The Updates Continue

The good news is that the methodology is resolved. The mechanics are resolved. All that is left is some adjustments to both cost and potency and its all done. We are still cleaning up the context a little too.

So whats the new methodology?

The same methodology has been applied to magic, missiles and melee. Previously we had variations in each major category. Each round consists of 10 seconds. In each of those 10 seconds a character can take an action or move. The maximum number of actions is determined by the categories basic skill.

For melee weapons, the Basic Melee skill level determines the maximum number of actions the character can make it melee. There is a cheviot though. The character can not take more actions then they have skill level in the weapon they are using. For example if the character had Axes & Hammers level 4, but only Basic Melee level , the character could only make 3 attacks/defends per round. The character would still get the +20 bonus, 5 points per skill level.

For spell casting, it works exactly the same way. The Basic Spell Casting skill determines the maximum number of spells cast round. There is a cheviot though. The character can not cast a spell more times then they have skill level in that spell. However the character can cast different spells in the same round, so long as they do not cast any spell more often then the skill level in that spell and the total number of spells cast in the round does not exceed the Basic Spell Casting level. This gives the caster a great deal more flexibility and more power. This is why we are play testing the casting so heavily, seeking the balance between cost and potency. It is worth mentioning that spell's skill level sets how often the spell can be cast per round. There is no longer a daily limitation on any spell. You can read the revised PUCS magic rules on its site.

Missiles are skills unto themselves. There is no base skill for bows or crossbows. Bows can be fired as many times per round as the skill level. Crossbows are slow to load and their rate of fire is defined by each device.

That is enough for today. Check out the PUCS website and please post any comments or questions you might have here. I'm happy to answer them as best I can!

Heirarchial Change in Melee Skills

Get ready because it here it comes. Melee skills are being reworked to have greater hierarchy and more flexibility. Essentially "Basic Melee" is being changed to a fundamental melee skill, levels of which determine how many combat actions you can take in a round. To gain greater chance to hit however you will invest your skills into specific weapon types: Blades, Simple Weapons, etc.

All of this came about because of a disagreement about to handle to changing weapons. I won't bore you with the specifics as its already been decided. Look to see the web pages updating over the next week or so.

PUCS - Percentile Universal Combat System

Axis and Allies

This is unrelated to PUCS development but it was so cool I had to mention it. My friend has been laid up after some surgery earlier this month. We have been play Axis and Allies via Map Tool and its been a lot of fun so far. Below are some screen shots.

The Russian Front

The Battle Board

The Complete Map

I really remain impressed with this FREE, flexible and easy to use application from the good folks over at http://www.rptools.net. I eagerly await their 1.3 release coming out of BETA sometime this year.

PUCS website launched over the weekend

The PUCS website went public over the weekend. The DRAFT 2 Rules are publicly available there, however editing continues and the final DRAFT 2 PDF has not yet been created. A whole lot has been changed with regard to magic especially. Play testing continues and I think that spells are going to be revised for potency and cost before the final DRAFT 2 is released.

So what changed? Mainly spells. Previously you could cast a spell as many times per day as you had skill level in the spell. There was also a calculation to determine how long it took you cast the spell in melee. It worked fine, but was still clunky in play testing and really slowed things down in melee. So it was scrapped.

Now Magic is casts per round of skill level in the spell. That a huge change. There remain many balance issues to work out between cost of the skill and potency. Some competing plans are:

1. Make magic much more expensive then in DRAFT 1.
2. Make spells much less potent then in DRAFT1.
3. Keep cost and potency from DRAFT 1 the same but increase the hierarchy to get to powerful spells.

Personally I do not know what is the best answer is. I'm inclined towards some combination of 2 and 3. But then there are some complexity issues so where the balance will fall out, we still do not know.

There are others issues to work out too. If I cast spell X in melee, can I cast spell Y in the same round? Its a worthy question but not yet answered. If you let the cast switch up between spells in the same round you increase their effectiveness and potency considerable.

So please browse the rules at the PUCS web site and post any comments that you might have. I would like to hear what you think!