MEGALOS - BackerKit & Fulfillment Update, Webs & Wires Playtest News
about 3 years ago – Sun, Apr 02, 2023 at 10:20:12 AM

Hello there

GOODNESS ME, THERE'S A LOT TO UPDATE Y'ALL ON! I've figured out the BackerKit situation & it's going through its mandatory testing stuff with them before surveys are sent out to y'all. Barring any unforeseen issues, the first "smoke test" surveys should be going out in a few days, and we can start doing full-scale fulfillment for Core Rulebook backers.

The physical copies of the Core Rulebook are here in my house as we speak, sitting in their boxes waiting to fly into your hands and deliver unto you their bounty of crystals-and-airships roleplaying adventure.

Due to unplanned... life events... over the past like year and change, Webs & Wires has taken longer to come together than anticipated, so the fulfillment for people whose pledge includes both books will have to be split into 2 parts. I'm organizing this with BackerKit, they have an option for split fulfillment that should make the process relatively painless.

For backers interested in "upgrading" to a physical book, or who didn't grab W&W as a part of their pledge but would like to have it added, those options are included as add-ons in the BackerKit survey once the BK team has verified my survey & started sending it out (again, should hopefully only take a few days, but I'll let you know once I get verification that they're being sent out to people).

Mekanik Class is Playtest-Ready!

IN THE MEANTIME, one-third of the new classes & callings in Webs & Wires are playtest ready! The MEKANIKS are a class of magitek wielders par excellence, who come in the form of Mek-Jockeys & Nanovectors, two powerful magitek adventurers ready to dive headfirst into adventure. I'll include a link to the public-facing playtest document. It looks sparse because it's missing the other 35 pages of stuff that I'm not quite ready for public playtesting. 

Playtest docs for the other two classes (Spinners & Psyniscients) and their callings will be made public and linked to y'all in a couple weeks as I polish them up a bit more and get them ready for primetime.

 GET THE MEKANIK CLASS PLAYTEST DOCUMENT HERE!  

MEGALOS v1.0: Out of Early Access - Changelog & Next Steps
about 3 years ago – Fri, Jan 27, 2023 at 03:33:58 PM

It's finally here~ 🥳🎉😭

MEGALOS IS OUT OF EARLY ACCESS!

*long, long, long sigh of relief*

The version of the game present here on itch represents v1.0 - the pre-errata "stable final build". There's a whole lot that's changed and been tweaked since v0.95 of the Early Access. Healing has been adjusted, HP & Armor HP has been bumped up, minions got completely re-designed to better serve their tactical niche. All in all somewhere around 75-80% of all player abilities have been adjusted, and about 60-70% of monsters in the Oradam Rift Worldbook have been tweaked or rebuilt (make that 100% if you include the elite critters whose only changes were to bring their HP in line with the new design).

Next Steps

I'm in the middle of winding down my current day job to move to a new job with better pay & fewer hours. Which, I've decided for some reason, means I'll have more time to work on games (instead of, y'know, more time to not work). There's going to be another publicity & marketing push, I'm going to try to get the game onto some shows & into some articles if at all possible. Meanwhile I'll also be working on Webs & Wires, the first MEGALOS splatbook.

For Kickstarter backers above a certain tier, W&W will be getting an early access edition sometime in the next couple months. For everyone else, early access should be around mid-to-late Q2 of this year. Plan is to have it over n done with by the end of Q3.

As a bit of a teaser: Webs & Wires will be featuring 3 new classes (Mekanikae, Psyniscients, and Spinners) with 2 callings each (Mek Jockey & Nanovector, Sympath & Wild Talent, and Spider & Puppeteer). It has more weapon & outfit options, new talents & powers for the 9 core callings, and some updated rules for more in-depth use of vehicles like airships.

Digital Fulfilment

For those who haven't been able to or wanted to get access to the game yet, I'm going to spend the next few days working on ways to make sure everyone who should have access does. Part of this will include setting up a product page for MEGALOS on DriveThruRPG so that people who don't have or want Itch.io accounts can get the book. I'll be sending out backer surveys & stuff this weekend (probably on Sunday, given the schedule I have ahead of me right now) to finalize digital fulfilment for digital-only backers that are only getting the Core Rulebook. Digital-onlies who are in for both the Core Rulebook & Webs & Wires will get theirs when Webs & Wires is ready.

Printing & Shipping for Physical Backers

Printing starts soon. Doing some last minute tweaks to some visuals and prepping the final files for the printers to review & makes proofs. I'll be updating y'all through that process & letting you know when stuff is ready to ship.

AS ALWAYS: Email me at [email protected], follow me on Twitter @gahostan for MEGALOS updates & to DM me about stuff, or send me message here through Kickstarter.

https://mataramg.itch.io/megalos

v1.0 Changelog (highly abridged)

--BASIC SYSTEM CHANGES--

• Changed multiple attack damage penalty to -1 per extra Attack action (-1 for 2nd, -2 for 3rd).
• Lethal Terrain normalized to inflict a flat 3 piercing damage per instance, instead of d3.
• Tank & Support callings' Base Damage is now 4, up from 3.

--HEALING, BARRIER & HP CHANGES--

• Support Callings' bonus role ability to heal a target was made into a 1/round free action.
• Barrier effects no longer serve as bonus HP, but cut the pre-soak damage in half for a number of sources of damage equal to their rating (i.e. Barrier 3 halves the pre-soak damage of 3 attacks).
• HP increased across the board for MCs (Tanks: 32 [rb: 8], Strikers: 24 [rb: 6], Support: 28 [rb: 7])
• Tank callings now only get 4 Recovery points instead of 5.
• Most (not all) instances of "(1/2 RB)" heals were improved to full RB.
• Most (not all) flat-number heal effects had heal increased by +1 (advances of affected powers were buffed as well).
• Most (not all) Barrier effects changed to Barrier 1 or Barrier 2.

--STATUS & CONDITION CHANGES--

• A "rule of 3s" has been implemented across all statuses & conditions. Whenever there's a numerical variable (i.e. +/- X), it has been replaced with a 3.
• SLOWED now prevents you from taking your Auto-Attack.
• TAUNTED now requires you to use your Auto-Attack on the origin of the effect.
• REGEN & WOUNDED changed from rolls to flat 3 HP (healed or suffered), +1 per additional stack of an identical effect (i.e. 2 stacks of REGEN heal 4 HP).

--POWER & ACTION CHANGES-- (this section is HIGHLY abridged, as a huge number of things got shifted around & tracking got lost)

• Corrected the Power Up!! entries, which had some leftover information in them from previous versions.
• Auto-Attacks do piercing damage again. They are no longer technically an action, but are resolved as the very last part of each round, after everyone has acted. AAs are resolved in order from MCs first, then Bosses, then Elites, then Minions.
• Changed Warrior Priest & Multiattack talents to match one another, and also ignore the first instance of the multiple attack penalty while still technically accruing it, so a third attack still suffers a -2 penalty.
• Invoker talent Seals of Life changed to "I heal 3 once per turn when I spend one or more Seals. At level 3 I also gain Barrier 1."
• Astromancer bonus power Cosmic Siphon 1st advance improved to heal (RB) instead of half RB.
• Chanter bonus power Chant of Eld had heal 3 effect added.
• Word-Bearer power Divine Utterance's 1st advance changed to "Injured targets also Heal 4".
• Word-Bearer Arcanum power The Golden Word effect changed from (RB+6) to (RB×2), Raise effect changed from Raise 6 to Raise (RB). 2nd advance changed as well.
• Faerie King Arcanum power The Faerie's Kiss had ally heal effect improved to (RB).
• Arklight talent Heart of Light changed to Heal 2 on affected targets.
• Shadowblade talent Heart of Darkness had base heal effect improved to 2.
• Arklight bonus power Aegis of Light improved to Forfend 6, 1st advance improved to Forfend 12.
• Shadowblade Reaction Drakul's Grasp had damage & heal increased to 3, from 2.
• Draloi talent Some for the Doctor improved to heal 3.
• Draloi bonus power Redistribute had damage & healing increased by +1 again (now 5).
• Draloi Aether Charge effect that inflicted damage & healed user had the Surging effect's heal increased to 2.
• Draloi Aether Charge effect that Healed 1 ally in range had both Weak & Surging effects improved by +1 heal.
• Draloi cantrip Drain Blood had 1st advance improved to Heal 3.
• Draloi sorcery Blood Alchemy's 2nd advance changed to "1 ally in my zone gains REGEN".
• Draloi sorcery Chirurgy had Target changed to "2 allies in aura 1" and healing improved to (RB + 2) + (HP sacrificed). 2nd advance changed to "Increase number of possible targets to all allies in aura 1"
• Insanguinate sorcery had Effect improved to "heal (rb)+(hp sacrificed×2)" while its Special entry was changed to "If I sacrifice 6 or more HP, I gain REGEN & this power gains the Cooldown tag". 2nd advance changed to "I gain REGEN if I sacrifice 3 or more HP".
• Revivify sorcery's effect improved to "Raise 3 + (HP sacrificed × 2)". 1st advance improved to base Raise of 6.

--ITEMS & EQUIPMENT CHANGES--

• Armor HP for Light Outfits increased to 5, 10, 15 (similar to Medium Outfits), both to help with Light-users' survivability & to make Light & Medium more of a choice between defense & soak vs inventory slots, rather than making people suffer for their IP.
• Defense Bonus for Heavy Outfits decreased to +0, +1, +2, while Armor HP was increased to 7, 15, 20. This further differentiates Medium from Heavy, makes heavy a bit more of an investment, and steers heavy users more towards picking Armor HP & becoming juggernauts.
• "Cargo" outfit mod changed to +2 maximum IP (+3 max IP for Light Outfits).
• "Reinforced" outfit mod improved to +4 Armor HP (+5 Armor HP for Heavy Outfits).
• "Dangerous" weapon type renamed "Deadly".
• "Lethal" weapon mod renamed "Execution".
• Elixirs now heal for (RB×2) instead of a flat number.
• Panacea now affects you for 3 rounds, to bring it into line with the "rule of 3s" that's been applied to buffs & debuffs.
• Phoenix Ashes now Raise for (RB) instead of a flat number.

--MONSTER RULE CHANGES-- (this section also highly abridged)

• "Minion" enemies had some major rules changes
  -Minions only have 1 HP now (0 Recovery, 0 Soak)
  -If minions would gain any amount of healing, they instead regain 1 lost member of their pack, up to their normal maximum
  -Minions have 10/10 defenses, up from 9/9
  -Packs include 3 minions by default
  -Number of packs included in a fight is recommended at number of MCs (+/- 1 for harder or easier fights).
  -Minion damage can add up FAST, recommended that AoEs & similar effects be used as quickly as possible to cut down on the number of minions.
• Elite enemies HP raised to 60
  -Elite Auto-Attack reduced to 4
• Boss Damage (for all stages): CD changed to 12, Auto-Attack Damage changed to 4
  -Boss Defenses for phase 2 & 3 changed to 10/10.
• Thieves can no longer inexplicably fly and Mug you without rolling.

v0.94 Release - Fixes, Edits, and Free Edition
about 3 years ago – Mon, Jan 16, 2023 at 08:40:52 AM

Hullo There

I just put out the v0.94 update for the game on itch.io-- unfortunately my previous promise that the Pages version of the text was optimistic, as I've still only had time to properly compress & mess with one version of the game & I went with Spreads again. The final-final will have both available, but for these semi-regular updates I don't want to double the time spent optimizing files in Acrobat.

By the looks of my workload at the day job & side gig I work to pay the bills & keep the lights on, I'll have time for a v0.95 pass within a week or two. Which will itself probably mutate a week or two later into the final-final text & proper FULL launch out of Early Access and into just... Regular Access.

Major Update: Free Text-Only Edition

Along with v0.94 I've put together a text-only document coming in at 199 pages that contains all of the core rules, character options, and game mastery chapters (the first 9 chapters of the Core Rulebook). It's got 0 art in it and doesn't include the Oradam Rift Worldbook, so it's somewhere between a reference document & a demo, but it holds ALL of the core rules (and, y'know, it's FREE!).

It's a great option for people who want a peek at MEGALOS to decide whether or not they wanna buy, or who just want a lighter-weight reference doc on their phone or something. :3

You can find the free edition under the "Download Demo" header, beneath the "Purchase" section:

Changelog - v0.94

General Changes

• Various wording, grammar, spelling, and editorial tweaks throughout
• First Aid rest action (p. 43) changed so that the user or their target may spend the Recovery required to heal, instead of just the user of the action.
• Added the following clarification after the first paragraph on page 44: "This means that if you receive a Condition when it’s not your turn, your next turn & the turn after that will benefit, but if you receive a Condition when it is your turn, you’ll have it for the remainder of that turn, plus the next two turns after that."
• Gauntlets of Jotun artifact (p. 202) renamed "Gauntlets of Gygus".
• Specified the Shield of the Sisters (p. 203) as a Melee Weapon instead of just generally any ol' kind of weapon.
• Removed the "Loud" trait from the Roller vehicle (p. 212); felt odd that walkers and airships didn't have it, but the Roller would.
• Clarified the language around the Busking downtime activity (p. 223) to say "Roll an Entertain test for each rest action spent Busking. On a success, earn 3 libras, +2 more per excess hit."
• Changed the roll bands on the Post-Encounter Treasure Trove table (p. 231) to make the IP regain less likely and the crafting Resources result more likely.
• Clarified language for the Libras result on the post-Encounter Treasure Trove table (p. 231) to "2d6 Libras, minimum (Level + 2)."
• Nerfed crafting resources result on the Post-Encounter Treasure Trove table (p. 231) from 5 to 4.

Class & Calling Changes

• Added "..., once per ally." to the Mark effect on the Word-Bearer power Word of Justice on p. 109.
• Changed Wild Charge (p. 135) Special entry to read "May not use this power while engaged with the target" instead of "May not start engaged with target".
• Added "You may only accumulate a maximum of 4 Aether Charges at once across all cantrips." as a reminder of that rule to the Cantrip Power sections for all 3 witch callings.
• Increased damage & healing effect of Draloi's Redistribute power (p. 159) to 4, up from 3.
• Added the Healing tag to the Draloi power Blood Alchemy (p. 162) since it has an odd conditional healing effect. Also normalized/increased the healing to 4 points & increased the required minimum sacrifice to trigger the healing up to 8 HP.
• Completely changed the function (and name) of "En Vai Mani (Lesser Mneme: Convalescence)" to "En Vai Mani (Lesser Mneme: Compassion)". Effect changed from a healing effect to this: "The target gains Barrier 4, and I gain Barrier 2." 1st advance changed and Healing tag removed to reflect this, as well.
• First advance of "Logos: Geoglyphic Convergence" changed to: "Affected allies are also Healed 1 for each Aether Charge discharged."
• Clarified the Special text on Paracausal Darkness by changing it to read "Damage increases to (CD+2) if I have no Aether Charges when I use this power."

Coalescence Crafting Changes

• Simplified the language on Herbs & Spices (p. 192) description: "Characters who eat a meal you cook using the Cook a Meal rest action while in possession of this item regain +1 Recovery."
• Changed step 3 of Coalescence crafting procedure (p. 196) such that a failed attempt loses all of the crafting resources being used *on that attempt*-- this better squares with the intent behind the fact that resources are parceled out per attempt by an amount divided by the Undertaking/number of required crystals. This was a little weird and added needless complexity to the process. The new way is slightly more punishing, but is much simpler. And with greater potential loss, this makes scavenging for materials an even more valuable option to entice one away from the more recovery-focused rest actions.
• Added "Failing gives you Advantage on your next attempt." to step 3 of the Coalescence crafting procedure (p. 196).
• Due to the changes made above to crafting failures, Stabilizers are now much more valuable, and have been increased in price to 6 libras

v0.93 - Principle Text is COMPLETE!
about 3 years ago – Wed, Jan 11, 2023 at 09:55:15 PM

HOYAHOYA!

The principle text of MEGALOS is complete!! The only things left to add are the table of contents, full index, the Kickstarter bonus pages full of amazing NPCs for your games, and an acknowledgement page for y'all fucking heroes who made all this possible in the first place.

The game's actual text, everything from the core rules to the setting book, is finished. It all clocks in at a... *ahem* svelt 340 pages. There's another 10ish pages coming in the form of bonus content, plus a table of contents & index, so I'm estimating about 362-365ish pages for the 100.00% completed product. Once those pages have been implemented, it's off to the already very eager printers to get samples, troubleshoot issues, etc.

Go to the game's itch.io page to pick up your latest version of the file. If you still haven't been able to redeem it for whatever reason, message me here on KS or through my game dev email ([email protected]) with your backer information. If you backed at a level to get the pdf (or more), we'll get you hooked up.

Short version: The game text itself is complete, the book is not. See the 0.92-0.93 changelog post for more information on that. 

Major issues: The colors & pictures are frequently off, lo-fi, smudgy, or weird (things that should be gradients rendering as hard cutoffs). All of these issues are related to the experiments I've been doing with the "optimization" stuff I've been using through Adobe Acrobat to shrink down the game's file size. After several trial & error cycles with this thing I'm pretty sure I've identified all the biggest problem areas, and I'm confident the next version will look a LOT better (the print version will require almost 0 optimization, as the printer's filesize limits are pretty generous; print versions shouldn't see any of these issues whatsoever).

Print Edition v0.9 Is Here! Core Rulebook is Finished!
over 3 years ago – Tue, Nov 29, 2022 at 10:16:40 AM

Howdy Howdy Howdy

I'm pleased to announce an- unfortunately slightly nuanced- huge leap forward for the MEGALOS project. The MEGALOS Core Rulebook is essentially finished. It's now the only file available on the itch page (here). As Whiluff van Tarkin might put it, the last remnants of the old playtests & ashcans have been swept away.

The nuance here comes from the fact that this file does not (yet) contain the Oradam Rift Worldbook, which is still being messed with in the layout laboratory. What we have now is 229 pages of game rules for building characters, going on adventures, and running games of MEGALOS. Technically speaking, it is a finished, playable package. However, without the Oradam Rift Worldbook, it is still incomplete.

Those of y'all seeing this KS post, however, can access the 0.9 Pre-Final Core Rulebook docs through googledrive for the time being. The official digital editions will be sent out through more standard delivery means when the Oradam Rift Worldbook is complete.

The final update will come soonish when the OR Worldbook is ready to be stitched onto the end of the file.

I'm currently shopping around the possibility of doing a MEGALOS AP either on my own (currently hiatus'd) podcast 4EverGM, or on someone else's stream or AP show. If and when that happens, I'll post about it here, on Twitter, and on the itch.io page so that folks are in the loop.

Snail Time Sale Time

With the release of this penultimate version of the game, I'm going to be putting MEGALOS on a slight discount through the itch page for a bit in order to get more people onboard. If you've got mates you think might be interested, it'll be a good way to onboard them for the full version of the game.