Major Update: Classless Legends 0.8 >now> Embark! 0.9


What was once Classless Legends 0.8 is now Embark! 0.9. And there are lots of major changes between the two versions. I'll go over as many as I can, and give the reasons for each.  Please let me know if you love or hate any of the new changes as we are quickly nearing the release of 1.0! 

New or Changed Terminology:

  • Carrying Capacity (CC) 
    • Once Bulk. Bulk was both how much an item weighed and how much a character could carry. To prevent confusion, CC is how much a character can carry, while bulk is how much an item weighs.
  • Hit Points (HP)
    • Once Health Points. Losing health seems so much more severe than losing hits, especially when you're not necessarily severely injured or dead when you lose HP. 
  • Focus Points (FP) 
    • Once Magic Points. FP is now used for both feats and spells. So, not necessarily for magical purposes.
  • Checks 
    • Once checks and saves, condensed for brevity.
  • Augment Spells 
    • Once Aerobic spells. General feedback was that folks couldn't take aerobic seriously (apparently history hasn't made a wizard out Richard Simmons, unlike his afroed counterpart in the painting world).
  • Rapid Actions 
    • Once Act in Rounds. Same idea, hopefully a bit clearer.
  • Bonus Actions 
    • Once Free Actions. Again, same idea, hopefully clearer.
  • Monster Level (L)
    • Once Hit Dice (HD). To those that haven't played D&D HD is unnecessarily confusing. Using L for all should help clarify that.

Major Changes:

  • Overall Organization
    • Section titles added: Introduction, Character, Adventuring, Possessions, Lists of Feats, Lists of Spells, Appendix
    • Index and Bookmarks added
  • Distance & Movement 
    • Entirely abstracted into four bands: close, nearby, faraway, and distant. Speed for all characters is at a base of 1x and all other beings are in relation to that. This should grant greater ease of playing solely within the theatre of the mind. 
  • Deleted Skills
    • War
      • While combat feats easily fit within, it ultimately proved to be difficult to gain XP for.  
    • Defense
      • Similar to War, it was difficult to gain XP for. It also added too much bonus to AC to compete with OSR monsters.
  • Act in ...
    • Stints and Turns, deleted
      • Originally intended to simplify GM time tracking, it ended up stunting what players thought were possible during any singular period. 
      • Other than rounds, no other game specific term defines time.
  • Rapid Actions
    • once Act in Rounds.
    • Action order does not matter.
    • Initiative roll now d12 + WIS
    • Active Actions
      • Dual Wield and Rush, deleted
      • Subdue move to Defeating an Opponent
    • Move Actions
      • Get Up, added
    • Defeating an Opponent, section added.
  • Conditions
    • Reduced to: exhausted, restrained, and unconscious. The countless others can be adjudicated by the GM.
  • Daily Alertness
    • Section added. Similar to 5e's passive perception.
  • Death & Injury
    • Death Threshold was deleted as the Injury Table may kill a PC
    • Generally expanded
    • Added optional rule: Last Stand
  • Wealth
    • New section added
  • Items
    • Starting Items and Random Item Table added
    • Galactic Items, Remedies, Poisons, Potions, Objects of Focus added
      • Industrial separated from Classic
  • Lists of Feats and Spells
    • Some feats cost FP to activate
    • New and altered feats and spells
      • All use the relative distances: close, nearby, faraway, distant
  • Ability + Skill Examples
    • added section

Minor Changes:

  • Character Creation
    • Start with 4 skills
    • Starting HP now 8 + CON
    • No option for Level 0
  • Leveling Up
    • Total XP track adjusted
    • +1 ability every other L
    • Gain feat or spell every L
  • Ancestries
    • Dwarf: added Robust yet deleted Geologic Instincts
    • Elf: added Magically Incline yet deleted Acute Sight
    • Halfling: added Quick Response
    • Orc: once Half-Orc. Refined Ferocious and deleted Rush.
    • Added
      • Half Common Ancestries
      • Mechanical
      • Semi-Mechanical
      • Venomous
    • Adjustments made to a few custom ancestries.
  • Size of Beings
    • Section added.
  • Abilities
    • Clarification and reordering.
  • Terrains
    • Caverns now Underground
  • Languages
    • Deleted suggestions since it seemed to limit options over expanding them.
    • Learning language section added.
    • Language limit changed to INT x 2, min. 1.
  • Spells
    • Object of Focus expanded
    • Augment (once Aerobic) ability is now DEX, once CHA
    • Spell Count deleted
  • Acquiring Feats & Spells
    • Expanded slightly
  • Encounters
    • Going Undetected section added.
    • Reaction Roll now d12, once 2d6.
  • Resting
    • Recover more HP & FP during a short and long rest
    • 3 requirements for a long rest, once 4
  • Monster & NPC Stats
    • Expanded and reformatted
    • Added Bandit and Raven examples
  • Crafting
    • Expanded slightly
  • Armaments
    • Tags
      • added: Collapsible, Overdrive
      • deleted: Light, Medium, Reach
    • Unarmed Attacks and Magic Armaments sections added
    • Galactic Armaments added
  • Quick Reference
    • Simplified

Files

Embark - Players Guide 0.9.pdf 1 MB
Oct 18, 2023
Embark - Character Sheet v0.9.pdf 216 kB
Oct 18, 2023

Get Embark! A Classless Fantasy RPG System

Download NowName your own price

Leave a comment

Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.