Post by Vio on Mar 6, 2023 15:31:39 GMT -5
Hey, everybody! We really don’t stop, do we? This time we’re coming in hot with some (admittedly late game) improvements to certain types of Trait, the introduction of a new race option, and some tweaks to existing races—especially our fishy friends!
Elemental Traits: Resistance & Generation
Though several characters exist on site with Traits that render them resistant to “elemental” assaults, such as fire or electricity, these Traits have always had a slight issue with them ever since we introduced Legendary Traits. The issue being: They don’t really have a “Legendary” equivalent? While the extremely high durability of a Legendary Toughness Trait is fine, outright immunity is a bit of a step too far and there’s no real metric by which to measure the idea of being “more fireproof”.
So! We’re introducing a new option for these Traits in the form of “Elemental Generation” Traits—the next step of being resistant to something is to be capable of exuding it. Examples of this can already be found in the natural abilities of the Mink and Lunarian races, as well as the Vinsmoke children, most notably Reiju’s “Poison Pink” ability and probably—by extension—Sanji’s “Hell Memories”. Do remember that these Legendary Traits only allow for the generation of the appropriate element, with finer control still requiring Aspects or Equipment suited to it.
Now, this change comes with a question: What’s the point of an Elemental Generation Trait when I have an Aspect that does the same thing? Well, we’ve agreed that this is a bit unusual, but in these specific cases we’ve decided that natural progression outweighs mechanical nuance. Once you reach the point of having one of these Traits, you’ll be allowed to replace existing Aspects with new ones as appropriate, though it is worth noting that these Traits don’t naturally allow for the same control or amplification effects as some Aspects would.
Long-Arms, Long-Legs, and… Snakenecks!
That’s right, we’re finally adding one of those known but barely seen tribes to our list of playable options, so you too can become a human giraffe! But before we actually get to their introduction, let’s talk about what we’re doing to Long-Arms and Long-Legs. Currently, these two races possess a fixed Strength Trait that is ambiguously tied to their respectively long limbs, rather than their general body. We’re not too keen on these proto-Passive Qualities existing in the same space as a Trait would, so we’re cutting them out entirely. Because of their unusual proportions, none of these races will require a Strength or Toughness Trait to reach their upper size limits. Long-Arms, Long-Legs, and the newly introduced Snakenecks will function in the same way as Humans do—they’ll each get a total of 3 optional Traits with no fixed choices.
The Snakeneck Tribe are humanoids distinguished by their extremely long necks—which seem to be around as long as their torsos are tall—though they don’t seem to have any other notable differences from the average human. Much like their counterparts, Snakenacks will use the average human height as a baseline which, coupled with their neck lengths, places them at an average of between 8’ and 9’ tall (approx. 243 to 274 cm), to an absolute maximum of 15’ (approx. 457 cm).
Sky Islanders: Quality of Life
Following on from what has been said above about the Long-Arm and Long-Leg tribes, we’ve decided the best course of action for the Sky Islanders is to strip away Oxygen Efficiency as a fixed Trait. While it definitely has its purpose, it basically serves as a glorified Stamina Trait, and we couldn’t really think of a clean way of giving it more without delving into some unusual territory. On top of that, the Trait itself doesn’t have to be unique to Sky Islanders due to how it functions. As such, Sky Islanders will function in the same way as humans and the Long-Limb races do in regards to Traits, having 3 optional Trait choices. Oxygen Efficiency itself can still be kept as a Trait, but it’s no longer a necessity.
Making A Splash! Fishman & Merfolk Traits!
An idea recently placed on the table got us thinking about the aquatic oddities and we quickly settled on what we think is a perfect solution to an old quandary: How to make Merfolk balanced! By extension, this also means a very slight change to Fishmen, but also new options related to the Elemental Traits mentioned above! So, what are we doing to these denizens of the deep? Well, let’s start with the general change.
The previously established Amphibious Trait is being replaced and renamed as Child of the Sea, which will uniformly represent the aquatic capabilities of Fishmen and Merfolk—the ability to move and swim unimpeded by the resistance of the water and the gift of being able to breathe underwater. We’re also removing Supreme Swimmer as a separate Trait for Merfolk and merging it with Child of the Sea as a Legendary option, better representing the fact that Merfolk are the fastest race underwater. Why? Because they can start with it!
That’s right, Merfolk are now being split in a similar way to the “Heavy” and “Light” split used for Cyborgs and Robots, with players allowed to pick from one of two options when creating Mermen and Mermaids. The first option is to live up to their aquatic speed and take the Supreme Swimmer Trait in exchange for having the Fish Out Of Water negative Trait, which represents the fact that Merfolk are slow and poorly mobile on land. Alternatively, for those whose fishy anatomy enables land movement—such as cephalopod-type Merfolk or those who just aren’t too fussed about being slower than their kin—they can simply take the more simple Child of the Sea without any negatives.
But wait! There’s more! Child of the Sea has two possible options for evolving into a Legendary Trait. Merfolk and Fishmen (later on) can choose to upgrade it into Supreme Swimmer, or into Aquatic Savant: This Legendary Trait allows them the ability to generate water, such as by condensing water vapor and forming droplets on their skin, in order to utilize their signature water manipulating martial arts in the open air, instead of just underwater. This functions in exactly the same way as the other Elemental Generation Traits mentioned earlier!
Gateways Update: Now Live!
As mentioned in a previous announcement, we’re making some changes to certain seas, and as part of that we’ve changed the rulings on how Gateways are used. As of this announcement, that ruling is now live, meaning that you can have active threads in a Gateway even when that character is active in another sea!
