Update #30 - The Planet of Salacia
about 6 years ago – Tue, Oct 30, 2018 at 11:47:39 PM

Hello everybody!

Today we'll be taking a look at the Griffon planet of Salacia!

Reminder that nothing here is 100% final.

The Planet of Salacia

While the Planet of Salacia is often stated as the Griffon's home world, it is not actually their initial planet of origin. This text comes from one of our other team members, Eeveexpert, who's been the main driving force behind the Griffons' lore:

"While the griffons as a race currently call the gas-giant Salacia their home, they are but colonists to this stormy planet, forced to flee from the planetary impact that would ultimately claim their homeworld.

From afar, the banded cerulean clouds of Salacia paint an image of serenity, a gem gleaming against the barren, star-dotted backdrop. Venturing into the planet’s upper atmosphere offers a much harsher reality. Tempestuous methane winds streak around the planet in excess of 1,500 mph at all times, making traversal by ill-fitted ships a death sentence. Not ones easily deterred, however, the griffon race had been looking towards Salacia as a possible refuge during their last few years on their own world, and descended into its azure clouds with a plan in mind.

Utilizing a marriage of their gravity-manipulating technology and careful planning, the griffons assembled sleek, simple housing constructs that allow the winds to pass around the structure with minimal, if any at all, damage. These sky cities now drift among Salacia’s upper atmosphere like so many islands at sea.

Making a living in constant supersonic winds posed many a challenge for the griffons, not the least of which meant finding an alternative source of power for their technology from the standard gem-drives other races so easily had access to. The answer came in the form of a monstrous creature dwelling in the planet’s lower atmosphere, a creature later dubbed the Leviathane by griffon scientists.

The bio-electric field emitted by this beast produced a curious effect on the methane in Salacia’s atmosphere, transforming it into carbon. As this was subjected to ever greater pressures, it became diamond. Miniaturizing this phenomenon allowed the griffons a means to sustain themselves through the production of 'fauxites,' which in turn allowed them to directly challenge the lucrative gem-mining processes of the Starhound Syndicate."

And that's your look at the Griffon planet of Salacia! Join us next week for a look at the Griffon Race themselves.

Look forward to seeing you then!

- Project Lead Spirit

Update #29 - The Magic System
about 6 years ago – Fri, Oct 26, 2018 at 02:42:18 AM

Hello everybody!

Today, we're finally taking a first look at the Magic system!

Now, this will not be 100% deep delve into the system, as that would take waaayyy too much to do, but this should at least give you an idea of what the system's going to be like on the surface.

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

The Magic System

To start out, the Magic system in Galloping Stars is what we like to call a controlled-freeform system. This means that the system is open-ended and characters are free to craft their own spells, with the help of the GM, but they are restricted for balance purposes.

The restriction comes in the form of Spell Slots, equal to your Magic Rank + any bonus slots (such as a Unicorn's racial ability or other talents). These slots can also be reset at every long rest, but not before.

Each of the spells that fills these slots is essentially a template. You decide what you want the spell to be, and what it's comprised of. Let's take a quick look at some the things that can be included in a spell's makeup for its template:

Spell Attributes:
- Ranged Spell or Touch- Area of Effect or Specific Target(s)
- Instant Cast or Charged Spell
- Immediate Effect or Duration Effect
- Damage/Healing Effects
- Target Save Check
- Element Type
- Other Effects

There are a few other things not on this list, but that is the majority of it. Each of these attributes, along with a base value (5), will ultimately determine the TN (Target Number) needed to pass the Spellcasting check in order to cast the spell. A failed roll will cause the spell to fizzle out and nothing happen, unless it's a critical fail, at which point the GM gets to have some fun. If the roll passes, we move to the next step.

After a Spell casting check has been passed, the spell is considered cast. It is at this point you actually determine the power of the spell. This essentially boils down to how much Mana you want to dump into the spell. This can be adjusted around within the parameters set by the attributes in the template (so, if it is a ranged spell, you can increase the range by putting more Mana into it).

Here are some things that can affect the Mana Cost of a Spell:
- Weight of target (for telekinesis)
- Range of Target(s)
- Number of Targets
- AoE Size/Type
- Duration
- Damage/Healed Amount

So, just to illustrate all of that, here's a sample spell template:

Fireball Spell (Example)
Ranged Spell (+3TN)
Area of Effect (Burst) (+5TN)
Instant Cast (0TN)
Immediate Effect (0TN)
Damage (+2TN)
No Target Save (0TN)
Element: Basic - Fire (0TN)
Other Effects: None (0TN)

So, with the base TN of 5, we add all of that together. This is 5+3+5+2=15TN. This means that in order to cast my Fireball Spell, I must roll a 15 or higher on my Spellcasting check. If I pass this, since the targets do not get a Save Check (if they do, it decreases your TN, but they have that chance to avoid or minimize the effects), then I move on to Mana Input in order to determine the power of the spell.

Let's say I pass the roll, and there were 3 targets bunched up that I want to hit with the Area of Effect. 

Because the spell is AoE, I do not have to include Mana Costs for the number of targets (AoE has the caveat of affecting everybody, including allies, as opposed to specific targets). The best spot to hit all 3 targets is at a range of 15ft. Range increases Mana Cost by 1 Mana for every 5ft beyond the first increment, so 15 minus 5 is 10. 10 is 2 increments, making the Mana Cost 2. 

Next, I want the size of the Area of Effect to be a 10ft burst, meaning 10ft (or 2 squares) from the origin point. This is an additional Mana Cost of 3 per 5ft radius. This, then, increases the Mana Cost by 6.

As it is an Instant Cast Spell, I pay no additional Mana for that. Likewise for it being an Immediate Effect Spell.

The final bit I need to consider is the amount of damage potential I want the spell to do. All damage (and healing spells) start with a D4 for free. However, if you want more capability, you need to spend more Mana. It costs 1 Mana to increase the dice a level (from a D4 to a D6, D6 to a D8, etc.), and 2 Mana to add an additional dice (which starts over from a D4 for the new dice). It also costs 2 Mana for each static number (a "+1" to the dice roll) attached to the value. So, for example, if I wanted to do 2D6+2 damage, I would need to upgrade the free D4 once, add a new dice, increase that dice by a level, and then add 2 points of static damage. That all equates out to an additional 8 Mana Cost.

So, putting all of the above together, we have a grand total Mana Cost of 16 Mana. This would be deducted from my Mana Pool and the damage dice would be rolled. We won't be looking at how Magic Damage functions different from regular damage in this post, though.

The final thing to cover in this post will be something mentioned briefly in the Character Creation updates: Elemental Affinity.

Every creature in the Galloping Stars universe has an Elemental Affinity. Even if they can't cast Magic through a Natural Foci or even if they have a Magic Rank of 1. Every character and creature has a innate magical attunement to at least one specific element.

What this does, is it decreases the Mana Cost of spells that character casts with that element, as well as providing a better Magic Defense against spells with that element. The Mana Cost reduction is the part we're gonna briefly look at today.

If the Spell you are casting shares your Elemental Affinity, you halve the Mana cost of that spell upon a successful casting. Let's use the example Fireball Spell above to illustrate this: That iteration of the spell would normally have cost me 16 Mana, but because I have an Elemental Affinity of Fire, I can reduce the Mana Cost by half, meaning I only pay 8 Mana for the same power of spell.

Of course, through Character Progression, some characters will gain additional or more advanced Affinities, unlocking more of their spellcasting potential.

And that will conclude our first look at the magic system for today. Of course, in the final product, everything will be explained even more in depth and with fancy charts and illustrative graphics to help aid in understanding this complex system! We hope to make it as intuitive as possible by release day.

Thank you all for joining us. Tuesday we'll be taking a look at the Griffon planet of Salacia. With this post finally up, in order to give our selves a bit of a breather, our Mechanics Updates will now be on hold until we finish going through the remainder of the Lore updates for all the Races and their respective planets. Once we are through those, the Lore Updates will give way to continued Mechanics Updates.

I look forward to seeing you next week!

- Project Lead Spirit

Update #28 - The Starhound Race
about 6 years ago – Wed, Oct 24, 2018 at 12:55:00 AM

Hello everyone!

Today we'll be taking a look at the Starhound race. As usual, nothing here is completely finalized yet.

The Starhound Race

To start, here's their race page:

Starhounds are a fairly strong race, more known for brawn over brains, so their Attributes get a single boos to their Grit, but also only a single detriment on their Intelligence.

However, despite this, they are one of main tech-savvy races in the galaxy, warranting them a slight boost in their tech skill. Their tech, while advanced, has a "simplicity first" design mentality. This has given Starhound technology a reputation for being very user friendly yet very robust.

Also, their canine lineage has given them keen senses, providing a passive bonus to their Perception and giving them low-light vision. This has also given them a bonus to their unarmed attacks in the forms of their claws.

These claws, as a natural weapon, convey a +2 bonus to unarmed attacks, and allow a Starhound to make two attacks as if double wielding (there will be a similar talent you can take for non-Starhound character). However, the usual penalties for dual wielding apply still, as well as any relevant bonuses.

Along that same vein, they are also considered Dexterous, making their dual wield penalty naturally less than other races. This, coupled with their Claws, makes them formidable unarmed fighters, so you usually don't want to mess with a Starhound in a bar brawl.

Starhounds also have an innate ability for hunting down gems. This ability allows them to find more gems in containers when looting, in addition to the other items normally given by the GM. This is done using a dice (which can be any dice of even number of sides). If the result comes up with an odd number, you receive at least 1 gem (actual numbers and type are up to the GM) in addition to the normal loot. If the result is even, then you only find the normal loot.

The Starhounds are also able to use a howl once per session, which allows them to instill a bonus to their allies' combat abilities within a 30ft radius. This bonus is equivalent to their Leadership skill rank. Those allies also heal an amount equal to 1/2 their max hp value (up to max).

A couple of other notes: 
- The Starhounds can be based off any type of canine species.
- Also, while their primary governing body is the Syndicate, and thus there is a lot of corruption in the bureaucracy, their military is a different story. While mostly a defense force, intended primary to protect the mine facilities, the fleet is smaller in numbers than most other races. Despite this, they have a very strictly disciplined (if also still corrupt) chain of command. This kinda resembles the Alpha/Beta/Omega sort of structure of a wolf-pack.

And that's our look at the Starhound race. Normally we would take a deeper delve into their lore, but this week, we feel we've covered enough with the previous post and this one, so we're gonna let you find out the rest in the final core rule book!

This Thursday will finally be our first look at the Magic system, so look forward to that! And then next Tuesday will be our look into the next planet on our list, the Griffon's current main planet of Salacia.

Thanks for joining us! See you next time!

- Project Lead Spirit

Update #27 - The Planet of Aschere
about 6 years ago – Wed, Oct 17, 2018 at 01:24:51 AM

Hello everybody!

Today, we'll be looking at the Starhound's home planet of Aschere. As always, this is not necessarily what will be in the final product.

The Planet of Aschere

 Aschere is a a rugged, alpine planet covered in towering mountain ranges. It is in the cradle of the valleys that the Starhound race arose. And it is within the mountains that they found their destiny.

The vast gem mines run deep through the planet, and their vast networks dwarf even the greatest of cities in size. However, these mines have long since been stripped of all their resources.

The Starhounds have since spread their mining industry across their sector of the galaxy, and beyond. But this post is solely about their home planet.

The cities of Aschere mirror the mountainous terrain both literally and figuratively. The dense population that fills the valleys means that the buildings have become towering skyscrapers. Due to the alpine environment, wood is a commodity and so these skyscrapers are made from the materials extracted from Aschere herself. Those towers, covered in metal and glass, reflect the beautiful vistas they are surrounded by. It truly is a breath taking sight to behold.

The cities are also laced with some of the finest public transport in the galaxy. Gem-powered trams weave throughout the cities and across the land like an unfurled net. These trams are automated and run on a super precise schedule.

But, it isn't at all a perfect utopia. The beauty of the place hides a darker underside. The entire society is governed by the Starhound Syndicate. While efficient, the Syndicate is also very greedy and ruthless, but over the many years they've proven time and time again that money talks. And they have lots of it.

The darker corners of the cities also cast a shadow over the closed-door negotiations and organized crime that permeates unchecked through out their world. Extortion and so-called "Protection Plan" schemes are among some of the most common issues, often conducted by the Syndicate government itself.

It is also a colder planet. Snow, is actually even more common than the crime. Snowfall occurs on average 40% of days out of the galactic year. And the snow itself covers the ground an average of 70% of the time. The Starhound's fur coats have allowed them to survive these conditions and become the race they are today.

Anyway, that concludes the quick look at the Planet of Aschere, home world of the Starhounds. Next Tuesday will be a look at the Starhounds race themselves.

And a reminder that we will be taking our first look at the magic system next Thursday, October 25th, too, so look forward to that!

Thanks for joining us today! See you then!

- Project Lead Spirit

Update #26 - The Zebra Race
about 6 years ago – Tue, Oct 09, 2018 at 11:45:16 PM

Hey everybody!

Today's post is going to be a little bit shorter. Partly because I'm pretty under the weather, and partly because the Zebra's lore has been pretty thoroughly covered in the last Sphinxonia and Sphinx Race posts.

Just a reminder that this isn't fully representative of the final product at this phase.

The Zebra Race

Here's the current race sheet:

The Zebras have had a hard life, even now in the modern world. This has built them up to be courageous and strong in the face of adversity. However, they are still not very well accustomed to modern society. This has lead to a boost in both there Courage and Grit attributes, but a double drop in their Allure.

They also have found themselves masters of whatever craft they take up. Be it crafting weapons and items, or inbueing gems or potions for their Sphinx overlords, or even fashioning art of their "great leaders." This gives them a bonus to one of a couple different related skills.

They also have become accustomed to working in the territory surrounding the settlements, both learning to handle its creatures and find their own way in the land. This was crucial to their cause during the rebellions, and there are some who are even believed to still be living in the wilds, exiled from the rest, unaware that the wars are long over.

These traits translate into a bonus for Handle Creature or Survival, as well as a defensive bonus against basic elemental damage (fire, water, earth, air, light, and darkness). This makes them sturdy against magic users, but they will still suffer normal damage against regular attacks.

The Zebra also have one of the most powerful Once-per-Session abilities in the game as well. They gain the advantage of their extreme determination from the Rebellions, and through all that hard ship, of being able to re-roll any one dice roll, be it a single die or multiples, including damage rolls, and pick either result. This also includes a companion's roll, or even an enemy roll. While you could house rule any of our once-per-session abilities to be once-per-long-rest, we strongly advice to leave this one as is due to it's tremendous potential. We may still rework this before the final release, but so far we've seen little reason to as it stands.

And that concludes our look at the Zebra Race. As stated earlier, we won't be going into the lore more in this post as much of it was covered in previous posts. Our next lore update will be next Tuesday and will be our look at the Starhound's home planet of Aschere.

Also, due to my feeling under the weather, and just the sheer volume of the information to be sorted through for it, we've decided to actually delay our next mechanics update by  2 weeks. It will be on October 25th, and will be our first look into Galloping Stars' magic system! There is no delay to the progress of the system for this, just giving us some additional time to sort out all the information necessary for that post, as it is the brainchild of one of our other creative minds.

Look forward to seeing you next Tuesday!

- Project Lead Spirit