Non-Core Books (Or, what have I been doing during the layout wars)

I've always been torn when it comes to the supplement books and products for tabletop games. On one hand, more stuff is fun! At their best, these sorts of things provide new ways to play and interact with the existing game without clogging up the basics. At their worst, they are patchy, bloated, and come with a sort of power creep that eventually shoves things towards a new edition where the cycle begins anew.

Grey and I have gone back and forth a lot about what additional books for BREAK!! would be like. Obviously with the main book still being made we don't want to get too ahead of ourselves. The three big requirements in my head so far are:

1. Anything provided should be something a GM or group with an average level of investment in the game wouldn't be expected to make themselves.
2. Anything provided should keep giving. Adventures should provide templates for other scenarios of that type, mechanics and options should lead to more opportunities for players and GM's, and so forth.
3. Nothing provided should exist to supersede or undermine something already in the game.

I don't think that's particularly ambitious, but it does give me something to focus on. So what does this translate into so far?

I've been working on the following

1. A BREAK!! companion book, with a lot of the supplemental stuff that we had to cut from the main book to make it a bit more feasible. Lots of GM facing info and rules here, mainly for making your own monsters and other tools.
2. Expanding Trouble in Sprocket, which has been discussed on the blog at length. Not only will it include the scenario, but info on the realm of Stahlfeld and character options for those wanting to play more sorts of synthetics.
3. A yet unnamed supplement on establishing and building up a "Hometown" - so far it's kind of like Animal Crossing but with a lot more opportunities for adventure and stuff. I am also thinking some kind of system for mass combat will be mushed into this one.

I promised Grey to keep these at around 100 pages or less - so hopefully they will be easy on your patience and wallet as well.