The second development diary for Mysteries & Perils. I promise to keep it more to the point this time.
The world now speaks two languages
M&P now runs entirely in Portuguese and in English. The door is open for adventurers from other countries to share in this passion.
Twenty conditions that can fell a hero, or wreck the enemy
I've now added 20 conditions from the core 2024 rules, some of them adapted, since we don't have a grid and movement like a tabletop RPG. We brought in the ones that wear you down bit by bit (bleeding, burning); the ones that steal the senses (blinded, deafened, silenced); the ones that bind or drop the body (paralyzed, petrified, frozen, stunned, incapacitated, prone, restrained, asleep, unconscious, poisoned); the ones that bend the mind and the will (charmed, frightened, exhausted); the one that hides in the shadows (invisible); and the one no one wants to face: dead. Each got its own art on screen, so at a glance you know what has taken hold of you, and of the enemy in front of you.
The dark can kill again
Now darkness is true darkness. Species that can't see in the dark need a lit torch to make out a scene in total blackness. Those who carry darkvision move through the world in black and white, and light a torch only when they want to give things their color back. Light became a precious resource, and darkness a threat that charges a heavy toll. Spend too long in absolute blackness and a fight comes for you, with every turn at automatic disadvantage.
One hundred and ninety-six new items in the backpack
196 items have arrived, each with its own description and a real function, none of them mere ornament. We're testing them one by one, by hand, to make sure every piece does what it promises (23 have passed already; the rest await their turn). It's painstaking work to guarantee there are no bugs, and it's what separates a solid game from a hollow trinket.
The Fighter class is complete!!!
We reviewed the entire Fighter class, from the first level to the last, and it performs just as it should: Second Wind, Action Surge, Extra Attack, the Champion. It's ready to crush your enemies with brute force.
The rules, and why only part of them
The system is born from the 2024 5th edition, but there's no sense in using all of it, for two reasons. Wizards, the owner of the system, only officially grants a slice of the rules to those who build games on it as an add-on supplement, a slice that, as it happens, is more than enough. And M&P is a journey you take alone (a solo gamebook), not a group table, so many rules meant for the tabletop (the step across the grid, the exact distance, the positioning) lose their meaning here. I take that gladly: I weigh every detail so the adventure feels alive and fun, far from chaining the player to the cold letter of the rule. I'm after immersion, and you'll feel it.
In the foundations of combat
Not everything shows on screen, but you feel it. We reordered the innards of the combat engine so it stands firm and grows faster; we refined how each item is recognized and how it behaves; we made area damage reach exactly those within its radius; and we sharpened how the enemies' saving throws are rolled. The result is a fairer, more dynamic, more complete fight.
It's been a lot since the last diary, and every one of these steps moves forward only because there are people following the build on the waitlist, and the early supporters too. If you want to see Mysteries & Perils grow faster, join the waitlist and stick around, because the next diary won't be long.
May the dice roll in your favor. By Mario, creator of Mysteries & Perils.
