Kobold Press has revealed its plans for Project Black Flag, the code name for its effort to update and streamline a core fantasy RPG based on 5E Dungeons & Dragons SRD 5.1. The second design diary from Senior Game Designer, Celeste Conowitch, details what the team learned from Playtest Packet #1 and what they want to achieve with Playtest Packet #2.
Conowitch shared that the team had received feedback from gamers that some lineage and heritage options seemed overpowered or underpowered, and as a result, they would be rebalancing playtest options. In addition, players wanted heritage options presented differently, and the team would use this feedback to determine how information should appear in the next version of lineage/heritage options.
Another significant change is the removal of PC alignment as a core element of character creation. Players will no longer need to choose between ability score increases and choosing a talent, and some talent options will be rebalanced.
The new Playtest Packet #2 also introduces a new mechanic to replace 5E inspiration, called Luck. Luck allows players to fail forward and track and maintain luck without GM intervention, while also being a reward-based system.
The design diary also highlights changes made to the fighter and wizard classes. Fighters now have Last Stand instead of Second Wind and Martial Action instead of Fighting Style. They also have Disciplines instead of Martial Archetypes, with Improvement replacing Ability Score Improvement. Wizards no longer have any weapon proficiencies, and their spells are now drawn from the Arcane Circle spell list.
Kobold Press aims to bridge the power gap between martials and magic-users by working on a catalogue of killer Martial Talents, re-examining the way base weapons, equipment, and armor work, and making martials the champs of the bonus action.
Project Black Flag maintains compatibility with the 5E products already available and expands upon them, with new books coming to Kickstarter in 2023. The team plans to keep 5E products vibrant and available, both in print and on their VTT partner platforms.