An Early Look at Theory: Arena

I have added the Theory Arena document to the Theory Docs. The work is far from finished, but I felt that I posted too much about it and not actually delivered anything. For the most part, the first two chapters (general/game modes, and premade characters) are complete. I expect to expand on terminology as questions and comments come in. The chapter that will see the most expansion will be Maps. Currently there is only one: Crossfire. but there are plenty more in the works. while we're here, lets talk about crossfire

The basic premise is simple: Be the last man left alive. But then i throw you a curve ball: Everyone re-spawns  So, how exactly are you to be the last man left alive in a map where everyone re-spawns? By using the literal curve-ball. Each player is assigned a colored section of the map, every 3 rounds the ball will explode. If the ball explodes in the same section 3 times (not necessarily consecutively), the section falls out into a pit and the player will no longer re-spawn. While I could go into a meta-game discussion about how to win or take the upper hand in this one, I could also tell you that there MIGHT JUST BE HINTS IN THE META-GAME ANALYSIS OFFERED IN THE BOOK. But what are the chances of that actually happening?

Oh, and i almost forgot..

Another Iamevo wallpaper...

 Enjoy!

More new abilities

I've simplified metamorphosis to reflect both what is actually happening and the speed at which it is happening. Before, you would take "non actions" to turn your health into mana and cast a spell. This way you can passively cast spells from your health pool, which can also add an element of surprise to combat when your opponent expects that your out of mana.

I've also added a new school of telekinesis: Mindcrush. I had always admired the ability to think "I really don't want that guy to have a brain anymore" really hard. And then making it happen and watching them fall to the ground bleeding from the nose.

The damage on this one is low, but it ignores damage reduction, making it extremely powerful against heavily defensive enemies. It also fills another role I've always greatly admired: The ability to take your opponents mind and force it to do your will.

Insta-kills are nice too if you can pull them off.

Defensive martial characters got a new ability too: Sanctuary

Defending yourself against an incoming foe is nice when you know you can. But when you're outmatched you need a contingency plan, and that plan is sanctuary.

Magic characters got a group of new abilities called spelltricks, one for each school. The intention with these was that they could be use offensively or defensively on your own spells and on those of others. I could see future expansions on the mage archetypes having TONS of these.

In the up-and-coming side of the project, I am still working to add more lore as well as a new marskman archetype based around flamethrowers, grenades, and wreckless abandon for ones own safety and well-being.