Aryxbez

While Pursuit Talents are only accessible while you're in that pursuit, do you still keep the General Talents you gained from those Pursuit(s)? So if I had 10 levels in two Pursuits, I'd then have 10 General Talents I always have "on"? I know you still keep a General talent if you later no longer quality, but wanted to make sure here in this case as well.

Is there a Max level in Through the Breach? is it possible PC's can go to 10th step in their Pursuit, and start taking another Pursuit? This is mentioned on the notion of how 5 sessions per player, and avg people of 4 is 20 sessions, does this also mean the PC's technically will level up 20 times before the campaigns end?

According to the Kickstarter, the following supplements were basically: Into the Bayou (Bayou & Necropolis details, playble Gremlins) Into the Steam (What we have now "Within the Steam" +playable Robots) From Nightmares (playable Neverborn, & details on Monstrous natives) Under Quarantine (Playable Undead, & Necromancer expansion) In the Guild Wars (plot book? War on earth comes to Malifaux) Beyond Fate ("rules for avatars to be used in high power campaigns") So it seems like we're going to get a "Guild" book in a way with the alleged Plot book. Also one could consider the core book very much a "Guild" book as all the things are done in the Guild-flavor.

The one I recall, was the Shapeshifter Advanced Pursuit, where its 3rd level ability allows you to take on an "Enforcer" Beast(pg 117). I don't think there is anything that allows you to control an Enforcer animal, merely become one.

I've read in the core books that state the miniatures line handbooks is a source of Lore in it. Specifically it answers various mysteries or other questions about the setting. Secondly, that since 2E is similar, that can adapt the stats to the RPG. So, I'm wondering what books specifically, are good for checking out for pieces of lore to the setting (answering mysteries), as well what books and/or card-sets you would recommend for adapting the statblocks to the RPG? It seems like there's quite a few, and I think anyone experienced in utilizing them at this point would be very helpful. An example, I saw seamus in a latest book, but unsure that's his only version, if so, what version(s) would be recommended from what book? Stuff like that. I apologize if this should go in the miniatures thread, I was really unsure where it should go, felt like a 50/50 of both subjects in a way.

On the kickstarter, you have planned allegedly a supplement called Beyond Fate, described as follows: "Designed to take standard campaigns to legendary heights, this book includes rules for Avatars to be used in high power campaigns." Now your base game RNG (cards w/values 1-13 sometimes 0 or 14), curious how you intend to keep the game together under such RNG constraints? High Power doesn't necessarily mean "bigger numbers", but pending the capability intended, I imagine may need higher values in parts so such characters aren't merely getting punked by a handful of Minions, as well if you want "Tyrant/Avatar" threats to be something more practical to face for the PC's. One easy way I suppose is creatures of certain level start interacting with you like the PVP rules, where you count as a "Master?" like rank, so it's always like you flipped a 12, making it consistently difficult/impossible they will ever hit you (though there will be outliers, like damage auras). Secondly, What was the design intent with making 60 different skills, some with highly narrow focuses (Any Combat skill), while some more general (Blacksmithing/Engineering, Notice being all 5 senses)?

Definitely a notion I can enjoy, having something in the actual mechanics supporting this, opposed to them having Macguffins or other DM-fiat powers. I haven't really heard a compelling argument for its use, would you be willing to share what this "good case" was the playtesters made? A skill that will on average hardly see use doesn't warrant a place, especially when its diminishing the conceptual space of other skills. At that point, it's just taking up unneeded room all for the sake of granularity (Northern hill tribes don't take kindly to freeloaders!). To the other introduced skills, cooking is cool, but I'm almost certain Homesteading could cover this (also found "This skill includes surveying prospective areas," suppose then that's an argument for having a skill that consolidates some certain functions, without spreading across different skills). While Grappling like the other Unarmed skills, at least differs itself without shrinking the conceptual space of pre-existing combat skills. I'd also like to point out, Grappling seems like a great skill for defensive characters, but is harmed by it requiring speed. Weirdly enough, even its skill triggers favor a more "brute strength" like approach in both its description and effects. I realize since I seem fortuitous to have reached a designer. What was the design intent with making 60 different skills, some with highly narrow focuses (Any Combat skill), while some more general (Blacksmithing/Engineering, Notice being all 5 senses)? Unsure if useful to anyone, but since I was curious, wanted to see full number of skills and stats they corresponded to: Open Spoiler Academic: 6 (3 Int, 2 Cun) Close-Com: 6 (Mt4, spd 1, Gr1) Crafting: 7 (Int3, cun2, Ten 2) Expertise: 13 (Int 2, Cun 6, Cha 2, Gr1,spd1, Ten 1) Magic: 6 (Ten3*, Cha3*, Int 2) Rang-com: 6 (Gr4, Mt 1, Int 1) Social: 7 (Cha2, Ten2, Int3) Training: 9 (Gr1,Mt1,Res3,Ten1,Cun2,spd1) Total: 60 skills -19/60 among the skills Might 6 Grace 7 Speed 3 (+1) Resilience 3 -42/60 roughly among the skills Intelligence 14 (+1) Cunning 12 Charm 7* (+1) Tenacity 9* Mt=Might, Res=Resilience, Gr=Grace, Spd=speed, Int=Intelligence, Cun=cunning, Cha=Charm, and Ten=Tenacity *=some skills here are given dual use, allowing them to come up more than once in a single skill. +1=If you count Into the Steam, that adds +3 skills to 63, and each respective stat having one more on the count. One of your 8 intended supplements Beyond Fate, how do you intend to handle a "higher power" game with your card based RNG? While I'm not sure what the projected capability of the PC's are to be, I imagine don't want PC's to get punked by a squad of Guild guards, and being capable of taking on "Tyrant/Avatar" threats Such as December, Leviathan (inactive centipede bot), Seamus?, Lillith, or otherwise the villains of great power within Malifaux's most dangerous zones. Given this is ways off, I'm still rather quite curious. I appreciate you ended with this, and didn't make it the response of an argument, otherwise rather dislike this line of phrase. Since that sort of talk doesn't really address the points, nor is an actual argument validating the position it regards.

I'm glad to hear from one of the designers/Staff members, in part why I joined this forum (I regret I forgot to mention that in my first post). Honestly, its better to have skills that can be used for multitude of things. Even with possibility of free rank 1 skills per session, there's only so many set points to go around, PC's are encouraged to be fairly specialized, and thusly only so much PC's can do. See no reason why those present skills couldn't have simply covered any of those interactions. In fact, seems like Labor, or "Harness Soulstone" skill would be the go-to skill to use for digging up soulstones, "planning" easily handled by knowledge of the environment/materials, and Navigation/Wilderness easily fill the creation of maps (Navigation needs to be good for something). That sounds like an odd reasoning, just because you were adding two other skills, doesn't mean you should add more. Even if you were just adding "Grappling", wouldn't be necessary to then create other skills that break up the conceptual space of other ones. Because of that, doesn't seem like your playtesters carefully considered this too well. As for every skill of similar nature to other ones, you take away from the conceptual space of the others. So now Geography does that, in theory, no longer can Navigation/Track/Wilderness/Notice be used for such. Of course, if they were going to be used interchangeably, then that already strains the justification for the skill in the first place.

Speaking of Into the Steam, I'm quite surprised nobody else has been talking about it yet (or if they have, please let me know). There's actually quite a bit I like about it, as it lends supports to pre-existing styles (Archery, Whips, defensive), and has something for everyone in general. It'd be quite wondrous to see the other supplements carry with this sort of content, albeit I understand if this one is more likely to be more packed than say: Into the Bayou or From the NIghtmare. Skill triggers seems like a good idea, giving more options to characters, elevating the use of other skills for characters, and adding a bit of randomization to PC actions that was mentioned from Omenbringer earlier. Some things I wanted to ask: Doctor [book] Trigger has one where they could First Aid in a loop, curious if intentional? Doubt it'd hurt the game really, as it'd take quite a bit of luck and/or cheating to make happen anyway. New Skill was added, Geography, unsure why to its inclusion, considering 2-3 other skills exist that perform its function. Seems like it would only serve to split up those skills in uses further, especially when the book has even admitted that Academic skills hardly get used. That Enlarged property no longer makes it become "Heavy Melee" weapon. Curios if intentional because of the "Daito" weapon, Arguably well the most powerful melee weapon in the game from being in the hands of the two-handers? Or more likely, simply allowing characters to have large one-handed styled weapons (like some of the art has depicted). The Invested, or robot race, does it natural Armor also decrease the listed Defense score as well? Thusly the given Defense values for the respective chasis's are actually lower than indicated, or is the Armor penalty already included? In general, why make Pneumatic its own weapon class, usually requiring to be paired up with another skill? Is it to combat it as "skill tax" for respective upgrade, and if likely no longer practical for the current crafting system, why keep the skill?

Pardon my delays, Gen-Con keeps one plenty busy during, after, and I've been reading the latest supplement Into the Steam (which such thoughts I'll share, or go to a pre-existing thread if applicable). To an extent that's true, but in the degree which one skill could cover the general gambling bit, its unneeded to have two (otherwise kinda instituting a tax to play a gambler type PC). That said, the game even states: "and gambler rely heavily, if not entirely, on Mathematics." "Engineering is used to design a multitude of things including firearms, pneumatics, locomotives, and any other mechanical device". "Smiths make the essential tools for other craftsmen, such as copper-tubing for alchemistry, nails for homesteading, parts for artefacting, plates for printing, needles for stitching, and many other tools for various trades." Its true they both help to differentiate themselves, but like some of the other skills, its like a missing piece to the whole. So while you can make something, you don't know how to make it (or can't make blueprints of it). I understand the lore took this into account with one faction actually blueprinting exclusively to the other crafting, but could be accounting for this in-game reality, or isn't necessarily something worth representing twice in game mechanics. Its part of that weirdness where you know to negotiate prices but don't know how much something is. Or you know how much something is, but have no ability to sell it whatsoever. They're both very narrow and similar skills that don't really warrant a space by themselves. This partly sums up the point, and problem with those three skills, albeit a penalty based on that I'd find to be unneeded. D&D and other similar RPG's generally suffer under this paradigm of feeling to make these granular interactions wildly different skills unnecessarily. While Navigation at least uses a different stat, so could argue its "similar skill for different PC-types", the other three all use the same stat anyway. The classes themselves are generally quite narrow in what they do. For the combat classes, it already encourages you to focus into one type of weapon (Pistols/Shotgun for gunfighter or rifles for Merc). So its unlikely a character is juggling two combat skills of the same type (might have a melee & a ranged though), so this just gives them horizontal advancement (I.E can wield more guns). So you feel they'll be encouraged to carry every type of gun on them? A PC could already do this and suffering gameplay-wise to wield them all (even w/free rank 1s per session). Secondly, since we're discussing designs for a game of exceptional characters, it seems like an absurd example that we'd use ourselves as a model. Since I play as the character, but am Not that character in reality obviously, it'd be unfair to expect me to share their capabilities. Part of the Fun of RPG's is to play something you're Not after all, one need know how to dance to play a dancer, nor to be a Boxer to play a Pugilist etc. I feel concerned when such a term is mentioned (especially from a mod or authors), as corresponds an implication to the GNS Theory. That of which like "Alignment debates" has been shown to be highly unreliable as it changes from person to person, or otherwise a phrase that describes very little. In general its good to use modern designs that fit the kind of stories the game is going to be emulating, opposed to what's "realistic", legacy, or other nonsensical reasonings. Every time I see this come up in RPG's, it sounds like nonsense. As RPG's are cooperative storytelling experiences, D&D stories are being told of heroic adventures, Shadowrun stories being told of various illicit missions, and even Bunnies & Burrows being a fatalistic tragedy of rabbits in daily life. Such a statement doesn't excuse any problems the game may have, nor give it special treatment from other games.

While I have lurked this forum before I joined, so I think I know some of the things you've mentioned, but what "pressing omissions" would you state those are? I'm guessing the idea of how easily Fated characters mess with the RNG as early as character creation starting with a [+] in their skill of expertise (combat especially). Also as you indicated, there's a lack of Construct summons?, Magical items? (setting indicated these were possible to create), the other races (gremlins, robots, demons?/Undead?), and I guess other types of magic? Since I know you mentioned there were problems that were in the playtest, and creeped their way into the games full release. I know the Alamanac allowed you translate PC's into the miniatures, game, but wasn't sure how "compatible" it actually is. Can you seriously add other Miniature stat cards to the game without any translation errors? Most games who say you "can" actually mean you're basically doing guesswork to the point you my as well be making the thing yourself. If so, that's awesome enough I'd actually considering buying these miniatures/stat cards for our FM's use. I know in most discussions, these usually boil down to not possibly being true "realistically", or the level of granularity is so miniscule to be worth representing in game mechanics. Especially for the case of Shadowrun, where seperate gun/melee skills, but Robo-masters & Mages had one skill for all their combat needs. Least in Breach, if they were going to go for this, made it fair in splitting the magic skills for the spellcasters as well it looks like. However, its not that they would be more "powerful", it would just allow them to be more versatile. So if there was a "turret" section, whatever gunner and/or muscle could just jump into the minigun for the scene, or a Merc could hide a derringer for more clandestine moments.

Far as I'm aware, this hasn't been talked about on here or elsewhere, if so, pardon the redundancy. There's a bit I do like about Breach with some modern designs, keeping the RNG small, rewarding options for characters with low/negative stats, quick, frequent level-up system of two gains, speed of character creation, characters having access to the setting phlebtonium (ability use magic skills, and allowing PC's to have one Manifested power), splitting up stats for the social skills so its not all Charm, and giving "giving double-tap" to both melee & Ranged for some parity among the styles. However, some bits of design I don't get why they stayed, or are there. Such as the arrangment of the Ranged/Melee Combat skills, although other skill arrangements do seem redundant (regarding the former, when the latter exists: Mathematics-Gambling, Blacksmithing?-Engineering, Appraise-Barter, Farming-Homesteading, Navigation/Track-Wilderness/Notice, Track-Notice, Pickpocket-Stealth). Doesn't really make much sense why in Melee, wielding a weapon in one/two hands has to be two different skills, similar with two unarmed skills albeit, they are a little different, and I imagine its for the Western tropes there. I'd say similar for Flexible weapons as well, but I can see it argued for similar reasons to MA/Pugilism, and Pneumatic just seems like a "Tax" skill for style, or people who want "Pneumatic" upgrade on their weapon. Ranged I'm sure some gun enthusiasts can argue the differences of wielding a shotgun to a Rifle, to a Pistol, etc. Albeit they're not really big enough to warrant needing to be three different skills, and while Archery & Throwing are "different", they're niche or narrow enough I could see subsuming them into one skill, or folded into a united Ranged combat skill. Heavy Weapons, is also niche enough I could see that, but unlike Shadowrun, there isn't any skill for shooting from a vehicle/robots, and it serves for the Melee characters, so thats nice. Also interesting Longarms is for the mages/Academics as well, otherwise it just locks out Carbines/Longarms for everyone else that isn't Int-based or a Mercenary. Shadowrun had these issues with their combat skills being split up, despite in its oldest editions they had guns in one skill. Oddly enough, its fanbase wanted it split up feeling it would give more "options" when that narrows the options, because each character can now only wield one specific type of weapon, and will be worse off on off-chance decide to use something else. Considering lot of the combat skills, redundant seeming skills I mentioned, all use the same stat, I'm not sure why they haven't been consolidated. Lastly, a gripe about the writing, the mixing of flavor & rules is alright, but I dislike when it gets in the way of possibly answering rules questions. Whether they're simply not there, or they're buried in the text. Such as how can't shoot when engaged, Notice being the "initiative" skill, and even parts about manifested powers/upping stats on level up as examples. I also feel like the writing could be more empowering to giving DM's adventure content with its setting locales, opposed to jumping back & forth between "Mysteries" all the time (sometimes disappointing, such as saying seamus might been already arrested). One might say I could "just houserule it", not play the game, but that's not really addressing the points at hand. I don't hate or dislike this game, I wouldn't be here talking about it if I did. It seems strange a game that seems to be inserting some more modern design priniciples, still have dinosaurs with some things.