Hi there!

Valiant Horizon v1.0 is coming out on January 23rd! So we’re devlogging fast now.

As noted in #1, all role/sub-role talk is referring to Total//Effect’s role and sub-role concepts.

The Knight

Once of the martial ideas I wanted to replicate was someone who is just absolutely steadfast in every sense: physically and otherwise. I knew I wanted a Knight somewhere too - I just inherently like the idea of a warrior defined by dedication. (Not in like the historical sense, of course, but in the fantastical/romantic sense.) It seemed like a good pairing, and all of its tales and much of its skillset pertain to one or the other. (One of its suggested Exhaust abilities, “Swear an oath that anyone will believe”, is probably one of my favorites that I’ve written.)

Hi there!

Valiant Horizon v1.0 is coming out on January 23rd! So I’d better get moving on these devlogs.

As noted in #1, all role/sub-role talk is referring to Total//Effect’s role and sub-role concepts.

The Earthmagus

All of my mages (the -magus classes specifically) are just a little off from what people expect. “Earth” is probably the most skipped element in video games on top of that - you see fire/ice/lightning a lot, and earth sometimes comes in as like “acid” or some similar cop-out like that. This makes sense if you’re only making up elemental attacks and not trying to hit something more core to the concept/trying to make something that feels like it belongs to the world. But I don’t want any of the magic in this world to be solely for combat - they all had to feel like they were like, part of the world in some way. So Earthmagus’s Tales are about understanding, addressing and nurturing the land, and their iconic portrait is a farmer or tender of some sort.

Hi there! Long time no see!

Now that Valiant Horizon is nearing full release, this is #3 in our design series. We’re back with the Commander and Dark Knight.

As noted in #1, all role/sub-role talk is referring to Total//Effect’s role and sub-role concepts.

The Commander

To get the elephant out of the room, yes, I came at this starting with the 4E warlord by way of its less acclaimed distant cousin, the 13th Age commander. More specifically, I took a crack at this idea starting in 36th Way. 13th Age/36th Way’s Commander have two resource-generating class features indicating focus: Weigh the Odds, which lets you reliably generate the resource you need, but is purely non-offensive; or Fight from the Front, which is a melee attack that generates the resource on a hit. (More on Commander here.) So we had two concepts of:

We released a slight update to Celestial Bodies this morning.

Fixes

• Refigured the layout to A5.
• Fixed a few typos, copy/paste errors, bad labels, and wrong icons.
• Fixed a few examples.

Changes

• Ultra reactor now has the Reliable quality.
• Tackle is way more accurate (and Force can be used for it now).
• Direct rules now specify how missile speed works a little better.

Thank you so much for your support thus far! It’s been truly overwhelming.

I know what you’re here for, mechanically. Let’s talk shop about The Grid™️.

Loadout and Construction

Every mech in this game is defined by a grid like this:

When I say defined, I mean fully defined. First, the basics:

• Every frame (basically a chassis for a kind of mech) has HP (Hull Points!) equal to its grid size. So the one you see above has 12HP.
• Every frame has a unique trait based on its grid’s size and shape. (This one gets more movement for having oversized thrusters, for instance.)
• Each component you see listed there has a specific designation as to what it does (some of them relative to the mech’s size) as well as a shape and size. Weapons can’t be rotated but can be flipped.

And then the advanced stuff.

The sixth backer class has arrived! Meet the Shaman!

• The Shaman is an attuned, receptive hero.
• It focuses on supporting others by boosting their abilities, drawing attacks against them, and healing them.
• It’s a full-support class that can be played without taking any offensive actions!

It’s in that backer classes PDF. Enjoy!

The fifth backer class has arrived! Meet the Arcane Knight!

• The Arcane Knight is a multifaceted, balanced hero.
• It focuses on the interplay of bladework and magic, and benefits from alternating the two.
• It’s extremely mobile! I love making extremely mobile classes.

It’s in that backer classes PDF. Enjoy!

One more backer class left after this, so stay tuned!

Hi there! #2 in our design series, meet the Blazemagus and Champion!

As noted in #1, all role/sub-role talk is referring to Total//Effect’s role and sub-role concepts.

The Blazemagus

I wanted to go elemental for explicit “magic user” types - just the four basic elements, earth/air/fire/water. It felt very on-brand. And the first one of those four that I made was Blazemagus.

Hi there!

v1.2 is up! I added two things:

• There’s now a little more on campaigns and running them.
• I expanded a bit on the mission prompts, changing crises into modifications on those prompts.

HOPEFULLY this is the version that will be the last one because I’m going to be doing a print run soon! Stay tuned for that.

Until next time!

Hi there!

We cracked $2000 last night, which is well beyond any expectations I had for this crowdfunding period. Thank you all so much for your support!

The fourth backer class has arrived! Meet the Steward!

• The Steward is a cultivating, budding hero.
• It’s a support class focusing on healing and protection.
• It’s very concerned with the land itself: setting up “safe” areas for allies to stay in or areas that mess with enemies.

It’s in that backer classes PDF. Enjoy!