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11 December 2010

Pause // (WIP) Playtest Rules 0.5

In both an effort to make the game as smooth to play as possible, as well as to define rules for the investigations which are supposed to be so important to the gameplay experience of Pause, I have come up with some very notable rule changes for the upcoming version 0.5 of the playtest rules. Some of them are as follows:

  • Adding sub-stats called Aspects, three for each Trait, in order to allow the player to better define his or her character. They also contribute to possible Merits and Flaws, which can be used as situational modifiers to dice rolls. (Yes, I'm borrowing this from World of Darkness. Deal with it.)
  • Adding a shared team metric called Sync and removing Critical Status, as it got too clunky and was notably easier to revive from Lock Out than to heal the team member in the first place. Damage beyond a character's health is dealt to the team Sync, resulting in negative effects upon the team. Sync can be changed through other ways too.
  • Reducing the number of Domains from seven to six. Also changing their function a bit - they can be used for situational extra dice before a roll.
  • Lock Out will be tied more to the team's Sync than their individual health levels. The exact effects of Lock Out are to be determined.
  • Actions are now all one point of Personal Time to use. More difficult actions have higher target numbers, as usual. More PT can be used to gain an advantage. Domain points can be used for extra dice in situations where they can be used rather than PT. Sync can be used for extra dice in dire situations.
  • Consolidating the Within a Pause and In Between Pauses sections into one section about gameplay.
  • Gameplay will now be divided into Scenes, which can be a combat or part of an investigation.
  • Turn order now remains the same during an entire Scene rather than being rerolled each turn, unless characters wish to swap their places once during the Scene.
  • Customization of actions and Domains still cost additional PT, but DO NOT add dice to the roll.
With so many rule changes already in the works, as well as others which I am considering, it makes sense that I will have to rewrite entire parts of the manual to accommodate the changes. Please be patient while I do this, as well as to make the manual into a more presentable piece of work (hooray Adobe InDesign!), not to mention that work still has me in a wonky-as-hell schedule thanks to the holiday season. Thanks for the continued support and I hope to keep hearing more suggestions and criticism from y'all!

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