STORMFLUX MARCH 2020 PATCH NOTES 

Reviewing our cards and our system as a whole, we see opportunities to give players clearer build paths and broader options, while trimming the fat in some areas that aren’t getting attention.  Many new cards are focused on synergy, and our goal is to enable combat styles that play well together.

Before we dive in, we would like to announce that we are allowing a full refund on ALL Codified Patterns when you check in. If you cannot make it to the March event, you’ll be able to get your full refund at your next game, whenever that may be.

Link to updated Codified Card list

Core System Changes

We’re making a few top-level changes with intent to simplify the system:

  • We are removing Stab from the game. Melee weapons will no longer call Stab and all melee damage is baseline Strike.  We’ve updated Melee patterns to no longer require Stab. We realized that Stab requiring patterns are a hidden disincentive to use latex weapons.

  • Bolt is being replaced with [Shot]. All guns will now inflict [Shot] damage baseline. Shot Cards that used Bolt have been updated to either use Shot or Pierce. We are updating Boltcatcher Armor to allow you to Negate two calls from bullets (any call!), after which it will need repair.

  • Bows now inflict Pierce damage baseline.

  • Brutal and Finesse stacks are now only gained by making Melee attacks.  Previously, you could gain these stacks using Ranged attacks, but that playstyle was seldomly used.  Some new Ranged and Thrown patterns will allow you to gain Brutal and Finesse stacks through ranged attacks.

  • Precision stacks have been removed (see our new pistol stuff).

  • [Cast] is now the official shorthand for “Throw a packet (or touchcast a friendly effect)”.

  • Guns now [Jam] if you are struck while they are held in hand.  You may not fire a gun until you have cleared the Jam, which can be done by fully unloading and reloading the gun (guns like the hotshot are nearly immune to jam. Go get em lil guy.) Performing an Recovery also unjams any held firearms. Some patterns jam your gun after use.

  • Cleaning up some things about Hits and Afflictions.  Previously, any clean contact was a Hit. Now, it needs to be a damaging call to be a Hit.  Status calls are not considered Hits, we will refer to a status-call-contact as “Afflict”. This mostly helps us with phrasing on cards, because now we can say “If you Afflict an enemy” instead of “If you contact an enemy with a status call”.  This also clarifies that you lose stacks when Hit, and do not lose stacks if you are afflicted.

  • The mechanic of shields being able to block Crushes has been renamed to [Durability]. By base, all shields have 2 [Durability]. Any pattern that increases the number of crushes your shield can take before breaking will say “Your shield gains 1 [Durability]”

  • You can no longer weave more than one of the same pattern.  We are removing the Unique keyword because all cards are now unique.

We are moving all armor immunities from implicit to card-based.  Medium and Heavy armor will no longer grant immunities without patterns.  Now, each Aegis card will have additional effects including access to these immunities.  The costs and requirements are similar, but there will be a loss for any characters who were wearing heavy armor without investing in patterns, and a gain for characters who have invested deeply in patterns.  We’ve also created patterns that specifically reference Medium Armor, Light Armor, or Unarmored, to give those playstyles more consideration.

We are updating the term Overflow Resist Points (ORPs) to [Tenacity]. Without any patterns you will still be able to spend Tenacity to Negate an Overflow Affliction. The name change allows us to create new cards that will allow you to spend your Tenacity to Negate other effects.  There are also more ways to get Tenacity. The Human card has been updated to reflect the Tenacity changes. New versions of the Human card will be double-sided to allow for more text to be written.

We are adding a [Remove Daze] call. First Aid will have the easiest access to this call, with Chanter and Couplet casting having much more restricted access. To give a better space for this call, we are increasing the Daze timer to 30 seconds.

Equipment

We are renaming Items to Equipment and expanding our selection of Equipment available for creation. These Equipment cards are where we intend players to go to further improve their patterns with dedicated props.  We’re releasing a set of ‘public knowledge’ Equipment Blueprints, mostly at the Public level. Any Equipment that requires a Rank 3 essence to craft is considered Scholarly and requires Scholarly Shaping.  If you haven’t caught on to earlier banter, equipment cards overlay your other patterns to add modifiers or bonuses. You need to overlay a card within a certain category, and you can only have one overlay per tapestry slot. This means that if you have three patterns for Couplet Casting, you have more opportunity to overlay equipment related to Couplets.  In practice, overlay cards will go in your tapestry facing the opposite direction of your Human card. Most Equipment is created by Smithing, Tinkering, and Etching - big update for Smiths. A list of currently available Equipment cards and their Blueprints will be made available before the March event.


Combat Patterns

We are adjusting many of the existing combat patterns so that each weapon style has a more defined role.

  • Two handed weapons are getting some pattern consolidation, with various Repel patterns being combined into one called ‘Awesome Blow’. We want to enable Two-handed fighters to break up lines and crack defenses.

  • Spear patterns are getting a more defined role of controlling space and applying steady damage to unguarded targets. Piercing Tenacity will give Tenacity instead of Aegis.  The ‘Pikeman’s Stance’ card allows you to spend Tenacity to Negate movement effects that contact your spear. 

  • Dagger patterns aren’t getting much change themselves, but daggers are getting some new options to synergize with other styles, and new Equipment options.

  • We’re combining Florentine and Buccaneer into one pattern called Versatile Duelist, and also adding small shields and thrown weapons to your available off-hand options.

  • We’ve added a cheap 10p shield pattern and a Silence option for shield fighters.  We think there are a few too many strong options available to shield fighters right now, so we’re moving some of the codified options to Wild or Equipment.

  • Pistols are being updated to work better as a supplemental option.  We’re removing ‘Bullseye’, the Precision-based damage pattern, with ‘Steady Aim’.  Steady Aim is designed to function alongside melee, but can be used with just a pistol to improve damage.  Thrown weapons can also use this pattern.

  • Guns over 3ft long are now called Rifles, and we’ve overhauled the associated patterns.  We’re moving away from aiming and timers and exploring a new direction that builds Focus and then uses that focus to unleash a high-damage burst.

  • With the base damage increase to Bows, it’s no longer necessary to pick up a damage-improving pattern.  Affliction skills are still available. We are adding new patterns that synergize archery with casting, or allow archery to set up for melee strikes

Casting

Link to updated Spells and Effect list

We have made the following adjustments to the spell list:

  • All spells are now segregated into four “Schools”: [Elemental], [Affliction], [Utility], or [Restoration].

  • New Affliction spell: [Muddle] - Lose all of your Stacks. You cannot gain or spend Stacks while Muddled.

  • New Overflow Affliction spell: [Blind] (Overflow effect for Muddle) - You cannot attack any target until it has attacked you.

  • New Utility spell: [Trip] - Target must have 1 knee touch the ground.

  • Updated [Lock] to now read - You cannot Speak or Channel (except channeling to Recover)

  • Healing, Cleanse, and Repair have been separated out into their own unique category, Restoration Spells.

  • Cleanse will no longer require you to know the Affliction, but you must still specify which affliction you are cleansing at the point of cast, such as “Cleanse Slow”.  Some casting patterns may require that you DO know the affliction, or have other requirements.

We are expanding each of the casting styles to have more defined build paths and so that you no longer simply repurchase the same casting pattern to become a better caster. Each casting pattern will now specify which school of spell you can learn. Changes to casting are aimed at making certain styles less initially cost prohibitive and staging out benefits.  Most patterns that enhance casting now also grant an additional spell known, so you progress in versatility and power as you add more patterns. Alchemy and Couplet should feel fairly similar but require one more slot to get the same benefits. Runic and Chanter casters will get less initial power but should have more capability when dedicated.  All casters have new Equipment options to add certain spells or other new features.

Basic Casting now reads: Gain 1 [Elemental] or [Affliction Spell]. This does mean that Basic Casting can no longer be used for Heal or Repair.

Alchemy Casting will now only give you 1 Affliction spell by base. If you do not know any Elemental Spells through Alchemy, your Spell Pair will call “Affliction Shot”.

Couplet Casting now grants [Spellbook] on its initial pattern. While holding a Spellbook in hand and open to a page that has one of your couplets written on it, that particular couplet does not exhaust when you use it to Channel. You may have any number of couplets written on each page but a page can only be bound to a single spell (Ice or Slow for example) so multiple couplets on the same page should all relate to that page’s spell. You may still cast using Couplets from memory or while your Spellbook is closed, but they cannot be repeated until the end of the encounter even if you would open your spellbook again later. Spellbook props can be any journal, book, or other bound quantity of paper.

Rune Casting has been more unapproachable than some of our other casting styles due to its high initial cost and intensive prop requirement. We love to see the Rune Shields that our players have come up with but we think we can do something about the cost. We’re bringing Rune Casting’s initial spell access more in line with our other styles but keeping the versatility they’ve been known for with the introduction of a unique mechanic, Active Spells. A Rune Caster can initially inscribe their shield with 3 spells. After spending some time empowering the runes of their shield, 1 of these spells becomes their Active spell and can be used freely by tracing all inscribed spells while speaking their names. This change allows us to drop the prohibitive cost of Rune Casting to something more approachable to newer players.There are numerous patterns available to Rune Casters to increase the number of spells they can inscribe and/or have active. Rune Casters will no longer be required to purchase additional formations for their inscribed spells to allow for players to more organically evolve their proficiency. Please contact staff if you plan to explore a Rune Shield with 4 or more inscribed spells or need help planning out the prop.

Couplet, Chanter, and Runic casting will have access to [Restoration Spells]


New cards are being printed to Repair using tools instead of magic.The cheapest of these is 15 potentia, with more advanced cards allowing you to repair certain objects more quickly. The roleplay for these repair skills will require you to interact with the broken object several times across multiple points.

Lores

We have added a new Creature type and Lore to the game, Marine. This lore will let you ask questions about water breathing and inhabiting creatures.

We have removed Flora as a creature type. We found that Flora overlapped too much with Verdant based creatures. Many of the previous Flora creatures will be classified as Verdant Constructs.

We have removed Necorotic as a creature type. Anything that was considered necrotic before will now be Arenaceous (corrosion and decay). We had realized that for some time, we've been using necrotic as an overlay for other creature types- undead beasts, undead humanoids, etc. Having this style of creature be tied to essences lets our system match how we have been handling them in the past.

We have consolidated the Golem, Mechana, and Poppet Lores into a single Construct Lore. Note this change was made in January, but the cards to reflect this change will be available for March.

For March Only


Magishot Casting has proven to be an outlier when it comes to balance and design, especially when compared to the other casting styles. We will not be selling Magishot Casting for March. Players who have already have Magishot can still use it for March. We like the mechanic and flavor of spell-infused bullets so we plan to keep this playstyle in the game in some manner, but we were unable to settle on a direction before our March deadline.

We will not be selling any Ruin Patterns or run any hazards in March without giving you the necessary tools to fight them. We don’t feel that the current iteration of hazards and Ruin fulfill the role we intend for them to have in Stormflux.

Planned Changes For May

Our focus for May will be focusing on reworks to Pathfinding, Terrains, and Ruin.  There will also be new structures, consumable designs, equipment, and possibly new wild patterns.