A Sundered World: T'pual Preview (Plus More Art)

The beta pdf of A Sundered World is now in the hands of the backers, so the last thing on the docket is waiting for the last bits of feedback to come in, and wrapping up the cover (which I finally decided on a few days ago). In the meantime, I'm going to show off more art and talk about one of the races I haven't really talked about: the t'pual.

I don't know what the t'pual originally looked like, or if it they ever had bodies (that could be a question that players or GMs can answer for their individual campaigns), but what is known is that before the Sundering they were captured and harvested by the thulid as a kind of food source.

The events of the Sundering freed them, and also provided them with a (new?) means to defend themselves: raw, astral essence. The t'pual are basically psychic networks that use astral essence to create "shells". They can temporarily reshape these bodies, but astral resonance makes humanoid forms easier to maintain.

Their starting move makes it clear that you don't need to eat, sleep, or breathe, because you have no physical body. Also, when you run out of hit points your form dissipates, but you can rebuild it over time. As with our mummy class, it's difficult to fully "kill" you (though I'd definitely say it's easier than with the mummy), but you have no idea how long it will take, what you will lose, and if any effects will carry over.

One way A Sundered World differs from Dungeon World is that races have their own sets of moves, both Advanced and in some cases Starting. Think of it like a compendium class, but you gotta belong to a certain race (though the human race can pick up a move from cambion and elf), and if you do you automatically qualify for it. I could also see them serving as the foundation for developing the race into its own class (so you can just play an ishim, kobold, etc).

In the t'pual's case, when you level up, instead of choosing from your class, you can choose to instead make it easier for you to shape things out of astral stuff, force your way into another creature's mind to learn/steal information, quickly and easily reshape your body into pretty much anything you want, harm thinking creatures with your touch, and so on.

Related, another difference is that Names are moved to the race, each race has their own set of Looks (which you can mix and match with the class's Looks), and, similar to our latest series of homebrew classes, there is a series of Questions to ask yourself when choosing the race (classes also have Questions).

As an added bonus, here's an ishim battlemind:

Announcements

The Mummy is the last class in our Trick-or-Treat sale this year. Until November 1st you can get it at 31% off!

The Monk is now available. It's a very flexible class, crammed with nearly thirty advanced moves (plus all the other extra content that we're known for), so we made another tweak to our character sheet layout in order to make it easier to remember what stance is active, and what it does.

Grave Goods is the latest magic item compilation in our 10+ Treasures line. If you want nearly 30 undead-themed magic items, some monsters, and advice on how to make your own, pick it up!

Lichfield is available for public consumption. If you want a concise adventure with a Silent Hill feel, be sure to check it out! Primordial Machine is also out, so if you want to catch a glimpse of A Sundered World, now's your chance! Finally, we've updated If These Stones Could Scream.