Since this is also our first patch notes, for the sake of everyone involved, I'm gonna lie out my ground rules for these kinds of posts.
- Characters will be listed in alphabetical order, as opposed to their release order here on the blog. This just makes it easier for me to organize and easier for people that are interested to find the character they actually care about.
- Patch format will include changes to the character's initially posted stats first, followed by what they've earned through leveling up.
- For edits, it's going to go in a [Previous Edge or Stat]—>[New Edge or Stat] format, for consistency's sake.
- For newly acquired Advances, it will list the Experience gained, followed by the associated Advanced.
- I will try to explain my reasoning for these edits and levels as I go through. Since there's a lot less stuff to take care of, I feel like I can pad these out with some of my justifications.
That's it. These aren't going to be super complicated posts anyways, so without further ado, here's the updated stats for characters that are changed in Season 2.
Spoiler Alert! You have been warned!
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- 15 Experience: Charismatic.
- By the time Season 2 begins, Foggy is an extremely good talker. He is constantly talking his way out of troubles, helping Matt gather information on the Punisher's victims, and at one point even takes over Matt's job in handling the opening statements in Frank Castle's trial. The guy has absolutely earned this.
- 20 Experience: Persuasion increased from d8 to d10.
- As with above, Foggy is an amazing talker. He's going to do really well going forwards as a lawyer.
Several Edges have been rearranged in the Advancement order, but most of them remain intact, with a few exceptions:
- Marksman has been replaced by Accurate Attack (Throwing).
- While, in theory, Matt should be an expert marksman due to his training—as well as having seen Stick use bows and crossbows with startling accuracy—we only ever see him throw, and even then, it's typically a multi-action. Accurate Attack simply fits the bill better than Marksman.
- Agility d12 reduced to Agility d10.
- This isn't particularly necessary to preserve Daredevil's identity, but it opens up some of his levels to more Edges and Skills. He still has Acrobat anyways, so that compensates for a slightly lowered Agility.
- Elan has been removed, and his Knowledge (Law) and Persuasion has been increased from d6 to d8.
- While Matt is extremely strong-willed and pushes himself to his limits, this is more manifested in a will to keep fighting and push himself constantly, rather than forcing himself to reach his peak in a few key situations. To that end, I changed that level up to instead allow for him to be better at his job of being a lawyer.
- Improved Frenzy downgraded to Frenzy, and Intimidation and Streetwise have increased from d6 to d8.
- This one is effectively a discussion on mechanics vs narrative: what does it mean to be able to use Frenzy vs Improved Frenzy. Narratively, I would chalk it up to being able to deliver more hits against individuals that are average or otherwise less than stellar in hand-to-hand melee. Between Matt's Martial Artist Edge (granting him the +2 bonus against enemies that are unarmed or a +1 against those that have Improvised Weapons like rifles and the like), and general skill in combat, he certainly qualifies for the first level of the Edge. However, against truly skilled martial artists like Nobu, he can barely land a single hit, let alone two, and without very high chances of getting a raise, either.
In addition to these Advancement changes, he has also had some minor changes to his powers as well:
- Awareness gains Limitation (–1, requires a Notice roll at –4 to work against targets with no heartbeat for the remainder of the scene). Danger Sense gains Limitation (–1, Notice roll is at –4 against targets with no heartbeat).
- Both of these Limitations are due to his obvious difficulties with the Hand. While their utter silence is creepy, it's obvious that Matt has to put forth a lot of effort to deal with these kinds of enemies, and this should be reflected in his power set.
- Super Attribute decreases to Agility +2 instead of Agility +3. Gains Regeneration Level 1.
- This is a change that I was unsure about in Season 1 due to the timeline of events being so fuzzy, but Season 2 has gone out of its way to assure the watcher that the first few episodes take place within a week or two. There is no way Matt recovers from all his Wounds that quickly without Regeneration, and his meditative training to heal faster.
- Attack, Melee and Attack, Ranged are made Switchable with a new Attack, Melee and Swinging.
- This is simple: we finally have the corded baton that I originally placed in my write-up of Daredevil back in my Savage Everything! blog. The new melee attack has a Reach of 2, but does the same damage and may only be used against a single target at a time. The show expresses that the cord has something like a 60' reach, but in combat he never uses it for more than about 10 or 12 feet. It also has the Grapple modifier, granting +2 to rolls to grapple or restrain an opponent.
Now, with these base-level modifications all wrapped up, let's look at his actual Advances this season:
- 110 Experience: Two-Fisted.
- In the off-season, Matt's been hard at work putting criminals down and has become more proficient in the use of his billy clubs.
- 120 Experience: Combat Reflexes.
- By the time Episode 3 hits and we're treated to that brutal fight scene down the stairwell, Matt has gotten better and better at taking more minor hits, shrugging off punches and kicks and hits with objects that aren't so much fun.
- 130 Experience: Quick Draw.
- This was mostly an Edge I was waiting to really see a good reason to give the guy, and in Episode 8 he draws his club and chunks it across a room almost effortlessly. It otherwise doesn't see too much use, just a nice way to round the character out.
- 140 Experience: Fighting and Notice increased from d10 to d12; Parry increased from 8 to 9.
- While Matt has always had great senses and combat capabilities, over the course of this season—and especially towards the end against the Hand—Matt has had to become a master in combat and is forced to use his senses in more creative ways to battle this new threat. Both of these increases are more than earned.
Yeah, Fisk actually makes an appearance this season, and it's not small by any amount. To sum it up without any huge spoilers, he's shown to be extremely intelligent and menacing all of his own cunning, rather than working through and being advised mostly by Wesley last season.
- Added Knowledge (Crime) d8 and increase Experience from 40 to 45.
This should have been the case last season, but I was unsure of whether or not he had really earned it because, again, he mostly operated through other agents. This time around, however, he has more than proved that he's always been a master of crime and gang warfare.
- 50 Experience: Intimidation and Persuasion increased from d8 to d10.
- 55 Experience: Smarts increased from d8 to d10.
- By the time we see Fisk again in prison, he has become an incredibly intelligent and persuasive presence within the Ryker's Island prison facility, setting up the second largest gang within their walls, having almost all of the guards on his payroll.
- 60 Experience: Knowledge (Crime) and Notice increased from d8 to d10.
- The last we see of Fisk, he is in his cell after encountering Matt. It's heavily implied that he has realized that the blind lawyer is actually the hero that landed him in prison in the first place, showing that the man has some serious perceptiveness and cunning.
Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with this season of the show, and I'm really looking forwards to next season, or The Defenders. Whichever releases first.
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