Guys, yesterday after I read this and replied above I had a bolt of inspiration that I’m going to try.
I talked to my group about the new Effort, we played a few encounters with it, they didn’t like it for reasons I already discusses (also, we are BIG on the 6 stat/4 effort combo because of character generation reasons too long/not related to this post).
I’m going to try to bring the new rules into play again, but I’m going to do it a little bit more… organically. Help a fellow GM here, will you? Please tell me if you think this could work.
So, my fantasy campaign has hints of ancient advanced technology everywhere, very ICRPG-style (also because Phantasy Star IV was my favorite game growing up). So, I’m going to introduce visitors from the stars and an alien race of evil invaders of something who will bring technology to the world. At the beginning of this story arc:
D4 / basic, D6 / weapon & tools, D8 / magic, D12 / ultimate
There are 15th-century guns (flintlock pistols and rifles) in the setting. These use D6 effort. But with the invasion, some tinkers will produce more advanced guns and some other trinkets. And then we’ll have:
D4 / basic, D6 / weapon & tools, D8 / guns & magic, D12 / ultimate
So, the new guns will be as powerful as magic. The the story arc will take the PCs on an adventure to find ways to counter the invaders/villains powers… and they will change the world, making magic stronger overall. As a counter, the invaders will bring energy weapons and tech powers (inspired by The Division / Watch Dogs)… And I’ll introduce the new effort:
D4 / basic, D6 / weapon & tools, D8 / guns & technology, D10 / magic & energy, D12 / ultimate
I hope this might help my Players enjoy the new Effort better. I’ll also introduce trainers to give them the new abilities/mastery for their classes. Going from 2E - ME organically.