Working.... like always.

Okay, what's on deck from Otherverse Games for 2010?

Well, I just sent off the Neverborn sourcebook manuscript to Amanda for illustrations, and knowing how quick her turn-around time is, I should have the finished art in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, I'm going to let the manuscript just sit and breathe, and if I come up with any new concepts for it between now and when the art comes in, I'll include it. If not, it's 100% ready to go, and it will be a damn fine sourcebook. Given the source material, I want to try out a darker layout.... something similar graphically to the old World of Darkness stuff.

Secondly, I've been trading e-mails back and forth with Mark about putting out some more fantasy stuff. We're still hammering out the Campaign Options: Firearm mega-sourcebook, and each iteration seems to be getting tighter, cooler. Mark also wants to revisit some of the Adventuer's Essentials work we did together, and expand upon it. Should be fun.... . I've also got some more ambitious fantasy projects on deck for later down the road.

Meanwhile, work on the Psi-Watch revision is going much quicker than I expected. I've gone through and made minor tweaks here and there, and also added alot of world information. Unlike the previous draft, this version of Psi-Watch has a much greater sense of history. The world has more cohesion and a greater sense of interconnectedness.

I've added in a Mutant race, which has opened up alot of design space. With these guys, I'm able to include alot more 90s-flavored backstory, a new villianous nation similar to X-Men's Genosha, an independant mutant homeland hidden deep in the Bermuda Triangle, and other cool stuff. I also pulled in the Patriot Mechanic race from APEX and I may pull in a race from Guide to the Known Galaxy. If you have a favorite, drop me a line and let me know. Otherwise, I'll probally pull in either the Jigsaw or the Sequence, which I think would work really well in Psi-Watch.

In terms of the existing races, I've made only minor changes. The Jupiter-Taint mutants, which were Fuji/Hellstrike analouges got renamed, but are still bascially the same. Some of the races with weak racial abilities (Blooded Ghost, Patriot Boxers, Patriot Ivories and Spetsnazski) get a second look and some slightly improved talents. I'm also adding some very fun racial feats to the game. Each race has at least 2-3 and some of them have ALOT more. The racial feats for Blooded Ghosts and Shiftsteel Symbionts are particuarly cool, and add alot of history and depth to the setting.

Feats....especially Psionic Precursor feats... get a revision. Seriously, I don't know what I was thinking with a couple of the Precursors. Two feats spring to mind: Faith Healer and Sociopathic Insight. Both were outclassed, not just by stuff in another sourcebook, but by other feats in the same chapter. Needless to say, I did some major surgery on them and others. Faith Healer was outclassed by Mind Healer, and despite the fact it was less useful, Faith Healer had higher prerequsites. Changed that. Big time.

I'd always intended Sociopathic Insight as "Hannibal Lecter fucking with Agent Starling" and instead it turned into a lame circumstance bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks. I changed the feat dramatically to bring it in line with how I initially wanted it to play.

I'm starting in on the Shell design chapter, which should go quickly. I have an idea how I want to rework the Power Armor and Mecha rules, and should make using the rules ALOT easier. It won't look like the current system, but will still be compatiable with your old rulebooks.

Finally, I've added like a dozen new starting occupations, and I pulled in the Powered Hero Basic Class from Otherverse America. This revised Powered Hero, by the way, has about twice the Talent choices as the original version. You'll like it.

Psi-Watch 2.0 should be out in another couple of months. Amanda is working on some art, and I've just sent off emails today (like 20 minutes ago!) to Butch Mapa and Rudulfo Montemayor to see if I can get some original work from them. I used both their stock art, through the LPJD Image Portfolio in the previous edition, and I want to get some original stuff from each for the revised edition.

Anyway, talk to you later
CHRIS