Playtest is done, what comes next?

So, my playtest for version 0.3 of Fire of Rebellion was a success! We managed to play to completion, and I got a lot of precious feedback and experience playing the game. Not all playbooks were tested, but we got a good feel for the ones that were.

So, where do we go from here?

I already have several ideas for the future of this game, including a minor overhaul of the mechanics. I've broken down my plans below, split into my plans for version 0.4, v0.5, and v0.6, in descending order of immediacy and ascending order of intensiveness.

Depending on how swiftly I work (or how inspired I am to go before updates), I may skip a version in release and jump ahead to v0.5 or even v0.6.

Version 0.4

• Correct and update all texts.
• Create options for stronghold/companion advancements such as the Knight's Sanctum, Initiates, etc.
• Refine a number of the basic moves.
• Rework the Empire and Rebel moves.
• Refine lights and shadows (including their clear conditions and what happens when they're maxed out)
• A general improvement of textual flavor
• Mortal Choices

Nothing too complicated, here. This is really just about giving v0.3 some finishing touches, making everything much more presentable, and introducing more interesting options to certain moves and mechanics.

More interesting (and intensive) updates will be reserved for later versions.

Version 0.5

Faith Rework & Expanded Stat Shifting

Here, I'm planning a rework of the Faith mechanic. While fun in theory, I feel like a significant number of in-game clunk happened because of it.

My current plan is to consolidate all Faith-stats into one single Crew stat, representing the cohesion of the crew as a whole. The Crew stat will be used for joint moves, so that PCs can do awesome team maneuvers that don't rely on a single person's stat.

The Crew stat will also be able to shift up and down with the stats of individual PCs, creating a pool of "points" that can be donated to and taken from as needed.

The Crew stat will also be able to shift with the world stats, allowing the crew to make sacrifices that improve the state of the world as a whole, but also make mistakes that weaken the crew while strengthening the Empire.

This opens up a variety of options for the players. Do you weaken the crew and the world to be strong as an individual? Do you sacrifice the world to keep your crew strong and cohesive for the battles to come? Or do you weaken yourselves to push forward the lines of the Rebellion everywhere else?

This update will require an overhaul of the Beacon playbook, which relies heavily on Faith, but the relationships section of each playbook will have to be reworked to incorporate this change.

Expanded Lights and Shadows

Just as stat shifting will be expanded to include the new Crew stat and the World stats, the Crew and World stats will each have their own sets of lights and shadows with their own clear conditions.

While Crew and World stats are common between players, the lights and shadows associated with them are held individually, reflecting unique relationships a character may have with their crew and the world around them.

Version 0.6

My current plan for 0.6 is to consolidate the basic moves and stats. I may be coming at this too soon from my playtest (it literally ended just a week ago by the time I'm writing this), but when I look at them now, I find them rather conceptually scattered, with some moves (particularly the Sage and Child moves) functioning in specific niches while others (the Fool, Poet, and Warrior moves) were incredibly generalist.

As such, I will cut down the five personal stats to three, the ten basic moves will be reduced to six, and the five special moves will be reduced to four. Shadow-Light pairs will also be reduced accordingly. World moves will have some updates as well.

I have yet to fully write them down, but here's a preview of what 0.6 will look like

7 Stats

3 Personal Stats

• Sage - to remember and instruct
• Poet - to observe and speak
• Rebel - to hope and struggle

The Crew

3 World Stats

• Fire
• Empire
• Cause

6 Basic Moves

• (Sage) Speak truth of legends
• (Sage) Offer guidance or instruction
• (Poet) Watch and listen
• (Poet) Offer inspiration or comfort
• (Rebel) Act on hope
• (Rebel) Engage in battle

4 Special Moves

• (Sage) Seek forgotten knowledge
• (Poet) Cast judgment
• (Rebel) Risk all for cause and crew.
• (Crew) Accept sacrifice

This does not include Crew and World moves or Shadows and Lights.

This is the most massive change I currently have planned, which is why I pushed it all the way back to v0.6, as changing the basic stats and moves will require changes to all the playbook moves as well, which was a massive undertaking. But I think it'll be worth it.

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What do you all think of these changes? Am I changing too much? Focusing on the wrong thing? Please, let me know, every bit of feedback is precious.