I read somewhere that you shouldn't comment on the amount of time between your posts, especially when it's lengthy because it makes your audience notice more, and that posting good content frequently is key to pleasing your audience.
I have but one retort: My last post was goddamn May 7th, WELL over a month ago. And I'm pretty sure that constitutes some cardinal sin of blogging.
In that time, I have been building the Arena book, and making it more useful to even non-pvp players. That said, its nowhere near ready to be posted anywhere. So, in the mean time I've been collecting a lot of insights on character creation, specifically the available meta-abilities (Martial and magical). Which has led me to come up with a rather large quantity of new ones.
New Meta-Magic Abilities
Blade is the only shape meta without a damage bonus. Or is it? Line your opponents up properly and get ready to cast the highest damage spell in the game.
Pillar is meant to be a big, stompy type of spell. costs a lot of AP and a lot of mana, but its hurts and it hurts BAD.
Think of Strike like a "multi-blast" choose exactly the squares you want and don't get your friends hurt in the process. Particularly useful for the "careful" mage.
For control players, there's nothing quite like the feeling of having your opponent trapped in a box with no way out and the ability to deny his every move. Control players: meet Wreath.
For aggro players, there's nothing quite like the feeling of going all-in and wrecking someone with complete disregard for life and limb. Aggro players: meet Hungering.
New Meta-Martial Abilities
I feel that martial got a bit left behind initially, and always has been really. Originally I didn't want martial players to get meta-martial unlocks at level 1. But, I've seen the folly of my ways and buffed the shit out of martial characters.
A meta-martial with a 50xp progression makes it extremely easy to get those unlocks early on, and since it only heals you once a turn I dont feel its partiularly broken.
Another meta-martial with a 50xp progression and a once-a-turn effect. Mobility will be fun for wild strikers, chargers, and really any melee. I could see this becoming a key maneuver in all melee players arsenal.
On the flip-side of Respite is tenacity. Works the same way as Respite does, but for defensive maneuvers. This meta-martial is key for heavily defensive players as it decreases the gap between damage intake and mitigation. But, it does so in an active way that doesn't lock out a lot of weapons and abilities from being able to damage you.
Are you one of those players that likes having the ability to smirk across the table and say "nope" to your enemies alpha strike? Well I am. And if I ever make a defensive character I'll be picking this up early and often. The ability to normalize and regulate damage intake is a key factor in playing an effective defensive character.
Annihilator exists for two reasons: To add another cheap offensive meta for metamartial unlocks. And, to give melee more aggro viability. I think more meta-martials like this one will show up, likely more expensive and with slightly different effects.
