sabrinahawthorne - Tumblr blog

[sabrinahawthorne]

I'm looking for a new game to dive into.

Something star-wars-y or cowboy-bebop-y. You know, "the motley crew of a ship going on adventures with some level of space magic to make things interesting." Something I can sink my teeth into. Any recommendations?

[sabrinahawthorne]

Tumblr uhhhhh

Deleted the Party of One blog? It no longer exists?

I didn't receive an email like it was banned or anything, just, there was a blog there this morning and now there is no blog there??????

So that's cool

[sabrinahawthorne]

CLASH! Playtest Campaign Diary, April 14, 2024

Preamble 1: CLASH! is currently crowdfunding! If you're interested in supporting my work, check it out here.

Preamble 2: Truth be told, I'm bragging here. I don't usually do campaign diaries; but this session was special. I'd just finished a huge rework of the system, and I was terrified about whether it'd work as intended, or if I'd need to go back to the drawing board and further delay development. I needn't have worried; we played an episode of anime.

It's time for the first official round of the Battle of the Bands. After qualifying against DJ twins Oskaar and Byrna, classic rock & roll band Nail in the Coffin is up for their first real opponent; TOEJAM, noise music duo and technical masters.

Kenshin (The Analyst), the protege of the band's missing sponsor Ian Sachs, needs to win big to follow the clues about his missing teacher. Princess Moonbeam (The Specialist), frontwoman and mysterious European weirdo, has just been informed that her favorite glam-rock band, Xenon, will be performing in town in a few days. She needs to look good if she's going to impress her idols. And Kit Tripod (The Vessel), the band's drummer, knows that winning this contest means an official meeting with Beatrice Boxer - the woman she thinks killed her father.

The battle begins without much unusual; two Contests, one win and one loss for an even score of 1-1 against TOEJAM. It's at this point that Kit's player remembers to play with the new rules and activates a Tech: Shadow on the Wall.

Raising her drumsticks above her head, TOEJAM's guitarist momentarily thinks that he sees the image of a fiend - Tom Snare, the Demon of Drums, glimpsed through stage lights. The guitarist gains the Hopeless Condition, hampering his ability to gain Potential.

With this, the floodgates open. Kenshin opens his next turn with Look Out!, giving Moonbeam useful intel on the duo for her next turn.

Meanwhile, his own turn goes to a CLASH!, Insight versus Insight, against TOEJAM's masterful DJ. Everyone at the table stands up and cheers as his four dice come up with two 6's, while the DJ's five dice land with only one.

With one uneventful turn on the part of Kit, it's 2-2. Whoever wins the next Contest goes on to the next round of the Battle of the Bands, and it's Princess Moonbeam's turn.

The Bidding phase begins slowly; tension filling the room. Moonbeam has five Insight, but no other Pool to speak of. If she lets it slip, she's doomed against the Powerhouse DJ. But we know that TOEJAM has almost no Potential left; they don't have much bluffing power.

Moonbeam ups her bid. At the table, the GM looks at her player thoughtfully.

The DJ activates his Super.

We start to get excited; having spent all of his Potential, the DJ is left with four Force dice against Moonbeam's five Insight and 2 Potential, which she turns into 4 more dice.

We all hold our breath as the DJ makes his roll - one 6. There's a breath of relief at the table - we can do this. We just need a single 6 from a pool of nine dice.

Then, Moonbeam rolls.

No 6's. Not a single one from her entire pool.

It is dead silent at the table. We just lost our first fight. We just lost our first fight, and it got us disqualified us from the Battle of the Bands. Everyone is flabbergasted.

How could this happen? How did Nail in the Coffin lose in their second match? How will Kit get to Beatrice Boxer now? Will Princess Moonbeam embarrass herself in front of her favorite band? And where is Ian Sachs?

Find out next time, on Battle of the Bands!

It was honestly perfect. We knew the stakes of the fight;

Every character had a clear goal, and a lot of drive to achieve it;

And at the end of the day? We lost the tournament arc.

Because of course we did! The heroes can never win the tournament - they have to learn from their losses and find a new way to chase their dreams.

[sabrinahawthorne]

CLASH! Playtest Campaign Diary, April 14, 2024

Preamble 1: CLASH! is currently crowdfunding! If you're interested in supporting my work, check it out here.

Preamble 2: Truth be told, I'm bragging here. I don't usually do campaign diaries; but this session was special. I'd just finished a huge rework of the system, and I was terrified about whether it'd work as intended, or if I'd need to go back to the drawing board and further delay development. I needn't have worried; we played an episode of anime.

It's time for the first official round of the Battle of the Bands. After qualifying against DJ twins Oskaar and Byrna, classic rock & roll band Nail in the Coffin is up for their first real opponent; TOEJAM, noise music duo and technical masters.

Kenshin (The Analyst), the protege of the band's missing sponsor Ian Sachs, needs to win big to follow the clues about his missing teacher. Princess Moonbeam (The Specialist), frontwoman and mysterious European weirdo, has just been informed that her favorite glam-rock band, Xenon, will be performing in town in a few days. She needs to look good if she's going to impress her idols. And Kit Tripod (The Vessel), the band's drummer, knows that winning this contest means an official meeting with Beatrice Boxer - the woman she thinks killed her father.

The battle begins without much unusual; two Contests, one win and one loss for an even score of 1-1 against TOEJAM. It's at this point that Kit's player remembers to play with the new rules and activates a Tech: Shadow on the Wall.

Raising her drumsticks above her head, TOEJAM's guitarist momentarily thinks that he sees the image of a fiend - Tom Snare, the Demon of Drums, glimpsed through stage lights. The guitarist gains the Hopeless Condition, hampering his ability to gain Potential.

With this, the floodgates open. Kenshin opens his next turn with Look Out!, giving Moonbeam useful intel on the duo for her next turn.

Meanwhile, his own turn goes to a CLASH!, Insight versus Insight, against TOEJAM's masterful DJ. Everyone at the table stands up and cheers as his four dice come up with two 6's, while the DJ's five dice land with only one.

With one uneventful turn on the part of Kit, it's 2-2. Whoever wins the next Contest goes on to the next round of the Battle of the Bands, and it's Princess Moonbeam's turn.

The Bidding phase begins slowly; tension filling the room. Moonbeam has five Insight, but no other Pool to speak of. If she lets it slip, she's doomed against the Powerhouse DJ. But we know that TOEJAM has almost no Potential left; they don't have much bluffing power.

Moonbeam ups her bid. At the table, the GM looks at her player thoughtfully.

The DJ activates his Super.

We start to get excited; having spent all of his Potential, the DJ is left with four Force dice against Moonbeam's five Insight and 2 Potential, which she turns into 4 more dice.

We all hold our breath as the DJ makes his roll - one 6. There's a breath of relief at the table - we can do this. We just need a single 6 from a pool of nine dice.

Then, Moonbeam rolls.

No 6's. Not a single one from her entire pool.

It is dead silent at the table. We just lost our first fight. We just lost our first fight, and it got us disqualified us from the Battle of the Bands. Everyone is flabbergasted.

How could this happen? How did Nail in the Coffin lose in their second match? How will Kit get to Beatrice Boxer now? Will Princess Moonbeam embarrass herself in front of her favorite band? And where is Ian Sachs?

Find out next time, on Battle of the Bands!

It was honestly perfect. We knew the stakes of the fight;

Every character had a clear goal, and a lot of drive to achieve it;

And at the end of the day? We lost the tournament arc.

Because of course we did! The heroes can never win the tournament - they have to learn from their losses and find a new way to chase their dreams.

[sabrinahawthorne]

CLASH! Playtest Campaign Diary, April 14, 2024

Preamble 1: CLASH! is currently crowdfunding! If you're interested in supporting my work, check it out here.

Preamble 2: Truth be told, I'm bragging here. I don't usually do campaign diaries; but this session was special. I'd just finished a huge rework of the system, and I was terrified about whether it'd work as intended, or if I'd need to go back to the drawing board and further delay development. I needn't have worried; we played an episode of anime.

It's time for the first official round of the Battle of the Bands. After qualifying against DJ twins Oskaar and Byrna, classic rock & roll band Nail in the Coffin is up for their first real opponent; TOEJAM, noise music duo and technical masters.

Kenshin (The Analyst), the protege of the band's missing sponsor Ian Sachs, needs to win big to follow the clues about his missing teacher. Princess Moonbeam (The Specialist), frontwoman and mysterious European weirdo, has just been informed that her favorite glam-rock band, Xenon, will be performing in town in a few days. She needs to look good if she's going to impress her idols. And Kit Tripod (The Vessel), the band's drummer, knows that winning this contest means an official meeting with Beatrice Boxer - the woman she thinks killed her father.

The battle begins without much unusual; two Contests, one win and one loss for an even score of 1-1 against TOEJAM. It's at this point that Kit's player remembers to play with the new rules and activates a Tech: Shadow on the Wall.

Raising her drumsticks above her head, TOEJAM's guitarist momentarily thinks that he sees the image of a fiend - Tom Snare, the Demon of Drums, glimpsed through stage lights. The guitarist gains the Hopeless Condition, hampering his ability to gain Potential.

With this, the floodgates open. Kenshin opens his next turn with Look Out!, giving Moonbeam useful intel on the duo for her next turn.

Meanwhile, his own turn goes to a CLASH!, Insight versus Insight, against TOEJAM's masterful DJ. Everyone at the table stands up and cheers as his four dice come up with two 6's, while the DJ's five dice land with only one.

With one uneventful turn on the part of Kit, it's 2-2. Whoever wins the next Contest goes on to the next round of the Battle of the Bands, and it's Princess Moonbeam's turn.

The Bidding phase begins slowly; tension filling the room. Moonbeam has five Insight, but no other Pool to speak of. If she lets it slip, she's doomed against the Powerhouse DJ. But we know that TOEJAM has almost no Potential left; they don't have much bluffing power.

Moonbeam ups her bid. At the table, the GM looks at her player thoughtfully.

The DJ activates his Super.

We start to get excited; having spent all of his Potential, the DJ is left with four Force dice against Moonbeam's five Insight and 2 Potential, which she turns into 4 more dice.

We all hold our breath as the DJ makes his roll - one 6. There's a breath of relief at the table - we can do this. We just need a single 6 from a pool of nine dice.

Then, Moonbeam rolls.

No 6's. Not a single one from her entire pool.

It is dead silent at the table. We just lost our first fight. We just lost our first fight, and it got us disqualified us from the Battle of the Bands. Everyone is flabbergasted.

How could this happen? How did Nail in the Coffin lose in their second match? How will Kit get to Beatrice Boxer now? Will Princess Moonbeam embarrass herself in front of her favorite band? And where is Ian Sachs?

Find out next time, on Battle of the Bands!

It was honestly perfect. We knew the stakes of the fight;

Every character had a clear goal, and a lot of drive to achieve it;

And at the end of the day? We lost the tournament arc.

Because of course we did! The heroes can never win the tournament - they have to learn from their losses and find a new way to chase their dreams.

[sabrinahawthorne]

Oh no... The ancient laws... What have I wrought...

CLASH! Crowdfunding is Live!

It's finally here - the campaign has launched, and there's some stuff I didn't tell you about! There are eight versions of the top tier pledge, Otaku - one for each Fighter playbook. When you pledge at one of those tiers, you pay for a special mini-manga featuring a little story, starring the Fighter you picked.

The campaign runs from now until the end of June, so there's plenty of time to check it out and pledge.

If you're looking to support me but want something sooner than the launch of the game, I'm also running a sale on every game in my library! Any individual title is 30% off, and you can get a bundle of every one of my games for 50% off the total price. This sale also runs until the end of June.

In the spirit of the occasion, I've also set up my ko-fi! If you like, you can toss me a tip or become a monthly member. I'm not selling anything there - this is just for anyone who wants to buy me a coffee.

[sabrinahawthorne]

@literalcatpod And Joel Happyhill is developing DAWN, which you should also check out if you haven't. It's really a great time for anime ttrpgs.

CLASH! Crowdfunding is Live!

It's finally here - the campaign has launched, and there's some stuff I didn't tell you about! There are eight versions of the top tier pledge, Otaku - one for each Fighter playbook. When you pledge at one of those tiers, you pay for a special mini-manga featuring a little story, starring the Fighter you picked.

The campaign runs from now until the end of June, so there's plenty of time to check it out and pledge.

If you're looking to support me but want something sooner than the launch of the game, I'm also running a sale on every game in my library! Any individual title is 30% off, and you can get a bundle of every one of my games for 50% off the total price. This sale also runs until the end of June.

In the spirit of the occasion, I've also set up my ko-fi! If you like, you can toss me a tip or become a monthly member. I'm not selling anything there - this is just for anyone who wants to buy me a coffee.

[sabrinahawthorne]

CLASH! Crowdfunding is Live!

It's finally here - the campaign has launched, and there's some stuff I didn't tell you about! There are eight versions of the top tier pledge, Otaku - one for each Fighter playbook. When you pledge at one of those tiers, you pay for a special mini-manga featuring a little story, starring the Fighter you picked.

The campaign runs from now until the end of June, so there's plenty of time to check it out and pledge.

If you're looking to support me but want something sooner than the launch of the game, I'm also running a sale on every game in my library! Any individual title is 30% off, and you can get a bundle of every one of my games for 50% off the total price. This sale also runs until the end of June.

In the spirit of the occasion, I've also set up my ko-fi! If you like, you can toss me a tip or become a monthly member. I'm not selling anything there - this is just for anyone who wants to buy me a coffee.

[sabrinahawthorne]

Update: CLASH! Is now funding!

The Crowdfunding Campaign for CLASH! Begins in 7 Days!

What's the plan?

The campaign, hosted on Crowdfundr, will last from April 1st to June 30th. During this time, I'll be running a number of playtests and implementing features, as well as diving headfirst into the art pipeline with @ispybluesky.

By the end of the campaign, the goal is to have completed a proper first draft, with a pretty good idea for what the finished product will look like. It's going to be a busy 3 months, and I couldn't be more excited.

What else is going on?

For the duration of the campaign, I'm putting all of my games on sale! Any single game will be 30% off, or you can get a bundle of my entire library for 50% off!

I'll also be finally setting up a ko-fi during this time, for anyone who wants to toss in some support

What comes next?

The end of the campaign is still a fuzzy dot on the horizon for me, and a lot can happen between now and then. My hope is that by the time July rolls around, we'll be ready for getting to work on a final draft. I'm also juggling the idea of holding a closed beta around this time to get some feedback from the wider community.

When I started work on CLASH!, I put release day at November 1st. I knew even then that that was an ambitious goal, and in all likelihood release will actually end up somewhere early in 2025. But honestly, things are moving at a good pace, and assuming my design chops can hold up to snuff, we might just get this thing out before Hannukah.

[sabrinahawthorne]

CLASH! Devlog, April 15, 2024 - Fighter Techniques (or, Progress at Last!)

Before I begin, a reminder - CLASH! is currently funding on Crowdfundr! I also have a ko-fi, and I'm holding a sale on all my work on itch.io.

Fighter Techniques

I'll spare you the long and arduous tale of last month's block, and the breakthrough that finally got me writing again. Instead, let's check out how Techs work, shall we?

Techniques, or Techs, come in three tiers: Normal, Special, and Super. Normal Techs cost 1 Potential to activate;

Special Techs cost 2 Potential;

and Super Techs cots 3.

Each Fighter Playbook comes with three standard, as well as access to the universal Focus Normal Tech.

In the end, it was so simple. I spent the entire month of March stuck on this; how do I implement kickass anime powers in a way that actually feel kickass to use? I twisted myself in knots trying to figure it out, but Occam's Razor wins out once again - I already had to Potential resource; all I needed was to give it more to do.

Techs have also helped me better implement Relationships, and have in fact incentivized me to create a new Relationship type entirely: Duels.

This is a huge piece of forward momentum, and I'm so excited to get to work again.

So What Comes Next?

With the core feeling much more stable, I feel a lot better getting to work on the periphery stuff - character progression and modes of play. I can finally come up with a resolution mechanic!

And, now that I've got a functioning engine, I can really dig down into the GM's side of the screen and focus on making it as fun to run as it is to play.

I'm also hard at work making the game look good. Elise and I have just about finalized the central Playbook character designs and are planning to start work on the final illustrations by next month.

[sabrinahawthorne]

CLASH! Devlog, April 15, 2024 - Fighter Techniques (or, Progress at Last!)

Before I begin, a reminder - CLASH! is currently funding on Crowdfundr! I also have a ko-fi, and I'm holding a sale on all my work on itch.io.

Fighter Techniques

I'll spare you the long and arduous tale of last month's block, and the breakthrough that finally got me writing again. Instead, let's check out how Techs work, shall we?

Techniques, or Techs, come in three tiers: Normal, Special, and Super. Normal Techs cost 1 Potential to activate;

Special Techs cost 2 Potential;

and Super Techs cots 3.

Each Fighter Playbook comes with three standard, as well as access to the universal Focus Normal Tech.

In the end, it was so simple. I spent the entire month of March stuck on this; how do I implement kickass anime powers in a way that actually feel kickass to use? I twisted myself in knots trying to figure it out, but Occam's Razor wins out once again - I already had to Potential resource; all I needed was to give it more to do.

Techs have also helped me better implement Relationships, and have in fact incentivized me to create a new Relationship type entirely: Duels.

This is a huge piece of forward momentum, and I'm so excited to get to work again.

So What Comes Next?

With the core feeling much more stable, I feel a lot better getting to work on the periphery stuff - character progression and modes of play. I can finally come up with a resolution mechanic!

And, now that I've got a functioning engine, I can really dig down into the GM's side of the screen and focus on making it as fun to run as it is to play.

I'm also hard at work making the game look good. Elise and I have just about finalized the central Playbook character designs and are planning to start work on the final illustrations by next month.

[sabrinahawthorne]

Hey folks, support Efan! They make great stuff, and it they'd still deserve the support if they didn't. Toss them some cash if you can.

Help Me Exist Again Sale <3, An Indie Game Sale that helps me survive!!!

I'm Efan, a nonbinary transfemme who's a game developer and designer! Please reblog this post if you can't buy pls!!! 💛💛💛

I'm selling all my games individually at 15% off, and a BIG bundle discount for all my paid games at $25! That's nearly a 75% discount!

​I haven't been able to pay for much for a while now, and bills are starting to heighten, especially during tax season. I have ​been stuck inside for months, avoiding nearly all pleasure costs of living. I have been living in a deficit for a while now, and I'd like to live again. 

​With the money, I'll be able to pay for therapy, pay for medications, get diagnosed for mental things and disabilities, buy a new PC, and pay off my taxes. 

There is no problem if you can't buy the bundle, but it would truly help me a ton if you did. I just wanna live again. 

If you don't wanna buy a game, you can send some help via my PayPal or Kofi linked in my Linktree below!

Can we please hit 40% by the end of the week? I know this is a HUGE ask, but I think we can do it!

[sabrinahawthorne]

If there's anyone following me who isn't following ANIM and the production of Eureka, now's the time to fix that. These are great folks making a great game, give them your support.

The Kickstarter for Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is Live!!

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is our team’s debut TTRPG, over three years in the making! The campaign will run from April 10th to May 10th!

How far would you go to learn the truth?

Play amateur detectives caught up in things they barely understand, and explore how the lives of your characters unravel as they push themselves to dig deeper into the unknown!

Tense investigations!

Delve into an investigation-focused mystery and horror system that lets players take initiative and use their characters’ unique strengths to find clues and deduce conclusions themselves. A few bad rolls won’t get the party hopelessly stuck, but at the same time Eureka respects their intellect and lets them take charge of solving the mystery!

Character-driven gameplay!

Stats and abilities are based on who your character is as a person. Freeform character creation allows you to build a totally unique little guy, and have a totally unique gameplay experience with him! This is supported by the backbone of the Composure mechanic. Stress, fear, fatigue, and hunger will wear your investigators down as they trudge deeper into the unknown. Food, sleep, and connections with their fellow investigators are the only way to keep them going!

Secrets inside and out! 

Any investigator could be a monster, helping their friends while trying not to reveal their true natures. The party will learn to trust and rely on each other, or explode into a tangled net of drama!

Intense, tactical combat! 

Hits are devastating, and misses are unpredictable–firing a gun will always change the situation somehow, for better or for worse!

Now in Technicolor!

Evocative artwork from talented femme-fatales @chaospyromancy and @qsycomplainsalot and the mysterious @theblackwarden paint a gorgeously-realized portrait of a world with shadows lurking in every corner.

Elegantly designed and thoroughly playtested, Eureka represents the culmination of three years of near-daily work from our team, as well as a lot of our own money. We are almost at the end, we just need some financial support to put the finishing touches on it and make the final push to get it ready for official release!

With every stretch goal we meet, the game gets better and better. Tons of beautiful new artwork, new options for gameplay, and even two entirely new playable Monsters could be added to the book, so visit the Kickstarter and secure your copy today!

If you want to try before you buy, you can download a free demo of the prerelease version from our website or our itch.io page!

If you’re interested in a more updated and improved version of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy than the free demo you got from our website, subscribe to our Patreon where we frequently roll our new updates for the prerelease version!

You can also support us on Ko-fi, or by checking out our merchandise!

Join our TTRPG Book Club At the time of writng this, Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is the current game being played in the book club, and anyone who wants to participate in discussion, but can’t afford to make a contribution, will be given the most updated prerelease version for free! Plus it’s just a great place to discuss and play new TTRPGs you might not be able to otherwise!

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

[sabrinahawthorne]

Oh, and @wormgirlmagee. Just in case. Do people get a notification when their ask is answered? I've never been sure.

Just picked up Fantasy Heartbreaker and have enjoyed reading it.

Probably been asked this 100 times if so sorry. But are you expected to multiclass, considering only fighters and some mages have the ability to harm enemies?

Hey, thanks for asking!

So this is a place where two elements of the game's design came together in a bit of an odd way.

On multiclassing - yes, it's generally understood that outside of specific playstyles, multiclassing is the norm. This came about as a result of the game's goal of density & flexibility. I want you to be able to roll up a ranger-type character, a holy knight, and a well-connected criminal rogue. But I wanted as few classes as possible, which meant breaking them down into fundamental mechanical themes - combat, magic, roleplay, and skill challenges. So unless you just want to put 16 character levels into being the fightiest fighter who ever swung a fist, you'll probably end up dipping into another class for a level or two.

On the damage question - Fantasy Heartbreaker was built to cover as much potential play as possible with as few rules as possible. The entire core rules are reduced to whatever will fit on a single page; there's no recognition of inventory management aside from the existence of magic items; NPCs are built wit three numbers and an HP value; etc. One of the results of this that you'll see pop up a lot across the book are points where the phrasing of a particular rule is pretty ambiguous. This is on purpose; I built the game for rulings over rules, as it were. You've got the dice and character sheets and a basic framework, so anything that's not in the book is up to your table.

All to say - Fighter and the Mage's Attack Effect are the only places where the players are given explicit permission to deal damage, but they're not the only places they're expected to do so. This is for the same reason that Faces aren't the only class that can seduce, threaten, or deceive NPCs. In an earlier draft, I had STR set as the stat you could use to deal 1 damage to a target, no matter your class. I don't remember why I scrapped it, but looking back I think I should've kept it. I think it would have been a signal to readers that the rules for PCs aren't comprehensive, and you're encouraged to make rulings when things get ambiguous.

If and when I revisit Fantasy Heartbreaker, I think I'll try to be more explicit about the design intend behind the game. I like the system itself a lot, but I don't think I did a great job giving readers a good idea of what I was going for.

[sabrinahawthorne]

Just picked up Fantasy Heartbreaker and have enjoyed reading it.

Probably been asked this 100 times if so sorry. But are you expected to multiclass, considering only fighters and some mages have the ability to harm enemies?

Hey, thanks for asking!

So this is a place where two elements of the game's design came together in a bit of an odd way.

On multiclassing - yes, it's generally understood that outside of specific playstyles, multiclassing is the norm. This came about as a result of the game's goal of density & flexibility. I want you to be able to roll up a ranger-type character, a holy knight, and a well-connected criminal rogue. But I wanted as few classes as possible, which meant breaking them down into fundamental mechanical themes - combat, magic, roleplay, and skill challenges. So unless you just want to put 16 character levels into being the fightiest fighter who ever swung a fist, you'll probably end up dipping into another class for a level or two.

On the damage question - Fantasy Heartbreaker was built to cover as much potential play as possible with as few rules as possible. The entire core rules are reduced to whatever will fit on a single page; there's no recognition of inventory management aside from the existence of magic items; NPCs are built with three numbers and an HP value; etc. One of the results of this that you'll see pop up a lot across the book are points where the phrasing of a particular rule is pretty ambiguous. This is on purpose; I built the game for rulings over rules, as it were. You've got the dice and character sheets and a basic framework, so anything that's not in the book is up to your table.

All to say - Fighter and the Mage's Attack Effect are the only places where the players are given explicit permission to deal damage, but they're not the only places they're expected to do so. This is for the same reason that Faces aren't the only class that can seduce, threaten, or deceive NPCs. In an earlier draft, I had STR set as the stat you could use to deal 1 damage to a target, no matter your class. I don't remember why I scrapped it, but looking back I think I should've kept it. I think it would have been a signal to readers that the rules for PCs aren't comprehensive, and you're encouraged to make rulings when things get ambiguous.

If and when I revisit Fantasy Heartbreaker, I think I'll try to be more explicit about the design intent behind the game. I like the system itself a lot, but I don't think I did a great job giving readers a good idea of what I was going for.

[sabrinahawthorne]

You know, it may not be a perfect fit, but my game Fantasy Heartbreaker would probably let you handle dungeons and/or dragons in an adventure. It's certainly built with that kind of flexibility in mind, and there's even an adventure hook included that involves a dragon!

Even better - the game is currently on sale at 30% off its usual price.

God, I love dungeons and I love dragons. If only there was some system out there that would let me combine these two passions :(

[sabrinahawthorne]

CLASH! Crowdfunding is Live!

It's finally here - the campaign has launched, and there's some stuff I didn't tell you about! There are eight versions of the top tier pledge, Otaku - one for each Fighter playbook. When you pledge at one of those tiers, you pay for a special mini-manga featuring a little story, starring the Fighter you picked.

The campaign runs from now until the end of June, so there's plenty of time to check it out and pledge.

If you're looking to support me but want something sooner than the launch of the game, I'm also running a sale on every game in my library! Any individual title is 30% off, and you can get a bundle of every one of my games for 50% off the total price. This sale also runs until the end of June.

In the spirit of the occasion, I've also set up my ko-fi! If you like, you can toss me a tip or become a monthly member. I'm not selling anything there - this is just for anyone who wants to buy me a coffee.