Episode 2024.16 Published on 5 November 2024

New Patreon Packet, Mini STL Files for Patrons, and a Successful Dicefunder | October Roundup

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Intro

Velkommen! I'm Jon de Nor and this is Goblin Points.

The dicefunder was a brilliant success, Codex is getting more and more useful for running the game, Draw Steel is getting a lot of tweaks after reviewing the backer packet feedback, and a new patron packet dropped. The packet has tons of changes and updates. Let's jump in.

Draw Steel

New Patron Packet

The big event for patrons this month was the drop of the new patron playtest packet.

The game has gotten a lot of revisions since the last packet and this new one includes most of them. There are new mechanics that we've known about, but not seen the rules for yet, new mechanics that are fresh off the design press and more of what we already had.

The new packet finally includes all the classes that are to be in the core rules. We already had access to Conduit, Elementalist, Fury, Shadow, and Tactician. With this new packet, we also get Censor, Null, Talent and Troubadour. That brings the class total to nine classes.

All the classes now have three levels available; both the already released classes and the new ones.

There's also an updated bestiary with even more monsters. It now includes an ankheg, basilisks, bredbeddle, bugbears, a chimera, demons, dwarves, high elves, wode elves, a fossil cryptic, gnolls, goblins, griffons, hags, humans, kobolds, lightbenders, lizardfolk, minotaurs, ogres, radenwights, undead, war dogs, and werewolves. It's a total of 157 monster stat blocks. Notably missing are the Time Raiders; they are apparently getting a few tweaks before being included again.

Matt has also started his work on going through all the names of abilities and features. He's not covered everything and the changes that have been made are not even final. Matt calls them the first real draft of the names. They might change again in the future.

Damage have been tuned for the heroes. They were too powerful, so the damage of a lot of abilities have been reduced. James has said that it's easier to make the heroes too powerful and then dial it back, than it is to do it the other way round.

Ancestries

The Devil was by far the most popular ancestry in the backer packet. Much of that reason was that you could basically build your own unique variant of a devil by purchasing features that granted different bonuses. It became pretty clear that this was something to lean into, and now all the ancestries are customizable in this way.

Each ancestry has at least one, sometimes two, signature features that apply to all members of that ancestry. Then each ancestry gets a number of ancestry points to spend on features. You get two or three points to spend on features that cost one or two points each.

The revenant is unique in that it can also choose to spend it's ancestry points buying features from it's previous ancestry.

Heroic Resource Generation

Each class now generates more heroic resources. In addition to the regular resource generation at the start of a hero's turn, they can also generate resources by using their class features.

Fury get's a bit of rage when they are attacked, Null gets a bit of discipline when their null field affects creatures and Tactician gets a bit of focus when someone attacks a creature they have marked.

I find the Troubadour particularly entertaining. They get drama whenever something dramatic happens in combat: someone gets a critical hit - gain some drama, three heroes use abilities on a single turn - gain a bit of drama, someone dies!? - get a bunch of drama!

The idea of each class having a unique way of generating resources is not new, it's actually the way resources were generated in the early iterations of the game. The problem was that it was too inconsistent, and it sometimes encouraged certain behavior, even when it was not desired: if you only generate heroic resources when attacking with an edge, it's not in your interest to try to rescue the captives, for example.

That's why every class always generates a few resources at the start of their turn. Now they know they'll always have some to spend, but they get rewarded with more resources if they lean into their class' play style.

Surges and Shields

The amount of edges and banes being applied has been reduced in favor of awarding surges and shields. Instead of modifying the result of the power roll, like edges, banes and skills, surges and shields directly modify damage.

Having a surge on an attack increases it's damage. One surge has a value equal to the creature's highest characteristic score. A single instance of damage can have a maximum of three surges applied. But some class features can increase that maximum.

Shields also apply to damage, but in the opposite direction. When an attack has a shield applied to it, the damage is reduced. As with surges, the shield has a value equal to the highest characteristic score; and there's a maximum three shields. That can also increase through class features.

A surge's value is calculated using the characteristic score of the creature doing damage, while a shield's value is calculated using the characteristic score of the creature taking damage. If the Tactician grants the Censor a surge on their next attack, it's the Censors characteristic that determines the surge's value. Likewise, if the Conduit grants a shield on the next attack targeting the Shadow, it's the Shadow's characteristic that determines the shield's value.

What can get a bit confusing with the current design, is that some surges and shields are temporary, while some are permanent. And, they do stack. One class feature might grant a permanent shield, lasting until the end of the encounter. While the Conduit might grant a shield only for the next attack. They both count towards the maximum of three, for a single instance of damage.

But, what about edges and banes? They're still around, but they're now reserved for rewarding tactical decisions. Flanking or having the higher ground are tactical decisions and are rewarded with edges.

Surges and shields are for allies granting each other buffs and debuffing enemy attacks targeting allies.

The design team didn't like how many edges were flying around. Heroes were almost always attacking with at least one edge. Not only does it make edges feel less special, but also makes attacking without an edge feel like punishment, instead of attacking with an edge feeling like a reward.

Surges and shields also replaces the instances where features or abilities would increase or reduce damage equal to one of your characteristic scores, or twice one of your characteristic scores. This new system introduces a universal language for granting damage increases and decreases.

Potency

Potency is a new mechanic that makes it possible for creatures to resist having a condition applied to them. When an ability applies a condition as part of it's effect, it will often list the potency of that condition. If the targeted creature have characteristic scores high enough, they'll resist the condition, and not have it applied to them.

This is harder to explain, than it is to show. Welcome to the limitations of an audio-only podcast. But let's give it a try.

A Fury uses their Blood for Blood! ability on an enemy. They get a tier two result, which has the following effect: 6 damage; M2 bleeding and weakened (save ends). This introduces to new concepts: first - M2, this is the targeted characteristic and the potency of the conditions; and second - save ends, this is a new saving throw mechanic.

M2 means, the target must have a might score of two or more to resist the conditions being applied. The M of M2 references the might characteristic, there's also A for agility, R for reason, and so on. The two of M2 is the potency; the score the targeted characteristic must meet or exceed.

Which characteristic score is targeted is specified by the ability. The potency is determined by the hero's characteristics. Each class defines which characteristic determines the potency of the conditions they apply to targets. For Fury this is Might. When the Fury increases their might score, the potency of the conditions they apply also increases.

There are three degrees of potency: weak, average, and strong. Weak is equal to the potency characteristic minus one, average is equal to the characteristic, and strong potency is plus one. For the Fury with a might score of two, that means their weak potency is equal to one, their average potency is two, and strong is equal to three. But these increase when the Fury's might score increases when leveling up.

A tier one result uses the weak potency, tier two the average, and tier three uses the strong potency. That means the better the Fury hits, the more likely they are to apply the conditions to the target.

If the target is not able to resist, they have the conditions applied, but have the chance to end the conditions with a saving throw. The save ends clause means that the conditions can be ended by making a saving throw for each at the end of their turn. The saving throw is 1d10, where a result of 6 or more ends the condition.

No characteristics are applied to the saving throw. The target has already used their characteristic to try to resist the conditions, so they don't get applied again here.

The design team observed that it was too easy to apply effects. Heroes and monsters were throwing around status effects, with the targets unable to avoid it - they might not even have had their turn yet to be able to position themselves better.

Perks

Perks have been added to the game as a way to grant out-of-combat abilities and features. Perks exist alongside titles. Perks are granted during character creation and when leveling up, while titles have to be earned through actions in the game.

The starting titles that were previously granted by careers have now been changed to be perks instead. Careers now allows you to select a perk from one of the perk categories. The categories are crafting, exploration, interpersonal, intrigue, lore and supernatural. These are the same categories that are used for skills, with the addition of the supernatural category for explicitly supernatural perks.

Examples of perks are the exploration perk Field Medicine, which let's you add extra stamina when someone uses recoveries outside of combat; the intrigue perk Master of Disguise which let's you disguise yourself as part of a hide action; or the supernatural perk Familiar which grants you a small familiar.

Perks are designed to not mess with combat balance and hero power level. This is in contrast with titles which can be very powerful and mess with game balance. Perks have the same vibe as utility spells, while titles are like magic weapons.

Downtime Activities

Crafting, research and other downtime activities have also been included in the packet. These are all activities to do while taking some time off between adventures, or when there's time to take a breather in the middle of an adventure.

Crafting lets heroes build airships, craft automatons, or imbue equipment or trinkets with magical properties. Research lets heroes learn new languages, discover lore, improve skills, or even learn abilities from other classes.

There are also more mundane projects to take on. You can serve a community, helping them with whatever they might need help with; you can spend time with loved ones, for a boost in stamina; or you can go fishing! Yeah, there's fishing mini game.

Codex

The Codex is coming along nicely. They're running frequent tests with the rules of Draw Steel implemented.

While the design team at MCDM doesn't have access to a test version just yet, James has tried the VTT, and while there are things that doesn't work correctly, he said it was the best experience he's had playing Draw Steel in a VTT. it's already better than the alternatives.

One of the notable features they've implemented recently in Codex is minion squad support. The minions are displayed with a common stamina bar that's "linked" to all the members of the squad.

Denivarius, one of the developers of Codex, said on a stream that he was hoping that there might be a version for patrons to test before the end of the year. He did not make any promises, and he said he'll have to coordinate with MCDM before saying anything for certain.

Mini Mondays

If seeing how the Draw Steel sausage is made isn't your jam; maybe STL files for minis is more your cup of tea. Ok, I'll stop with the food puns.

If you're a paying member on Patreon, you'll now also get STL files for a mini on the second and fourth Monday of every month. The goal is to make physical versions of these minis available for purchase as well, but that's sometime in the future.

The two minis for October was Ulgna the Goblin Spinecleaver, and Maelodor Rhyllearnan, King of the Foxglove Court. Ulgna was first seen in Flee Mortals, and Rhyllearnan was in the Kingdoms, Warfare & More Minis crowdfunder.

Dicefunder

Let's talk about the Dicefunder. I forgot to mention this last month, but with the Dicefunder, it actually marks the third year in a row where MCDM launches crowdfunders. I'm not making a comment here; it's just a fun fact. Especially considering Matt's mentioned the possibility of another one next year.

Anyway. The Dicefunder was really successful. It passed the, in my opinion, modest goal of $25,000 quickly and ended at a little over $317,000 from a total of 2,755 backers. If you didn't manage to get in while the Dicefunder was running, the pre-orders are open, where you're still able to purchase the Good King Omund box, or the Just the Dice option. Just the Dice is what it says on the tin: just the dice, without the fancy boxes.

They're planning on starting shipping in January, after they get back from the holidays. The dice will be sent from three different locations world wide: Amsterdam in Europe, New South Wales in Australia, and Florida in the US. This hopefully means lower shipping costs for a lot of people outside of the US.

5e Ports From Draw Steel

While it looks like there won't be any D&D products from MCDM in the near future, Matt mentioned that there might be a chance they might release some in a more distant future. He guessed however that it'll probably be Draw Steel products, ported to 5e, and not entirely new products.

From the Community

The community never sleeps when it comes to creating homebrew. I will admit that the flood of homebrew for Draw Steel has slowed down, now that the creator license have been out for a little while. I expect we'll see another flood once there's a new license covering the recent changes to the game.

Draw Steel Homebrew

In the Draw Steel homebrew section I've included adventures made for Draw Steel. If you've already played the adventures included in the packet, these are some great ways to continue the heroes' adventures. There's She's a Witch by AngelPlayer, The Fall of Stormreach by EnderC, Tomb of the Crescent Moon by Paul Ligorski, Crows over Capital: Chapter 1: Lilac Night by Raided-by-Direwolves and You Meet in an Ambus by our sister podcast The Dice Society.

I've also included the Acolyte class made by Mattelonian, and a Kobold ancestry, and the Oleumancer class by Pesto.

The links to the homebrew channel in Discord, and the homebrew tag on the subreddit is also included.

Draw Steel Media

Aestus_RPG interviewed James on their channel this month. It's a great listen for anyone who's curious about Draw Steel and want to know what it's about.

Greenfield has published a video of him creating two characters using Forge Steel, the Draw Steel character creator created by Andy Aiken. In one and half hours, he creates two characters, and that includes a break, and the intro and outro.

The Dice Society has published episode 11 of their podcast. The episode named Draw Steel Gets Revised covers the recent changes to the game.

The links to the Stream and Videos channel in Discord and the Videos, Streams, etc tag on the subreddit are also included.

Draw Steel Tools

I've also included some tools that popped up this past month. A simple and easy to use encounter difficulty calculator by Panch's friend, a dice roller for Tabletop Simulator by Cal-El, a power roll macro for Roll20 by foxrobinhood, and the impressive set of tools for running Draw Steel using the note taking app Obsidian called Steel Compendium created by Xentis.

5e Homebrew

There was also a bit of homebrew for D&D fifth edition shared on the Discord this month. Two subclasses for the 5e Talent: the Photokinetic by Kazimov, and the Empath by Swimavidly. McDezY shared a magic item and a new subclass for Paladin called Oath of the Ebon Guard. The subclass is available for both the 2014 and the 2024 rules.

From Around the Web

I've also included mentions of MCDM on the wide web, outside of our humble community. With the release of the new Dungeon Master's Guide for the 2024 rules of fifth edition just around the corner, and the new bastion rules included in it, Strongholds & Followers have gotten a small resurgence as people compare the rules for player controlled bases.

Outro

And that's it for October. Revisions to Draw Steel, and a patron packet; a successful dicefunder; some progress for Codex; and yet more great community creations.

If you want to be featured on Goblin Points, or know of someone else who should be, please leave a comment on YouTube or Spotify, or send me an e-mail on [email protected].

Links to the MCDM Discord server, the reddits for MCDM and Draw Steel, the YouTube channels of Matt and MCDM, the complete link section, and this script is in the show notes. It's also on goblinpoints.com.

Next episode is on the 20th, and it's a bit of a special one. It will mark the one year anniversary of Goblin Points, and for the occasion I've commissioned new art and a my very own theme music. As a guest on the anniversary episode, is the composer of the theme music, Patrick Haesler. He's a musician and TTRPG player, and I featured him in the July roundup when he published music made for The Shifting Library from Where Evil Lives.

It's wild it's been a year already. See you next time. Snakkes.