for damage or HP loss.

But, I'd really like an official answer too.

I figured resist was before temp HP, but now I'm kind of curious

Paper Shadow wrote:Question; Instant-Party states that you summon enough food to satisfy six creatures for the day, and then goes on to say that any player that participates in the party gets the other stuff...

So, if you have seven players in your party, can you feed only six, but give the bonus to all seven?

Just reposting this question, as well as adding another...

What happens if you are at the bottom of the initiative order, but summon Hurricane Blade and jump to the front because of its trait? Do you have a second turn or something?

No, actually I'm pretty sure you don't. If you already went that round, you don't go again since you're already past your new initiative space. If you went last and now go first, you take you turn immediately but, that's your turn for the round. You're not actually gaining a turn anywhere.

Yeah, you get that second turn HOWEVER you will have a lot more between your next turns.

No, you don't. It's a normal complement of turns.

If you're here:
1 2 3 4 5 A
And you use hurricane blade to get here:
A 1 2 3 4 5
Then take you second turn, you go through players/enemies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and then you go again. If you hadn't taken the extra turn you would have had to wait through players/enemies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, just the same. So you really only move the timing of your turns. And admittedly, being able to take your tun sooner is generally helpful.

Hey, I have a question, and sorry if this has been asked before, but where, generally, are the monsters and health ratings and stuff on the
I-Just-made-this-up scale?

As in, in some games, you get one Health (like mario) And so does everything else.
Also, in some games, you have thousands of health, the enemies have thousands of health, and your attacks deal hundreds of damage. (Like Final Fantasy, for example.)

So where are WE on this scale of stuff?

Each character in this system has 30 HP. Certain talents can effectively give you up to 50 or so, though technically the maximum amount never changes.

How much damage you do is dependent on how much you roll on your attacks. As a general rule, the highest-level stuff that isn't an outright ULTIMATE ATTACK does around 50 damage if you're rolling really well. More with vulnerability.

Enemy's HP is determined by the individual PH - so you could have an enemy with 1 HP, one with 1000, and everything in between, but if you get an enemy with 1000 HP and are expected to beat it with your attacks that at best can do 55 damage your PH may be a jerk and/or you may have previously broken the game wide open. Also 1000 HP is an estimate on what might in some parallel universe serve as a "reasonable max", not the actual limit on how much HP enemies can have.

So, closer to Mario than Final Fantasy...but on the other hand, flavor makes up for that and more. It's not an official rule, but the challenges and enemies you face are supposed to scale with your level, so that Manticore with 50 HP you fought as a boss back at level one now has 1 HP at level 10, meaning even your weakest attacks are doing 50 HP damage to an outsider's eye and your strongest are doing several thousand, so you might be a bit closer to Final Fantasy at the end.

Also, again, everything I just said about scaling is just flavor, so it may be more (you become gods at level 10) or less (level 10 is just a really experienced level 1) true dependent on your PH...but also on you. Describe your attacks as being more over-the-top than everyone else's, and by the end the war of attrition of coolness will establish that you are throwing meteors at each other even if you are doing only 25 damage with your best strikes.

All PCs start with 30 health. I believe there's a trait that effectively increases that to 45 (or possibly 42), and you can get different items that grant you up to 8 (possibly 10) temporary hp at the start of each fight.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hG6z8gy4KtP84eX9oN0CETgvFiNYblTHgbZ1kz3Ji70/edit

This is the WIP copy of the monster manual. I believe the highest HP in here is currently 140, and that was apparently a ridiculously dangerous fight for a party of 4-6 level 7 PCs (max level is 10). The Troll entry is reasonably dangerous for a party of level 1 creatures, and it has 45 health.

However, what screws with those hp levels is the constant existence of resistance and regeneration. The troll has regen 3 or more, and the other DR (danger rating) 1 monster, the giant guardian shield, has resist 4. These give them greatly increased survivability compared to PCs that don't focus on keeping themselves alive.

So really, most of those statistics aren't worth that much. The important thing is that the average damage per round of a PC is 8. Whether you build up to something like It's Over (6d12 damage after several turns of setup) or just spam stab (1d10 every turn), you should average out to about 8 damage per round. Monster damage output per round depends massively on how long the DM wants the PC's to survive while trying to kill it. It's a bit of a weird system to explain right now, but if there's a simple way to do it, SilentBelle probably knows it, so I'll defer to him.

EDIT: ninja'ed. I think the only thing my post adds is the 8 DPR (damage per round) factoid, but at least that's there. The reflavoring bit is an excellent point.

Also when you factor in the traits and items, by the time you hit level 10 you are about 2 times (or slightly more) stronger than you were at level 1 depending on your choice of talents. But you also get these bonuses irregularly so that's why I didn't initially make a monster level equivalent and made the Danger Rating instead. Of course it's really the flavour of what you are fighting that's going to make you feel completely awesome at the highest levels, once your party faces down an ancient dragon or the like.

As for health of the monsters, usually you balance it between their potential damage and their potential survivability. The monsters differ as much as the players will though. Some monsters will just be plain better against certain play styles. The Danger Ratings, I'll admit, are far from perfect, but they should serve as a good enough estimate for now.

Overall I find a great part of the charm of this system is how varied the players can get without having a HUGE fluctuation in damage output and survivability for the players.

Zarhon wrote:Racials question!

Call Out (1) – At Will
You let out a loud call. Choose one

A) Name any number of creatures that could recognize your voice. They hear your howl automatically and know how far away from them you are and in what direction.
B) Every creature within one to ten miles (your choice) hears the call and knows where you are in relation to them. You make make it clear whether or not your call is meant as a warning, distress call, etc.

What exactly is the difference between A and B? Does A cause *only* the selected creatures to hear your message (Subsonic sounds, or a manner similar to telepathy, meaning this racial can be considered/reflavored as a psionic/mindflayer-like racial), or is it available for all to hear, who can hear it?

If it is the latter, there isn't really a distinction / choice between them: Both are equally capable of alerting both NPC (hostile or otherwise) and allies of your location.

The whole thing is very vague on the range/hearing limit of "A" as well.

A) They hear your voice and know their relation in distance to you no matter HOW far away they are. However, any creatures that could normally hear the yell - such as those within a few hundred feet - still do.

B) It's just a really loud yell.

Colter Bolt wrote:I'm not sure if this is the place for this question, but I was wondering... Why is the pre-req for Howling Chains effecting somepony that they're helpless?

Because otherwise it would be a utility talent that can be offensively used against another creature and render them helpless. That's not what utility talents are for - we don't want utility talents to have combat applications.

sunbeam wrote:This may have been asked a while ago, but can you ward yourself from being targeted with Spectral Warden?

Yes.

sunbeam wrote:Can you stack the "we're just good at this stuff" racial with the "I've read a lot about it" utility talent, for a total of 4 trained skills? Or the Buffalo "We're really good at this stuff" for a total of 5 trained skills?
Also, is the aforementioned Buffalo racial ever going to become a Genetic Engineering option?

Everything new in the racial expansions will eventually be a genetic engineering option. And the trained skills thing is going to get revamped a bit - so wait on that. "I've Read a Lot About It" will soon give 2 trainings instead of one - the buffalo ability will just be a reflavored version of that.

Paper Shadow wrote:Question; Instant-Party states that you summon enough food to satisfy six creatures for the day, and then goes on to say that any player that participates in the party gets the other stuff...

So, if you have seven players in your party, can you feed only six, but give the bonus to all seven?

The food it provides is considered participating in the party. Only six creatures can participate for the bonus.

Stairc -Dan Felder wrote:

Colter Bolt wrote:I'm not sure if this is the place for this question, but I was wondering... Why is the pre-req for Howling Chains effecting somepony that they're helpless?

Because otherwise it would be a utility talent that can be offensively used against another creature and render them helpless. That's not what utility talents are for - we don't want utility talents to have combat applications.

*Cough* Maddening Mockery *Cough*

Stairc -Dan Felder wrote:

Paper Shadow wrote:Question; Instant-Party states that you summon enough food to satisfy six creatures for the day, and then goes on to say that any player that participates in the party gets the other stuff...

So, if you have seven players in your party, can you feed only six, but give the bonus to all seven?

The food it provides is considered participating in the party. Only six creatures can participate for the bonus.

Follow-up Question: If the bonuses are tied to the food, how do you give a character with the Mechanical racial the bonuses?

You misread things. The 1 point trait will still exist. It's just that the utility talent that gives training will now give 2 trainings instead. That's what the buffalo will be taking - not some unique racial trait that only exists in genetic engineering.

What happens if you are at the bottom of the initiative order, but summon Hurricane Blade and jump to the front because of its trait? Do you have a second turn or something?

Well isn't THIS the rabbit-hole question. Seriously, the way initiative works is so ridiculously complex in order to account for these things that we're planning to just scrap every single thing that messes with changing initiative slots this way. It's a rules nightmare. I barely even understand it, and I designed the system!

A long time ago, I answered the question in this thread. Feel free to scroll back for how initiative works with regard to swapping places - it explains how initiative works on a mechanical level. But it won't be relevant for much longer. We are killing such mechanics because they are unnecessarily complex and counter-intuitive. No grappling in our system, no sir!

Xel Unknown wrote:Could we get a clear cute list of how Attack Stuff goes when one get's hurt by damage? Like: (Stuff that interrupts before the damage is done) -> X (base attack damage) 1/2 Weaken - X (Resist) (if zero at this point, no damage) + X (Vul) -> (reaction effects that trigger when you get hurt.)

Also I suggest a full list of how combat attack damage effecting stuff works would be a good addition to the Handbook... That sound like a good idea?

Effects fall into two categories - things that modify the base damage being dealt and things that trigger when damage WOULD be dealt or IS dealt.

Things like Weakness or getting a bonus to damage affects your base damage.

Then that base damage is thrown at a creature. First things happen that trigger when a creature WOULD take damage (resistance prevents damage before it's dealt - so it triggers first). Then things happen when the character DOES take damage (vulnerability, the player losing hp temporary hp and hp... etc).

casey1859 wrote:Hey, I have a question, and sorry if this has been asked before, but where, generally, are the monsters and health ratings and stuff on the
I-Just-made-this-up scale?

As in, in some games, you get one Health (like mario) And so does everything else.
Also, in some games, you have thousands of health, the enemies have thousands of health, and your attacks deal hundreds of damage. (Like Final Fantasy, for example.)

So where are WE on this scale of stuff?

Seems you've got some interesting philosophical answers thus far - so I'll just say that we are indeed working on a Monster Manual that will make everything transparent and easy to build monsters for. We were almost to a draft... But then we figured out a way to redesign the whole monster system in such a way that would make life a lot easier for generating interesting encounters - so we had to go back to the drawing board. We really want to get this right so we're trying to make the theory rock-solid before revealing it. But I think Silentbelle can probably help you a great, great deal.

Paper Shadow wrote:Follow-up Question: If the bonuses are tied to the food, how do you give a character with the Mechanical racial the bonuses?

The sheer knowledge that they are included and are being given great food as a true, true friend rather than being left out is enough morale for sweetiebot in my book. But that's up to you. In reality, the food is just the flavor for why you get the morale. In reality, you could also reflavor the talent so that the party itself is the morale - but only six people can still participate. Maybe there are only six players max at the morale-boosting boardgame.