MEST 2.0 :: Recent updates

NOTES: My sinus issues have been kicking my butt, and my new job has me wishing for more free-time. I'm finally getting my personal life managed a bit better. I'm no longer crashing into sleep after I get home. Anyhow, I've resumed my efforts on crafting the MEST 2.0 rules a bit better.

version 2.29 as of 2015.12.18

Overview

1. Identified Go Points and Group Actions as Advanced Game rules.
2. Identified Indirect Range Attack as Advanced Game rules
3. Identified Deflect, ROF, and Armor Rating traits as charted stats for the Armor and Weapons lists. These are now expressed just like the Impact, Accuracy, and Damage stats.
4. Added new condition "Snap" for when performing Tests during a React; penalty is -1 Wild die.
5. Added new condition "ROF" for when using ROF during a React; penalty is to lose 1 ROF point.
6. Allow Attributes to be dashed; these are essentially a value of zero but the character loses either one or both Base dice when performing tests if the attribute is a single (-) or double (=) dashed value.
7. Put a lot of effort into clarifying how LOS and how Cover is determined.
8. Specify that Cover can be "Intervening Cover", "Direct Cover", as well as "Hard Cover". This improves the survival chances of targets in properly defended positions.
9. Require that a character performing an Initiative Test should have at least half of its forces within LOS.

Actions

1. Introduce a new Simple Action "Swap" to allow models to switch position within congested areas such as corridors and rooms.
2. Allow Concentrate to apply to any Test a player desires.
3. Improve Concentrate to double the Visibility OR to better enforce realistic use of range.
4. Introduce a new Complex Action "Overreach" to allow models to attack over walls, through windows, and past other models. "Overreach" may also be used by passive characters to provide Assist and Outnumber bonuses at reduced benefit.
5. Put a lot of effort to clarify Group Actions, especially in regards to the Group Move and the Group Volley actions.
6. Put a lot of effort to clarify use Reacts. Again.
7. Clarify use of "Charge" and "Impetus".
8. Introduce "Running before Jumping" to allow models to improve their distance crossed when jumping after running.
9. Put a lot of effort to clarify the use of Indirect Range Attacks.
10. Cleaned-up Bonus Action wording where necessary.
11. Put a lot of effort to clarify Passive Player Options.
12. Introduced new Passive Player Option "Defend".
13. Clarified and worded more strongly the difference between Wound Damage and Stun Damage.
14. Clarified and worded more strongly the Compulsory Actions and Morale status section.

Advanced Rules

1. Revised the Fire-lane rules in the Advance Game section to be a bit more clear and to cover the 60-degree arc facing the Fire-lane marker. This is an improvement over the original phrasing which limited it to a narrow lane.
2. Put a lot of effort to correctly word the Custom Archetypes rules to show its use, its expressiveness, and its impacts to the game.

Traits

1. Clarify the Traits overview to show how traits stack when purchased multiple times.
2. Updated trait [Laden X] to be more effective and clear.
3. Updated trait AoE X to be more effective and clear. Removed a confusing clause in regards to Stun Damage. AoE X now has a base "kill radius" of X MU, and a "casualty radius" of double that.
4. Tweaked trait Grit X by allowing it to be taken more than once.
5. Adjusted phrasing on trait Leadership X to be more clear when dealing with Group Actions.
6. Adjusted phrasing on trait Pack Mentality to be more clear when dealing with Group Actions.
7. Tweaked trait Perimiter to allow it to work properly with Overreach. It is also now available for assignment directly to characters instead of being limited to weapons like the Spear.
8. Clarified the spell Beckon X.

Archetypes

1. Adjusted the Common Archetypes chart tremendously for Dog (War), Fiend, Predator, and Monster.  For example, each of those now have lower values for INT and RCA. Dog (War) and Fiend actually have dashed (-) attribute values for both.
2. Added to the bottom of the Common Archetypes chart some variations to allow certain archetypes to pick up the Leadership or Fight traits for a small BP cost adjustment.
3. Put a lot of effort to capture "design by effect" for Stick of Dynamite and Fragmentation Grenade. The biggest change is that Stick of Dynamite now has high Impact plus the Stun trait. Both munitions now have the [Discard] trait which brings their BP values down just a bit.
4. The Custom Archetypes build chart now supports "Finishing Upgrades", introduction of the "Perimeter" trait, and the relaxing of the Grit trait to allow stacked purchases.

Follow-up

I'm going to try to create some entries for the really interesting varieties of tactical situations which arise in Close Combat as a result of the introduction of the Overreach feature, combined with Reach, and Perimeter. Defend and Counter-strike are even more interesting now with how they work together with Fight.

Additionally, I'm dying to craft a nice tutorial on designing your own faction using the really nice Custom Archetypes rules.  It will be a good start on how to document that for within the MEST rules themselves.