Disclosure: it does not sell amazingly well, but the proviso there is that we have been increasingly delinquent in getting it into distribution and on the stores of FLGS.
Ancient History (the concept, not the user): I did a print run of 250 copies for Origins 2013, ignorant of the fact that that was the very number of Shadowrun 5th Edition that Catalyst was bringing to the same convention (I did not know the smallness of the pond in which I sat).
Spread between my own "warehouse" (which is in my one-floor, one-bedroom apartment, lest anyone accidentally mistake me for even upper middle class) and my distributor's warehouse, I actually still have 79 of those copies STILL unsold now, three years and six months later. And I haven't been above just giving away hardback copies when the need takes me, either. Or trading with other creators. Or giving away review copies. Etcetera.
Catalysyt had sold out of their Limited Edition of SR5 before Origins 2013 was even over.
Personally, I think this has less to do with the OBJECTIVE QUALITY of the products and more to do with the disparity between the number of people anticipating SR5 (everyone at the con) and the number of people who had even heard of my game (literally no one, because I did literally no marketing).
Ancient History (the concept, not the user): I did a print run of 250 copies for Origins 2013, ignorant of the fact that that was the very number of Shadowrun 5th Edition that Catalyst was bringing to the same convention (I did not know the smallness of the pond in which I sat).
Spread between my own "warehouse" (which is in my one-floor, one-bedroom apartment, lest anyone accidentally mistake me for even upper middle class) and my distributor's warehouse, I actually still have 79 of those copies STILL unsold now, three years and six months later. And I haven't been above just giving away hardback copies when the need takes me, either. Or trading with other creators. Or giving away review copies. Etcetera.
Catalysyt had sold out of their Limited Edition of SR5 before Origins 2013 was even over.
Personally, I think this has less to do with the OBJECTIVE QUALITY of the products and more to do with the disparity between the number of people anticipating SR5 (everyone at the con) and the number of people who had even heard of my game (literally no one, because I did literally no marketing).
"Like GURPs?" I often hear.
No, it's not like GURPS or HERO. It's not Generic or Universal. It's different from GURPS or HERO in that it's not trying to be able to do everything for everybody. It's different from Eclipse Phase and Traveller in that it does not have a setting wedded (welded?) to its mechanics.
Here's some background on the mechanics: it uses d6 dice pools equal to your relevant skill or attribute (NOT attribute plus skill). As a rule, a 5 or higher is a hit. The more dice you have, the better chance you have of rolling hits.
Its one "big innovation" over SR3 and SR4 is that it splits the difference between them by using what I call 'fixed, flexible' target numbers. Basically, your target number can vary, but only in the range of four through six. Some tasks, like dodging a punch, are 'Easy', which means that '4s count too'. Some tasks, like dodging automatic weapons fire, are 'Hard', which means that 'only 6s count'. I think that's all the background you need.
(To me, having a target number that can move, but only rarely and within a limited range, is the sweet spot between SR3 and SR4. That's why SPLINTER and my old, obsolete storygame Anathema were built with a similar core mechanic.)
Final Tangent: Initiative works MUCH more like SR3 than SR4. Only instead of having a static number (like -10) you subtract from Initiative Scores between initiative passes, the number that's subtracted can vary. Let's say you're using Singularity to play Star Trek. Well, no one's a cyborg except maybe Data, so everyone gets one Initiative Pass and that's that, just like in good old D&D 3.X.
Let's say you're using Singularity to play something more like Shadowrun. Well then, any given cyborg's Nerve Augmentation might give them a ReAct value anywhere from nothing (one Initiative Pass per turn) through -20 to -10. Initiative is, as a rule, rolled on about somewhere between 6 and 14 dice and totalled. A 'borg with ReAct -20 (Nerve Augmentation Tier 2 or Tier 3) subtracts -20 from their Initiative between Initiative Passes, and therefore will usually get one or two ReActs (extra actions) per turn. A 'borg with ReAct -10 (Nerve Augmentation Tier 4) on the other hand subtracts only -10 from their Initiative between Initiative Passes, and therefore could easily get four or five ReActs (extra actions) per turn.
That wasn't a comprehensive explanation of our Singularity's initiative system, but it wasn't really meant to be, so if you've never played SR3 you're probably left scratching your head.
It's worth mentioning, even as a tangent within a 'tangent, that the 'ware that gets you a React Value does not ALSO increase your Initiative dice, a la Shadowrun.
Anyway, for some people, this might be too "fiddly bits". Personally, we've found it to be just right.
Its one "big innovation" over SR3 and SR4 is that it splits the difference between them by using what I call 'fixed, flexible' target numbers. Basically, your target number can vary, but only in the range of four through six. Some tasks, like dodging a punch, are 'Easy', which means that '4s count too'. Some tasks, like dodging automatic weapons fire, are 'Hard', which means that 'only 6s count'. I think that's all the background you need.
(To me, having a target number that can move, but only rarely and within a limited range, is the sweet spot between SR3 and SR4. That's why SPLINTER and my old, obsolete storygame Anathema were built with a similar core mechanic.)
Final Tangent: Initiative works MUCH more like SR3 than SR4. Only instead of having a static number (like -10) you subtract from Initiative Scores between initiative passes, the number that's subtracted can vary. Let's say you're using Singularity to play Star Trek. Well, no one's a cyborg except maybe Data, so everyone gets one Initiative Pass and that's that, just like in good old D&D 3.X.
Let's say you're using Singularity to play something more like Shadowrun. Well then, any given cyborg's Nerve Augmentation might give them a ReAct value anywhere from nothing (one Initiative Pass per turn) through -20 to -10. Initiative is, as a rule, rolled on about somewhere between 6 and 14 dice and totalled. A 'borg with ReAct -20 (Nerve Augmentation Tier 2 or Tier 3) subtracts -20 from their Initiative between Initiative Passes, and therefore will usually get one or two ReActs (extra actions) per turn. A 'borg with ReAct -10 (Nerve Augmentation Tier 4) on the other hand subtracts only -10 from their Initiative between Initiative Passes, and therefore could easily get four or five ReActs (extra actions) per turn.
That wasn't a comprehensive explanation of our Singularity's initiative system, but it wasn't really meant to be, so if you've never played SR3 you're probably left scratching your head.
It's worth mentioning, even as a tangent within a 'tangent, that the 'ware that gets you a React Value does not ALSO increase your Initiative dice, a la Shadowrun.
Anyway, for some people, this might be too "fiddly bits". Personally, we've found it to be just right.
Infowar includes advanced rules for hacking. My design goals for those rules was to let Hackers do more cool shit in a way that was less MTP than in Core, but still very quick to resolve.
/Exposition
I wanted a little feedback on dese rules from youse guys if that's okay. It's the Den, so I know you can't be gentle, but if you could try to be whatever the Den equivalent of gentle is, that would be appreciate.
