Yeld 2nd Edition “Patch Notes”

The new edition of Yeld is coming to Kickstarter this week! Yeld:2nd Edition brings a huge number of significant changes and revisions, quality of life improvements and new content to our game!

We've prepared this set of "Patch Notes" so you know what to expect in the new book!  Here’s a list of changes and additions, both major and minor, in Yeld: 2nd Edition!

Borrowed dice: We’re introducing new terminology for dice that are granted from Weapons, Spells and other sources. These are now called “Borrowed dice”. For example,  when you make an attack with an Axe, you’ll add your Core Strong dice, plus any Strong dice you’ve borrowed from the Axe you’re holding. The way this works has not changed at all, but we hope the “Borrow” language makes this rules interaction clearer for players.

Wheel Chairs: We introduced wheelchairs and other mobility devices to Yeld a few years ago in the free Magical Mobility supplement. We’re now incorporating the rules and guidelines for mobility devices into Yeld:2nd Edition. Magical Mobility, with its selection of Exotic mobility devices and unique Mentor, will remain a free download on YeldStuff.com.

Who are the Friends? We’ve included a small biography for each of the 10 canon Friends, including our newest Friend, Red Mage Nalani!

Who goes first? The Friend or Monster who took the first Action in a fight continues to go first in each Round. This was not well explained before. If this Friend or Monster is defeated or cannot take their Turn they get to choose which Friend or Monster goes first instead!

The new Action Chain: We’ve revised the Action Chain!

• Now when you are part of an Action Chain you retain your Action Chain bonus until the Action Chain breaks or the Turn ends. Choosing a Monster to take the next Turn ends the Action Chain but does not break it.
• You can add your Action Chain bonus to your Armor and Magic defense rolls now!
• Banked Actions do not contribute to the Action Chain and do not benefit from it
• Friends and Monsters always roll the current Action Chain bonus. For example, if you were the 2nd Friend in the Action Chain your bonus on your Turn would have been +1. The next Friend in the Action Chain would have a bonus of +2. And the next would have a bonus of +3. If you are attacked by a  Monster after that, you’d add the current Action chain bonus (+3) to your roll!

Fighting Ghosts: Rules for fighting Ghosts have been fleshed out and fully explained.

Hazards: Fire, Darkness and Water have now been classified as Hazards. Chills joins this list! Hazards can be caused by attacks, Special dice and spell effects. Hazards can also be applied (and combined) to the Action Board to make fights more challenging! Rules for Darkness and Water have been revised.

Challenges: Challenges are now rolled against a set difficulty number, determined by Rank and Adventure Difficulty. The Game Master has a limited capacity to increase or decrease this number. Players influence Challenge difficulty by choosing Adventure Difficulty!

Mentors: Mentors are wise and resourceful adults who are ready to help the Friends on their quest. Each Friend can choose a Mentor to study or train with, and each Mentor grants unique benefits. Friends can switch Mentors as often as they want. Yeld: 2nd Edition introduces three new Mentors designed to help new players get started. Many more Mentors can be found in other Yeld products.

Lore: We’ve written a LOT of new lore for this book. We’ve also included some revised lore from previous publications. As a result, the land of Yeld is a lot more fleshed out. In Yeld: 2nd Edition you’ll find lore on the Kingdom of Yeld, the Oathbreaker Rebellion, the Serpent God, the Plague of Undeath, Old Witches, Loh Tabeth, the Empire of the Leviathan Queen, the Arsenal of Winter and so much more (including the definitive origin of the magical land of Yeld).

Wonders of Yeld: Borrowed from the Quest expansion, Wonders of Yeld is a list of 45 random locations, landmarks, events and sights that you can incorporate into your adventures to add texture and flavor! Explore a sunken Serpent Temple, raid a Crimson Ministry hideout or meet the Greatest Frog!

Holidays: A few new ones!

Coins: Friends can now give each other Coins and buy Stuff for each other.

Inns: Staying at Inns costs Coins. If Friends don’t have Coins they can pay for their stay by doing a Chore instead. Inns also always sell normal Food items.

Memorials: Instead of sleeping at an Inn the Friends can stay at a Memorial. This includes graveyards, monuments and shrines. Sleeping at a Memorial reduces the Friend’s Restless Dead level by 1. Some Friends may gain other benefits from sleeping at a Memorial.

Job Costumes: These items now have rules!

Heroic Jobs: Several Heroic Jobs have been revised to match changes made in the various Job Guides. Magic using Jobs have had their magic rules updated to match the rules introduced in the Magical Index expansion. We’ve revised some Job’s Special dice.

Job Trainer: New lore about the Job Trainer, Jocasta Cibo! We’ve explained in detail what you gain and lose when you switch Jobs.

Advanced Jobs: Each Advanced Job has been revised with the goal of making them more fun to play and more appealing choices. We’ve expanded the description of the Quest needed to unlock each Job. We’ve also added two new Advanced Jobs, Warrant Mage and Red Mage.

• Drudge Angel: The Drudge Angel’s Job Ability has been revised, and we’ve introduced new Special dice and Wrath and Prayer spells. The Drudge Angel now is required to spend Good! or Evil! dice to cast their spells, but has a much easier time gaining these dice.
• Vampire Hunter: The Vampire Hunter’s Job Ability and Special dice have been revised.
• Tax Collector: We’ve reworked this entire Job.
• Boulder Knight: We’ve reworked the Boulder Knight’s Job Ability and added new Special dice.
• Junk Hound: We’ve revised the Junk Hound’s Modding Wrench as well as their Mods and Contraptions. We’ve also given them new Special dice and access to new Weapons.
• Ghost Keeper: We’ve revised the Ghost Keeper’s Job Ability and given them both new spells and new Special dice.
• Red Mage: The Red Mage first appeared in Patreon exclusive content. We’ve revised their Special dice and added new Special dice and spells.
• Warrant Mage: The Warrant Mage first appeared in Patreon exclusive content. We’ve revised their Special dice and added new Special dice and spells, as well as the option to use Guns.

Mastery Quests: We’ve expanded the descriptions of the actual Quests. We’ve removed the Witch Hunter Quest reward “Witch Traps”. This die still exists in the Witch Hunter Job Guide and can be taken as normal. However, because we are not including the Trap weapon type in this book we’ve decided to replace Witch Traps. Instead Witch Hunters can choose a new reward for completing their Mastery Quests. Witch Traps will appear alongside the full Traps rules in our next Core Rulebook.

Monster Jobs: Each Monster Job has been revised to be more powerful and useful, with the goal of making them more fun to play at higher Ranks. We’ve also included 3 new Monster Jobs, Magic Eater, Root Warden and Black Casket. Each Monster Job now includes a few extra Special dice.

• Oracle of the Serpent God: We’ve reworked the Oracle to focus on generating Banked Actions as well as manipulating the Action Chain. They’ve also received new Weapon options and new Special dice.
• Hunter in Darkness: We’ve reworked the Hunter to focus on actually Hunting! The Hunter specializes in tracking prey, hunting targets and operating in Darkness. We’ve also focused on their aversion to civilization and connection to the wildest party of Yeld. We’ve revised their Job Ability and Special dice.
• Deep Mage: We’ve moved away from the Deep Mage’s connection to the Ghost World to focus on their niche as a Water based combatant and spell caster. We’ve revised their Job Ability, expanded their spell list and given them new Special dice.
• Werewolf: Werewolves are bigger and scarier than ever. We’ve revised the Job to give Werewolves the choice to have more or less control over their transformation. We’ve also included new Special dice.
• Vampire: Vampires get a little more brutal. We’ve revised their Job Ability and given them new Special dice.
• Magic Eater: A new Job focusing on spell casting of all kinds! Magic Eaters need to consume spells to maintain their human forms. If they go too long without magic they devolve into magic hungry Shadowlings! Of course, being a tiny gooey Shadowling can be fun too!
• Root Warden: A new Job focused on defense. The Root Warden has taken on the duty of curbing the menace of Root Gods and their followers. However, their body is slowly growing roots that will eventually immobilize them! The Root Warden is the only Monster Job that you can give up!
• Black Casket: A new Job focused on combat. The Black Casket is a ghost trapped in an enormous impenetrable suit of black armor. The Black Casket is slow but unstoppable, and exists in both Yeld and the Ghost World at the same time!

Special dice: We’ve introduced several new Special dice and majorly revised many old ones to be more fun and more useful. Get ready to get a lot more use out of some overlooked dice like Roll and Charge! We’ve also revised the language of most Special dice to make them easier to understand and use. Some special dice have been combined. For example, Play has been removed, and its effect has been combined with Nap.

Spells: Rules for spell casting and acquiring spells have been revised to match the changes introduced in the Magical Index expansion. We’ve updated the language and effects of several classic spells. We’ve also included over 25 new White Spells, Black Spells, Red Spells, Blue Spells, Mermaid Spells, Deep Spells, Math Spells and Goat Spell, some brand new and some from other Yeld products.

Stuff: We’ve made a lot of changes to the Stuff Guide!

• We’ve reorganized items of all kinds to make this section of the book easier to use.
• We’ve clarified where you can buy Stuff and how prices are determined
• Friends can now give each other items, as long as they aren’t in a fight!
• We’ve simplified the Master Crafter rules to make it easier to buy Rare Stuff and to use the Mail Order option..
• We’ve clarified rules for holding, dropping, equipping and picking up Weapons and other items.
• We’ve created 3 ranges for Weapons, (Ranged), (Thrown) and (Melee). All Weapons work at one or more of these ranges.
• Torches got a huge glow up! Torches now come in Ranks, just like every other Weapon. Torches gain +1 Strong at each Rank. Every Job can use Torches!
• Polearms now grant Strong, Reach and Charge dice at each Rank.
• Knuckles are now two-handed Weapons and grant Strong, Brave and One-Two Punch Special dice at each Rank.
• Guns now require Matches to fire. Attacks with Guns set the target On Fire.
• Fitted Armor is a new Armor specific (Solo) Special die. It reduces the Tough requirement to wear Armor by 1. For example, a Friend with 2 Tough dice could wear Heavy Armor (if the Heavy Armor has this Special die)
• Arrow Eater is a new Shield specific Special die that can be added to Armor rolls against (Ranged) and (Thrown) attacks while you are holding a Shield.
• Shield Wall is a new Shield specific Special die that allows your Friends to add your Shield’s Armor dice to their Armor rolls while they are close to you.
• Burning Clothes: Clothes can be burned by Fire, but can be repaired by Master Crafters or Friends with Sew Special dice.
• Stuff profiles: Several items have been revised to balance them. Items that grant extra Restore Rolls or Banked Actions have mostly been given other useful benefits. We’ve included a few new items, such as Dog Bows and Wheel Chairs. We’ve added several of the new Special dice to many items.
• Rank X items: Most Exotic and Legendary items are now Rank X, making them useful for your entire adventure.

Tables: We’ve revised several of our tables.

• Loot and Treasure tables have been reorganized to make them a little more interesting.
• We’ve reworded some of the Magical Disaster options. Specifically, we’ve made the Gender Change option optional. This was originally introduced for players who wanted to explore gender change. But we know it's not fun to have your gender changed against your will!
• The Fishing table includes several cool new Fish!

Taking Turns as Game Master: We no longer REQUIRE each player to take turns as the Game Master, or for the Game Master roll to switch after every adventure. Instead, we strongly encourage each player to take a turn as the Game Master, and explain why we feel this enhances game play.

Running a Yeld game: We’ve revised and streamlined our advice for running a Yeld game to make it easier to understand.

Adventure Difficulty: We’ve re-balanced Adventure Difficulty to create a clearer distinction between Easy, Normal and Hard Adventures.

Restless Dead: When you defeat a Monster by killing it you risk creating hostile spirits called Restless Dead. Your restless Dead Level determines how much grief these spirits will cause you during your Adventures. Just like Coins, your level can increase from None to Some, Lots and Tons. There are several ways for Friends to decrease their Restless Dead level.

Monster Formula: We’ve revised the Monster Formula to be easier to use and to create more balanced and interesting Monsters.

• Monster Stuff: We have new guidelines for exactly what Stuff a Monster can take. Monsters can usually take Normal or Rare Stuff, but some can take Exotic Stuff.
• Take their stuff! If you defeat a Monster you can spend a Reward die to take one of its Stuff! So if that Monster has a cool Sword, you can get it!
• Monster Titles: We’ve completely revised Monster Titles and introduced a bunch of cool new ones. Our goal with Monster Titles is to make them feel as powerful and distinct as the Friend’s Job Abilities.
• Monster Special dice: We’ve revised, improved and reworded many of the Monster Special dice, as well as introduced a few new ones!

Monsters: We’ve rebuilt all of our pre-made Monsters using the new Monster Formula.

Junk: All Monsters now drop 1 Junk when defeated if they don’t otherwise drop Loot or Treasure. Junk represents odds and ends items owned by Monsters that are useless to Friends but can be sold to Shops for Some Coins.

Dragul and the Hunters of Yeld: We’ve revised Dragul and the Hunters of Yeld and reworked several aspects of their Adventures, fights and rewards.

Hunter of Yeld: We’ve revised the Hunter of Yeld Advanced Job that can be gained after defeating Friendless.