About Aspect

[calin]

I will answer #2, though most of those questions I'll leave for Heather.

2) What about the setting for Aspect?

We do have a game world in mind, and most or all of our modules and content will be based there. At some point it might be published as a full campaign world, though that would be a pretty huge project in itself, and quite separate from the Aspect rule system. While the power sets in the core book all have a fantasy adventure or potentially steampunk theme, we believe the rules would work just as well for modern or sci-fi settings.

[Hybban]

Thank you for the answer. I must say that I can totally see the system be used for setting like Wraith Recon (Mongoose Publishing) or Amethyst (Goodman Games/Dies Irae).

Wraith Recon is a fantasy games were armies use magic-like devices to do covert operation. Think the video game ghost Recon, but in a fantasy game.

Amethyst is basically earth in a near future mixed with high fantasy setting. The magical energies of the past have come back (kinda like Shadowrun but in a very destructive way, almost to the Earthdawn level) and past and future must coexhist.

Of course, Shadowrun would also be great with Aspect.

[Heather Gunn]

1) What differences will there be between the current Beta version and the final product? Will it just be the erratas included or will you add some content?

The final version will have all errata worked in, a ton more content, and new art. New powers, talents, rituals, magic items (the magic item list right now is woefully small), monsters, equipment, and more. If you look carefully at Here There Be Demons you will find a number of new powers the players and monsters use, as well as new monsters (the demons, imps, etc.)

I expect we will release the final book in 2012.

2) What about the setting for Aspect? There is little information in the Beta version, so I'm kinda hoping that the final version will add more information. After all Aspect seems to be more than just a game system. Maybe will it be in another supplement...

I do want to do a full book on Annor. It's the default game world I've been running since I started GMing when I was a kid. That said, the full Aspect book is certain to have a good deal more Annor lore and information.

3) Which brings me to the future of the game! What do you see for the future of Aspect? Modules, splat books with powers, setting, a campaign/adventure path? I know you haven't finished the core book and you have no idea of how well it will work, but you must have a plan. Something you will want to do with that game

More adventure books are on their way, and of course the core book will probably be in 2012. The next BIG book after the final core book (these little intro adventures don't really count) will probably be an Annor sourcebook followed by a set of adventure paths. I like choice in my adventures, so you'll continue to see a lot of that. There will likely be little splat books full of powers and monsters, since I am always creating new ones for my games anyway.

4) Do you think Aspect would do well to play pure Dungeon Crawling adventure (dare I say Mega-Dungeons...) ? Or is it more geared towards Sword and Sorcery ? After all, the heroes are almost at the peek of their capacity. Except for magic, their attributes won't raise (they will just shift), their powers won't be more potent (except with the little boost of some talents)... So we are not really in the epic fantasy like with D&D. So what do you run with Aspect? That could be another post in you Dev Notes thread, explaining the feeling you want to give with that game.

I find Aspect is better for dungeon crawls than any other system I've played. The constant need to stop and rest is gone completely. You only really need to rest after a major battle (or being active for many hours, and even then it is negotiable), and the GM has control over what battles will wipe you out.

I am actually running two campaigns in Aspect right now. One is heavily a dungeon crawl game (based on Shackled City by Paizo) and the other is a more Epic 'world crawl' sandbox-style adventure. It works fine for both, we end up resting somewhat frequently in the world crawl for realistic reasons (yes, 16 hours have now passed, time to set up camp). It is rare we rest in the dungeon crawl unless either we hit a boss encounter or the players bite off more than they can chew and end up fleeing.

Since Aspect doesn't have level mods, it is easy to mistake the characters as being at 'peak capacity' as you say, but it is simply not true. A level 1 character is Aspect is a bit more awesome than the typical D&D hero, but new powers, talents, and skills do affect the character's power level significantly enough that each level adds an extra 10xp of monster to each character's base encounter value. As you level you gain flexibility and refinement enough that eventually you can take on epic-grade monsters (there is actually an epic monster grade. It is worth nine level 1 characters or four level 11 characters).

5) Finally, will you allow third parties to write/distribute/give/sell/obi-wan-kenobi material for Aspect?

Obi-wan? I wonder if you mean old Ben...

As far as licensing goes, we have been working out licensing with third parties on an individual basis. Contact us via email if you are interested. We're a small company and we're still figuring this stuff out. =D

[calin]

Thank you Heather for all these answers. I can't wait. And if you need help to beta test some content, just let me know.

As for levels, I feel that basically a level 1 character can play along level 5 characters and still be useful in a fight. The difference is not as big as in D&D. That doesn't mean that you don't get more powerful (those few points in Leadership can help and a few more powers for more tactical options are always useful), just that the difference of power is small between two levels. At level 10, a goblin is still deadly and I really love that feeling. Falling from great height will also always be painful. Not like in 4E where a level 15 character can fall from 100 feet and spend a few Healing surges

[Hybban]

The little discussion got me thinking: what is the use of keeping levels in this game?

Could you just give CP at milestones (end of scenarios/arc/games/campaigns)? Apart from helping count the XP budget for an encounter (then I suppose it could changed by a CP budget) and the fact that you can once per level use 3CP for a round to get a 'bonus', I don't see where level are used. This is probably a legacy that I would get rid of quickly as a house rule

[calin]

There is one thing which is based on character level: How much experience is required to get to the next level.
If you were giving out CP directly instead of XP, character progression for 10th level characters would be as fast as for 1st level characters.

[Hybban]

There is one thing which is based on character level: How much experience is required to get to the next level.
If you were giving out CP directly instead of XP, character progression for 10th level characters would be as fast as for 1st level characters.

No it can take bigger challenges to earn the CP. In my 4E campaign I decide when the players level-up, I don't manage XP. And it takes more and more work on their part.

[Cal]

Each level in Aspect takes more XP than the last, but higher level characters are expected to take on tougher encounters, earning XP a bit faster. The guidelines for how many monsters to throw at a party are based on level.

If, as a house rule, you say that characters gain a level or CPs at certain milestones, that should work. But keep in mind:
- CPs must be spent when leveling, but may be shuffled a bit.
- 1 level = 3CPs, which amounts to 1 power. Increments of < 3 CP mean more shuffling when applying them to characters.

[Hybban]

Easyly done. Here's the rule:
"The players can store up to 2CP for future use. As soon as they receive a third one, ALL CP must be spent toward skills, talents or powers."

Then if you count that say 25CP correspond to 100XP and each additional 3CP add 10XP to the encounter (per character of course), it should be easy to devise how many CP each type of monster equals to.

But as I said, it's mostly because levels don't mean much in the game that I'd be tempted to remove them completely.

[calin]

You say to add 10xp per encounter, but if you have gotten rid of levels, XP doesn't mean anything anymore.
What would you use to measure the difficulty of encounters?