underside dev diary #14: comprehensive progress update

those of you who have been keyed in to underside's development will know there's been some pretty notable schedule slip. i've got a lot of shit going on in my life! so instead of promising any specific date for the full underside release or the combat-ready playtest, here's a comprehensive overview of everything that's done and what still needs doing:

INTRODUCTION:

this entire chapter is more or less completely written -- it lays out underside's mission statement and raison d'etre, discusses the tone of the game and how to pitch it to other people you want to play it with, and talks about best practices to have more fun when you do play it.

the only thing this chapter might need added is a direct acknowledgements segment -- there's a lot of games and works (not least of all worm :p) that have inspired underside.

RATING: 🟡 ENTIRELY DONE, BUT NEEDS MINOR REVISION

CORE RULES

this chapter is entirely finished and covers the game's dice mechanics, basic attributes, clocks, effect, tension, chance rolls, the universal moves, and blowback. this is all the stuff you need to play the basic skeleton of a game of underside, it's all done, and me and citizen abel don't anticipate having to change any of it before either of our releases:

RATING: ✅ ENTIRELY DONE

CHARACTER CREATION

this chapter is also done, but as we move towards a release version of underside, the current power generation system -- based heavily on weaverdice's -- is going to go from the only way to generate powers to one of a few options, all of which will delve into your characters' psyches and traumas to create something exciting, unique, and totally out of control.

still, an explanation of underside's character creation philosophy, a guide to picking skills, approaches, angles, assets, and backgrounds are all done and ready to ship, meaning the skeleton of this section is all complete.

RATING: 🟡 PARTIALLY DONE, NEEDS MODERATE REVISION

CREW CREATION

the sister to character creation is in a pretty perfect spot, walking you through how to pick the leader, ethics, and demesne that will characterize your villain or hero team, as well as giving advice on themes and aestheitcs.

RATING: ✅ ENTIRELY DONE

CITY CREATION

the long-lost jocular uncle to the other two, the completed city creation section walks you through creating a setting for your campaign together -- incoroporating PC backstories, drawing a map, and filling it out with landmarks and supervillain and hero teams you'd like to see pop up in your campaign.

RATING: ✅ ENTIRELY DONE

THE SOCIAL GAME

one of the most exciting segments of the rulebook, this one's been done for a while! it covers the 'vibe' and atmosphere of the cape scene, social moves, ties, leverage, fame & reputation, social stunts, infamy, the fracture clock, recruiting and utilizing npc allies, and social combat ('standoffs').

RATING: ✅ ENTIRELY DONE

COMBAT

the cape fights we're all here for. this segment also has a primer on social norms in the cape scene, as well as all the combat-specific mechanics: combat moves, wounds, the breaking point clock, going down, round draws, the situation clock, zones and positioning, escalation clocks, and running enemy and allied NPCS.

RATING: ✅ ENTIRELY DONE

CAMPAIGN & PLAY

the more structural-level stuff, dealing with advancement, pacing, and the flow of the game. this is currently the section i'm working on. the introduction to this chapter, breaking down the three-phase system underside uses, is done, as are the chapters on downtime & downtime move, engagement rolls & the cape phase, and the home phase & anchors.

yet to be written are the end-of-session checklists, the 'pallette' and 'arc draw' systems to set up story arcs for your campaign, the arc goals and crisis clocks that will provide your party with long-term structure, the ruin and crisis arc mechanics that let your city grow (or burn) alongside you, and power & demesne advancements to make your pcs and your team as a whole stronger chapter to chapter.  

RATING: 🟡 PARTIALLY DONE

RUNNING THE GAME

this chapter won't be in any playtest material and is the only part of underside that i haven't started working on at all. this is essentially ghoing to be a suite of GM-facing tools and advice that make it easier to run a campaign of underside. planned inclusions are creating and maintaing the 'feel' of your dark superhero world, creating and playing as npc factions, creating and playing npcs themselves, how to incorporate player plans and backstories, crisis arcs and escalating threats, and a few optional rulesets and pregenned situations, teams, capes and locations to use.

RATING: ❌ NOT DONE

SUNDRIES

this segment here accounts for some long and complicated tables and charts that still need work, as well as the fine details of each individual talent and skill tree. this should be much shorte rthan all the other stuff, but it's something that's still on the list as the fine details here need to intersect with all the other parts of the game and so need to wait until at least campaign and play is done

RATING: ❌ NOT DONE

writing this was a bit more intensive than most dev diaries, so i hope you understand it being a little late! still, i just wanted to give everyone a transparent look into what has been done and what hasn't. i think, laying it out like this, things are looking pretty good, as the entierty of the skeleton for playing session-to-session is done and the broader elements that can take that into campaign play are chugging along happily. i don't want to jinx it, but expect to see a playtestable version released before the end of the year. thank you all for your support and patience--you've all played a huge role in letting underside make it this far in the first place!