Just Some Wasteland Princess

First off, recently because of other games, I've learned of a side of Post-Apocalypse media I never knew about, this honestly helped me develop the world into more of a unique setting. I never knew of the whole Roadside Picnic style settings.

But I digress, going back to what has happened.

So when I started arranging things, when the first book broke into three unique books, I rearranged what classes were in which Encampment Groups to have it make more sense to me. Marked went through huge changes in this in that I swapped out Dimensional and Lost to put in two of what I call "Blue" factions (reference to an in house categorizing of factions between Red, Green, and Blue, all lined up with the Terrain "Food Chain" and yes, these terms will change when final product is made.) I swapped the Rift-Scarred into a "Red" faction and then took the HUGE bite of putting the Ghostrunners as my "Blue" for book 1, making ECO the "Green."

The concept behind the world is that due to our fucking over nature, weather is so intense that we now live in what the corporations call Walled Cities. Through some "proprietary" tech that "wasn't given to them by something beyond us" the cities are shielded from the Apocalyptic storms happening outside them.

These cities are Capitalistic Hellscapes that sell different means of escapism almost like drugs; things like AR chips to remove the grime from your sight (or any other filter you choose,) splicing for cosmetics, and black bagging the homeless to "test new products on."

If the generator goes by its own failing or a storm getting in causing it, then for a brief moment a nuclear level event happens, ripping space and destroying the city.

The Rift causes the survivors to be forever changed. Some are scarred physically and mentally but gain psychic abilities, some become closer to the animal kingdom or even change themselves, and those unlucky to be connected to the AR slowly get their engrams dissolved into the digital aether.

You play the survivors of these Rift-Torn Cities within the first book.

Some rule concepts that used to be only some factions have also evolved to be an every faction thing honestly. These are things such as Leader/Unit Options and Archetypes.

Probably still need to figure more descriptive names for these hahaha.

Leader and Unit Options are a choice shared by Encampment Classes with similar themes that are a) Completely optional in your list, and b) meant to be thematic and fun. It is an option like having one of your Team be a Robot or an Intelligent Animal or what not or your Leader being a Cyborg or Hybrid or Splicer.

The Unit Option offers new equipment, the Leader Option offers new Equipment Sets for your leader, but you get to keep your leader type's ability. Both of these give stat changes to their stat line.

Originally I was only going to do one per the few that allow it, but now each faction gets 2 sets they can choose from and allows 2 Unit Options in their list instead of 1! This increased the original 2 sets to 5 now!!!

Archetypes were another "only some Classes had them" mechanic. They originally were replacing faction equipment on those Classes and offered a choice to the player that they HAD to choose one of.

Each non-leader originally had 2 equipment slots, the Archetype would take one of them presenting 3 that a player could choose from that were thematic to the class and each had 2 pieces of equipment that a unit only could have 1 of.

They work the same now, but with every faction having one, I've pressed the equipment limit from 2 to 3 to compensate so everyone can have some fun with the equipment outside of Archetype Choices.

Another thing was increasing D10 to D12 and upping the 4 basic stats on ALL models by 1. This was just to have better variance on odds.

Beyond that, swapping around Speed and Perception stats then changing Will to Grit really seems like a minor change, but honestly is one that feels important to me.

What other changes am I thinking of? As I've narrowed the books down to 4 planned, I thought of extending the 12 Classes in future books. But in the hours before typing this, I started to debate putting the upgrades just inside the books that have those classes. This would add alternative themes and options for each Class and related NPC Classes.

Rustbelt: Ground Zero is almost finished, just some editing mainly needed to be done

Rustbelt: Second City is now in the works

Other Urde Games; Ghostwoods and Derelict; will be worked on when I can do them, but I'd love to get them released sooner than later (though artist is the issue there as I don't want to put too much of a load on the Artist for Rustbelt as he has his own games he makes)

I wonder if naming the Vampire who's machinations are put into place with the Constellations (who was locked under the Vatican before the fall of humanity and released when the end of the world as we know it struck was released and manipulated the world's religions into what is now known as the constellations…..catches breath ) Nebuchadnezzar would be okay or not. Like, the original namesake was an arrogant ruler that led to the downfall of religious structure…also is an old name that has spooky and religious connotation. But thinking about it, would make for a good name for a vampire kept locked away while he plots beneath the Vatican!

And like, 2 things with this vampire. He needs to be OLD! Like ancient old and he needs to have almost a Cosmic level of Horror to him. He is in a way akin to Hastur in this world, the Constellations are warped, pitting members against each other, designed to keep humans as cattle, but sat up in such a way that they are meant to seek them out just because the rest of the world is that much more horrific and brutal that having the man who says he will keep you safe and the only cost to it is he gets to eat you at the end of your life seems like the safer of the two situations.