I'm going to watch it here in a second, I'll probably post up some bits
Does the Campaign have a Level Cap?
- Yes, sorta... Once all of your characters reach the 5th step in their fate, then the campaign basically ends. You've wrapped up storylines, defeated baddies (or goodies), etc... There might be a few game sessions after this, but logical conclusion of a campaign is after everyone in the party has finished their fates.
How does Advancement work?
- Lots of skills (20 some pages
atm, growing every day), but every game session, you pick 3 of the massive list of skills that you feel your character "learned the most from". So if my Arcanist, Gunfighter, Wastrel type character says, "hey I missed a lot of shots, so I learned from that, but I also did some studying of the arcane, and I bluffed my way into a secret society." They present that to the Fatemaster, who says, "I think you learned x the most, and that's the skill that gets the point boost. There are other ways to raise skills, the FM can opt to say, well you can have 2, because your character did really well this session.
THIS MIGHT CHANGE DURING PLAYTESTING How difficult will it be to add players to a group?
- Easy to tell how powerful current characters are, and should be able to fit in a new player without very much issue. Also, because of how fluid everything else is, you should be able to have party level disparity without any issue.
How will community feedback work once the forums go up?
- Mack spends on planning an hour a day or so responding to feedback, answer questions, take community created content (mechanics, stories, etc...). This might be while he's in the office, who knows what he plans on doing once he's home. If an idea get's used, you probably won't get paid for it, but you will get credit for it, and Mack might be looking to hiring down the road.
Would you want to see "homebrew" rules that were created before the
KS went live?
- Not really, but what we can take out of this is that Mack said core rules are pretty set in stone, and it's why I included it
lol Will we see tournament rules and
WYSIWYG with the plastic minis and will we be able be like Kirai and let our inner spirit wreck havoc?
- The
RPG rules will have no bearing on the skirmish game, it's not intended to throw the skirmish game out of balance. And there are a lot of things left to be revealed, but your fatemaster could do something like the Kirai.
What effect will the Black Joker (worst card in the game) have on character creation?
- Flipping the Jokers will have a similar effect. Flipping the Black Joker means you'll be much more focused. So you might get a +2, +2, but a -3. The Red Joker will be 0s across the board, but have a +1 in something, far more general. The Black Joker is not as bad during character creation. Though it is bad during the "Omens" part of the game, hints at that BOTH jokers are "bad"-ish on the omens front.
Can you gain access to totems, will we be able to create our own/get "stock" totems?
- Not at this moment, Mack wants this to be a dynamic rule to make it into the
RPG game.
With the focus on characters being the "most important" part of the world at that time period, it seems like it's designed for shorter games, is there something for longer games?
- Like with the level cap, it's designed to have a story, and end when that story ends, though there seem to be ways for the FateMaster to lengthen the game, similar to XP tracks like in Pathfinder.
Will player characters have powers that reflect their themes, like Colette being a showwoman and Zoraida being a manipulator?
- Yes, magic is everywhere. There are ways for magic and supernatural things to "flow" through the characters, and combine talents, etc...
How gear dependent will Fated be in Through the Breach?
- There are powerful weapons/magic items/etc... Characters won't be looking to upgrade themselves by getting a "better" sword. Not being a level based system, you don't have challenge ratings, etc... like in
DnD or Pathfinder. Think of it more as a White Wolf or Shadowrun game (I've never played Shadowrun, but I have played Mage: The Awakening, so this idea makes sense... somewhat)
Is it possible for players to play as non-Fated? It seems weird that every character in every game I run would know their own fate.
- Yes, it is designed for the players to be Fated, and know their fate, but you can literally skip a single step in character creation to avoid the "fated" step. You should be able to change the game without re-writing the core mechanics
Alf's thoughts: I think the FM might be able to pick a fate for the character, and slowly it gets revealed through play What made you choose asymmetrical randomness (by having only the players flip), instead of symmetrical flipping (both FM and players flipping)?
- Communal storytelling, it's not supposed to be antagonistic between the FM and the players (like some people play
DnD where it's them vs the
DM). The key difference between Malifaux and Through the Breach is that Malifaux is clearly 2 players against each other, and TTB is not. Though the Disposition system can help you out in that regards, allowing you to take your
RPG game to the tabletop.
I missed the question, but he has clearly stated that the project is NOT near completion and ready to print, so the forums will be used to test rules, etc...
What is the primary way that characters can be made unique during character creation? What are the "choice" options?
- There are like 11 steps to character creation, and there is one that doesn't require a decision and that is reading your fate (I need to relisten to this part).
Is there a system or mechanic for a fated party? Like dedicating the crew to a certain faction, say Ressers.
- There isn't anything like this
atm, and it's a great idea for the beta forums where the community can flesh this out as a larger group. Tossed out ideas like requirements for the party, or more fluid so it could be changed, but no, there isn't anything currently in the game.
Will there be maps and monsters for those that want to use minis?
- Plugged Terraclips of course, and then plugged Malifaux minis
lol But the answer is that there will not be a dedicated line of Through the Breach minis (besides the multi-pose models), though if a monster or something is really cool in the
RPG, they MAY take it into the skirmish game (also Mack needs a new computer fan, I can hear it in the background).
Can we get more information on the different types of Soulstones?
- It's in the book, so what's the nature of the soulstone, what are its abilities, what they look like, how to refuel, corrupt, purify, etc.. They are a story mechanic to help you cheat fate, but they're more like adventure objectives. Gives out the idea of a soulstone that has been charging in an Asylum for years. How does such a thing like that affect the nature of the soulstone? It is currently being written
atm.
Average Group Size?
- Few as 2, all the way up to 6 or 7 (with average size being 3 to 4) without it breaking.
Are there any plans for character apps for electronic devices?
- None at the moment, but they're a small office, so it's being talked about but nothing concrete.
Are there plans to integrated online things like Obsidian Portal, Rolld20, etc...?
- No plans to announce, yet... Not against it, just nothing official. Anything said
atm would just be wishful thinking on the part of Mack and Wyrd.
Will there be flaws and traits?
- Not currently in the system, could be implemented. Doesn't know if it's necessary, because there are ways in Through the Breach to fill roles beyond just class, so it's easy to differentiate based on skills chosen, etc... (Seems almost built in...)
Is there an overlap between novice pursuits, and how does one change pursuits?
- Hopes that you keep the same pursuit during the game session. If you are the rare gunfighter/fruit stand owner (overseer), and you're currently working at your fruit stand, you might be caught off guard because you're not expecting a fight. (Also someone at Wyrd
RPG might have killed someone as Police sirens played in the background). There is overlap, like a Gunfighter and a Merc might have similar skills, but when they get the bonuses are different times
Advanced Pursuits?
- Yes, there going to be things like death marshals.
What kind of items are you thinking about? Like light, medium, heavy guns, or much more defined?
- Much more defined, currently gives the idea of a Neumatic Claymore (assuming big ass sword, not directional explosive), and the Gatling Derringer (Mack's current favorite weapons). Multiple sizes of guns, so like 5 or 6 light pistols, and explains all the info, like who makes it. Wishes to make it look like a full store catalog. Like, "buy the Gatling Derringer, for when you just have to kill everything... again..."
When can you get more advanced pursuits?
- Storyline, the fatemaster will let you know when you qualify for an advanced pursuit. Once unlocked, you can switch easily through them, much like the novice pursuits.
How prevelant will crafting items be?
- Not locked down yet, to do crafting properly, you need to learn how the game works... Might be considered an 'extended' challenge, or if in a rush. He believes characters should be able to just craft stuff... Gives example of a blacksmith trying to shoe a horse while being shot at
lol Abilities and Pursuits?
- Pursuits have 10 steps. Each step gives you a new ability. So you might get Quickdraw that lets you draw your gun if you get a trigger during the Initiative flip (he says roll
lol). Every "Gunfighter" has the same abilities. If you leave that pursuit and come back, you pick up where you left off. There might be decisions, but the decision points are not the pursuit abilities, but the pursuits themselves. If you're a Dabbler: Dabbler ability - While a Dabbler, whenever you get a specific suit, or you get a trigger on a skill that uses intellect, you draw a card. If you stop being a dabbler, you lose that talent/ability. But if you were to move from the dabbler to the elementalist, you might have a similar ability that is more powerful, like you might be able to discard 1 card, and draw 2.
Can you change pursuits mid-session?
- That is up to the fatemaster, currently it's not designed to do that, so players can't game the system, like "We're starting a fight?! I'm going to switch to gunfighter!"
How will Triggers Work?
- If he succeeds, he gets to choose triggers, if he fails, the fatemaster can choose triggers from a pool of triggers (might be per monster, rather than a generic pool. It might suck if everything you fought had Squeel and was pushed away whenever hit). The Fatemaster uses the suits of the flip, but does not use any suits added in by the player's stat. So if I have a trigger that uses a Mask and a Rams, and my monster has a Rams in his stat, and the player flips a Crow, and adds a Mask from his stats, but fails to hit or succeed, I can't use my trigger since a Mask wasn't flipped.
How does the FateMaster modify the fate deck?
- He doesn't really modify it, but he does choose when to re-shuffle it. It's a story tool. He picks it up, shuffles it, and by the process of touching it, the players get to draw a control card.
How granular do you expect the skills to be?
- Extremely granular... Lots of skills. Homesteading will be everything for building and maintaining a house, possibly farming, cattle care, combat will be broke down into pistols, longarms, etc.. There are already 5 or 6 different magic skills.