BESM Retro Second Edition RPG plus BESM 4E Expansions

A Closer Look at the BESM Denizens of the Multiverse Deck
7 months ago – Fri, Feb 09, 2024 at 12:30:57 PM

Happy Friday! Your collective support has pushed funding to within $1,000 of the next stretch goal unlocked at $40K – a free PDF of 12 bonus monsters for BESM Retro Second Edition. We greatly appreciate your pledge and thank you for sharing the campaign link with your community of gamers.

Today, we wanted to give you a closer look at an awesome accessory for your BESM Fourth Edition games: the Denizens of the Multiverse Deck. The Denizens Deck is included with all pledge tiers at $60 and above. 

Denizens of the Multiverse

As the campaign description mentions, this deck accessory contains 136 characters and monsters from across the Anime Multiverse. Each oversized 4”x6” card includes the monster or NPC image on the front and their BESM Fourth Edition stat block on the back. Below is an example of how a card looks.

The monsters and NPCs are mostly compiled from two BESM Fourth Edition expansion books published previously (which are available as add-ons to your pledge): BESM Dramatis Personae and BESM Multiverse. Rather than needing to flip back and forth between books to look up the stats for a creature or two, the Denizens Deck offers quick access to the vital game details. Furthermore, having the image on one side means these cards make convenient visual aids during gameplay – so players can see exactly what is trying to destroy their characters!

We have used these cards in our office games and have found them to be invaluable tools that keeps space behind the Game Screen uncluttered. Rather than carrying around entire books for just one or two opponents in a specific game session, it’s super easy to just grab a few cards and go.

Power Levels

We ensured the Denizens Deck contained a wide variety of creatures and NPCs from across the entire power range, ranging from a mere 10-Point goblin from Ikaris to the 250-Point dragon empress Tojura from Bazaroth! The image below shows the breakdown of the 136 cards across the power-level spectrum.

Stats vs. Description

The Denizens Deck can be used on their own or paired with BESM game books. Each card includes a quick-reference game stat block. Players and GMs who want additional background, setting, and gameplay context can find additional reference materials in their game books – perhaps not necessary for an encounter, but the card and book products work well together as a team.

Inspiration from 1991

The Denizens Deck was directly inspired by a gaming tool that designer Mark MacKinnon used extensively while playing D&D in university: TSR’s 1991 Trading Card set for 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (pictured above). Having a deck of ready-to-go characters and monsters paired with evocative illustrations made game encounters more engaging and fun. Rather than using a smaller trading card-sized format for the Denizens Deck, though, we decided that an oversized 4”x6” card made for a better game accessory. 

Have you featured similar visual accessories in your other RPGs? How do you plan to use the BESM Denizens of the Multiverse Deck at your gaming table?

Thanks for reading about this sweet new BESM product. Have a wonderful weekend, backers!

New BESM 4E Attribute Sneak Peek and Julie Dillon Artist Spotlight
7 months ago – Wed, Feb 07, 2024 at 10:40:55 AM

Hey, backers! Funding is progressing steadily towards the next stretch goal, and we’re feeling great about all the interest in the campaign! It’s the middle of the week, so we could all use a pick-me-up, right?

How about another sneak peek into some BESM Ikaris content? Today, we’re going to reveal a fun new take on a familiar Attribute.

 Mana Flux

Cost: 10 Points/Level

This new Ikaris Attribute is a variation on Power Flux. Rather than a set pool of Flux Points that the character can always access, it provides 10 Mana Points/Level. These Mana Points function like temporary Character Points, but only provide access to an acquired Attribute for a short time (up to a maximum Level equal to their Mana Flux Attribute Level). Instant duration Attributes (Exorcism, Healing, Teleport, Weapon, etc.) expend Mana Points immediately upon their use, while ongoing Attributes activate for one minute or dramatic scene.

Mana Categories

Use of categories is also unique for this Attribute. The Mana Flux pool consists of three categories, all of which are major for purposes of the Dynamic Powers or Power Flux Attributes. Each category is either primary, secondary, or tertiary; the number of Mana Points per Level available to each category depends on its primacy. The primary category must have more Points than the secondary, which must have more than the tertiary. So primary categories provide 5-10 Mana Points/Level, secondary categories provide 1-4/Level, and tertiary categories provide 1-2/Level.

GMs can always decide how to handle character customisation. That said, the recommended major categories for Mana Flux include: Animals, Classical Elements (all four of Air, Earth, Fire, and Water), Darkness, Electricity, Health, Light, Manufacturing, Nature, Necromancy, Shapeshifting, Travel, and Weather. Any Mana Point in the classical elements category may be allocated to any one of the four listed elements, or a combination thereof, appropriate to use of an Attribute. Manufacturing can alternately be defined as alchemical transformation without the need for ingredients or potions (barring the use of Limiters).

Mana Flux Example

Kobold witch Annerre Klori has 3 Levels of Mana Flux with the Enduring Enhancement and two assignments of the Replenishment Limiter.

• Light is her primary category (5 Mana/Level)
• Nature is her secondary category (3 Mana/Level)
• Classical Elements is her tertiary category (2 Mana/Level)

With an effective Level 4 Mana Flux, Annerre has 20 Light Mana Points, 12 Nature Mana Points, and 8 Elemental Mana Points. The maximum Attribute Level she can acquire with Mana equals her Level in the Mana Flux Attribute (i.e. Level 3). With two Replenishment assignments, she regains 1 Mana Point every 5 minutes (or 12/hour), which she can use to top up any of her depleted Mana categories.

Commanding plants to entangle foes chasing her costs Annerre 4 of her Nature Mana for an entangling Weapon Attribute [Level 2 (-1); Range: 3 metres -1, Tangle -2: 10 Health]. When she decides to add a Force Field as a shield against their arrows, she can spend both Light and Elemental (Air) Mana on it since they can both generate energy shields. Creating a Level 1 (3) Force Field with the Detectable (Hearing, Magic, Sight +2) Limiter costs her 4 Mana; she chooses to apply 3 from her Light Mana and 1 from her Elemental Mana in case she needs that small tertiary pool for something else.

Artist Spotlight: Julie Dillon

Long-time BESM fans will certainly recognise the above cover illustration from BESM Retro Second Edition, since it’s the same cover as the original BESM 2E and 2E Revised. This art is one of the earliest commissioned pieces from Julie Dillon before she completed her Bachelor in Fine Art. Julie is now a highly acclaimed three-time Hugo Award-winning artist (amongst her many other awards) who has worked for massive companies like Wizards of the Coast, Simon & Schuster, Tor Books, Oxford University Press, and many more.

When compiling BESM Retro, we couldn’t pass by the opportunity to include many of Julie’s fan-favourite images from the BESM Second Edition line, including the catgirl space fighter pilot, gryphon rider, dragon warrior, moon-lit samurai, city thief, and JSDF at the gala, as well as the covers of the Game Screen, Dungeon, Character Folio, and Cute & Fuzzy [Cockfighting] Seizure Monsters. Check out a couple of her legacy images below.

Thanks again for pledging. Don’t forget to spread the word!

BESM Retro Template and Monster Sneak Peek
7 months ago – Mon, Feb 05, 2024 at 08:46:17 AM

We hope you all had a great weekend, backers! With your help, campaign funding is approaching the half way point to unlocking the $40K stretch goal of 12 bonus BESM Retro monsters.

Two of the more significant expansions in BESM Retro Second Edition compared to the BESM 2 Revised is the addition of player character templates and monster builds. Both inclusions help players and GMs jump into the game more quickly and demonstrate options how characters and creatures can be constructed using BESM’s diverse Attributes and Defects.

As a preview of what’s to come, we thought it would be a great time to unveil a sneak peek at one character template and one monster build for BESM Retro.

Template: Magical Girl/Guy

The forces of light sometimes choose the least likely candidate to be their defender. Enter the magical girl (or magical guy or magical being) – once a normal person with normal worries like snagging a romantic partner, preparing for exams, or just eating the right food. With the appearance of a strange little creature, however, everything changed. Now wielding a strange artefact that grants weird and wonderful powers, the magical girl is charged with protecting friends, family, and often the rest of humanity. Oddly, nobody seems to recognise them under their costume.

Magical Girl/Guy Template (30 Points)

➡️ Stats

Soul +3

➡️ Attributes

Animal Friendship +2, Aura of Command +3, Divine Relationship +2, Exorcism +3, Item of Power +2, Mind Shield +2, Servant (Solitary) +3, Sixth Sense (Select One) +1, Shape Change (Self) +1, Weapon Attack (15 damage; Drain Body, Selective, Spreading; Short Range, Uses Energy) +2

➡️ Defects

Easily Distracted (Select One) +1 BP, Nemesis +1 BP, Skeleton in the Closet (Secret Identity) +1 BP

Monster: Demon

Demons are the malicious servants of demon lords and evil gods. Many religions see them as fallen angels, beings cast to the mortal realm or banished to another dimension for rebellion. They may still have a role, serving as agents of punishment in the afterlife for those damned by the gods. In other religions, they are invaders seeking to destroy all of Creation. Demons take special joy in perverting all that is pure, good, and beautiful. If a young couple is in love, a demon will look for a way to turn it to selfish, harmful lust. If a guard takes pride in their role as a protector, a demon will try to twist this to arrogance and cruelty. Demons are also instruments of wanton destruction. Whether unleashed accidentally by a mortal’s act or summoned by a mad wizard, demons take great joy in smashing, maiming, and killing, spreading misery wherever they go. Demons come in many forms, from classic red humanoids with the hindquarters and horns of a goat and a pointed tail to shapeless, shifting blobs sprouting dozens of mouths and tentacles.

Demon Game Stats (70 Points)

➡️ Stats

Body 8, Mind 5, Soul 5

➡️ Derived Values

ACV 7, DCV 5, Health Points 105, Energy Points 50

➡️ Attributes

Astral Projection Level 1, Aura of Command Level 3, Combat Mastery Level 1, Damn Healthy! Level 4, Divine Relationship Level 1, Dynamic Sorcery Level 1, Features (Night Vision) Level 1, Flight Level 1, Heightened Awareness Level 2, Kensei (Judge Opponent) Level 1, Life Support Level 2, Mind Shield Level 2, Natural Weapons (Claws, Fangs) Level 2, Reincarnation Level 2, Shape Change (Self) Level 1, Sixth Sense (Magic) Level 1, Weapon Attack: Inspire Greed Level 2 (30 damage; Accurate, Drain Soul, Soul Attack; Limited Shots x2, No Damage, Short Range), Special Defence (Ageing) Level 1, Super Strength Level 2

➡️ Skills

Cultural Arts Level 2, Melee Attack Level 2, Melee Defence Level 1, Military Sciences Level 1

➡️ Defects

Magic Restriction (Agent of a Demon Lord) 1 BP

Let’s keep the momentum going to unlock those bonus BESM Retro monsters at $40K funding!