Got a few updates today that have arisen from playtesting. Mostly a balance update, but with some clarifications as well.
Encounter Rules
-Extra sidebars have been added to the Encounter Rules, featuring topics including hailfire on missed attacks, or lack thereof
-Automatic fire methods have been clarified so there is less confusion about the nature of a focused burst versus an area burst
Character Changes
*Major* Leadership Overhaul
Leaders can now give morale points to themselves when they rally. In addition, all of the leadership combat augmentation options have been overhauled to give more actions, and for the higher tiers to synergize more directly with those actions
-Coordinate: allows you to spend a morale point to gain an extra move action, higher tiers gives +1 speed with those actions
-Strategic Interrupt: still allows opportunity attacks against shifting foes, higher tiers gives +2 accuracy with those opportunity attacks
-Defense Formation: still allows you to add morale bonus to defense, but higher tiers now give +2 morale bonus to defense when used
-Efficiency: allows you to spend a morale point to reroll a skill check, adding your morale bonus to the check, higher tiers give +2 morale bonus for the reroll
-The Terrorize combat influence action only requires 4 negative morale levels
-Military Commander Ultra Specialization benefit has changed so that in now gives double leadership ranks in temporary hit points as opposed to previous benefits
-Dark Templar Mastery for the nerazim psychic master no longer gives bonus accuracy, just damage.
-Strafing Attack talent: Old benefits were outdated. Now targets are flat-footed against your action move attacks.
-The Skirmisher specialization has been changed. Now, once you would have had cover against a foe at one point on your turn but no longer have it, you retain a +2 cover bonus to defense.
Equipment Changes
*Major* Defense Rating of armor has been renamed Resistance Rating to make its benefits less confusing.
*Major* All of the Psionic weapon origin traits have been slightly changed for protoss melee weapons.
-Focusing: Focus weapons are no longer based on number of strikes, and instead remove 2+ ½ PL energy fatigue on a successful hit
-Warp: Warp weapons no longer deal extra crippling wounds
-Bane: Bane weapons no longer deal bleed damage based on strikes, and now do a flat 2 bleed damage
-Purifier weapons still inflict the Burning condition on a successful hit, but now the burning damage is equal to 5xPL instead of normal burning damage of 30.
-The Medical Delivery System has been properly updated to represent the healing scaling based on medicine skill and tier
-The shield weapon trait now specifies that it requires one of the character’s available hands. Additionally clarifications on how shields work with weapons has been given to both the Ballistic Combat Shield description and the Shield Weapon Platform upgrade.
-The heavy and light revolvers now have a damage of 18 with a power rating of +3. Heavy revolvers now have the correct price of 500 credits.
-Added the new Hand Cannon weapon to the Advanced Terran Training Manual. The hand cannon uses extreme slugs, has a damage of 22, power rating of +4, and the recoil special rule. It costs 4,000 credits.
-Having a Plasma Shield in a Dominance Socket no longer gives energy shields based on strikes, and now gives 2+ ½ PL energy shields on a successful hit
-You can choose not to activate the Reactive Teleportation feature of protoss armor
Psychic Powers
-Overloading is now more dangerous, as the penalty on the chart is only ½ willpower, instead of full willpower
-The Melt psychic power now correctly lists that it is sustained as a standard action
-Telekinetic Impact and Telekinetic Shockwave have both had their damage reduced to 20 +5xPL (down from 12xPL)
-The Compulsion power now has an extra chapter elaborating what it can or cannot do.