Imagine this...
You and your best friend discover a strange door that leads to a secret magical land, and shuts behind you! You’re trapped in this new world, locked inside by a magical door that keeps you from going home. As you explore this strange land of Yeld your best friend, who just turned 13, starts to act strange. His body changes, and he begins to grow fur and horns! His eyes turn completely black, and when he talks to you he speaks of deep ancient forests. He is still your friend, but Yeld has changed him. And if you can’t find a way to open the magical door and return home you know that when you turn 13 Yeld will change you to!
Every person from our world who visits Yeld will eventually become a Monster. On your 13th birthday you’ll choose a Monster Job for your character, replacing their current Job. Monster Jobs are powerful and versatile, offering your character extra Core dice and the kinds of abilities usually reserved for Monsters! Each Monster Job also comes with a cost, a drawback that will effect the way you play your character.
Taking on a Monster Job is a way to show that your character is growing and changing. Becoming a Monster can be devastating and tragic, or it can be liberating and empowering. Just because your body changes doesn’t mean you’re not still yourself on the inside. It will be up to you to decide how your character lives as a monster. Will they become a villain or a hero? Will they fall into despair or embrace a new life?
Monsters have power that regular Friends can’t imagine! Each Monster Job offers unique and exciting options that allow your character to explore Yeld and face challenges in all new ways. In the first edition of Yeld we created 5 Monster Jobs for players to choose from: Vampire, Serpent Oracle, Hunter in Darkness, Deep Mage and Werewolf. In Yeld: 2nd Edition we are introducing 3 new Monster Jobs!
In the original version of the Yeld rule set we intended Monster Jobs to be a goal for experienced players, an option they would unlock after many adventures. In fact, because characters usually start their adventures between age 8 and 11, we thought MOST players would never get a chance to try a Monster Job unless they ended up playing for a very long time. However, as more and more people began to play Yeld we realized that many players DO end up playing for that long! We also discovered that many players purposely choose to start at age 12 so they can quickly become a monster. We discovered you all love being monsters! And because so many of you end up as monsters we decided we needed to revisit Monster Jobs.
In Yeld: 2nd Edition we have 3 design goals for Monster Jobs:
Balance and Power: Monster Jobs were intended to be the apex of power in Yeld. But in the current version of the rules they sometimes feel underwhelming compared to all the cool things you can do with Heroic and Advanced Jobs. When you take on a Monster Job we want you to feel powerful and dangerous! For Yeld: 2nd Edition we’ve revisited each Monster Job, making adjustments to increase their power level or to redirect their capabilities in more exciting ways. For some Jobs, we’ve completely reimagined their abilities to be more thematic and interesting. Other Monsters Jobs have received a more conventional power boost. When you confront a Fairy Patrol and turn into a Werewolf we want you to feel like you’re scaring the crap out of those poor soldiers!
Versatility and Choice: So many of you have told us that Monster Jobs feel a little limited. After all, once you choose a Monster Job you’ll have it for the rest of your adventures. In our own games we’ve noticed that Monster Jobs can be a little set in their ways. For Yeld: 2nd Edition we’ve decided to give each Monster Job two new Job-specific Special dice. The goal with these new Special dice is to offer new options for players to customize their Monster characters, in ways that they previously couldn’t.
For example, the Oracle of the Serpent God’s Borrowed Time Special die allows them to gain a Banked Action (if they don’t already have one) any time they gain or lose a Core die. This opens up new build options that can take advantage of a semi-reliable source of Banked Actions!
The Hunter in Darkness’ new Hunter Special die can be added to rolls to track, follow or hunt a target. In a fight against targets you already hunted you can add this die to your interrupt rolls! This new die solidifies the Job’s role as a tracker and hunter while also offering a really valuable combat advantage!
New Jobs: The biggest change to Monster Jobs is that there's now more of them! We love all 5 of the original Monster Jobs, but 5 options is just too few. With 3 new Monster Jobs we think there’s a great option for everyone!
Root Warden: Covered in the twisted roots, the Root Warden has been charged by the Tree Prince to contain the spread of invasive Root gods across Yeld! Unlike many Monster Jobs, a Root Warden has decided their fate by taking on an honorable duty. Root Warden’s can use a wide variety of weapons and grow protective roots to keep themselves safe from attacks. The Root Warden is also the only Monster Job that you can give up!
Black Casket: Based on a popular magical item from the original Yeld rulebook, the Black Casket is a ghost trapped inside a suit of impenetrable armor. Wielding massive weapons and replacing their Tough dice with Armor dice, the Black Casket is the perfect choice for characters who want to wade deep into battle or walk the line between the real world and the Ghost World!
Magic Eater: At first glance this spell caster might seem like a completely normal mage. But the Magic Eater has been infected by the darkness of the Shadow World, and every day they need to consume spells to keep their physical shape from deteriorating. If they go without spells for too long their body dissolves into a tiny blob of shadow. As a Shadowling the Magic Eater’s hunger for spells is even more voracious. They absorb magic from all around them, always wanting more so they can cast powerful spells. With the right discipline the Magic Eater can maintain a very normal life as a spell caster. However, if they let their discipline slip they’ll be revealed as a magic hungry Shadowling. Of course, Shadowlings are so powerful that many Magic Eaters enjoy spending time in this diminutive form!
Yeld: 2nd Edition is bringing a lot of changes for Monster Jobs, making them more fun and useful whether you’re a new Rank 1 character that is just starting out or a Rank 4 veteran with 100 adventures under your belt!
The Kickstarter for Yeld: 2nd Edition begins in January! Sign up to be notified when it starts!