Update #35 - Welcome to the New Year!!
almost 6 years ago – Tue, Jan 08, 2019 at 10:56:09 PM

Happy New Year everyone!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, whatever you celebrate! We certainly did, even as busy as it's been. But, now we're back!

Just a quick notice that our weekly updates will now instead be every other week in order for us to focus more on the final push to production over the next few months.

Also, for those of you in the Vice Admiral tier and above, I apologize for any lack of communication. This holiday was especially busy and what time I had to work was spent focusing on the mechanics of the game. I will be in touch sometime this week with you all once again, now that things are returning to a more normal schedule.

For everybody else, here's a quick rundown of what the tentative plan for the next few months looks like:

January:

• Follow up with backers of Vice Admiral Tier and above
• Begin translating mechanics from notes into book form

February-April:

• Finish text for book, prep for proofing
• Finalize perks of Vice Admiral Tier and above
• Possible rules-lite beta for further testing at conventions

May:

• Proof book text, review, revise, finalize
• Order limited edition logo pins

June:

• Order books

July:

• Ship to backers

Please do keep in mind this schedule is still only tentative. We are still on track and planning to meet our goal, but there is always a chance to for any number of issues to arise. Rest assured, though, if they do, we'll be sure to let you know right away.

We are looking forward to another great year and continuing to move forward with this project! See you again in two weeks for our next lore update! This time, we'll be taking a look at the Arachnoid race.

See you then!

- Project Lead Spirit and the Galloping Stars Team

Update #34 - The Cervidaen Race
almost 6 years ago – Wed, Nov 28, 2018 at 12:21:11 AM

Hello everybody!

Today, we'll be taking a look at the Cervidaen race! As usual, don't hold everything here to be 100% what it'll be in the final product.

The Cervidaen Race

Here's their current race sheet: The Cervidaen race are an agile and intelligent race. Ruled by a geniocratic council, they favor things like problem solving, creative intelligence, and compassion to be the best traits of their kind. Physical strength, while not necessarily frowned upon, is not a criteria for judging one's character in their eyes. The Cervidaens, thus, have a boost to both Agility and Intelligence, but a double decrease in their Grit.

The also all have a natural foci in their antlers (the females have stunted antlers that essentially amount to nubs that never really grown out enough to be visible), allowing them to cast magic without needing to use an external channel for their magic.

Because they have two antlers, and are more focused on intricacy than brute strength, they are more known for their precision in magic use. This makes them the opposing counter part to the Unicorns, who are known instead for raw magical power. This is why the Cervidaens receive a +2 bonus to Spellcasting at Character Creation, as well as a +5 maximum to their Mana Pool (as opposed to the unicorns +1 Spellcasting, +10 Mana Max).

Also, along with their natural foci for magic, they gain the ability to use Telekinesis. This is identical to the Unicorn's same ability.

Their magic isn't the only thing to get bonuses, though. Having lived among natural for many centuries, they are very attune with the wild animals around them. In turn, they receive a slight bonus to either their Handle Creature Skill or their Survival Skill at Creation.

The Cervidae also gain a Once-Per-Session ability that only further's natural Agility. This is a very powerful ability that allows them to, on any check that is based in Agility, turn one dice rolled to its maximum value. This will allow the dice to explode if it is legally able to. This cannot apply to damage dice on an agility based attack, but can be used on the attack roll itself.

The Cervidaens are also a race known to have wonderful art and architecture, with unrivaled craftsmanship. They are very dexterous with their magic, and can thus produce very fine, intricate details. This is especially evident in their Arcane Bows, which use the Blood Silk, supplied by the Arachnoids, as a magical bow string. Another amazing use of this Blood Silk also includes its use as magical circuits and wires in their technology and star ships.

Well, that about does it for today's look at the Cervidaens. Thanks for joining us!

Reminder that we will be taking the month of December off from these updates so we can focus on both the holidays and hammering out more mechanics and play testing! You can be assured though that the work will continue behind the scenes here, and that the updates will resume on the night of January 1st!

We also plan to have the messages for those in the Vice Admiral tier and above out by the end of the week still. Sorry again for the delay on those.

All of you have a happy holiday season, whatever you celebrate, and we'll see you in the new year!

- Project Lead Spirit and the Changeling Games/Galloping Stars Team!

Update #33 - Quick Update
almost 6 years ago – Tue, Nov 27, 2018 at 01:48:00 AM

Hey everybody!

Hope those of you in the States had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to let those of you in the Vice Admiral tier and above know that the messages regarding the custom content have been delayed just a bit. They will still be out this week sometime, however, rest assured. Nothing else has been delayed at all.

Just wanted to keep you all posted. Tomorrow's update where we'll look at the Cervidaen race will still be on time tomorrow, as well.

See you there!

- Project Lead Spirit

Update #32 - The Planet of Cervidas
almost 6 years ago – Thu, Nov 15, 2018 at 12:19:49 AM

Hello everybody!

Today, it's time to take a look at the Cervidaens' home planet of Cervidas!

Reminder that this might not 100% be what's in the final product.

The Planet of Cervidas

Cervidas is a lush planet, covered by forests and meadows. The terrain is also dotted with rolling hills, large lakes, and moderate mountain ranges, often covered in the thick foliage.

The trees in the deepest parts of the forests grow to incredible heights. And it is in among these branches, around the massive trunks, that the Cerivdae make their homes.

Cervidaen cities fill the gaps in the trees, wrapping up and around their trunks and spanning the space between with walkways. Homes and buildings are shaped to fit the curves of the trees, some even being built into the trees themselves. These organic-feeling cities are a wonder to behold as a stark contrast to the rigid and clean-cut cities of most other races.

However, the Cervidae are not the only race to call this planet their home. Deep in the mountain caves and even darker reaches of the forests across the planet lives the Arachnoids. A race of creatures with the upper body resembling that of an equine, but the lower body of a giant spider. These creatures are mysterious and misunderstood by most, but they have developed a trade relationship with the Cervidae that has lasted for generations now.

And there is yet a third race on this planet. High up in the forest canopies live the Lepidoquines. A moth-like equinoid race, they tend to be gentle, docile creatures, with delicate builds. They also tend to be most active at night, and drawn to strong sources of light and magic.

Cervidas also has a fairly large moon that orbits it. The moon, contains no atmosphere and is frozen over. Asteroid impacts striking this moon send chunks of ice toward the planet. These chunks then melt as they enter atmosphere,  providing the planet with its water.

And that concludes our quick look at the planet of Cervidas. There's more to discover with this planet, but we'll touch on some with the races down the line.

Next week, as it is Thanksgiving here in the States, we will be taking a week off from the regularly scheduled updates. On the week following that, we will be taking a look at the Cervidae themselves. That will be the last update before December rolls around. As that month is going to be super busy with Christmas and family stuff for all of us, we will be taking the entire month of December off from these regular updates as well. Rest assured, none of these will delay development.

Also of note, on Monday, November 26th, we will start sending out the first messages to everybody who pledged at the Vice Admiral tier and above to start the process of developing their NPCs and the one Kickstarter race. So look for that if you're in one of those tiers!

We'll see you next time! If you celebrate it, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

- Project Lead Spirit

Update #31 - The Griffon Race
about 6 years ago – Wed, Nov 07, 2018 at 12:28:17 AM

Hello everybody!

Today we'll be taking a look a the Griffon Race. As usual, nothing here is 100% finalized.

The Griffon Race

Here's their current race sheet:

The Griffons are a race who have had to adapt to the conditions of their new home world: A gas giant with exceedingly strong winds and intense gravitational pulls. This has led to their Attribute boosts in both Grit and Agility. They also are a bit of a gruff race that puts more emphasis on hard work and manual labor than on tactful grace and mental acuity. However, they aren't that far below average. This is reflected in their slightly reduced Allure and Intelligence Attributes.

They are a winged race, capable of flight, and the strongest fliers in the game. Thus, they have access to the Flying Skill as well as a +2 bonus in that same skill.

They also have the Keen Senses from their avian ancestors, affording them a +2 bonus to Perception, as well as Low-Light Vision capabilities.

They also have Natural Weapons in the form of Claws, much the same as the Starhounds. Likewise, they also share the Dexterous trait that the Starhounds have.

All of these traits alone make Griffons some of the fiercest fighters in the Galaxy. However, they also have one more trick up their sleeve. If they weren't scary enough already, they have a once-per-session ability that makes them even scarier. They are able to make use of their avian heritage and unleash a piercing screech that can instill terror in all enemies within a 25 foot radius from them. This screech can not only petrify enemies with fear, but can inflict Willpower damage equal to your Intimidation Skill + 5 during each of their following turns, for 3 turns or until no longer affected. An opponent can shake this effect off by passing a Fear Check (essentially, a Courage roll) that must exceed your Intimidation Skill Rank x 5, minus the distance from you they are. So, if you have an Intimidation Skill of 3, and they are 10 feet away from you, they must pass a roll of 5. (3 x 5 = 15 and 15 - 10 = 5)

This is a powerful ability, like the Sphinx's, capable of bringing an entire group of low tier enemies to their knees. Though, it may not be as effective against high-tier enemies, especially those with the Indomitable Will trait.

Griffons make fantastic aerial soldiers, as well as assassins (though, not as good as Twilightborne ones). Outside of the Tsardom of Griffonia, there are large number of them employed as mercenaries.

There is also the large Griffon pirate band known as the Crimson Flock. While the Flock prides itself in its Griffon heritage, they do accept members from other races who have proven themselves to be up to their standards.

And that concludes our look at the Griffon Race! More lore will be included in the final rule book, so look forward to that!

Thanks for joining us this week! Next week we'll be taking a look at the planet of Cervidas, home planet of the Cervidae, the Arachnoids, and the Lepidoquines!

Look forward to seeing you there!

- Project Lead Spirit