Lifted SitRep: Oct 2023
about 1 year ago
– Mon, Oct 23, 2023 at 01:11:35 PM
Happy Spooky October.
I've still got art outstanding and three writing pieces overdue. I've made some people changes to fix this. And that is always stinky, changing up your team. The writers and artists on this and projects like this likely have a main job and families, and the spectrum of effort is typically side gig to hobby gig. While my pay rates are better than most, the staff on this book are contractors. I can't offer up vacation days, sick days, no medical or other bennies. I also don't know what kind of obstacles and minefields they have in their lives. I know I have some; I'm betting you do too. Y'all are amazing backers -I appreciate that. Way better than I've seen in other projects.
That's my rant. Art delays are my biggest pain right now; however, it is not a project killer. I'll always downplay staffing hurdles, but catch me at a con, with a scotch and I'll rant for ya!
FWIW, I watched The Flash this weekend, and I loved it. I'm always in for alternate version stories. I talk about it in my newsletter Play.Fearless.The RPG takeaway for me is origin events as a touchstone for PCs. There's a scene in The Flash where Barry Allen(The Flash) talks about where he was when General Zod (Man of Steel) begins terraforming Earth. My GM brain lights up! Having a backstory event that PCs can say, "When X was happening I was ..." 🔥
Lifted SitRep: Aug 2023
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Aug 14, 2023 at 01:22:23 PM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Lifted SitRep: June 2023
over 1 year ago
– Sun, Jun 18, 2023 at 06:55:39 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Lifted SitRep: April 2023
over 1 year ago
– Fri, Apr 14, 2023 at 09:22:16 AM
Hey, gamers!
Backerkit is under review; smoke testing should happen over the next few days, and the gates will open!
Writing assignments are coming in for editing; I'm still looking over so much art, trying to nail down a style and aesthetic for the book's interior. It looks like the biggest adds to Cortex I'll have are for Milestones and character advancement and combat initiative mechanics. However, I am still holding out for a Pathways card deck!
I get questions about a Discord for Lifted. I'll see if the Cortex Discord will let us team-up with them and add a Lifted channel. I know some folks over there and they already have moderators in place.
You can catch me at Origins Games on Demand and at GenCon this summer. I'll have more details to post soon. I'm excited about the con season!
-Mad Jay
Lifted SitRep: Feb 2023
almost 2 years ago
– Sat, Feb 11, 2023 at 04:15:26 PM
Hello gamers and friends,
Lifted BackerKit opens VERY SOON, ideally this month. I'm doing some number crunching on stretch goals that didn't make it, hoping these can be add-ons.
Writers are writing! I'd dump the list of topics...but it's an ugly-looking list right now. The Indomitable setting takes place about 1-2 years after the Lifted Vault 01 zine. We'll see updates for:
- Peaty and his underworld fam troubles.
- X-630 and some of the other experiments from Mjollnir labs.
- The Pilot program and the Tether suits.
- The Kraken’s agenda with Atlantis breaking loose!
- The multi-dimensional Dr.Clark/R3D/Murder of Crows.
- And the free city of Rio.
I've been playtesting a new initiative/combat mechanic. I'm collapsing initiative, the ordering of actions into the action roll. I intend for this to increase player engagement and tension. It looks like this:
1. Everyone declares actions for the turn. No order, just an open conversation until everyone is happy with their declarations.
Logan: "I leap out at Creed with my claws out"
Kitty: "I'm phasing Sean and me through the floor and out of the room"
Creed: "heh, I'm snapping Sean's neck"
2. Assemble dice pools for the declared actions, and everyone rolls together.
3. Actions happen in order of a pool's value. Character targets have options to abort their actions for full defense, or keep their declared action and dice, leaving it up to passive/partial defense to save them.
It's close but not perfect yet. We play on.
See ya next month!
