This time with editing from Grey - it looks a lot better than the last one 😅

I did a second stream, this time for Adversary Creation. Once the game is out properly, I'll clean these two entries up and post them to this blog. 

January was a heck of a month thanks to the day job, but Grey and I are still plugging away:

We're finalizing the Game Master's section and poor Lord Vertex got cut, so I'll show him off here. Don't worry, he'll come back in something later.

 Once again a few months pass and while we continue to work on things, a lot of them don't make for very good blog updates. Still, I can share some of the cool layout/art stuff Grey has sent me in the meantime.

We're making steady progress and I can't wait to post some more substantial updates!

Also in case you missed it, I was on a podcast!

https://anchor.fm/bastionland/episodes/Rule-of-Three---Reynaldo-Madrian-etsme8/a-a53mksv

Well worth listening to if you can stand my rambling.

The Unshaped are a dangerous threat, primordial beings with no defined body, they instead manifest as clusters of ideas that can take on a variety of forms at will. Their disregard for anything but their own personal goals and amusements make them very hard to reason with, to boot!

More proof we should all be grateful Grey is working on the main project

Hopefully we'll be able to show off more soon. Until then, stay safe everyone.

When considering a page layout I have been applying some UX (Users Experience) rigor to help reduce potential usability issues.

I ask myself a few questions to work out user stories (usage scenarios) which inform the page layout:

Who is looking at the page and why?
E.g. The GM... because the group have just stumbled on a Skelemaster! They need to know how to run that encounter?

What information is the user (GM) looking for?
1. What is a Skelemaster in a nut-shell?
2. How does the Skelemaster react to the group?
3. How do you 'roleplay' them?
4. How do you they interact with the combat/negotiation/game mechanics?
5. How does this or that ability work?
6. What do they find on the body?

What is the best way to communicate this information quickly?
What is the best way to arrange the content to address the above needs?
What do they need to know first?
What is the best visualisation of the data?

Once I'm confident about with how players will interact with the page I've been using wireframes!
A quick way to iterate layout ideas and validate if the information structure is practical/efficient.

The end result will produce a template, which can occasional result in some structural editing (chopping and changing) for a smoother experience at the table.

Giving sense of spherical nature using loose approximation of geographic projection.
Prolly stick with iscoheadron net

The net for the 20 sided world is much more 2D friendly than the 12 sided one.




Regions could fit into a triangular face, then isolated and explained in subsequent chapters.
You would go on trian-crawls!

Rethinking map presentation (again).

Please ignore labels and geography (just there for conceptual purposes)

How about presenting the world map as a dodecahedron net?

Exploring ways to annotate the original world map with the more detailed region locations.

Version 1: Contextual
Like the full page-ness here, would be impactful on page flip.

Version 2: Look up tableThink this gives clearer segmentation of the 3 core surface regions
Have put the regions corresponding areas/landmasses directly underneath the map, so you can look straight down to find the names of the notable areas.

One of my favorite bits of Break!! is Colossal Combat.

Each part of a giant adversary has it's own Heart Total and must be specifically targeted, this is called a Strike Point.

Destroying a body part removes a monster ability.

Moving from part to part is subject to same rules as moving through a regular Battlefield Area.


URARANI
The forgotten crystal beast

Creatures from the 1st Aeon do not follow the rules of other eras. They run the gamut from messengers with gossamer wings to killing machines made of unbreakable glass. Most have been destroyed or withered away in a reality they find suffocating, but others have found ways to remain.

Urarani is an enormous, arachnid creature made of murky chitin. It was once part of an Unshaped’s tale but abandoned when it was deemed unappealing by its creator. Its appearances in the Outer World almost always include a rampage of some kind, so it is fortunate that it remains a rare sight.


I am looking forward to Rey's Monsterhunter/Shadow of the Colossus inspired adventure/monster book!

Rey's original concept...
 

I am hoping to summarise key rules into visual checklists.
The aim for these diagrams is to jog a GM's memory and avoid the need to 'lean in' during play, and present players a quick high level understanding of key concepts and possibilities.

Have finessed the rules flow chart concept.

Blue boxed indicate roll is required.

Green paths = positive/affirmative outcome.

Red paths = negative outcome.

Further enhancements might include: links/reference to relevant rules, illustration, clearer segregation of components/stages.
 

Most in-game outcomes in BREAK!! are resolved with Checks and Contests.

The Injury/Damage table is one of the few exceptions.

In combat, if you are reduced to zero hearts, you roll and injury. Subsequent hits incur additional Injury rolls but with a different result spread (leaning towards more severe outcomes)

Anyway, being indulgent with the design.

At the end of the Overland Travel section (or as an appendix) I want to include an overview of the procedure for quick reference, and to show how the mechanics slot together.

I am investigating 2 formats (in raw form here)

A linear check list.
A process flow.

The checklist is boring but easy to follow.


The flow chart is visually interesting but intimidating (but an interesting exercise!)

Thinking I'll add more visual appeal to the checklist or simplify the flow chart.

You can never have enough cover iterations.
Older explorations Cover 1 + Cover 2 + Cover 3

Like how BREAK!! is shaping up? Sign up to the release alert email!

Workings... (brick work still too scruffy!)

BREAK!! has several kinds of die rolls that, I believe, demand icons or Die-cons!!!

The Battle Princesses+ Murder Princess are iconic Callings in Break!! and represent the power of love and hate respectively.

Also toying with putting the logo in a block so it can be dumped on any background!

Background photobashed! Maybe should have some ruins.

Older explorations Cover 1 + Cover 2