0155 - The Beta Drop

 Oh joyous day that we have all been waiting for has come, the drop of the Beta Version. The drop consisted of the Player's Handbook and the Referee's Manual only but there was the promise of more to come. To the team at Free League, thank you again for your hard work and dedication to the game. It is appreciated.

 

Today, just a short review of the changes and new rules I found while reading the Beta. I am not going to go through every word and paragraph, comparing it to the Alpha, but only talk about the major things that caught my eye. Feel free to skip the post if you want, you won't miss any of the story if you do.

 

Player's Handbook

I know you always want to start off with something positive but I need to get this one out: to the FL team, my PDFs open with the two-page view as standard. Although this is nice eye-candy and I love the art, it is easier to read in the single-page view for smaller monitors. This is something which I have to change manually each time before using the manual. Maybe we could make this the default.

 

• Pg. 21 - Nice example of the filled character sheet. I was not really certain how the encumbrance system was meant to work on the standard character sheet but now I know.
• Pg. 40-41 - Finally the rules for experience! Yes! The team has been through a lot lately and I had avoided making up rules on experience, waiting instead to see what the team came up with and I am not disappointed. The rules are simple and can be easily implemented without disrupting the game.  You can raise your CUF and your unit morale may change over time, which can be a good thing but it may also go down, which is not good. A note to the FL team, the fifth star in the section should probably be removed. It is the point where you talk about the things that can reduce the Unit Morale. 
• I like the communal discussion and decision regarding the experience points, as this fosters the group mentality and rewards characters that actually make the effort to support the group with experience. The rules of changing the morale code or gaining a new buddy are interesting but I think characters should really consider their actions before being forced to break their morale code or leave their buddy out to dry. Still, nice touch.

• Pg. 56-57 - New actions dealing with cover but more on that later. Also a new terrain type (Indoors) added to the list. Nice addition.
• Pg. 58 - Expanded rules on cover were added, with the differentiation between Full and Partial covers. Actions allow you to move from one type to the other but also to pop-up, fire off a couple of rounds, and drop back into cover. Cover behind low barriers is also possible. Very happy with this. Tokens are being added apparently to represent the type of cover, which is a nice touch.
• Pg. 60 - Nice spotlight diagram and some small clarifications on smoke. Here also a token seems to be in the making.
• Pg. 63 - Revised rules on Ammo Dice. FL team, you are on target and I like the change: "You can add as many ammo dice to your attack as you like, from zero up to the rate of fire (RoF) rating of your weapon." This change, beyond all others, gets the stamp of approval. FL Team, Griff thanks you from the bottom of his ammo pouch. Successes can either be used to increase the damage (like successes from base die) or cause another hit.

• Pg. 64-64 - New rules on pushing the roll and jamming. Basically, you weapon can jam on a mishap while pushing the roll. I think that is OK; if you play it safe, your weapon will jam less. If you go "spray and pray" on everything and hose it until the pieces stop twitching, you could have a problem. I think what may cause discussion is the rule "When pushing, each 1 on a base die or an ammo die will reduce the reliability rating of the weapon by 1. Any rolled in the initial roll (before pushing) are also counted." What does that mean practically,? Two ones, two steps of reliability lost. This will rapidly reduce the reliability of weapons. Interested to see how this affect combats but some may take issue with it (and would be surprised if no one  did ;-) ).

• Pg. 65 - Expanded rules for quick shots. Pistols and SMGs, being small, handy weapons, have less of a negative modifier on quick shots. Like that one. Also a nice rule on firing into close combat with an active enemy. Here also, pistols and submachines are treated better than assault rifles. Like this too.
• Pg. 67-68 - Here also, new tokens for Overwatch, Suppression and Mines. More eye-candy. Thanks for that.

• Pg. 70 - Hand grenades now use Mobility instead of Heavy Weapons. One of the skills that my guys do not have a lot of. Going to be interesting, just not sure of the motivation for the change.

• Pg. 72 - New Rules for ATGMs. Interesting addition that better reflects how the work. Like that one.
• Pg. 73 - Armor and now cover are reduced by penetration but this is no longer automatic. Roll a D6 and on a 6, the level is reduced by one. Now you vest may take several hits before looking like Swiss Cheese.
• Pg. 79 - More eye candy and expanded rules on Fire and Chemical Weapons. Thumbs up.
• Pg. 132-135 - Yes, just simply yes. Rules for base building are now in the Player's Handbook. Finally the team can start building a home. I was REALLY looking forward to this and am not disappointed. Thank you FL!!
• Pg. 146 - Hunting rules have been simplified and the amount of rations provided by hunting have been increased. This is an improvement. I come from Maine and we have moose and they do provide a LOT of meat and I think 6 rations was slightly less than realistic.

 

Referee's Manual

Not going to talk about the back story. Being burned in effigy is not something I am looking forward to and here again, I say, to each his own. If you do not like it, don't use it.

 

• Pg. 12-1,20-21- Nice eye candy with the orders of battle in Poland and Sweden. It makes everything a bit more rounded.
• Pg. 34-35 - Really nice picture for the encounters section. That would be a great background for the referee's screen. Just saying
• Pg. 54-55 - Again here is another really great piece of artwork.
• Pg. 56-67 - More detailed information on the factions and their current goals and capabilities.
• Pg. 68-69 - Another great piece of artwork. We need more of this and maybe some posters. ;-)
• Pg. 70-98 - Three additional scenario sites. All done very well and something we should have more of in the future.
• Pg. 99-101 - Random scenario site generator. Nice addition for the GM pressed for time or a solo roleplayer.
• Pg. 102-106 - Solo roleplay rules. Yes, it was worth the wait. I like the idea and the simplicity and I am looking forward to trying them out. I am not sure if I will throw out my home-brew for this but it is a great leap in the right direction. This can also be used by "normal" groups as an inspirational tool. Try it and see how it fits into your campaign.
• Pg. 107-110 - Conversion rules from older T2K Versions. I am so glad that I was not completely off the ball when converting my team and equipment for the V2.2. Good stuff and I will definitely be using these later. That does not mean that I am NOT looking forward to more gear but this will make using the older Modules easier. Thanks for that.

 

All-in-all, very happy with the beta. There may be more points that come up later as I continue to play and use the rules more actively, but a great improvement over the Alpha, although I was mostly happy with that one too. Free League is moving in the right direction and I am hoping to see some more drops in the future and definitely want to see the VTT integration when it comes out (Roll20, Roll20, Roll20… just keep saying it like a mantra).