Big article coming from Living Dice soon.

Until then, feast your eyes on finally released Amethyst Evolution cover...

The last post proved without hesitation that DEM is committed to 4th Edition DnD and whatever future is in store for it. Next week, there will be an important update about a certain piece of artwork we’ve been teasing about for the better part of the winter but never shown in its entirety.

Meanwhile, the Evolution preview that went up passed 500 downloads in less than a week. Thanks to Enworld for that promotion. As stated, it’s one step before final, so a few more changes are expected to be made. However, I am quite proud of the result. From vernacular, to fluff, to overall power level, I think we did a pretty good job.

As I wait for my editor, artist, and layout guys (all different) to finish their work, I can finally return to Ultramodern4. Up until now, we’ve been checking out power levels and the overall feel of the rules as well as the altered character creation process being introduced. It’s still not complete and the latest draft being done is the largest since September. As a result, those that have signed onto the playtest should check back at the forum, as only people committed to the project will receive the latest update. This new version, let’s say v.0.8, is changing the wording of all the powers to match them with what we learned through writing Amethyst Evolution. Ladders (our new rule mechanic ) are also being tweaked to make them more about altering classes rather than offering their own abilities. Up until recently, U4 and NeuroSpasta was one complete unit. Separated, NeuroSpasta inherits hacking, cybernetics, robots, and the setting, while U4 gets the rest. This latest version reflects that division.

On a related topic, U4’s ladders have always been limited to six options: born leader, juggernaut, runner, savant, veteran, and warrior. I recently announced to the playtesters that there will be a seventh, known as the survivor (Constitution, Wisdom/Intelligence). I’m contemplating offering an eighth to make it a nice even number, but I’ve decided to open this to the readers and testers. Does anyone have an eight ladder path?

Here is what it is required: The ladder must be based around a theme. It must focus on one primary attribute along with a secondary attribute. That pairing cannot be shared by another ladder. So far, these are the ones that are taken:

Born leader – Charisma, Intelligence
Juggernaut – Constitution, Strength
Runner – Dexterity, Intelligence/Wisdom
Savant – Wisdom, Intelligence
Survivor – Constitution, Intelligence/Wisdom
Veteran – Charisma, Intelligence
Warrior – Dexterity, Strength

There are dozens of other pairings but is there a theme that matches them? All we would need is a proposal. The winner gets a special credit in the final book and a free copy of the end result. It’s a first come, first serve contest and applicants can post here, on the DEM forum, or email me directly.

We're finally back. We never went anywhere. There have been no issues. Nothing was set on fire. We have our editor working. We have our artist drawing. And during it, I have been tweaking the game to make it better. Last week, we sent out a file to a few sites that have supported us in the past. This file included all the new "alternate builds" being offered in Amethyst Evolution. Alternate builds are variations on the traditional 4th Edition DnD classes we had in Amethyst Foundations, made to resemble those in the new DnD ESSENTIALS line from Wizards of the Coast. This is only a small portion of the upcoming book, saddled also with dozens of new powers, feats, and weapons. Finally reaching a point where we can show off, DEM is now releasing a sneak preview of these "alternate techans". I sent out a feeler to see which ones people wanted to see the most. We got equal votes for our marshal and our gunslinger stalker…so we decided to include them both. The final product will have eight such classes, so we are not spoiling the book by including two. This product is pre-final edit and final layout. So it may undergo some final changes and won't look like this when it hits digital shelves hopefully sometime soon.

On related news, we have decided to release Ultramodern4 after Amethyst-Evolution. Originally, we planned on the releasing the player-based Evolution and then follow it with the GM-based Amethyst Factions, but seeing that current need for a modern 4th Edition game, we have decided the time has come to push U4 to release. I can't release a date yet, but I will assure you it will be coming before the end of summer.

So with no further adieu, here is the sneak preview for Amethyst Evolution…

http://www.diasexmachina.com/Amethyst-EvolutionPreview.pdf