Major Revision 1.1.0

The Player's Guide and Gamemaster's Guide have been updated to revision 1.1.0. This is a major revision, meaning multiple sections of each book have been changed, and new content has been added.

New Content:

Lifepaths

Lifepaths are an alternative method of choosing your background and narrative skills. Instead of picking backgrounds and skills directly from a list, this section provides a series of tables representing different parts of your life before becoming an adventurer. Even if you prefer to choose manually, these tables can still be useful for information and inspiration.

Upkeep

Upkeep is a new action tag. Actions with this tag normally last until the start of your next turn. If you then pay the Upkeep cost, you can keep that action active until the start of your following turn, and so on until you are unwilling or unable to keep up with the cost.

Feats

A few minor feats have been added that allow you to expand on major Character Creation (CC) feats. Triple Dexterity, for instance, improves the flexibility of the Extra Limb feat, making it more useful when climbing or grappling, and Stinger Tail allows a Tail to be used as a spellcasting focus. While these new feats are not (CC) feats, they are grouped under the Character Creation Feats heading for convenience.

Narrative Rounds

This is a new optional rule in the Gamemaster's Guide. In cases where a narrative scene would benefit from a more granular or structured approach, this system breaks narrative play into rounds and actions, making it more similar to a combat scene in some ways. This section also provides guidance on Scale - how much space and time an action or scene should take up - with rules on how to change between Scales and how combat fits into this structure.

General Changes:

Several actions have had their targeting conditions relaxed. In most cases, this means that an action which could previously only target hostile characters can now target any character. 

Actions which make attacks against all characters within an area have been changed to be more consistent. This does not change their effects, only the wording. They now specify that an attack must be made against each target simultaneously, instead of using the more ambiguous "all targets".

Actions which heal HP or MP no longer state that they cannot heal a target above their respective maximum. This text was redundant, as it is already specified by the general rules for HP and MP.

It is no longer possible for the same source to apply the same effect to the same target more than once simultaneously. If you try to apply an effect to a target while they are already under that effect from you, you must choose whether to keep the existing effect or replace it with the new effect.

The "Player Characters" chapter has been reordered. Combat skills, feats, and equipment are now grouped together, instead of being broken up by narrative skills and backgrounds. Narrative skills, backgrounds, and lifepaths are likewise grouped together.

The "Combat" chapter now comes after the "Player Characters" chapter, and the former "Conditions and Statuses" chapter is now a section of the "Combat" chapter.

Feats were previously implicitly organized into general feats, character creation feats, and combat skill feats. This organization is now more explicit, with section headers for each category. The new feats that have CC feats as prerequisites are grouped under the Character Creation Feats header, though these are not CC feats in their own right.

Range as a measurement of distance is now worded more consistently. When capitalized, "Range" always refers to a distance measured as a number of spaces. Otherwise, "within range" generally means that an action, feature, or effect must be capable of reaching the target. This does not change the content or behavior of any action or feature, but it should make certain text easier to parse.

Most NPC classes have been given new traits or actions, giving each of them a roughly equal number of options. Each NPC class now provides a minimum of five traits or actions by default, and each NPC class has at least two optional additions. NPC classes in general have been harmonized, with action and trait text cleaned up or simplified. A few previously optional traits and features have been made available by default, and vice-versa, to make each class's expected role and behavior more consistent.

The distribution of spell, ranged, and melee attacks among NPC classes has been adjusted. Previously, ranged weapon attacks were less common than intended, and spell attacks were more common than intended. With this change, certain feats and actions like Impossible Reflexes and Rebound are closer to their intended level of utility.

Specific Changes:

Abjuration

Retaliatory Ward now causes the target to lose any remaining temporary HP they possess if the ward deals damage. The intent of this change is to make this action slightly less powerful against groups of weaker enemies, without changing its effectiveness against larger threats.

Alchemy

The Transmute Life and Transmute Mana feats have been combined into the new Transmute Spirit feat, which has the effects of both previous feats. Alchemy now grants the new Transmute Damage feat, allowing the user to change the damage type of incoming damage. This change was implemented because two major feats was deemed too steep a cost for the ability to change HP for MP and vice-versa, especially given that this conversion is already lossy. Transmute Damage is expected to open up more defensive options for Alchemy players.

Brutalism

The Lifewell feat extends its benefits to Upkeep costs for non-Spell actions. This is to maintain consistency with its ability to replace most other MP costs with HP costs.

The Counter-Savvy feat only prevents attacks from triggering hostile reactions. This corrects an oversight where certain actions like Follow-Up Attack were less useful than intended.

Evocation

Flame Cloak now gives the option to replace its Concentration requirement with Upkeep 2. This serves as an alternate method of keeping this action up, trading the risk of losing concentration due to self-inflicted fire damage for a more consistent cost.

The Infernal Heat feat now ignores resistance to fire damage and resistance to spell damage. This makes it applicable in more situations, as resistance to specific damage types can be somewhat rare.

The Mana Salve feat has been reworded. Instead of setting the cost to restore MP while they are negative to one healing surge, it now reduces the cost by one healing surge. This is for compatibility with the changes to Overdrawn; see that feat for more details.

Finesse

Ripline Bridge now requires you to be standing on or adjacent to a solid object or piece of terrain. This avoids the previous implication that you could create a ripline with one end in midair.

Shield Shot has been reworked. It now allows you to shoot down incoming ranged weapon attacks and spell attacks within a large area, and it lasts until your next turn. Previously, it required you to nominate a specific allied character to protect, and the reaction could only be used once. This change makes it more generally reliable, though it has been given a moderate MP cost to account for its increased utility.

Illusion

Wall of Light, Imprison, and Dispel False Images now require Upkeep, instead of Concentration. This change helps to cut down on the number of Illusion actions competing for concentration.

Dispel False Images now counts as an Illusion for the purpose of the Motile Illusion feat, allowing it to be moved.

The Motile Illusion can now be used as a free action, rather than a quick action. Because this feat does not alter the properties of an Illusion and merely allows for repositioning, it should not require an additional action cost.

Pressure

Forced Landing no longer requires concentration, it no longer requires the target to be flying, and it prevents both flying and climbing. These changes make this action less situational and less demanding.

Knockout Blow is now a Martial Maneuver, rather than a Martial Attack. This change was made because this action does not deal damage or make an attack roll, similar to actions like Strangle.

Pursuit

Because Undermine can now target allied characters, its effect has been reworded slightly. It now prevents the target from being affected by any character allied to them, instead of basing the effect on your own affiliation. This preserves its original function of preventing hostile characters from benefiting from the support of their allies, and it gives it a bit of extra utility in protecting allies from friendly fire.

Relentless Assault now imposes a stacking difficulty penalty for each successive attack. This change reins in the power of this action somewhat, as Pursuit characters can already gain accuracy bonuses easily.

Singular Focus now provides purely defensive benefits against non-quarry targets. The +1 accuracy on attacks against the target has been replaced with +1 difficulty on attack rolls the target makes against you. Multiple Pursuit actions - including Prey itself - already provide offensive benefits, so Singular Focus was changed to shore up any defensive gaps and minimize overlap.

The Duel Stance feat now outright prevents damage to non-quarry targets, instead of just preventing you from targeting them. This change was made because the inability to target non-quarry characters is already a penalty associated with several Pursuit actions, making the drawbacks of this stance much less impactful than intended. This feat now also clarifies what happens if you lose your quarry while in Duel Stance, which could otherwise be ambiguous. 

The ability to clear your quarry designation with Target Shift is now a dispelling option for the Recover option, instead of being a free action taken at the same time. 

Swift

Catch, Stretch, and the Giant Slayer feat have been reworded to clarify their relationship to the Grapple action.

Rapid Dash now has an Upkeep cost. Previously, it only lasted for a single round. This change effectively reduces the bookkeeping required for this action, as you no longer need to actively use it each turn to maintain its effects.

The Constrict feat now applies its damage at the end of the user's turn, instead of at the beginning. This change makes this feat more reliable, as the damage can now trigger before the target has a chance to contest the grapple. This is considered a worthwhile tradeoff for the opportunity costs of maintaining a grapple.

Warmastery

Foresight now applies its benefits only to allied characters. NPCs already use fixed damage numbers instead of damage dice, and they have much wider ranges in their damage numbers, balanced by having varying levels of accuracy. The previous version of this action was therefore a detriment more often than it was a boon.

Other Feats

Fluid Stance has been reworded to clarify that it only prevents you from using its reaction multiple times if you specifically make an attack using a Slow weapon. This does not change its overall functionality. 

Mana Saver no longer removes the cost of restoring MP to full. Instead, it provides an additional pool of healing surges that can only be used to restore MP. This change was made to make this feat less universally useful, as the previous version was almost mandatory for any character with high MP consumption. This change is also intended to make certain feats like Overdrawn and Sacrificial Recovery more viable in comparison.

Overdrawn provides two additional benefits. First, it allows you to voluntarily increase the MP cost of any spell you cast, helping more spells to meet its requirements and helping you to reach negative MP faster. Second, it reduces the healing surge cost of restoring MP while they are negative. These changes make this playstyle more attractive, when previously the damage benefits could never compete with the ease of use of Mana Saver.

Sorcery no longer allows you to restore your MP to full during a rest for free while you have at least 1 MP. Instead, once per rest, it reduces the number of healing surges you must spend to restore your MP by one. This change makes this feat more directly compatible with Overdrawn. If you keep your MP positive, this benefit is essentially unchanged.

The Wings feat now allows you to fly in general, instead of stipulating that you can only fly during your turn. You must still land at the end of your turn, unless you have another way to fly. This change mainly clears up potential confusion caused by the implication that "while you can fly using your wings" could never be satisfied outside of your own turn, which would make this feat's other benefits pointless.

Ambusher no longer requires you to remain Hidden for your attack to gain advantage. 

Dual-Wield now extends its benefits to focuses. Focuses are already included in the Two-Weapon Fighting action, so this change makes this feat more consistent.

If you roll a natural 20 for the Extremist feat, you now get to keep both sets of damage dice you roll, instead of just the highest. This change gives this feat some mechanical weight, instead of it being purely a flavor addition. 

Telekinetic extends its benefits to dropped or deployed items, not just Thrown weapons. It now specifies that this ability to retrieve items does not work if you are Muted. This was always the intended functionality of this feat, but the original wording makes it ambiguous whether being Muted only restricts the Shove action.

The reaction granted by Poison Skin can now be used once per turn, instead of once per round. This is a relatively minor effect, and it is attached to a (CC) feat, so it should not be as heavily limited as it previously was.

Equipment and Gear

The Shortbow, Longbow, and Arbalest have had their damage adjusted. The Shortbow now deals 1d6+1 damage, the Longbow now deals 1d10 damage, and the Arbalest now deals 1d8+1 damage. This change prevents them from being such outliers compared to other weapon options.

The Rod has had its range increased from 8 to 10, to differentiate it more from the Blasting Rod.

Statuses and Conditions

The Veiled status has been expanded to clarify some ambiguous interactions. Now, Veiled characters and objects are not solid to non-Veiled characters and objects, and vice-versa. This means that non-Veiled characters can potentially move through spaces occupied by Veiled characters or objects. This status also provides more complete rules on what happens if a character or object suddenly becomes unable to move through another character or object while they are inside them.