This is excellent news! One of my friends totally called the name change. I liked to jokingly blurt out the whole name but we all collectively called it Hyperborea anyway.

I see the class art is getting updated, will any of the awesome charcoal art be staying? The Bard in particular might be some of my favorite RPG art.

Some of it will be retained and some of it will be removed. It's going to be a case-by-case basis thing throughout the layout process. The class pictures for 3e are going to be all-new. The older class pictures by Baggley, Bingham, and Teigeler will be utilized on an as-needed basis, but I'm happy to hear that you enjoy those pictures. Ian Baggley did some great work back then, but it's been ten years and it's always good to see a fresh new perspective. In a sense, we've gone back to a 1st ed concept: One person doing all the character class illustrations. For 2e it was a mix of three artists. Anyway, the 3e class pictures are brilliant, and I can't wait to start sharing them with you folks.  

Ghul wrote:

In a sense, we've gone back to a 1st ed concept: One person doing all the character class illustrations. For 2e it was a mix of three artists. Anyway, the 3e class pictures are brilliant, and I can't wait to start sharing them with you folks.  

I love the 1e art: I made my own Ref Screen from them back then (10 years? Good God...). I appreciate you sharing the 3e art with us when the stars are right.

thedenofsin wrote:

Ghul wrote:

I want my players to struggle, because they deserve to suffer.
 

...but only for 3 minutes. 

I also noticed you have Vikings and Carolingian Franks, but no Bretons. 

They must'a got lost (looking for the veil) somewhere down the line.
 

MicahJA wrote:

Our entry point to fantasy was Robert E Howard so Hyperborea ticks the boxes for us! Very excited to see 3e is coming soon!

Welcome to the Community Micah (And Family)! Almost everything Jeff releases starts off as a Kickstarter, so I'd expect this to follow suit also...

Bob

Doctor_Rob wrote:

shankspeare wrote:

... will any of the awesome charcoal art be staying? The Bard in particular might be some of my favorite RPG art.

Second that.  I hope the plan is to retain the 1st ed art.  I love those charcoal/pencil pictures...

Absolutely love that art as well. 

mikeyoung wrote:

Would love to see the Xathoqqua's Woe Critical Misses table included in the rulebook(s).

Agreed!
 

What does streamlined combat system mean here? The phases were a cool selling point for some people. That seems like a huge change to me, though I’m more than willing to be completely open minded about it.

BlackKnight wrote:

ExCrusader wrote:

What does streamlined combat system mean here? The phases were a cool selling point for some people. That seems like a huge change to me, though I’m more than willing to be completely open minded about it.

I think it was mentioned dropping the multiphase combat into a single phase. but could be wrong...

For several years the phases have been the largest source of confusion and the most commonly house-ruled aspect of the game. Now, I do understand and appreciate that we will be implementing some changes that some folks will not prefer over the rules of previous editions. We are gamers, so we can get picky and fall into our preferences. I have personally found that I can run phased combat with my home group fine, but when I present it to new players or even players with decades of experience (say, at a convention), I am most typically greeted with a blank stare, which inevitably leads me to say, "Don't worry about it -- just tell me what you want your character to do, and I will let you know how it works within the framework of the rules, if necessary." Eventually, I began to simplify it all around, with my home group and elsewhere, and no one really seemed to notice, because now it was easier to grasp, more intuitive. And as I've come to understand, these simplifications and modifications are very much similar to how a lot of people were house ruling things, anyway. For your perusal, I offer a sneak peek of the HYPE3E combat system:

COMBAT SEQUENCE
Each side takes turns in the following sequence according to initiative results, which are diced for each round, using a d6. After all sides have gone through each of the combat steps (above), a new initiative order must be diced for; then, the sequence begins anew.
[list=1]

MELEE (from stationary position)

MISSILES (from stationary position)

MAGIC (from stationary position; includes spells, magic abilities, magic items, etc.)

MOVEMENT

[list=1]

Move (standard movement rate or double movement rate [run])

Move and Melee (move ½ and attack or move full and charge attack)

Move and Missile (move ½ and fire)

Move and Magic (move ½ and cast spell [or use magic ability, etc.])

OTHER ACTIONS (bind an ally’s wounds, toss a rope, spike a door, etc.)

 
Combat Sequence Notes:
 
Player Character Order: Two characters on the same side, taking the same basic action (both melee, for example) may go in order of dexterity (DX), or however the players choose.
 
Initiative Ties: A tie on the initiative roll signifies that all combatants from all sides go in order of their individual dexterity (DX) scores, regardless of the combat sequence. DX ties imply true simultaneousness.
 
Stationary Position: Stationary (melee, missiles, magic) combatants are not statue-still; they may move up to 5 feet before taking their action.

• Example #1: An archer steps forward 5 feet before shooting.
• Example #2: A spell caster steps 3 feet to the left before casting burning hands. 

 
Multiple Attacks: Multiple attacks may be made together.

• Example: A dagger-wielding fighter with two attacks has won initiative against a trident-wielding lizard-man, so the fighter may take both attacks before the monster goes (unless the optional first strike rule is used, in which case the lizard-man goes first).

 
Delay Action: A combatant can delay to the end of the initiative order or even the end of the round.

• Example #1: A spell caster wants to cast a command spell after all the caster’s allies have taken their actions. (A delay to the end of the initiative order.)
• Example #2: An axe hurler awaits the enemy’s advance, even though the axe hurler’s side won initiative. (A delay to the end of the round.)

 
Change Action: Changing an action requires referee approval. Switching a weapon is typically fine, but going from casting a spell to moving and firing a missile is not (in this author’s opinion). Likewise, changing an action based on initiative results is discouraged. If your character is on the winning initiative side and you have already declared that you were casting a spell (stationary), then asking to move up 15 feet before casting, just because you know the initiative results, is in poor taste. But the referee is the final arbiter in all such cases.
  
 

Interesting, and does seem more intuitive, as it explicitly lays out a formal sequence.