Update – 16 August

Hey all, just thought I’d check in and let you know how things are going!

I was bathing today, as I often do, when the delightfully crisp smell of my peppermint shampoo drove me to inspiration, more specifically with regards to the DC mechanic of 2d6. In the next revision (which admittedly won’t be for a while) the DC of skill checks will have a random component as well as a fixed component to keep things interesting and fair. Basically, instead of having a hard and fast numeric value to roll against (DC 7, DC 13 etc.) a check is given a difficulty level from 0 to 10, just like a skill check bonus. Then the GM rolls 2d6 and adds the difficulty bonus, and you roll against the result of that roll. In this way, all rolls become opposed rolls.

Armor will also function slightly differently because of this change, so that it still grants rerolls on rolls of 2, 2 and 3, or 2,3, and 4 (depending on the type), but will also force you to reroll 12s, 12s and 11s, or 12s, 11s, and 10s on Agility related checks (again, based on type).

In other news, production on Torata is chugging away. The six campaign ideas have been scrapped in favor of one well-made campaign that covers all the bases and paints a picture of prewar Torata. As this last sentence would indicate, war is on the horizon. Tensions between various groups, most notably Dwarven homeland and its southern colonies, will lead to a continent-wide conflict. With this in mind, there will be three versions of Torata published in total:

Torata: Rumblings of War will be a description of the history, land and culture up to the beginning of this war, as well as the motivations of the various groups that will take part in the coming conflict. It will include many plot hooks and campaign ideas for prewar adventuring, as well as slice of life games within Torata. It will also include one fully premade campaign where the players go from common Toratan citizens to power players that are instrumental in the course of the war. This campaign will introduce the players to the various powers that be, as well as give them a look at what life is like all across the lower continent.

Torata: Life During Wartime will be the second of the three releases, and will describe life in a Torata ravaged by war. New items, political factions, important events (mainly battles) and plot hooks will fill the bulk of this version, as well as a few new creatures. There will be another premade campaign in which the same group of players from the first version get a chance to end the war. this campaign will take them through the once bright streets of some of Toratas largest cities, now darkened by ash and littered with fallen Toratans, both soldier and civilian. This will be the darkest of the three versions.

Torata: Echoes of War will be the third volume, detailing the end of the war and the repercussions that will shape Toratan culture for years to come. As with the previous version, this will have some new items and plot hooks, as well as radically different political factions and notable figures. A third premade campaign will take the players  through the end of the war and into something altogether different. While I can’t give too much away, the continent of Torata is about to get a whole lot smaller in the grand scheme of things.

I’ve got a second artist working on illustration for the first book now, and almost all of the basic content is set up at this point, so I’d say it will be roughly six months until the release of Rumblings, at a guess.

That’s all for now, have fun and happy gaming!

– Josh