Fabula Ultima: Rule Updates and Core Book Reminder

Greetings, everyone!

We're coming to the end of a very tough year, and my heart goes out to all of you. I want you to know that your support and participation might very well be what has kept me going this year - without it, I don't think I would have made it this far without saying "screw it all!"

We may not be close friends in real life, but please know that you are important and that your presence, whether big or small, has made a difference.

I am writing this update to remind all of you that the 2.9.4 core book files for Fabula Ultima (which you can find here or on Google Drive) will remain available until December 31st; afterwards, the various iterations of the core book will leave the patreon in preparation for the official release. Playtest materials, the work-in-progress documents for the Free RPG Day demo, and all further development will still take place on the patreon so I'm sure you and I will both be busy :P

When it comes to the core book, these days I've been working hard on several tweaks and fixes, some minor some rather consistent, to the core book. Afterwards, there will be translation and editing in both languages. We all know a book can't be perfect, but it doesn't hurt to throw in some quick fixes in the final rush, right?

That is what the second part of this post is about - while I can't feasibly create a full pdf file and explain all fixes and changes, I have selected a few major points that could prove useful in case any of you decided to start a campaign before the game hits the shelves.

• DARKBLADE
  The Warlord was removed from the book, and in its place we have the Darkblade (formerly Blood Blade, formerly Blood Knight). Here are the full class skills/benefits:

• ELEMENTALIST
  The Spellblade skill now scales at SLx10 and has a maximum of 2 levels.

• PATHFINDER
  The class has been renamed Wayfarer (not that it matters here), and the skill Faithful Companion now allows for a maximum of two basic attacks on the creature, only grants the [SL] bonus on Accuracy and Magic Checks, and you no longer need the Fabula Point to be reunited. The wording in general was cleaned up a bit.

• TINKERER
  The Deep Pockets skill is now a heroic skill (requires mastery of the Tinkerer class to purchase. It has been replaced by Potion Rain (below).
  The grenade and potion invention categories have been merged into alchemy.

• GENERAL RULES CHANGES
  There have been a few tweaks, but I specifically wanted to mention the new Projects charts and the change to the optional conflict rule for players outside conflicts.

IMPROVED SPELL DAMAGE
All spells that dealt HR+10 damage deal HR+15 damage; all spells that dealt HR+20 damage deal HR+25 damage.
On page 308, Devastation costs 30 MP (not 40); Breath deals HR+10 damage; Cursed Breath deals HR+15 damage and costs 10 MP (not 20).
Among Heroic Skills, Comet costs 50 MP (not 60); Volcano costs 40 MP (not 50); Hope costs 40 MP (not 60).

IMPROVED ARCANA DAMAGE
Arcana deal 30 damage instead of 20 with their Dismiss, and the amount increases by 10 damage at level 20+, and by 20 damage at level 40+.

THE NEW INITIATIVE SYSTEM
This has received a major overhaul, as can be seen from the ENG Quickstart WIP available to patrons. Here's how it works in short:

• At the beginning of combat, PCs make a Group Check [DEX+INS] for Initiative. Both the leader and any supporters receive penalties based on the armor they are wearing (but armor penalties have been halved since the 2.9.4 version).
• The Difficulty Level is equal to the highest initiative score among enemies; enemy INIT is equal to [DEX+INS score, halved], but Elites get +2 and Champions get +X, where X is equal to the amount of soldiers they replace.
• If the Group Check is a success, the first side to act in each round is the PCs'. Otherwise, it's the NPCs.
• During the round, participants alternate taking turns, starting with the side who won initiative; if one side has turns in excess of the enemy, these turns are taken at the end of the round: so if 3 PCs fight a Champion 4 and the PCs win initiative, the turn order will be PC, Champion 1, PC, Champion 2, PC, Champion 3, Champion 4.

This also means that the Entropist's Stolen Time Skill was changed:

And that's all!

Once again, thank you for your love and support, and please remember to join in the conversation on Discord!!!

A super gigantic hug to all of you!!! <3