Paper Minis Are Unlocked Plus Veteran-Level Characters
over 5 years ago – Wed, Apr 07, 2021 at 12:55:24 AM

THANK YOU!!!

Your engagement with the 5E and anime communities, as well as invitations to your gamer friends to join the campaign, keeps pushing the funding to new heights! Because your support has smashed through the $250K stretch goal, you have unlocked the printable Anime 5E paper minis that we will distribute as a free bonus PDF to every backer who pledges $100 and above. Thank you for all your support!

$275K Stretch Goal: Veteran-Level Pre-Gen Pack

As the campaign powers up, so will our pre-gen character packs! If Kickstarter funding reaches $275K, we will create six diverse 12th-level Anime 5E characters, with stat blocks and brief descriptions. This pre-gen pack will be available as a free bonus PDF download for all backers pledging at least $13 in the Kickstarter.

Reminder: Anime 5E Designer AMA on Facebook Live

Join designer Mark MacKinnon for a Facebook Live “Ask Me Anything” on Tuesday, April 6th at 8pm EDT. Mark will talk about the Anime 5E Kickstarter, the upcoming line of Tri-Stat System mini-games, the late-2021 superhero RPG Absolute Power (aka Silver Age Sentinels 2nd Edition), plans for BESM Fourth Edition, and more!

Arigato and good night. We’ll check in tomorrow!

Rules Preview: Character Size in Anime 5E
over 5 years ago – Tue, Apr 06, 2021 at 06:07:28 AM

Anime 5E’s approach to character and monster size is one of the biggest (see what we did there?) foundational changes when compared to standard Fifth Edition. We accomplish this through size templates, which are collection of Attributes and Defects that apply across the size spectrum.

Size Templates

Size templates help describe the modifiers your character receives for being any size other than medium (i.e. human-sized). Anime 5E sizes align with traditional and expanded Fifth Edition categories: diminutive, tiny, small, medium, large, huge, gargantuan.

In brief, larger characters gain the following modifiers compared to shorter characters:

• taller
• heavier
• stronger
• faster
• enhanced throwing distance
• more damaging
• less susceptible to standard types of damage (including bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing)
• easier to hit
• have difficulty hitting targets
• have restrictions on spaces in which they can fit

A summary of the size-related modifiers is presented in the Anime 5E table below.

The Attributes and Defects associated with size templates cross all race boundaries and are created to have the widest application possible. Each size larger than medium consists of a package of attributes and defects that costs a total of 5 points: Large = 5, Huge = 10, Gargantuan = 15. Conversely, each size smaller than medium returns 5 Points to the character (ie. the value of Defects exceed the value of the Attributes by 5 Points): Small = -5, Tiny = -10, Diminutive = -15.

If your character is approximately the same size as a medium human – ranging from 4’ to 8’ tall, which applies to most races in Anime 5E and other Fifth Edition books – you can ignore the size template section. Character races in Anime 5E that use size templates include: Archfiend (huge), Demonaga (large), Fairy (diminutive), Kodama (tiny), and Slime (small).

The collection of Attributes and Defects for two template examples (small and huge) are shown in the image below.

Fitting In

Assigning a size template larger than medium may greatly restrict the character’s ability to fit in with society and embark on standard fantasy RPG adventures. It’s difficult to join your teammates on a dungeon crawl when you’re 30 feet tall and can’t even fit in the front door at the dungeon entrance! Similarly, if the fantasy setting is dominated by more common medium-sized races such as humans, dwarves, and elves, most community amenities like inns, taverns, shoppes, academies, and temples won’t easily accommodate large characters – and are off-limits completely to huge and gargantuan adventurers.

Wee Folk

Although playing characters smaller than medium may not limit adventuring options the same way as playing someone larger, a character’s modest proportions will present their own unique challenges. Children are often small-sized (as are numerous humanoid races, such as halflings and gnomes), and thus most fantasy settings can accommodate small size easily enough. Tiny and diminutive characters may have a difficult time finding appropriately sized clothing, armour, weapons, and adventuring gear, and they have limited carrying capacity. And of course, their heavy damage penalties and susceptibility to physical injury poses significant combat and adventuring risks.

Why Use Size-Related Combat/AC Modifiers?

While many of the effects of size make intuitive sense (for example, having larger characters with greater lifting capacities), the combat modifiers to AC and attack rolls might seem odd. The example below illustrates the logic of the rules.

Consider firing a bow at three targets – a coin, a wagon, and a tavern – from across a field. Clearly, the coin would be the most difficult to hit, and the tavern the easiest. A similar analogy can be made with a melee attack. Thus it makes sense that if a huge character (a giant) was fighting with a diminutive opponent (a fairy), the giant would suffer a penalty to hit the fairy, and the fairy would gain a bonus to hit the giant.

Now consider two opponents the same size – two humans, two giants, two fairies, etc. Since they are the same size relative to each other, no modifiers should apply. That is, any bonuses they receive to hit should balance with any penalties they receive to be hit. Since Anime 5E involves the attacker rolling a d20, adding modifiers, and comparing the final value to the target’s Armour Class, a penalty on the attack roll is functionally the same as a bonus to the target’s AC. Similarly, a bonus on the attack has the same effect as an AC penalty.

Consequently, a larger-than-medium character receives a penalty to both their AC and their attack rolls against all opponents. A smaller-than-medium character receives a corresponding bonus to AC and attack roll against all opponents. If two combatants the same size clash – whether medium, small, large, etc. – the bonuses and penalties cancel each other out. Similarly, the bonuses/penalties cancelling also applies to the damage-inflicted and damage-received modifiers for each size rank.

As you can see, the size combat modifiers might not be intuitive – especially for gamers who have previously played under traditional Fifth Edition rules – but they work well across all size categories in Anime 5E.

Anime 5E Designer AMA on Facebook Live

Join designer Mark MacKinnon for a Facebook Live “Ask Me Anything” on Tuesday, April 6th at 8pm EDT. Mark will talk about the Anime 5E Kickstarter, the upcoming line of Tri-Stat System mini-games, the late-2021 superhero RPG Absolute Power (aka Silver Age Sentinels 2nd Edition), plans for BESM Fourth Edition, and more. Join the event on Facebook using the link above. If you're unable to join Mark live, we will make the video recording of the AMA available for later viewing.

Thanks to you, the campaign is less than $15K away from unlocking the next stretch goal that we announced yesterday – Anime 5E paper minis! Thanks for spreading the word to your gaming community.

Unlocked Weapons and Paper Minis
over 5 years ago – Sun, Apr 04, 2021 at 11:30:00 PM

The word about this Kickstarter continues to spread at a phenomenal rate! 😱 You and nearly 3,000 backers have pushed funding through the $225K stretch goal, which means that five original arcane weapon designs will be a free bonus PDF for all backers pledging $13+. Thanks for making that happen!

Anime 5E Paper Minis Unlock at $250K

Gamers love their minis almost as much as they love their dice! There are obviously thousands of figs available to purchase from a multitude of companies, from traditional pewter spins to plastic moulds to 3D prints. And then there’s the convenience and incredibly low cost of printable and foldable paper minis. We think it would be great to have a small selection of paper minis specific to this game, which is why we are focussing on it as our next stretch goal.

If campaign funding reaches $250K, we will lay out several pages of full-colour printable Anime 5E paper minis, covering the RPG’s races, classes, monsters, and more. The PDF file will be send as a free bonus to every backer who pledges $100 and above. At some point, the minis will be available for sale on DriveThruRPG as well – but for now, it’s an exclusive reward for eligible backers during this campaign.

Once folded, the minis stand 40mm tall – a heroic scale slightly larger than normal 30mm figs since it’s easier to cut and fold larger shapes. The base of the triangle created after folding the flaps is sized to the standard Fifth Edition map scale of 5 feet = 1 inch. Medium-sized characters have a base that takes up a 5’x5’ area (1 map square) while large-sized characters (like the Demonaga) have a base that takes up a 10’x10’ area (4 squares). The image below shows a draft layout of the PDF file, with cut and fold lines indicated; the image above shows how they look after printing and folding.

We see many new faces on the Anime 5E Facebook community group, so pop in and say hi when you have the chance. Check back tomorrow for more updates!

Licensed to Thrill, Plus More Weapony Goodness!
over 5 years ago – Sun, Apr 04, 2021 at 04:56:25 AM

YATTA! 2000% Funded! 🥳

You unlocked the massive $200K milestone stretch goal for the campaign! Now we can set aside some funds to continue resourcing for a popular fantasy anime series license to adapt to our Anime 5E system. It’s going to be an exciting future project, and we’re looking forward to expanding our RPG offerings.

Next Stretch Goal at $225K: Arcane Weapons

Awesomely deadly weapons are at the heart of many fantasy anime series, and you’ll find a selection of them in the Anime 5E rulebook. But you can never have too many, right?!? If campaign funding reaches $225K, designer Mark will create five new original arcane weapons across the power spectrum, with Anime 5E stat blocks and brief descriptions. These sweet weapons will be available as a free bonus PDF download for all backers pledging at least $13 in the Kickstarter.

Continue Spreading the Word to Unlock Stretch Goals

In addition to your pledge, the best way to help the campaign unlock even more stretch goals – so we can reward you with more free bonus stuff! – is sharing the link with your gamer friends and social network. You can either share the Kickstarter link directly, or use our master link http://Anime5E.com which redirects to the campaign page.

✅ Also, be sure to join the Anime 5E Facebook community at https://www.facebook.com/groups/anime5erpg

✅ And if you don’t yet receive email news from Dyskami, sign up to our low-volume newsletter at http://dyskami.ca/signup/

Thank you so very much for supporting Anime 5E! We’ll post another update tomorrow.

Over 1000% Funded Plus BESM d20 Comparison
over 5 years ago – Sun, Apr 04, 2021 at 04:07:18 AM

You've gone Super Sayan! The outpouring of support for Anime 5E has been incredible by any conceivable measure. Collectively, 1400+ backers, including you, have raised over 1000% of the funding threshold to exceed $100,000 in pledges – all in the first 40 hours of the campaign! I’m not sure how many times we can keep saying thank you, but THANK YOU!

Because funding reached $100K, every backer who pledges $100 and above will receive a free PDF copy of Dyskami’s multi-genre anime RPG, BESM Naked (a $17 value)!

$110K Stretch Goal: Mid-Level Pre-Gen Pack

At $70K, you unlocked low-level characters for the Game Screen, and now it’s time to power up! If this campaign reaches $110K in funding, Anime 5E designer Mark MacKinnon will create six diverse 8th-level Anime 5E characters, with stat blocks and brief descriptions. This pre-gen pack will be available as a free bonus PDF download for all backers pledging at least $13 in the Kickstarter.

Anime 5E vs. BESM d20

In 2004, Mark adapted his Big Eyes, Small Mouth game system to the d20 System under the Open Gaming License (OGL) and called it BESM d20. Many players familiar with BESM d20 may view Anime 5E as its follow-up edition, and they aren’t completely wrong. When physically comparing the two games, though, it’s clear that they are quite different – Anime 5E has nearly twice the page count as BESM d20, and thus substantially more material.

The list below outlines the significant differences between Anime 5E and BESM d20:

✅ System Change

As implied by the name, Anime 5E is based on the Fifth Edition ruleset under the OGL, whereas BESM d20 is based on the 3e/3.5e OGL. The foundational differences between Fifth Edition and 3e are significant, and so Anime 5E and BESM d20 are not directly compatible. Point costs are balanced differently between the games.

✅ Stand Alone

Since it was released under the d20 Trademark License, BESM d20 is not a stand-alone game; it required the PHB to play and did not provide full rules for character creation. Conversely, Anime 5E is a complete core system that integrates with the Fifth Edition PHB, DMG, and MM, but stands alone and does not require them.

✅ Fantasy Focus

BESM d20 was presented as a multi-genre d20 System game that detailed technology and modern-day elements, rather than a fantasy RPG. Anime 5E is an extension of the fantasy setting and genre from Fifth Edition, and consequently only addresses rules and game guidance from a fantasy RPG perspective.

✅ New Races

Anime 5E introduces 14 new fantasy Races, whereas BESM d20 only referenced the original PHB Races.

✅ Embracing Fifth Edition

BESM d20 shoehorned standard Big Eyes, Small Mouth rules onto a d20 System framework, and thus ignored many mechanistic elements of the d20 System. Anime 5E instead preserves all the core elements of the Fifth Edition and instead offers an additional set of rules and options that layer on top of the Fifth Edition game.

✅ Humans Aren’t The Standard

Regarding Race Point cost determinations, Anime 5E does not take the position that human is the base form – unlike BESM d20. Each race is built independently starting from 0 points.

✅ Enhancements and Limiters

Building on the improvements introduced in Dyskami’s BESM Fourth Edition RPG (which uses the Tri-Stat System rather than d20), Anime 5E presents Enhancements and Limiters that players can assign multiple times to modify how Attributes (ie. character features) function.

✅ Included Items

Anime 5E provides numerous examples of items and monsters that players can either use directly or as inspiration to create their own. BESM d20 did not include these details, and instead pointed players to the PHB and MM.

✅ DMing Advice

Anime 5E includes valuable DM guidance for creating adventures, deconstructing opponent Challenge Ratings, and creating encounter threats. BESM d20 did not.

✅ Notes are Important

There are many more examples and sidebars in Anime 5E compared to BESM d20, providing additional guidance and suggestions to gaming groups.

✅ Example Settings

Three brief example fantasy world settings from the Anime Multiverse are explored in Anime 5E, whereas BESM d20 did not contain any setting information.

We hope this provides some additional context for those backers wondering how Anime 5E differs from BESM d20. We believe that Anime 5E is an objectively and significantly better game product in every way, and we think you'll agree.

We’ll be in touch later today!