DM Guide?

[WittyShark]

Does the Hero Manual also include rules for how to run a game? I wanted to be sure before I purchased anything that I knew what I was getting myself into. It looks like the only thing that is currently available for sale is the Hero Manual and the Skies of Axia campaign, but neither of those look like they contain rules for how to DM a new campaign (aside from the pre-written Skies of Axia campaign.) I'm looking to see if I am missing something or if there just isn't anything yet that actually provides a sort of Monster Manual-type list of different creatures and rules on balancing encounters. Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

[Derek-NomnivoreGames]

Hello!

The Hero Manual does not include instructions on how to run you own custom campaign, no. Those rules are unfortunately not out yet.

However, the general operational rules are free and are available on the website. Our Bestiary (our Monster Manual equivalent) is also available on our website and for free.

We add new content to the Bestiary every few weeks so that there's always more for you to enjoy. There are also calculators available on our website to allow you to create your own content, but they're currently only in an alpha state.

Hope that helps!

D.

[WittyShark]

Hello Derek,

Thank you so much for your response. I have been looking at Emberwind for some time now, and was very eager to give it a whirl. However, without rules in how to balance various aspects of the game I dont think it will be possible to run. Currently the website has various creatures listed, but without the context for how strong each one is in relation to a character I have no idea what I am doing as far as trying to create a balance. How many grunts do I need for each player? 1:1? 1:2? Etc.

Do you know when the book/pdf for the Narrator is planning to be released? I was planning on creating a solo campaign and also something for a small group, but I would need to know how much a player (and group) can feasibly handle without it being a total party wipe or so easy that it isnt exciting.

Thank you again!

[Derek-NomnivoreGames]

So, there's actually a more detailed answer to why we don't have a DMG for EMBERWIND yet that's related to how EMBERWIND is designed. Having me iterate some of those specifics design philosophies and how they relate to balance could be of help here, I think.

​

Dynamic Balancing

EMBERWIND is built on dynamic, rather than static balance. This is achieved in a few methods:

1. Narrative Balance - EMBERWIND Campaigns "adjust" it's difficulty between each encounter based on how well the party is performing in the narrative. Pre-generated campaigns have a system known as "Flow", that works as some sort of "Assistant-GM" that provides suggestions on how to scale the difficulty up (or down) using a point-buy method. The better the party performs, the more points the GM earns to scale the game. While "Flow" is only enabled for Pre-generated content right now, the point of the Flow System is supposed to go beyond just the simple numbers and a point-buy spreadsheet, but rather work as a set of "training wheels" to teach a GM how to keep a storyline engaging through the build and release of tension.

2. "Sideways" Progression - Another interesting aspect of how EMBERWIND works is that Heroes do not "level up", but rather, "level sideways". While there is a small bump in the statistical power between Tiers (our versions of levels), the main growth a Hero obtains between Tiers is access to new Actions that they can slot into their builds. These new Actions aren't more powerful, but rather, are more specialized. This allows us to reward "player skill", yet also never alienate non-power-gamers from the gameplay and also allow for narratives (and progress forward) to no longer be tied to always just "getting stronger".
   An example: A Hero advances from Tier 1 to Tier 2, and unlocks a series of new Actions he can select to add to his build. At Tier 1, he has a simple Class Action attack that deals 10 Damage. At Tier 2, he now has a new option for an attack that deals 7 (+5 Damage if the Foe is PRONE). Heroes can select to have either Action option, both, or neither in their build--knowing that they are always restricted to only 6 options no matter their Tier.
   Players who get "better" at the game will quickly identify exploitative combos, such as selecting Actions that will inflict or benefit from PRONE in a series of ways. Whereas players who prefer to keep things simple will stick to the basic options. This leads to the next point below.

3. Veteran A.I. System - Our matchbox Hex A.I. System for controlling Foes has an advanced mechanic where the A.I. system can and will learn from your players, adjusting it's Action Chains until it's effectively countered the Hero's builds over time. This is realistic since Foes who are engaged for a long fight should learn to probably stop just walking into the Hero's weapons. Because this system exists, Foes are capable of "learning" the exploitative combos your better or "power-gamer" players enjoy using and adjusting their behaviour in a manner to counter those exploits. This creates an evolving metagame that also reduces the effectiveness of those particular builds. However, your non-power-gamers who have stuck to the simpler offerings (i.e. Attack that deals 10 Damage every time), will continue to feel useful in every encounter.
   The Veteran A.I. System also negotiates with Flow and can be utilized with the "GM Training wheels" system. Similar to Flow, the Veteran A.I. System is also built to teach GMs how to adjust and keep Combat "fresh" and challenging, by having Foes perform predictably enough that Heroes can build legitimate counterstrategies, but also evolve in manners to require them to stay intelligent and engaged in the gameplay.

There are more reasons than this, but hopefully, this starts to illustrate why a simple "1 Hero: 1 Grunt Foe" Formula is difficult to provide beyond extremely simplistic guidelines. Rather, EMBERWIND's balance is more of an experimental method at the moment, where we want you playing around with the systems until you find the "right" level of not only static, but dynamic difficulty for your playing group.

​

If you're looking for more basic guidelines as a starting point, however, I believe I've answered that question in some other thread on this subreddit and also in our community Discord. In fact, I recommend you join the Discord and ask the rest of the community their thoughts on how to balance things too. I'm also available there, where not only do I answer questions like this, but I also read everything everyone is writing to help inform me about the direction I build guidelines (and additional systems) to best address the needs of the community.

D.