Anime 5E Character Creation Video Series and More
about 5 years ago – Fri, Jul 16, 2021 at 04:23:38 AM

It’s nearly mid-July and we’re now playing the waiting game while the Anime 5E books are at press. We hope you have been enjoying your digital rewards and appreciate your patience if you also pledged for physical books.

If you still haven’t completed your pledge through BackerKit yet, please visit https://anime5e.backerkit.com and request a new survey link so you can do so. If your credit card payment for shipping or add-on fees has been rejected, please resolve the issue promptly or reach out to [email protected] to arrange for payment through PayPal instead.

Anime 5E Character Creation Video Series

We are continuing our "From The Desk Of Dyskami" YouTube videos this month with a new tutorial series. Anime 5E creator Mark MacKinnon provides a short walkthrough summary of character creation for the role-playing game. In the first video of the series, Mark talks about the all-important Session Zero when your group will discuss the upcoming game and you assign your character’s Ability Scores.

New Dyskami Kickstarter Coming Next Week

On Tuesday July 20th, we are launching on Kickstarter the first three Tri-Stat System Mini-Game Boxed Sets – a new line of compact and complete role-playing adventure games that are compatible with Dyskami Publishing's flagship BESM Fourth Edition anime and manga RPG. This aren’t Anime 5E games, but if you’re looking to expand your game options beyond Fifth Edition you may find these of interest.

Each individual boxed set role-playing adventure game includes a 32-page streamlined rules system, six brief story scenarios, six pre-generated player character sheet handouts, and four custom dice. Here are short "elevator pitches" for the three games:

•  Pixies – “Wee fae folk claiming their space in a human-sized world”
•  Wyrms – “Giant beasts who battle and consume rivals until one stands victorious”
•  Demonicity – “Secret operatives fight to stop an infernal darkness in Demon City”

If you visit the Kickstarter preview page and click "Notify me on Launch”, you’ll be contacted immediately when the campaign opens to pledges on July 20th.

Mark Appearing on Tabletop Otaku

Wasabi Anime and the Game Manufacturer’s Association has invited Mark to appear as a guest this week on their Tabletop Otaku video show on Twitch. Anime 5E will be part of the conversation, of course, so tune in at 6 pm EDT tomorrow (Thursday, July 15th) if you’re interested in watching it live (https://www.twitch.tv/wasabianime).

That’s it for today! We’ll check in again soon.

Anime 5E is Off To Press!
over 5 years ago – Thu, Jul 01, 2021 at 08:45:54 PM

It’s an exciting day for us because we just sent Anime 5E and the expansions off to press! 🥳

So the next logical question is, “When will we have Anime 5E in our hands?”

It’s not a straight-forward answer, and we can’t provide accurate details at this point. We can say with reasonable confidence “in the fall of 2021” or “in the fourth quarter of 2021”, but that’s all we know right now. We are aware acutely away of the prolonged shipping delays worldwide due to lack of capacity and the COVID-19 pandemic, and hope the delivery of Anime 5E won’t be impacted greatly.

When we have updates, we’ll be sure to post them. If you don’t see an update from us, that means we don’t have one to post. Makes sense, right?

But I Still Haven’t Received My Digital Files!

Download links for digital files have been sent out to everyone who has completed their pledge through the BackerKit survey. If you aren’t sure if you’ve done that step, enter your Kickstarter email address at https://anime5e.backerkit.com and a new survey link will be sent to you.

Backers who do not complete their pledge through BackerKit will not receive their digital files and will not have physical copies shipped to them.

There has been ample time for everyone to complete their pledge, yet hundreds of backers still have not done so. If you’re one of those stragglers, please complete the BackerKit survey today so we can email you some download links.

If you’ve completed the survey and your credit card processing is refused (for shipping and/or add-on costs), please read Update #55. If you need the use the backup plan described, email us at [email protected] with your details and we’ll work with you on the payment completion.

DriveThruRPG File Updates

We have updated some of the Anime 5E files on DTRPG and you can downloaded the new ones to your library at your leisure. Most notably, the Anime 5E core RPG and Pocket Editions have been updated to v1.3. Here are some brief highlights:

• Clarified that size-related Strength damage applies to all melee weapon attacks, even if they are finesse weapons or weapons that use an Ability modifier other than Strength (see Limited Damage, A5E page 135)
• Added rocks and other thrown objects to the list of ranged weapons that can use Strength or Dexterity modifiers
• Clarified that Companions assigned Classes only increase in Levels when the Companion Attribute Rank is raised
• Corrected the progression of the Tough Attribute and Fragile Defect to 5% per Rank rather than 10%
• Noted that a Linked Weapon can be assigned the Area Enhancement if it also has the Save Limiter
• Clarified that Targets can include Items and situations as well

It’s the end of June today, so we wish you all a safe and happy summer!

Anime 5E v1.2 Now Available
over 5 years ago – Fri, Jun 11, 2021 at 10:53:53 PM

Hey everyone! Another short update today to let you know that we have updated the Anime 5E core RPG and Pocket Edition to v1.2 on DriveThruRPG. You can download the latest files from your account library there at any time.

This round didn’t have as many corrections as the v1.1, though we did still clarify a few areas. Here’s some brief highlights:

• Mentioned that groups can swap the Psionicist’s spellcasting slot progression with standard 5E progression (Wizards, Clerics, etc.) without breaking balance since the Points are roughly equivalent (page 72)
• Clarified that casual, non-aggressive touching while activating an Attribute is usually possible with Extra Actions - Limiter (page 101)
• Clarified that Minions are usually Classless, but can take a Class for 10 Points + 10/Level (page 108)
• Added the option of expertise in a Skill by assigning the proficiency twice; this allows the character to add double their Proficiency Bonus to Skill checks (page 113)
• Offered the option for Spell-Like Ability to be used multiple times before a long rest, with an increasingly escalating Energy burn (page 120)
• Clarified Reach Weapons to now use an assumed ready action as an interrupt (page 128)
• Removed all non-standard use of the term “disengage” to avoid confusion with the official meaning (page 163)
• Offered the option of increasing damage for some attacks if wielding a one-handed weapon with two hands (page 172)
• Boosted Energy recovery after a short rest to 25% of expended Energy, keeping 100% recovery after long rest (page 176)

There’s still a few weeks before we send the files to press, so if you notice any additional errors or omissions, please report all feedback/errors to us through email directly ([email protected]). Do not post a comment, or contact us through Kickstarter messenger, or through social media – email us directly, please. The conversations on Discord and the Facebook group are helpful for context (so we try to read everything we can), but they difficult to track for simple typo corrections. We have pinned a single thread on the Anime 5E Facebook group to help make this easier to track, though, if you want to post your thoughts there instead. The corrections can be in a single email compilation (preferred, if possible) or through multiple emails as you find errors. Every suggestion will be reviewed and considered, though we may not implement all of them if we are satisfied with the current presentation.

Thanks for all your amazing engagement over the past few weeks. 👍

Updated Files on DriveThruRPG
over 5 years ago – Thu, Jun 03, 2021 at 11:19:23 PM

Happy June! With over 7,000 backers having downloaded their digital rewards, we have a short update today.

Your typo corrections and text suggestions have been incredibly valuable, and we have made numerous changes to many of the digital files. Most of the edits were minor and didn’t affect usability, while a few others required more clarity or substantial edits. You can always download the latest files from your DriveThruRPG account library at any time.

Bonus Actions, Reactions, and Confusion

Undoubtedly, the biggest text clarification concerned Bonus Actions and Reactions. When we included the Extra Actions Attribute in Anime 5E, we thought that using the familiar “Bonus Action” term would make it easier to understand – yet, the exact opposite happened because we were redefining in an unfamiliar way an already common term. 🤦🏻‍♂️

In the revised files, we have stopped using the term Bonus Action when we are referring to the Extra Actions Attribute. We are now referring to those additional provided actions as (quite appropriately) “Extra Actions”. Extra Actions still aren’t stackable/multiplicative with 5E Class features like the Fighter’s extra attack ability.

In Anime 5E, the term “Bonus Action” now refers exclusively to its usage with traditional Fifth Edition Classes and spells. If you’re using a Rogue class in your Anime 5E game, for example, you can use their Bonus Action through their Cunning Action feature. If you aren’t using any 5E Classes or spells, though, Bonus Actions do not come into play in Anime 5E.

We didn’t address the concept of reactions at all in Anime 5E (they are similar, yet distinct from a readied action), and we have corrected this. Like Bonus Action, reactions are aligned with Classes, spells, and elements from traditional Fifth Edition aspects only; you can use them when necessary in Anime 5E, but the game doesn’t specifically reference them. They can be replicated in Anime 5E with the Extra Actions Attribute that is assigned a Unique Enhancement (Initiative count not changed when activated) and a Unique Limiter (Activates as a readied reaction only). Modifying the Extra Actions Attribute this way allows characters to make more than one reaction-like action each round.

If you want to review these text sections in the new digital files, content is on pages 101, 159, 162, and 163 for the Anime 5E core RPG and page 157, 255, 261, and 275 for the Pocket Edition.

There’s still a few weeks before we send the files to press, so if you notice any additional errors or omissions, please report all feedback/errors to us through email directly ([email protected]). Do not post a comment, or contact us through Kickstarter messenger, or through social media – email us directly, please. The conversations on Discord and the Facebook group are helpful for context (so we try to read everything we can), but they difficult to track for simple typo corrections. We have pinned a single thread on the Anime 5E Facebook group to help make this easier to track, though, if you want to post your thoughts there instead. The corrections can be in a single email compilation (preferred, if possible) or through multiple emails as you find errors. Every suggestion will be reviewed and considered, though we may not implement all of them if we are satisfied with the current presentation.

Thanks again for your amazing support!

Digital Rewards Fulfilling Today
over 5 years ago – Mon, May 31, 2021 at 01:57:47 AM

Sorting through all the pledges took a lot longer than expected, but we are now ready to go! We are sending the digital rewards download links from DriveThruRPG TODAY! 🥳

Links will be sent to backers that completed their BackerKit survey in full (and remitted all outstanding fees) by 5 pm EDT yesterday, because that’s when we exported the survey report. Any survey completed after that time will be processed for the next wave of rewards within the week.

If You Didn’t Receive The Download Link

Before anyone reaches out to us to indicate they haven’t received their rewards yet, please read the following carefully:

➡️ The DriveThruRPG emails may take several hours to send since there are so many copies being distributed. The files are also being sent individually, so if you pledged at a higher tier you may receive up to a dozen emails with all the products and stretch goals. You should receive everything in the next 12 hours, though.

➡️ If you didn’t complete your BackerKit survey yet, you won’t receive the email. You can check the status of your survey by clicking on your survey link from the email a couple of weeks ago (or get a new one at https://anime5e.backerkit.com)

➡️ The download links are sent to the email address on file with Kickstarter and/or BackerKit. This may be different than the email address you use normally. Please check spam filters, too.

➡️ If the emails are sent to an address different than the one you use with your DriveThru account, there’s no problem! The links can be still be used without any problem by logging into your DriveThru account before you click on the links.

➡️ If your Kickstarter email is the same as your DriveThru email, the download links will also conveniently appear in our DriveThru inbox. Once you log into your account, you can retrieve your inbox messages here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/account_notification_inbox.php

➡️ If you still don’t seem to have all the download link emails after waiting several hours, but you’re confident that you should have them, follow up with us directly at [email protected]. Do not post a comment, or contact us through Kickstarter messenger, or through social media – email us directly, please. We will respond as quickly as we can, though it may not be right away and could be a day or two. We’re working hard to provide the best customer service possible, but there may be a lot of backers that require support.

Helping Improve the Final Print Editions

Although the numerous Anime 5E digital files have been reviewed multiple times, errors will inevitably sneak through. You can help ensure the printed editions are as tight as possible by reporting to us any perceived errors. Every suggestion will be reviewed and considered, though we may not implement all of them if we are satisfied with the current presentation.

Please report all feedback/errors to us through email directly ([email protected]). Do not post a comment, or contact us through Kickstarter messenger, or through social media – email us directly, please.

Here’s the types of feedback we’re searching for:

✅ Rules Clarity – Do you believe some sections of the rules are unclear or require additional explanations? The less-prescribed, open-ended nature of Anime 5E is quite different than traditional Fifth Edition titles (a feature, not a bug!), but omissions can be rectified if necessary for utility.

✅ Copy Editing – Have you notice spelling mistakes, text omissions, incorrect grammatical structures, math errors, or other sections of awkward writing? Please let us know!

Conversely, here are a few comments that aren’t helpful to us since these decisions have been already set:

🚫 That’s Not What D&D Says – Although Anime 5E is based on the standard Fifth Edition framework, it’s not merely D&D. Some rules and options will be different from what you may know, but there’s a method to our design madness! 😱

🚫 British Spelling – Dyskami Publishing is a Canadian company that uses traditional British spelling. Although some readers may find this unfamiliar, our preference will not change.

🚫 Artwork Suggestions – We are thrilled with the talented diversity of artwork presented in the game and believe it to reflect the soul of Anime 5E well. Some art has been adapted from other Dyskami works and may be familiar to you, while other pieces are original to Anime 5E. Since the art for these titles are already set, we aren’t seeking feedback on what you may want replaced or changed.

🚫 Layout or Font Selection – Unless you noice a glaring error in presentation, we are not seeking suggestions concerning the page layouts or font choices in Anime 5E.

We welcome feedback at any time (digital files are easier to edit and push out updated version), but our goal is to have tight files that we send to press in June for delivery to you in fall 2021. Consequently, we are especially interested in early feedback prior to 20 June 2021 to maximum benefit.

Thank you all for for the tremendous support you’ve shown us during the campaign. As they say in business, if you’re unhappy tell us; but if you’re happy, tell your friends. We’d greatly appreciate if you share your Anime 5E thoughts, reviews, builds, and livestreams with your gaming groups and online game communities! Late backers can still join in on the fun at https://anime5e.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders. And don’t forget to join our Anime 5E Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/anime5erpg) and Discord server (https://discord.gg/pSJgcft37T).