In Progress: Playtest Packet Stat Blocks (Patreon)

"Presentation is part of design." Matt says this all the time, and he's absolutely right. Things have been busy the last few weeks at MCDM. As I'm sure you all know, we have our BackerKit campaign for the MCDM RPG going on right now. (If you want the game but are only interested in getting the core rule PDFs, you should read this announcement before you pledge!) We're also getting ready to shut down for the rest of the year so my hardworking coworkers can enjoy some well-deserved time off with their friends and families. Oh, and we've been working on a little playtest packet for all of you.

Hey folks, James here. I wanted to just share with you a quick update about what we're working on for you, the patrons, who have made all the development of the game so far possible. You're the first folks to believe in us, and we so appreciate your support! Soon, you'll be able to playtest a one-shot adventure, Kobold Clock Tower, that comes with some pregens and all the rules you need to run that specific scenario. We're not ready to unveil character customization yet (because we, uh, have to make it), but we do want to let you all enjoy playing this game as we have for months! After we send out the packet via Patreon, we'll follow up with a survey to collect your feedback. Your thoughts in the survey will help us shape the game!

For the first patron packet, we wanted to have well laid-out creature entries, so we called up Kyle Latino (aka Map Crow), a stellar cartographer and graphic designer. This artist of many talents is helping us make easy-to-use stat blocks, and we're sharing one right now! We just couldn't wait for the playtest.

Note: This is a DRAFT, so we will continue to tweak it.

In addition to a clean, easy-to-read layout, Kyle instituted a lot of tools to make the sheet easy to use while running a game.

Symbols

You'll notice a few symbols that draw your eye on the stat block. First, each ability's "Damage" entry has a small arrow next to it. When you're looking for which dice you need to roll, you can immediately find it without reading through the stat block. Likewise, the Firecracker basic attack has a target symbol next to its Effect entry, letting you know that the target must make a TN 10 Might resistance roll or be Pushed 3 squares.

Each ability has a graphic symbol in its header bar as well, indicating the damage type it deals. In the case of Tiny Bolt Shower, the damage is untyped, but it is a magic ability, and the symbol in that header indicates, "Hey! This is magical!"

Other symbols make it easy to find the kobold's best and worst characteristic, which tells you a bit about what the kobold does well (Reason! This kobold is a smarty pants spellcaster) and what they do poorly (Might! This kobold skips leg, arm, chest, and back day).

The graphics make it easy to see the kobold's level and their bloodied value (peep the blood droplets up top).

Color-Coding

The stat block is also color-coded to help guide you through it, though we don't RELY on colors for navigation, because that doesn't work for everyone. Anything a color indicates is also indicated elsewhere in text.

For instance, the kobold's role, "Artillery," is green. So if you're flipping through the book and looking for a creature of a specific role, the colors can help guide you. The arrow beneath their lowest stat is red, and their highest is green.

Damage types get a specific color too! Fire is red, lightning is orange, and untyped damage is black. This is helpful for the "at-a-glance" information without needed to read word for word while running at the table.

The kobold's basic attacks have a red header. Maneuvers have a blue header. When you're scanning a stat block mid battle, that can be a big help! If this kobold had any triggered actions, they'd be green. They don't, but why don't I show you an example from the necromancer's stat block:

The necromancer also has purple Villain Abilities that look like this:

Pretty cool!

UPDATE: I should have said this more clearly the first time around, but we will be providing a black and white version of these stat blocks for accessibility reasons too!

Formatting

The formatting of different words and icons is also important here too. We're making use of underlining to call out damage and important conditions (like Prone in the necromancer's Villain Ability) so you can grasp what's needed right away. There's also something fun he's done with the arrows that point out the Damage entries in different abilities. If the damage for the ability is rolled, then the arrow is solid and filled in. If the damage isn't rolled, like in the kobold's Tiny Bolt Shower ability, then the arrow is an unfilled outline. Really clever and useful.

More to Come

There is a lot more information coming about the MCDM RPG. You'll likely get the packet before the end of the year along with maybe a Designing the Game Video or two. Plus the conversation is really popping off in the Discord and on Reddit. So come on in and say hey, and let us know what you think of the game!

Ex Animo,

James