More Create Blog Sign In

BASTIONLAND
A BASTION OF ODDITY

Wednesday, 22 February 2023 Games

Into the Odd
Why are you still here?
Electric Bastionland
I've spoken about this before, but I like to periodically look through a game and ask each Mythic Bastionland
individual rule "why are you still here?" The Doomed
MAC Attack
But don't get complacent. Even if a rule has justified its place before, things have probably
changed.  Ask the Stars
Blighters
BUT also don't get bloodthirsty. I know I've boasted of my love of ludocide, but I've been guilty
of going too far. Sometimes the situation has changed, but the rule still has a place.
Social
Patreon
Bastiard newspapers with a bias toward rigorous rulesetting often depict me as an executioner, butcher, or
Newsletter
assassin.
Discord
Less theory, more practice. Here are a couple of recent examples from the workshop.  Twitter
Mythic Bastionland - Burden Exposure YouTube
Twitch
Burdens are one of Mythic Bastionland's big rules changes from EB and ITO. You'll sometimes
gain a Burden because things went badly, or as the cost to perform a heroic feat. Each has a Podcast
specific way to remove it, so Fatigue is removed when you get a hot meal and proper rest. If
you have the maximum 3 Burdens then you're Exposed, acting as if you had 0 Guard About
(equivalent to HP in this game).  Chris McDowall
View my complete
The idea is that Burdens are bad, but they're going to happen, so the Knights should have one profile
eye on ways to remove those that they take on, and consider when it's worth exerting
themselves. 

So what's changed since I wrote the Burden rules? Subscribe

There's now greater focus on Feats, things that Knights can do to give themselves an advantage Posts
in combat, or protect themselves from death, at the cost of a Burden. They can only do these if Comments
they aren't already at full Burden capacity. 

It's created a bit of a double jeopardy situation, where the idea of "you're vulnerable when fully Archive
Burdened" is applied in two different ways:
▼ 2023 (23)
Firstly through being Exposed when you have 3 Burdens.
► June (3)
Secondly through being unable to use the Endure Feat when you have 3 Burdens, a common
► May (4)
way of cheating death. 
► April (4)
I haven't drawn a verdict on this one yet, as these double jeopardy situations aren't  innately a
bad thing, it's just worth sticking a flag in it.  ► March (4)

MAC Attack - Preferred Weapon Ranges ▼ February (5)

MAC Attack Playthrough
Weapons in MAC Attack typically looked like this: Cannon (K): S2 L1
Why are you still here?
This shows the Attack Value of the weapon at each of its effective ranges. Here it has AV2 at
The Battle of Bastionland
Short Range and AV1 at Long Range. These range categories are universal for all weapons. The
K notes that it's a Kinetic weapon, which grants a special rule for that weapon type. Making 2mm Scale Even
Smaller
This was written at a time when all weapons generated 1 Heat when fired. Bigger MACs could
ONLY Roll Initiative
carry more weapons and the heatsinks that allowed them to keep firing, so tended to have a
bigger output.  ▼ January (3)
So what's changed since then? Some Swords are More
Special than Others
I added bigger versions of each weapon, typically boosting their AV at the cost of generating
Faunic Tutors
more Heat. I also cut down on the number of range categories in the game, so now there was
just Short, Long, and Arc for indirect fire.  Beasts, Vicious and Knowing

Crucially, MACs were also standardised with 6 module slots. Bigger models got their
▼ 2022 (57)
advantages through better heat management and resilience. To give some options for these big
MACs I added further tiers of "big gun" that could be equipped, giving greater damage for a ▼ December (4)
higher heat cost.  2023 Plans

So you might  have that Cannon (K): S2 L1 from before alongside an XL-Cannon (K): S3 L2 The Year in Brief
and even an Ultra-Cannon (K): S4 L3.  100 ways to write 100 things

Here it's not so much a case of any one of those rules clashing with the existing system, but Action-Intent Duality
with an increasing number of options to differentiate weapons, did they really need to list how
▼ November (5)
effective they were at two different range bands? 
Imperfect Examples
The range bands were tweaked to be a little less restrictive, and now weapons simply listed the
Speaking in Parlance
single range at which they can attack, the type of damage it causes, and its Calibre which
dictates both AV and Heat usage.  Reasonable Cruelty

So that Cannon becomes Cannon: LK2. Long range, Kinetic Weapon, Calibre 2.  Making MACs
Breaking the Rules
Side benefit, this reads like a Battletech style model-number, so can be written as LK2 Heavy
Cannon or ST3 Macro-Burner instead. You can give it whatever name you like as long as the
▼ October (5)
code is there. 
Factions Louder than Words
One rule lives for now, another is reborn in a new form. Who says I'm not fair to these poor
Into the Odd Adventure Site
blighters. - The Droner House
Posted by Chris McDowall at 08:50 Super Carrot World
TITANIC BASTIONMECHS
No comments:
Good Crunch, Bad Crunch

Post a Comment
▼ September (6)
To leave a comment, click the button below to sign in with Google. Epic & Battletech

SIGN IN WITH GOOGLE

Shame and Hatred
Universal Hex Profile
The Bastionland Presser
Heroism
Newer Post Home Older Post Primacy of Action

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) ▼ August (4)

Mining for Problems
System as Shock
Incentives
MVT - Minimum Viable
Teach

▼ July (5)
Liquid Flesh on an Iron
Skeleton
Prep Exposed
Reminders
Omens
MYTHIC BASTIONLAND
PLAYTEST

▼ June (4)
Burdens
Soulless
Bonuses
Slow

► May (6)

► April (4)

► March (5)

► February (4)

► January (5)

► 2021 (86)

► 2020 (71)

► 2019 (12)

► 2018 (23)

► 2017 (21)

► 2016 (34)

► 2015 (100)

► 2014 (42)

► 2013 (13)

► 2012 (41)

► 2011 (31)

► 2010 (12)

► 2009 (36)

Other Blogs
Traverse Fantasy
FMC: Kill the Devils! Character
Modificiations

The Cosmic Orrery

Morrow Project - Damocles,
Review #2

The Alexandrian
Running Mysteries: Returning
to the Scene of the Crime

False Machine
A Review of ‘Northern Journey’

GROGNARDIA
Retrospective: The Forest
Oracle
Show All

Powered by Blogger.