Version 0.4 is Here!

Hi all!

After much too long of a revision cycle, I'm pleased to say LEVIATHAN version 0.4 is available for public viewing! I kind of fell down a rabbit hole with this one - nearly every mechanic or system has been supplemented, revised, or torn out and replaced entirely.

The main thrust of my revisions have been to streamline a lot of 'traditional' mechanics in TTRPGs down to their most skeletal forms, then bulk them out in ways that feel interesting or impactful. The classic 'grid' combat space has been replaced with a more broad-strokes 'zone' system that places a greater emphasis on territory control and threat management, and the health/damage system has been simplified massively to place more emphasis on tactical decisions than just selecting the options that give the highest damage output.

Downstream of these changes has been a pretty full reworking of every other element, from character creation to the equipment rules. The Traits that form the main element of player characters have largely been rewritten to hopefully be a little more dynamic, as has the core action economy. The new Stamina system adds more attrition to the core gameplay loop, while also introducing more pressure to manage resources in combat.

For this release, I've also included two quick-reference documents for the primary player-facing rules for clarity and ease of play.

The plan for v0.5 will mostly be fine-tuning and packing more information into the GM toolkit, and most of this will come from playtesting. My co-writer and I are also working on building out the LEVIATHAN bible setting, and I'm excited to start revealing it as we get closer to final release!

Thanks everyone,

Max