Novus 2e Beta ver. 0.22 was released the other day. The release before that one removed Talents from the mix and added in background options. So, let's go over what is currently in the book...
- 7 races (5 Kindred templates) -- These are actually going to be the available player races for the setting being developed for Novus 2e. It is called Anwyn - The Sundered Isle and it is a self contained setting that is specifically designed to allow the GM to brin in races and creatures from other settings (or to take the adventures to those other settings). When you select a given Race, you Gain a specific number of XP (Experience Points), and in many cases some CP (Character Points).
- Dwarves - Mountain Dwarves a shorter but powerful
- Dwelfs - A short race that seems to be very fierce. They dislike those who enter their forests and have a bit of a reputation for their defense.
- Elves, High - With a silvery tint to their skin, the high elves are generally aloof compared to the other races.
- Elves, Wood - A sturdier elven race, they love their forests as much as Dwelfs do, but are nowhere near as violent in their defense of them.
- Gnomes - An underground race, they live in shallow warrens in hilly lands. They are inquisitive and have a reputation for thier experimentation in both magic and scientific endeavors.
- Humans - The most versatile of the races, they have a wide variety of type. We have the Danui, who are more european in appearance, and the Utari, a shorter, most asiatic version of Humans.
- Orcs - The Orcs are more primitive culture. Nomadic by nature, they have a fierce warrior based culture that is also steeped in their brand of honor.
- Kindred Talents - If you want to play a Half-Elf or a Half-Orc, or perhaps Dwarf who is also a Half-Gnome. This is where you would look. You use Character Points to purchase the full Kindred Talents to be half a race, or you can purchase individiual traits from up to 2 different Kindred Talents to be of a more mixed background.
- 10 Cultures - These are generic cultures. They provide you with ranks in skills common to that Culture. They also provide CP & XP.
- 20 Backgrounds - These are minor skill packages that reflect the early training of the characters or perhaps professions that they held at one time or another; things like Farmer, Guard, Sentry, Military Recruit, etc. Like the other packages, they provide CP & XP to the character.
- 12 Taining Paths (3 each of Casters, Fighters, Adepts, and Hybrids)
- Casters - This class is comprised of Pure Spell Users. They focus solely on magic use.
- Cleric - These spell users of the Divine School of Magic focus on worship and promoting the values and agendas of their deities. Novus 2e gives the generic spell list, which is for the primary deity of Anwyn, and then in the Running Novus chapter, we give alternative Spell Lists for 3 other deities from Anwyn.
- Magician - Practitioners of High Magic, Magicians (often simply called Mages) are your standard and most prolific type of magic user.
- Mystic - These spell user focus their magic inwards. They are of the School of Mysticism and focus on spells of the mind and body.
- Fighters - Those who follow these paths focus on their skill at arms.
- Archer - Specialists in the use of ranges weapons.
- Warder - Weapon and Shield combo specialist.
- Warrior - A master at arms, versed in multiple type of weapons
- Adepts - Those of this class focus on the use of skills. Combat is often a distant second to the other skills that these Training Paths follow
- Bounty Hunter - These guys hunt other sentient beings for a living, for profit. They are skills in tracking and capturing others.
- Rogue - The Rogue is a bit of a jack of all trades when it comes to skill use. They are part outdoorsman, part highwayman or thief. They can help round out any party.
- Scout - Scouts are masters of wilderness exploration. They are information gatherers, focuses on getting there, finding out what is there, and getting back, all preferably without combat of any type. They operate best in wilderness environments.
- Hybrids - Those of this class tend to mix spell casting with skill at arms. Some even have quasi-magical abilities rather than spells. Essentially any Training Path that is not a Pure Spell User, or Pure Arms User, or a Pure Skill User would fall into this category.
- Elemental Warrior (Stormgard) - The Stormgard channel magical energies into their weapons, electrifying them and making them much more dangerous overall. There are rumors of Elemental Warriors utilizing different elements.
- Monk - Monks combine the School of Mysticism and unarmed combat to be formidable combatants.
- Ranger - Students of the Natural School of Magic and of wilderness protection and survival. Rangers protect the wilderness.
- 21 Primary skills (& 14 Special Skills) -
- Primary Skills
- Base Skills - These are simple skills. Each rank gives a +1 to using the skill in all its uses.
- Specialty Skills - These are more focused skills, where skill in a single Specialty does not translate into any skill in other Specialties.
- Proficiency Skills -- When you gain one of these skills, you pick a Proficiency. You get your full bonus in this skill. Any other possible Proficiencies may be used with a negative modifier. However, you can use one of the Special Skills to increase the amount of skill bonus that can be used with a given proficiency.
- Special Skills - These are skills that do not work as other skills do. For example, you have the Armor skill where each time you learn it, you know one type of armor, or the Physical Training skill which grants a bonus to Vitality (hit points), and the Proficiency skills, which increase how much of your skill bonus you can use with a given Proficiency.
- 99 Background Options (24 Disadvantages & 75 Gifts) - Every character gets a number of Option Points to spend on acquiring Background Options.
- Disadvantages - These are detrimental things that can affect your character. You can purchase one or two of these to gain additional Option Points. A Disadvantage that does not
- Gifts - Most Gifts costs 2 Option Points to acquire. Some cost more. A couple of races have what are known as Favored Options, which only cost 1 OP for those specific Options
- 70 Spells (customizable spells & 18 Cantrips)
- Cantrips - tiny spells that are the easiest to cast and have no casting options.
- Spells - Divided into Universal Spells that anybody can learn and specific Schools of Magic that can normally only be learned by those from those Schools.
- 31 Monsters (using condensed stat blocks)
- A selection of monsters that can be used to make intersting adventures....
