Basic Fantasy RPG Core Rules 4th Edition

[Solomoriah]

I've changed it to "+ fear" in the #At line, and omitted it from the Damage line. It's not an "aura" as it has no range limit... you can be out on the moor two hundred yards from the tower, see the ghost in the window and still end up running screaming into the night.

EDIT: Ghosts are complicated. I'm still working on the text, but right now I have:

No. of Attacks: 1 touch or possession + fear
Damage: 1d8 + special touch and see below

There's just no compact way to explain it all, I'm afraid.

[Solomoriah]

... which of course means R118 is coming tonight. Hopefully you all will find other things that need fixing before then.

[Boggo]

thats much less confusing and complicated critters get complicated stat blocks it's how the dandruff falls.

[chiisu81]

That definitely reads better I should be able to do another pass on r117 today

[leon]

Compare the Ghost from AD&D versus the one from BECMI. The latter version makes the gaze attack explicit: the ghost can only make this attack once per round on one target. The former is more of an aura effect. I'm sure I've been making players all roll saves as soon as a ghost appears.

Making it a gaze attack nerfs the ghost somewhat. It might be nice to have it as an option. Some ghosts must turn their focus to you to cause fear. Some ghosts produce fear in a cone extending 30 feet. Some ghosts cause fear to anyone who see, even at a great distance or from behind.

[bugleyman]

Since you're going to be editing again anyway, I have a question: On Page 60, in the paragraph discussing saving throw adjustments for ability score bonuses or penalties, the first and second bullet points contain the word "always," while the third does not; is this intentional? If not, perhaps the wording could be made consistent across all three to help readers avoid drawing unintended inferences.

[Dimirag]

Although not being an attack having the fear ability expressed the same way as the salamander's heat/cold ability is the way to go.
Speaking about salamanders, should the Sand one have a "+ special" on its attack routine? It does not cause damage like other salamanders do, but the ghost's fear ability also does not cause damage and its listed (unless only damaging abilities should be listed).

I know this is deliberate, but since we are clarifying some rules...
One thing I don't like reading these attacks routines is that the use of the + without separation from the previous attacks makes it seems that those 2 attacks are linked.
Bears are one case, where they can hug as an extra attack, but Ghosts and Salamanders don't have to choose that attack.
I would separate "passive" abilities after a period.
1 bite. Heat. or 1 bite. + Heat.
For ghosts it would be: 1 touch. Fear. or 1 touch. + Fear.

[Solomoriah]

Since you're going to be editing again anyway, I have a question: On Page 60, in the paragraph discussing saving throw adjustments for ability score bonuses or penalties, the first and second bullet points contain the word "always," while the third does not; is this intentional? If not, perhaps the wording could be made consistent across all three to help readers avoid drawing unintended inferences.

I see now that "always" is unnecessary where I've used it there; I've removed both instances.

Although not being an attack having the fear ability expressed the same way as the salamander's heat/cold ability is the way to go.
Speaking about salamanders, should the Sand one have a "+ special" on its attack routine? It does not cause damage like other salamanders do, but the ghost's fear ability also does not cause damage and its listed (unless only damaging abilities should be listed).

Ack. Okay, so I've spent some time thinking about this... no, I'm not going to list it explicitly. "Fear" is a short description, easy to interpret; turning nearby stone to sand is much harder to write concisely. So it's going to say this:

No. of Attacks: 1 bite + special, see below

I know this is deliberate, but since we are clarifying some rules...
One thing I don't like reading these attacks routines is that the use of the + without separation from the previous attacks makes it seems that those 2 attacks are linked.
Bears are one case, where they can hug as an extra attack, but Ghosts and Salamanders don't have to choose that attack.
I would separate "passive" abilities after a period.
1 bite. Heat. or 1 bite. + Heat.
For ghosts it would be: 1 touch. Fear. or 1 touch. + Fear.

Ouch. First of all, I don't like how that reads; secondly, I'm not sure it's really that clear. Some monsters will always need a descriptive paragraph or a reference to the rulebook... there's no avoiding that.

[Solomoriah]

Announcing!

Core Rules 4th Edition, Release 118 -- March 24, 2023
A few more very small changes have led to one more Print Release Candidate.

https://basicfantasy.org/downloads.html#corerules4

[bugleyman]

Announcing!

Core Rules 4th Edition, Release 118 -- March 24, 2023
A few more very small changes have led to one more Print Release Candidate.

https://basicfantasy.org/downloads.html#corerules4

Nice! This is the one folks. I can feel it.