Hello today! I want to keep polishing the experience of this game until I'm satisfied, because it's very dear to me. Since this is a tabletop, testing changes in sessions and applying them takes time. But I want to keep you guys updated and I like the idea of having almost this kind of "blog" to gather feedback, so please leave comments with suggestions if you have any! Heads up - if you're reading this, it's assumed that you know how the system works, so there will be minimal context given. With that out the way, I do want to talk about getting some help. With that out the way, let's get to the fun stuff...

What's new in 1.5?

Playbook Art #1 - The Lead (by Peachy Owl)

Look at this heroic boy! He will grab his friends to go on an adventure, or is a part of one already. We wanted to go for a mood of "the default fighter/hero" kinda look and feel and I think she captured it perfectly. Simple, clean, but still inspiring. Please support the artist, she's doing great work. 

Set Pieces

Emerald Coast is one of the most iconic Sonic levels. And I bet the first thing most people associate it with the Killer Whale Chase sequence. How about the strange Stone Snake Water Labyrinth in Lost World? That one rail sequence atop the Big Ben in Sonic Unleashed? The Robot Crab chase in Sonic Forces? The Gun Cannon Towers in Sonic Heroes? The Rainbow Bridge in Sonic Colors? I wanted to replicate the feeling of these moments in my game, and I think the Set Piece system is as close as I'm gonna get. 

In the mechanical sense, Set Pieces are replacing Stage Tags and "Create a new Obstacle" options. I still really like the idea of Stage Tags - a way to color in the stage and help the GM make it more real for the players… But testing showed that it's a pain to keep track of while running the game. It might be just me (since I didn't get much feedback on this one) but as a GM I already have so much in my head that I don't have enough space to passively update my wording based on random tags chosen by my players an hour or so ago. Set Pieces provide a different option - a single event, mostly designed by the players, tweaked to my liking and put in a spot in the story where I would feel it'd fit best. Basically, a free level extension. 

But it's not just good for me! Players - do you have a personal conflict you want resolved? Do you have a cool scene you want to use on your character? Do you have a new move you want to test? This is your chance. Yes, it's a new problem to deal with, but it's a problem you know is coming, it's your moment to shine. One thing to note - as our testing showed, sometimes, it's hard to switch from the player to the GM mindset, so in order to help get your ideas going, I added a "Random Set Piece Table" - just vague enough to give inspiration, but not be restrictive. It still has minor issues with players staggering during QA, but I really like this mechanic and I know I can make it feel more natural. Please enjoy! 

Boss Weakness

"Hit the big glowing weak spot!" is one of the major parts of the franchise and I think it's important to represent it in the game. Going with the theme of buffing Smarts, a bunch of moves now have a section to "learn a Boss Weakness" and "exploit a Boss Weakness".  

Leaning a Boss Weakness will ask the GM to come up with a point of weakness for your upcoming Boss. Maybe highlighting something you already knew or creating something unexpected and interesting to expand on who you're fighting. 

Exploiting a Boss Weakness will allow you to push their buttons, literally and figuratively. If you were aiming to hit a nerve, no matter the dice result, you will gain a benefit. Beware though - Bosses are not prone to leaving their weak spot open for a long time!

Teamwork v2

This is probably the simplest one to explain. Up to 1.4 Teamwork was close to a "relationship", it was a different number pairing each character in the group  with yours. Not anymore! Now Teamwork is a shared attribute for the entire team, so any problems and costs will impact everyone, but so will the benefits! It also helps make the process simpler to keep track of.

Plans for the Future

Okay so… I know this is actually not a lot. End of the year happened, the finale of my QA group's year long campaign happened (the one on the cover of the book) and there was a couple of months of just silence with no action happening, but we're back! And I wanted to push out something minor and get my juices flowing again. And trust me - they did! I'm already testing some parts of the 1.6 update (some of them will be in the beta doc within a couple of days) and you should expect generally the following:

- Clumsy and Rogue Overhaul
- Streamlining of Momentum and End of Stage Ranking
- Streamlining Boss Aspects and Set Pieces
- MacGuffin overhaul
- Expanded playbook sheets
- Plus whatever I find along the way! 

List of 1.5 Patch Notes:

And now the goodies. Here is a full list of changes made to the rulebook since 1.4. Enjoy! 

- Added Create a Set Piece mechanic, replacing Stage Aspects.
- Added Boss Weakness mechanic.
- Ready for Action - minor wording changes.
- Kick Butt - minor wording changes.
- Use Environment - more generalized wording for the options.
- To Save Everyone - minor wording changes for options.
- Find Out More - minor generalized wording for the options.
- Focus - added Set Piece and removed the "create obstacle" glitch.
- Peace and Quiet - changed from stage tag to Set Piece per group.
- Stand in the Way - better Advanced.
- Team Assist - now is rounded up, wording clarifications.
- Rings - extra rings are now given when saved from evil only.
- Hero Clash - wording changes for clarification.
- Gear - Bomb replaced with Boost (because of Ability changes in 1.4)
- Gear - minor wording changes + an clarifying Note about names.
- Advanced Improvement - clearer working on multiclassing.
- Added my personal NPC generator table into the book unde Game Structure and Preparation.

- Lead - Never Fear The Fall - changed Advantage to mixed and added "as if against Weakness".
- Lead - We Fight As One - changed wording.
- Lead - Limit - changed wording.
- Lead - Welcome to the Greatest Storm - wording for fast travel.
- Lead - I've Got Your "Limit" Right Here - wording from "fight the boss" to "Ability".
- Lead - It's Me! Your Old Buddy! - now uses Style.
- Lead - You're the Start of My Scene - wording changes, minor nerf.
- Tinker - The Mechanism - Replace Base with Inspiration.
- Tinker - Hand It Over - allows you to learn Weakness.
- Tinker - I Call It… - changed to Set Piece.
- Tinker - Hacking - removed.
- Tinker - You Can Never Be Too Careful - new move, making traps!
- Guardian - Operation Big Wave - changed to Set Piece.
- Guardian - Lost Temper - redone.
- Guardian - Helping Hand - changed to Set Piece.
- Guardian - Lost Temper - wording from "Focus" to "Mystic".
- Destined - Victory Garden - changed to Set Piece.
- Destined - Right After I Have One Of These! - wording.
- Robot - Evil Genius & Cold Corp - allows you to learn Weakness instead of Establishing a Fact.
- Robot/Changed - minor wording change to make "(robotic)" move visible.
- Changed - the default path for non-Changed is now Blessing.
- Changed - Integration - no longer "robotic" (combined with Hacking), Blessing changed to "(burned)"
- Rogue - Who is Gonna Save You Now? - minor wording.
- Rogue - It's All Part of The Game - reworked, added learn a Weakness option.
- Rogue - I'll Make You Eat Those Words! - now uses Boss Weakness.
- Rogue - Throw It All Away - now uses Boss Weakness.
- Rogue - I Handled It - now uses Boss Weakness.
- Rogue - Attention All Scrubs - now does "Attitude" damage.
- Rogue - added "Control" Method (Teamwork).
- Clumsy - Sounded More Convincing In My Head… - removed Teamwork penalty on a miss.
- Clumsy - Save You All…? - re-worded, now uses Boss Weakness.