Black Flag, the codename for Kobold Press’ new open TTRPG, introduced throughout the peak of the latest OGL controversy as an open different to 5E, has put out the first playtest packet. It is 12-page doc of character creation guidelines. So what’s inside?
The introduction summarises character creation, defining 5E ideas like degree, hit cube, and so forth. It introduces the sport as being backward-compatible with 5E.
Black Flag — like Stage Up: Superior 5E, and Ancestry & Tradition–divides the 5E idea of ‘race’ and ‘subrace’ into inherited and cultural components. Black Flag goes with the phrases Lineage and Heritage.
It goes on to current the Dwarf, Elf, and Human, together with a alternative of two heritage traits for each–the heritage traits for dwarf, for instance, are Fireforge and Stone. Elves get Cloud and Grove, whereas people get Nomadic and Cosmopolitan. You may select any heritage in your lineage, although. These are analogous to 5E’s ‘subraces’, though the inherited/discovered components are separated out — Cloud Elves are lots like Excessive Elves, and Grove Elves are lots like Wooden Elves, for instance.
Following which are two backgrounds — Scholar, and Soldier. They every give the same old array of proficiencies plus a ‘expertise’.
Magic, martial, and technical abilities are primarily feats. You get a expertise out of your background, and may substitute a capability rating enhance for one.
The playtest feels to me very like a 5E written in their very own phrases, however with 5E’s ‘race/subrace’ construction changed with ‘lineage/heritage’, the most important factor being that the heritage (what was subrace in 5E) is cultural.
As a disclaimer, I do after all publish Stage Up: Superior 5E, which shares the very same objective as Kobold Press’ undertaking (BTW, take a look at the brand new A5ESRD website!) It is going to be attention-grabbing to see how the approaches diverge; whereas each are backward-compatible, they have already got other ways to deal with what 5E calls race — Stage Up has you select a heritage (your inherited species, principally), and any of 30+ cultures (discovered stuff from the place you grew up). Black Flag goes with lineage (once more, your inherited species), and a alternative of heritages for every lineage. And the bestselling 5E guide Ancestry & Tradition on DTRPG, makes use of these phrases — so there’s loads of choices to decide on your heritage/tradition, lineage/heritage, or ancestry/tradition!
No matter occurs, the long run actually incorporates a alternative of open 5E alternate options!
