Changelog for 2022.2.2

Changelog For Core Rulebook Update 2025.2.2

Since the last update, I have been in the thick of playtesting Dystopian Sky. I've dedicated countless hours to running games, gathering feedback, and carefully analyzing every aspect of the rulebook. The process has been intense, but I believe it was worth it. I've improved and refined almost every part of the game, including rule clarifications and balance adjustments, as well as adding over 50 new Activated and Passive Skills. It’s been a busy few months full of testing countless iterations, all to make Dystopian Sky: Skirmish the best possible experience.

Major System Overhauls 

Complete Crew Roster System Overhaul

■ Credits, Items, and XP are now managed at the Crew level, rather than tracked individually for each Unit.

■ Items purchased from the Armory are placed in a shared Crew Inventory, and can be freely assigned to Unit Loadouts between matches.

■ Experience Points are stored in a shared Crew XP Pool. You can level up any Unit by spending XP equal to 5 plus that Unit’s current level.

■ Crews now earn Credits at the end of each match based on total XP gained: 25 Credits per XP, resulting in slightly higher Credit rewards overall.

■ All Crew Roster sheets were redesigned from the ground up to support the new system and to reduce ink use for printing.

Health Scaling Rebalance – Brawn and HP Adjustment

■ During Crew creation, Health Points (HP) are still calculated using the formula: Agility × 2, plus Brawn.

■ However, when a Unit levels up, it no longer gains HP based on Brawn. Instead, a Unit now gains HP equal to its new Level each time it levels up.

■ This change addresses a balance issue where Brawn-heavy Units were significantly outperforming Focus-based Units in durability.

Status Effect Rework

■ Poison has been fully removed from the game and replaced with Radiation, a new effect that functions similarly to Burn but activates at the end of each affected Unit’s turn.

■ Burn no longer expires after 3 turns. It now remains active until the Unit successfully Resists it.

■ Arc, Bleed, and Stagger effects can now stack in multiple instances, with each additional instance increasing the effect.

■ Disarm can now be Resisted when triggered by a Critical Fail.

■ Fear now prevents the affected Unit from moving toward or targeting the Unit that inflicted the effect.

■ Several effects, including Stun, now explicitly state that the effect is removed only after it resolves, ensuring clarity in timing and interactions.

Skills Expansion

■ The total number of both Activated and Passive Skills has been doubled, offering more opportunities for Crew specialization and strategic variety.

■ Several existing Skills have been revised for improved balance and combo potential.

■ This major expansion opens the door for more diverse playstyles, with balance adjustments expected in future updates based on playtest data.

New Bounty System Added

■ Designed to help under-leveled Crews stay competitive in battle.

■ Before a match begins, compare the Crew Level of both teams. For each opposing Crew with a higher level than yours, you can place one Bounty.

■ If your Crew downs a Unit that has a Bounty placed on it, you gain bonus XP, giving lower-leveled teams a chance to catch up over time.

Gameplay & Rule Adjustments

Vutharan Empire

■ Assigned Battle Clarity as its new Bonus Skill, replacing the previous option.

Gauti Syndicate

■ The Modded Bonus Skill has been reworded. It no longer grants Trauma; it now provides a direct stat change.

Consciousness Relay

■ The Robotic Precision Bonus Skill has been simplified. It now grants a flat +1 bonus to all attacks.

Explosive Weapon Rework

■ Explosive attacks now automatically hit the target area, but the blast scatters 1 D4 inches toward the attacker along line of sight.

■ A roll of 4 indicates a direct hit on the target location.

Dagger Damage Adjusted

■ All Daggers have been nerfed to deal 1 D4 damage, rather than 1 D6.

■ Daggers deal x3 damage on Critical Hit, rather than x2. Before this update, Upgraded daggers were much too powerful. This change restores the intended balance for close-combat encounters.

Effective Range Simplified

■ Units still suffer a -1 penalty to hit for every inch beyond their weapon’s Effective Range.

■ However, damage is no longer reduced due to range. This makes long-range attacks more reliable and easier to track.

Turn Order Revision

■ Players still roll a D20 and add their Captain’s Agility stat.

■ The winner now chooses whether to go first or go last in turn order.

■ The player who chooses to go last also gains the advantage of selecting their starting zone first.

■ This system was introduced based on playtest feedback and creates meaningful strategic choices before the match begins.

Cleanup Phase Introduced

■ A new Cleanup Phase has been added at the beginning of each Unit’s Turn Phase.

■ During this phase, apply any “start of turn” effects and remove any expired markers or tokens from the map.

■ If multiple effects trigger simultaneously, the active player chooses the order in which they resolve.

■ This step improves clarity and helps prevent missed or out-of-sequence effects.

Ambush Action Removed

■ The Ambush game action has been removed from the standard rules.

Falling Damage Adjusted

■ Units no longer suffer the Disarm status effect when falling 4 or more inches.

■ This change was made to avoid punishing Units twice for a single mistake.

Cover System Clarified

■ Partial Cover now refers to any situation where a Unit is less than 50% obscured by terrain.

■ Full Cover is defined as a Unit being 50% or more obscured, while still within Line of Sight.

■ A visual reference for Cover has been added to the bottom of page 11.

Narrative & Thematic Revisions

Mechanic Background Update

■ The Mechanic Background now grants an additional +1 to Tech and a –1 penalty to Focus, resulting in a total of +3 Tech and –3 Focus. 

■ This change strengthens the Mechanic’s identity and encourages more specialized builds.

Trauma Table Renaming

■ Severed Arm has been renamed to Muscle Spasms.

■ Severed Leg has been renamed to Phantom Limb Pain.

■ Cybernetic Upgrade has been renamed to Breakthrough.

■ The mechanical effects of each Trauma remain the same, but the new names provide a stronger thematic fit within the world of Dystopian Sky.

Branding Update

■ The faction formerly known as Blue Imp has been renamed to Blu Imp.

■ The associated logo has been refined to better reflect the faction’s sleek and futuristic tone.

Terminology Updated: Status Markers

■ The term “Status Effect Markers” has been changed to “Status Markers” throughout the rulebook.

Added Multi-Use Marker

■ A new Multi-Use Marker has been added to page 12. It can be used to represent marked locations, temporary effects, or other custom map elements during matches.

Player Aids

Printable Tools

■ Three pages of printable player aids have been added to the back of the rulebook, following the Example Crew Roster. These include:

■ Starting Zones for quick match setup

■ Rulers for measuring movement and ranges

■ Status Markers for printing and cutting out tokens

■ These tools support faster setup and smoother gameplay at the table.

Rulebook Updates & Clarifications

Optional RPG System Removed

■ The optional roleplaying system has been removed from the core rulebook to avoid confusion for new players learning the core mechanics.■ It will remain available as a free download in the Homebrew section of DystopianSky.net for those who wish to include narrative elements or campaign play.

Adjustments

■ The Resistance system rules have been relocated to the Understanding Stats section of page 7 for better placement.

■ A new subsection titled “Your Crew, Your Style” (Section 7.8) explains that players can use any 28mm miniatures to represent their Units.

■ Added a new “The Basics” section to page 9 in order to clearly outline what this chapter covers and how it introduces new players to core mechanics.

■ A new section was added to page 27 in order to explain how Credits are earned at the end of each match, tying it into the Crew XP and reward systems.

Glossary Expansion

■ Several new terms were added to the Glossary.

■ Existing entries were revised to reflect updated terminology and gameplay mechanics.

Status Marker Visuals Added

■ Each Status Effect on page 12 now includes a visual aid showing the correct Status Marker, helping players easily identify effects during gameplay.

Updated Example Crew Roster

■ A new, fully-updated Example Crew Roster has been created using the revised rules.

■ This roster includes red instructional notes to help new players learn the system and track Crew XP, Credits, Loadouts, and more.

Name Generator Relocation

■ All Name Generators have been moved to the end of their respective Affiliation pages, allowing faster access and cleaner formatting.

Added Changelog 

■ A dedicated Changelog section has now been included at the back of the rulebook, following the Glossary.

■ This allows returning players to quickly reference what has changed between versions without interrupting the learning experience for new players.

■ The Changelog will continue to be updated in future editions to track all major rule and content updates.