The Genesys Project: The Birth of Genesys

PREVIEW: MECHA AND POWERED ARMOR IN THE 3RD AGE
over 4 years ago – Mon, Aug 05, 2019 at 06:52:42 PM

PREVIEW: MECHA AND POWERED ARMOR IN THE 3RD AGE

In The Genesys Project you can create and play your faction in any of the three ages, or create them in the 1st Age and play them all the way through to the 3rd Age. 

The 3rd Age will take The Genesys Project into the Far Distant Future, and one of the primary design elements of the 3rd Age is customization of your futuristic tools of war – Mecha and Powered Armor. 

While the things you can do in the 3rd Age are incredibly fun to explore, plugging your cybernetic pilot into a Mecha or a genetically engineered soldier into their advanced Powered Armor are among the favorites awaiting you in The Genesys Project.

CORE SYSTEMS

The Genesys Project reuses the same central concepts through all three ages and the 3rd Age Mecha and Powered Armor are no different. Core Systems allow a certain amount of customization and layout for your Vehicles, Mecha, and Powered Armor. Of course, you can add more Core Systems to the frames of each by taking traits that allow more “advanced” designs. 

Core Systems give you the capacity of equipment and weapon systems that can be fit into/onto the Vehicles, Mecha, and Powered Armor. How many Core Systems that can be added to a mecha or powered armor depends upon the size of the frame. Through the Traits system you may have advanced technology to allow additional Core Systems as well as other types of futuristic upgrades. 

MECHA

Mecha, which means “mechanical”, are advanced Walkers that are piloted by one or more crew rather than being an individual mechanical suit. These walkers are often bristling with weaponry and have more Core Systems than vehicles of the same size. 

Light Mecha: Large Walker

Core Systems: 4 

Strength 5, Toughness 7, Movement 5  

Crew 1, Compartment - Enclosed

Battle Mecha: X-Large Walker

Core Systems: 5

Strength 7, Toughness 9, Movement 4

Crew 2, Compartment - Enclosed

Heavy Battle Mecha: Huge Walker

Core Systems: 6

Toughness 10, Movement 3

Crew 3+, Compartment - Enclosed

MECHA CORE SYSTEMS (a small selection): 

· Additional Legs: Increased Movement

· Coaxial Smoke Launchers: Can launch smoke grenades

· Leg Actuators: Increased Movement 1 

· Reinforced Front Armor: Enhancement Armor 1 front armor only

· Reinforce Hull: Enhancement Toughness 1

Weapon Systems

· Crew Mounted Weapon: Pintle Mounted Weapon

· Dual Armature Weapon: Weapon Types Vary Depending Upon Available Armory 

· Hull Mounted Secondary Weaponry: Great Place for anti-infantry weapons

· Single Weapon Armature: Weapon Types Vary Depending Upon Available Armory

Advanced Mecha Upgrades

· Advanced Vehicle Targeting: Enhancing Pilot’s Ranged Skills

· Command Vehicle: Enhanced Command and Allows Pilots or Crew to use their Command

· Extra Armor: Armor 1 (All sides)

· Flight Control Systems: Requires two Core Systems, Flight, Light Walkers only

· Heavy Mountings: Heavy Mount 2

· Hull Mounted: For Large Heavy Mounted Weapons

· Liquid Armor Plating: Dampening Incoming Hits

· Multi-Targeting Array: Targeting multiple squads with different weapon systems

· Protected Power Core: Increase Power 2

· Reactive Armor Plating: Reactive Armor 2

· Shield Generators: Allows for advanced shields to used 

Dual Armature Weapon Mounting: Walkers may take two of the same weapon types on each armature mounting combining them into a dual weapon mounting controlled by a single crew member. Both weapons attack as a single weapon increasing the number of shots or attacks from the weapon has. 

Single Weapon Armature Mounting: Overcharged powerful weapons can be built into a single armature of a walker. These weapons are stronger and larger versions of the same weapon. A single armature weapon has an increased Strength 2. Only one armature weapon can be used in a single activation.

* A single crew member is used to fire each armature weapon. Dual Armatures are considered a single weapon. Any weapon known by your faction can be mounted, including melee combat weapons. As normal, Mecha are vehicles and are limited in the strength of the weapon mounted by their toughness. 

POWERED ARMOR

Powered Armor offers great protection to the soldier of the far distant future. Created from advanced Ceramic Polymers and Titanium plating over an exoskeleton with its own power system to offer a wide variety of systems enhancements to its wearer to give the advantage on the battlefield. 

Like other futuristic armors, Powered Armor grants protection to the wearer, but also grants additional Core Systems for the user take advantage of during combat. Like vehicles using Core Systems, critical hits can damage or destroy Core Systems during combat. In The Genesys Project you can customize your Powered Armor.

Ultra Light Reconnaissance Exoskeleton: Armor 1, Core Systems 2 - Used for light infantry, recon, and other advanced operations

Light Combat Powered Armor: Armor 2, Core Systems 3 - A fully capable light combat suit suited for additional roles and advanced operations 

Powered Combat Armor: Armor 3, Core Systems 4 - A frontline Combat Suit with able to take the soldier into the center of the battle 

Heavy Combat Power Armor: Armor 4, Core Systems 5 - A frontline Combat Suit able to take a wide variety of systems

POWERED ARMOR CORE SYSTEMS (a small selection): 

• All Around Sight: All Around Sight
• Built in Weapon Systems: Vary dependent upon the possible weapons available
• Camo Polymers: Advantageous Cover 2
• Combat Protocols: Enhancement Martial 1
• Cybernetic Interface: Allows for the suit to cybernetically interface with vehicles or Mecha and to any cybernetic      implants. 
• Encased Power Core: Enhancement Power 1
• Enhanced Strength: Enhancement strength 1
• Heavy structural support: Heavy Mounting 2
• Increased Armor Plating: Armor 1
• Increased Functions: Upgrades an existing system
• Integrated Command Comms: Remote Operations, bonus to Command
• Integrated Multi-Targeting AI: Multi-Targeting AI
• First Aid Stimulants: First Aid Stims
• Flight Control systems: Grants advanced Flight 
• Jetpack: Flight
• Jump Jets: Allows for instant Climbing and      increased Jump ability
• Liquid Armor: Liquid Armor 1
• Reactive Armor Plating: Reactive Armor 1
• Secondary Weapon Systems: Dependent upon available weapons
• Shielding: Allows for personal shielding to be added to the armor
• Sprint Enhancers: Enhance Movement 1
• Targeting Enhancement: Enhancement Ranged 1
• Vision Enhancements: Allowing      sight in all various battlefield conditions

There are plenty of additional options not represented here, but this is a fun preview of what is coming for the 3rd Age. 

Up Next: A Look at Monsters in the Birth of Genesys

PREVIEW: VEHICLE DESIGN IN THE 2ND AGE
over 4 years ago – Mon, Aug 05, 2019 at 06:52:24 PM

PREVIEW: VEHICLE DESIGN IN THE 2ND AGE

The 2nd Age will bring The Genesys Project to the Modern era and into the near future. Along with that will come new concepts and options for all Five Domains. One of the primary design elements of the 2nd Age is being able to design tanks and vehicles for your faction. 

One of the biggest advantages of designing your own armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) is a wide choice of weaponry, armor, transport capacity, and secondary systems for your vehicles. As you can customize your own cannons and machine guns, this provides an extremely wide variety of AFVs that can be fielded.

CORE SYSTEMS

Core Systems give you the capacity of equipment and weapon systems that can be fit into/onto the vehicle. How many Core Systems that can be added to a vehicle depends upon the vehicle’s size. There are several different sizes of vehicles each with their own base characteristics that can be expanded upon. Through the Traits system you may have advanced vehicles with additional Core Systems allowed, as well as other types of near-future upgrades. Here’s a quick list of the basic vehicle types:

Personal Vehicles: motorcycles and other single crewed vehicles. 

Core Systems 1

Toughness 5, Movement: 7

Crew 1, Compartment: Open

Light Vehicles: Lightly armored vehicles for transport, or fast-moving vehicles. 

Core Systems 2, 

Toughness 8, Movement 6

Crew 2, Compartments: Open

Medium Vehicles: Armored Personnel Carriers, or Lighter Battle Tanks. Enclosed Compartments. 

Core Systems 2

Toughness 9, Movement 5

Crew 2, Compartments: Open or Enclosed (choice)

Large Vehicles: Heavily Armored Tanks. Enclosed Compartments. 

Core Systems 3

Toughness 10, Movement 4

Crew 3, Compartments: Reinforced

Huge Vehicles: Massive Tanks. Enclosed Compartments. 

Core Systems. 4

Toughness 12, Movement 3

Crew 4, Compartments: Reinforced

These are a few examples of Core Systems that can be applied to your vehicles:

• Coaxial Smoke Launchers: Provides Cover for the Vehicle when used
• Command  Vehicle: Advanced Comms and Detection Systems. Allows Crew or Passengers to use their Command. 
• Heavy Plating: Armor 1 (All Sides)
• Improved Mobility: Increase Movement 1
• Large Personnel Carrier: Increase Passenger Capacity 10, requires 2 Core Systems. For Medium vehicles and larger
• Light Vehicle Enclosure: Compartment Upgrades- Enclosed for passengers and crew
• Personnel Carrier: Increase Passenger Capacity 5 for Light, medium and Heavy vehicles. Personal vehicles may take an additional passenger with this system.
• Reinforced Front/side Armor: Armor 1 (front and side armor only)
• Reinforced Crew Compartments: Provides extra protection for drivers and crew. Heavy and Huge Vehicles already come with this standard.

These are a few examples of Weapon Systems that can be applied to your vehicles:

• Advanced Targeting System: Provides a Combat Situational bonus
• Crew Mounted Weapon: Pintle Mounted Weapon
• Extra Crew Mounted Weapon: Pintle Mounted Weapon
• Heavy Mounting: Greater Strength Weapon Increasing Strength 2
• Hull Mounted Weapon System: Large Cannons take 2 Core Systems
• Secondary Turret Weapon System: Mounted alongside the main armament
• Turret Weapon System: Primary Weapon System. Large Cannons can take 2 Core Systems

There are plenty of additional systems not represented here, but this is a fun preview of what is coming for the 2nd Age. 

Next Up: Customizing Mecha and Powered Armor in the 3rd Age

Creating a Faction: Norkraag Dwarves
over 4 years ago – Mon, Aug 05, 2019 at 06:51:57 PM

PRIMER: LET’S CREATE A FACTION

It is now time for us to create a faction, to get the feel for just how this works! Let’s dive in and create a Humanoid Faction and we begin with the Starting Characteristics. 

Humanoid Starting Characteristics

Strength: 2 Toughness: 2 Movement 3

Martial: 3 Ranged: 2  Defense: 3

Discipline: 3 Willpower: 2 Command: 3

CREATING THE FACTION

What we’ll do here is recreate a faction we have used for in-house play testing, although this one has not been used since the Open Beta. Essentially, we will be creating them from scratch. 

NORKRAAG DWARVES

These Dwarves protect their realm from an ancient foe, descendants of the Great Leviathan. They are vigilant. Their watch is eternal. They guard the most northern of the mountain peaks. 

We start off with our first traits from the Genetic Mutation Category. 0-2 traits

Dwarfism Primary Traits

Dwarf 4pts: Species Variant (grants an additional Dwarfism Trait), Increase Defense 1, Decrease Command 1

Dwarfism Secondary Traits

Dwarven Constitution 6pts: Increase Toughness 1

Dwarven Heavy Plate Armor -/12 (Armory Trait): Heavy Plate Armor

Note: I used a couple of characteristic traits here to give the mountain dwarves a sturdier frame and then gave them some really heavy armor (which is cheaper to acquire as a dwarf than elsewhere). Armory Traits do not count towards our model point cost, as it is equipment, but only the squads we equip with the Heavy Plate Armor will pay the point cost for it when we prepare for a battle. This just grants the entire faction the opportunity to equip it if we want. 

Note: That heavy armor will slow down movement and might just be for elite and/or cavalry units. 

We then move on to traits from the Environmental Adaptation Category. 3-4 traits

Cultural and Social Adaptation Primary Traits

Councils 2pts: Increase Squad Sizes (Class Levels 1 and 2)

Mercantile Society 0pts: Abundant Resources 1 (makes our common equipment a lower point cost.)

Cultural and Social Adaptation Primary Traits

Legendary Heroes 3pts: Bonus Class Traits 2 (level 3 Classes)

Animal Domestication Primary Trait

Cavalry 2pts: War Mounts (these will be my Mountain Goat riders)

Note: This was a tough one deciding whether or not to add cavalry options here or save it for my classes to expand into. In the end, I decided to just add them here, giving the entire faction access to them and making it easier for me to expand upon them later and possibly give the mounts addditional traits. Being Large creatures they will be able trample Medium models and smaller during charges!

Then we move on to traits from the Knowledge and Science Category. 1-2 traits

Armor (Personal) Primary Traits

Advanced Armor -/10 (Armory): Advanced Armor 1 (to select “Lightweight” to customize my armor)

Advanced Melee Combat Weaponry Primary Traits

Martial Axes (Armory): Martial Axes -/4pts, Battle Axes -/6pts

Note: The idea here is to have the to give my infantry squads more lightweight. The improved axes do extra damage, making the axe wielders deadly as they cleave through the enemy. The main issue I see here so far is that while extremely tough, that armor is expensive! We will keep it on the more elite guys and perhaps some common armor elsewhere. Later we can take a trait to reduce the cost of that armor some. 

Norkraag Dwarves: A baseline of 17pts (+ equipment) per model

Strength: 2 Toughness: 3 Movement 3

Martial: 3 Ranged: 2  Defense: 4

Discipline: 3 Willpower: 2 Command: 2

UNIT CLASSES

We have created the faction with their army-wide rules. Now it’s time to create our Unit Classes. The number of classes at each level are determined, for the Humanoid Domain at least, by looking at the Skill Characteristics (Martial, Ranged, and Defense) for your species. We will be able to create the following number of Unit Classes based on our characteristics of the Norkraag Dwarves. 

• Standard (Level 1) – 4 (our highest characteristic)
 • Elite (Level 2) – 3 (our second highest)
 • Leader (Level 3) – 2 (our third highest)
 • Unique (Level 5) – 1 (you may only create one Unique class)

STANDARD UNIT CLASSES - LEVEL 1

Standard units form the backbone of a military force.

Standard Unit Classes are built upon the Base Species only plus additional traits. 

Point Cost: Base Species + Additional Traits

Wounds: 1

Base Attacks: 1

Stats: No increase except through selected traits.

Traits: You may select a single trait for this class, adding the cost of the trait for each model.

Maximum Class Traits: 3 (as each class develops you may buy additional traits, up to a maximum of three)

Chain of Command: One model per squad may be upgraded to a sergeant or squad leader, at the cost of 5pts for +1 Discipline. This allows the squad size to be larger based upon the upgraded model’s Discipline, even if killed in battle.

NorKraag Defenders (Level 1 Class): 21 points (+ equipment) per model

· Class Trait: Adaptive Advantage 4pts: Increased Ranged 1 

Note: Standard Crossbowmen will be used to provide ranged support. Defenders have a Ranged Characteristic of 3. A good class that has lots of options to add to if we want from Mission Awards and Progression Points.

Mountain Scouts (Level 1 Class): 19pts (+ equipment) per model

· Class Trait: Recon 2pts: Recon

Note: Recon allows for movement during deployment to spot enemy positions and gain the Initiative for the first round. We might later add infiltration to this class.

Norkraag Soldier (Level 1 Class): 21pts (+ equipment) per model

· Class Trait: Adaptive Advantage 4pts: Increase Martial 1

Note: The standard melee soldier for our Dwarves. Soldiers have a Martial Skill of 4. We have the options here to mount them on our Mounts (mountain goats) and equip them from their good selection of equipment available from the Faction Armory. 

Kragborn Giant (Level 1 Class): 35pts (+ equipment) per model

Class Trait: 

· Giant 8pts: Increase Toughness 1 (does not stack with Dwarven Constitution), Increase Strength 1, Decrease Discipline 1, Decrease Command 1, Increase Model Size 1. 

· Bonus Trait: Massive Strength 10pts: Increase Strength 2, Decrease Defense 1

Note: Kragborn Giants are Dwarven offshoots whose growth hormones are out of control, resulting in massive growth in both size and muscle. Kragborn Giants have a Strength of 5 and are Large models. Discipline is 2, resulting in smaller squads and lower morale, with less wits about them to maintain any sort of Command (which is now 1). 

ELITE UNIT CLASSES - LEVEL 2

Elite warriors are something to be feared on the battlefield. 

When you start to build an Elite unit class, you must start with either the Base Species or one of your Standard Unit Classes from which to build upon. That point cost is multiplied by two. Any Class Traits or abilities from the Standard Class are included in the new Class and do not count towards the Maximum Class Traits. From this you will add new traits, increasing their abilities. 

Point Cost: Base Class/Species (x2) + Additional Traits

Wounds: 1

Base Attacks: +1

Stats: May take a +1 Characteristic of your choice for an additional +10pts. This stacks with existing increases from other Branches.

Traits: You may select a trait for this Class, adding the cost of the trait to each model.

Additional Trait: A second trait can be added to this class at the cost of the trait + 3pts

Maximum Class Traits: 4 (as each class develops you may buy additional traits, up to a maximum of four)

Chain of Command: Individual models may be separated from an Elite or Leader unit to join a Standard or Elite unit. Up to 1 per unit. 

Norkraag Centurion (Level 2 Class): 59pts (+ equipment) per model

We can build these off the faction traits or expand on an existing class, so I’ve chosen to build them off the NorKraag Soldiers.

New Class Traits: 

· Class Trait: Martial Mastery 8pts: Increase Martial 1

· Additional Trait +3pts: Elite Training 6pts: War Veterans

Notes: Centurions have a Martial 5 and Defense 4, making them hard to hit and they will be difficult to kill as well if given Heavy Armor. War Veterans gives them a nice advantage during the Combat Situation for coordinated attacks. 

SkyeMage Acolyte (Level 2 Class): 56pts (+ equipment) per model

Those that spend time alone in the Mountains sometimes come back with extraordinary wisdom and searching for the powers of the Sky. We are building these off of the Norkraag Scouts.

New Class Traits:

· Class Trait: Wizardry 3pts + Arcing Bolt (Power) 8pts

· Additional Trait +3pts: Gifted Willpower 4pts: Increase Willpower

Note: These traits give our SkyeMages a Willpower of 3. When channeling, they will have a good chance to cast a short or medium range Electric Bolt. Critical hits from this power can arc outwards, hitting multiple opponents and it can be used in melee or thrown for ranged combat.

Combat Leaders (Level 2 Class): 49pts (+ equipment) per model

These are another class that we will build off the Norkraag Soldier base to help us command the field.

New Class Traits: 

· Class Trait: Squad Leader 2pts: Squad Leader 1

· Additional Trait +3pts: Taking the Initiative 2pts: Taking the Initiative 1 (helps when challenging Initiative)

Note: Trained in battle tactics, Combat Leaders will most often be combined into other squads using their Chain of Command to help fight for the initiative where it is needed. 

LEADER UNIT CLASSES - LEVEL 3

Leaders are often well-trained soldiers and tacticians. 

When you start to build a Leader Unit Class, you may start with either the Base Species, a Standard, or an Elite Unit Class, multiplying their point cost by two. Any Class Traits or abilities from the Standard Class are included in the new Class and do not count towards the Maximum Class Traits. From this you will add new traits, increasing their abilities.

Point Cost: Base Class/Species (x2) + Additional Traits

Wounds: +2

Base Attacks: +1

Stats: +1 Characteristic Increase of your choice for no additional point cost, these can stack with existing increases.

Traits: You may select a single trait for this class, adding on the cost of the trait for each model.

Additional Trait: A second trait can be added to this class at the cost of the trait + 5pts

Maximum Class Traits: 6 (as each class develops you may buy additional traits, up to a maximum of six)

Chain of Command: Leader Unit Classes may individually join Elite and/or Standard Unit Classes

Mountain Giant (Level 3 Class): 119pts (+ equipment) per model

We are building this class from the Kragborn Giants

Wounds: 6
 Attacks: 2
 Model Size: Huge

New Class Traits: 

· Class Trait: Massive Size 10pts: Increase Model Size 1, Increase Wounds 1

· Legendary Heroes Extra Class Trait: Smash Attack 8pts: Smash Attack

· Legendary Heroes Extra Class Trait: Titan 24pts: Increase Toughness 1, Increase Wounds 2, Increase Model Size 1, Giant Weapons 1.

· Additional Trait +5pts: Physical Power 2pts: Increase Critical Damage 1

· Bonus Characteristic: Increase Toughness 1

Notes: A huge Giant with a high strength 5 and great Toughness 5 plus all of those wounds to keep him in the fight. 

Dwarven Commander (Level 3 Class): 138pts (+ equipment) per model

Built from Centurions, giving Dwarven Commanders good skill levels

Wounds: 3
 Attacks: 3 

New Class Traits: 

· Class Trait: Skilled Combatant 10pts: Increase Attacks 1

· Legendary Heroes Extra Class Trait: Skilled Commander 4pts: Increase Command 1

· Legendary Heroes Extra Class Trait: Strategic Mind 6pts: Strategic Mind 3 (great at controlling reserves)

· Bonus Characteristic: Increase Martial 1

Note: Great Command to keep the battle going, plus good skills to join the battle at the front. Having Martial 6 should provide a commander who gets stuck in. 

SkyLords (Level 3 Class) future class to build from SkyMage Acolytes. 

Notes: A more powerful Wizard with longer range Lightning and Air Shield Powers will be built later on through Mission Awards. Possibly even riding a Giant Eagle (Monster class) to be built.

UNIQUE UNIT CLASSES - LEVEL 5

Inspiring leaders or legendary warriors, these are the focal point of your faction.

When you create your Unique Classes, you may start with a Standard, Elite, or Leader Unit Class, multiplying their point cost by two. Any Class Traits or abilities from the Standard Class are included in the new Class and do not count towards the Maximum Class Traits. From this you will add new traits, increasing their abilities.

Point Cost: Base Class (x2) + Additional Traits

Wounds: +1

Base Attacks: +1

Stats: +2 characteristic Increase of your choice, these can stack with existing increases.

Traits: You may select a single trait for this class, adding on the cost of the trait for each model.

Additional Trait: A second trait can be added to this class at the cost of the trait + 10pts

Maximum Class Traits: 7 (as the class develops you may buy additional traits, up to a maximum of seven)

Chain of Command: A Unique Unit Class may take a +1 Command at the cost of +15pts

Heroic Inspiration: Inspirational bonuses grant other models within the unique model’s command radius (command characteristic in inches) a +1 bonus to Discipline, Willpower, and Command. 

Unique models may join other squads.

The Watcher (Level 5 Class): 262pts (+ equipment)

The ultimate watcher of the mountains – a massive cyclops. 

Wounds: 7
 Attacks: 3
 Model Size: Huge

New Class Traits:

· Class Trait: Cyclops: 8pts: Ethereal Sight, Night Sight, Enhancement Combat Situation 1, Decrease Ranged 1

· Additional Trait +10pts: Sweep Attack 6pts: Arc Attack

· Bonus Characteristic: Increase Toughness 2

Note: The Watcher will have a base Toughness of 6 and a strength of 6, lots of wounds, and an arc attack to sweep away lesser foes. Able to see into the Ethereal and darkest night, this cyclops will be terrifying to recon with for large games. 

In conclusion, the NorKraag Dwarves have lots of growth potential as they progress through the 1st Age. With the strength of the Giants and fortitude of the Dwarven forces the NorKraag should be able to handle quite a few of the challenges ahead.

Next Up: A Look into the Future at Vehicle Creation for the 2nd Age!

PRIMER: WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT, CUSTOMIZATION
over 4 years ago – Thu, Aug 01, 2019 at 07:24:39 PM

PRIMER: WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT, CUSTOMIZATION

Weapons and Equipment are found in the Armory section of The Birth of Genesys book. The Armory is a compilation of gear open to all of the Domains for Primitive and Common Weapons and Equipment, and then Special Weapons and Equipment that are only granted access to by Traits and Abilities. 

• Primitive      - Available to all Domains
• Common      - Available to all Domains
• Special      - Only granted through Traits and Abilities

In addition, the Armory includes Advanced Weapons and Equipment options which allow you to add additional properties to further customize Primitive, Common, or Special items.

Imbued Weapons and Equipment are not handled here, instead they are discussed fully with Magical Powers.

PRIMITVE WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT

Primitive items are just that, inexpensive, and easy to use and available to everyone. Primitive Weapons and Equipment are best used to arm the hordes or provide the basics of protection. The point cost for Primitive equipment is paid for by the squad, not the individual model like all other gear. There are Scavenger abilities as well (think rat men) that can help you get primitive gear for next to nothing!

The downside of these weapons is that they do not allow for Enhancements from abilities or Coordinated Attack Bonuses to apply to the Combat Situation when used. This means that they can still gain situational bonuses on the battlefield like charging, cover, outnumbering, etc.,  but if the models would gain an additional bonus due to an ability the squad has, they would not receive it if using primitive weapons and equipment. 

COMMON WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT

All of the Domains have access to the Common Weapons and Equipment. This list includes a wide variety of weapons and equipment granting access to bonus Enhancements through Abilities and fighting styles (like dual wielding). The point cost of Common gear is per model and grants access to additional weapon types beyond what the Open Beta testers saw. 

Finding the costs of your gear is easy. The point cost of a melee weapon for example is 2pts per model for common gear, or for primitive melee weapons 2pts per squad. Calculating gear costs, and even seeing it on your opponent’s lists are easily recognizable.

Here are just a few of the basic examples. Primitive equipment are squad point costs, and Common are per model.

• Melee Weapons: 2pts
• Spears/Javelins: 4pts
• Bows: 4pts
• Armor: 4pts
• Shields: 4pts

SPECIAL WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT

Pikes, polearms, firearms, specialty swords, and more are called Special Weapons and Equipment. These are only available to models with a specific ability. These are often better versions of weapons and armor, that can really give your faction an advantage on the field. Much like Common equipment, the point cost for Special Weapons and Equipment is per model.

Military Equipment is also part of Special Weapons and Equipment, granting some Domains access to such things as cannons, scorpios, catapults, and more. 

CUSTOMIZING ADVANCED WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT

Advanced equipment is only available through traits and abilities that allow you to add additional properties to either primitive, common, or special equipment. The point cost for this added to the total cost of the equipment. While more expensive, this really allows you a wide range of possibilities, like extending the range, strength, skill, or protection of the weapons or armor. 

For example, taking an Arming Sword, which is a Special weapon type, and taking an Advanced Weapon trait would allow you to customize the sword. If you wanted to give the sword a +1 Strength, or an additional skill point of +1 Martial, you can do this easily. You could also make it an extremely long weapon by giving it a +1 threat range for melee combat. 

One last thing before we go - there are traits and abilities that grant point costs bonuses to different levels of equipment. Abilities like Abundant Resources, or Mineral Wealth can make access to different weapons a little easier on the point costs. 

Next Up: We are going to Create a Faction!

PRIMER: CHANNELING AND CUSTOMIZING MAGICAL POWERS
over 4 years ago – Thu, Aug 01, 2019 at 12:05:28 PM

PRIMER: CHANNELING AND CUSTOMIZING MAGICAL POWERS

Casting Magic in The Genesys Project is done by channeling energy from beyond our realm, drawing it through the thin veil of the Ethereal. Doing so comes at a risk to those channeling, as casters must not cross their mortal threshold, or they could perish, ripped apart for eternity. With high risks comes great power and the ability to bend the forces of reality, embolden your forces, or to lay waste to the enemy.

As with all other combat in the game, powers require a single die roll from the casting model (same die result is used for both casting and hitting the opponent) and a single die roll for each enemy model affected. Let’s take a look at some of the mechanics.

CASTING DIFFICULTY AND THE MORTAL THRESHOLD

Mechanics: To successfully cast a power, you must roll a die and add that result to your Willpower characteristic. The total of the casting is now your Combat Resolution Number. To cast your power this CRN will need to be:

1. Equal to or higher than the Difficulty of the Power

2. The result does not go exceed the caster’s Mortal Threshold

The resulting Combat Resolution Number is used for any enemy miniatures to save against if they are affected by it. One die roll for the caster and one for the target (if there is an enemy target). 

The Difficulty of casting a power (and also your Mortal Threshold) is based upon your Life Domain as presented below. These might be adjusted by certain traits and abilities. 

• Humanoids      have a Difficulty of 8 with a Mortal Threshold of 12.
• The Fey      have      a Difficulty of 6. Fey have no Mortal Threshold. 
• Reptilia      have      a Difficulty of 7 with a Mortal Threshold of 14
• Biests      have a Difficulty 8 with a Mortal Threshold of 11. 
• Insekt      have a Difficulty of 9 with a Mortal Threshold of 12

Failing to cast a power typically has no effect upon the caster, unless the caster fails while Channeling, or the result crosses over the Mortal Threshold.

Mortal Threshold: Powers are dangerous, and harnessing too much otherworldly energy ravages the body, tearing it from its connection through the Veil. Any result that is higher than the model’s Mortal Threshold results in immediate death of the caster. The model may not be resurrected, as the unleashed energies have torn apart the caster in a violent and spectacular way.

Channeling: This is done through different methods, dependent upon the type of caster. Let’s look at two of them briefly. 

· Arcane Casters can channel by using Toughness points to supplement the die roll for determining the success or their power. Failing results in a loss of the Toughness points being used as the failed casting sucks the life out of the caster. 

· Faith Casters use the devotion and prayers of others to help cast their powers as well as mitigate and absorb any failings. While safer to cast, Faith magic requires the faithful to use their actions in prayer to supplement the die roll for casting.

The ultimate goal of channeling is to successfully cast the power and remain at or within the caster’s Mortal Threshold. Casting powers is not for the meek and it takes a little extra thought when creating your spellcasters. However, with the magical items found in technomancy, spell-focused abilities, and sometimes a little luck, channeling results in success. Of course, that is until you decide to attempt something very powerful and beyond your caster’s ability.

CUSTOMIZING POWERS

Powers can be customized to increase the strength, range, duration, area of effect, or even combine powers into a single casting. When you customize a power, you are adding properties to it, which will increase the difficulty level for casting. 

For example, if I wanted to increase the Strength of my Fire Power by 2, this would require two properties to be added to the power, increasing the difficulty by 2. Other options include changing the shape of the power into a blast radius, cone effect, a short-ranged arc, or even a beam or ray.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE AND DIFFERENT CASTER TYPES

There are abilities and items as well that can help with casting powers. Wands can help modify the die roll by 1 in any direction, and others like staves to help raise the Mortal Threshold of the caster. While casters use their Willpower to cast powers, there are other methods of casting powers that use different characteristics such as Command or Discipline. 

Next Up: WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT, CUSTOMIZATION