v 1.2.0
Online Character Sheet
First and foremost, Bryce Gelinas has stepped up and started working on an online character sheet. It's a work in
progress, but he'd like to start gathering your feedback. Best way to submit feedback is on the Discord server
in the #online-character-sheet channel.
Discord Server
A lot of thanks to Noblesse Oblige for setting up a discord server. It is extremely active, and we recommend going there
for all of your questions.
New Assets Directory
Based on how the site is set up, it was difficult to make a change every time someone created something new. The
discord folks set up their own shared folder with all the old and a lot of new assets. I've linked it on the assets page.
What's coming
While on my hiatus, I've continued to play a lot of D&D 5th Edition as a player and GM, and continued to run my own
Mass Effect 5e Campaign. During all of this, I've been taking a lot of notes about what is working, what could be improved,
and what needs to be overhauled. All of these notes have piled up and paved a path forward for what Version 2 of this
system might look like.
Disclaimer #1: I am in the very early stages. So some of the details may change.
Disclaimer #2: Any new version is several months away. In addition to content changes, the site itself needs a lot of love
as much of the code has become outdated. So I've got two large tasks in both writing content and cleaning up code.
Disclaimer #3: Once Version 2 is released, I'll keep a copy of version 1 available online and in the pdf form in perpetuity.
With the disclaimers out of the way, here is an abbreviated list of the changes Version 2 might contain.
Classes
Before going on my hiatus, there was a LOT of discussion about class balance and class mechanics in general. Through
the many versions of this systems, the classes had become amalgams of the D&D classes with a lot of overlap. This left
a number of odd mechanics like cantrips that weren't cantrips (soldiers), ersatz cantrips (engineer's efficiency),
progression column bloat (vanguards and sentinels), or just a boring/underpowered class (adepts).
As I've been working on new class designs, I'm keeping three principles in mind:
- Less Kitchen Sink - the idea here is to let the classes progress like 5th edition classes, and not to bolt on new mechanics
to a complete class. Instead, find ways to reflavor or replace 5e mechanics with ones that adhere to Mass Effect lore. - Central themes - I want to make sure that each class feels unique from each other independent of its respective subclasses.
This will require trying to hone in on what makes a class special and build their progression about their unique feature. - More Choice - The choices you made in Mass Effect mattered (...well for most of the games). I want to bring choice
into the classes by having more subclasses and more feature sets like Fighting Style. Thus, not only will your character
feel unique because of their subclass, but as they progress you'll have more options as well.
Expanding the Spell Library to 9th Level
This will be a major undertaking, but it's important to keep in balance with 5th edition and also make it easier to adapt
or use 5th edition tools with this system (i.e. Roll20).
Expanding Melee Weapons
If my games have taught me anything, it's that melee weapons are very viable in this system. But the current list of melee
weapons is lax at best.
Vehicles and Vehicle Combat
This needs its own overhaul. Both the vehicle list and combat mechanics need a tune up. The end result will probably draw
from the expanded vehicle rules from Ghost of Saltmarsh.
Rule Clean-up
Some other things on my mind are tightening up the rule-set as well. There are currently 4 health pools (HP, SP, Temp HP
, and Tech Armor HP), Double Tap continues to baffle new players, Targeting is clunky, and there are a number of
one-off rules that are often forgotten about or unused (Armor and Environmental Protection, Melee damage bypassing shields).
This might include a simplification of how Armor and AC works, but I'm undecided.
Equipment Clean-up
There is a lot of overlap between Omni-tool Programs, Armor Mods, Weapon Mods, and Armor set bonuses. My goal here is to
clarify permanence and transience. That is, what can you add and remove at will vs what is permanently installed.
Final Thoughts
I've got more I'm thinking about, new ideas and new features, but nothing worth noting at this time. As I finish developing
fully-fledged ideas, I'll be sharing them on Discord for feedback.