{"id":207,"date":"2026-11-01T22:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T04:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/?p=207"},"modified":"2026-11-01T23:18:33","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T05:18:33","slug":"coolrpg-volume-i-1-0-98-real-death-battle-talents-and-29-new-monsters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/?p=207","title":{"rendered":"CoolRPG: Volume I 1.0.98 &#8211; real death, battle talents and 29 new monsters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CoolRPG: Volume I 1.0.98<\/strong> is out for playtesters on Google Play, Google TV, Windows and in the browser. This is one of the biggest updates yet. Death now has teeth, Fighters and Thieves fight with talents, the Lore Tome remembers every piece of gear you find, and <strong>29 monsters got brand-new artwork<\/strong>, painted by an AI running on our own server.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\" style=\"max-width:400px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\"><video controls playsinline preload=\"metadata\" src=\"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/coolrpg-1-0-98-short.mp4\"><\/video><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The 1.0.98 update in 30 seconds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">29 monsters, redrawn<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Until now, a lot of Volume I&#8217;s monsters were stand-ins. Bats and hawks shared a crow sprite, ants and beetles were crabs, every giant was the same king, and some art was simply broken: a giant black widow missing legs, kobolds holding sword hilts with no blades. All of that is gone. Ants, beetles, bees, flies, the black widow (all eight legs), kobolds with real swords, the griffon, manticore, giants, pirates, the sea serpent, werebear, owlbear, bugbears, gnolls, werewolves, the wyvern and more now have art of their own.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/crpg-1098-battle_97.jpg\" alt=\"A manticore attacks the party on the Western Lands\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Manticore<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/crpg-1098-battle_98.jpg\" alt=\"A griffon battle\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Griffon<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/crpg-1098-battle_99.jpg\" alt=\"A wyvern battle\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wyvern<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/crpg-1098-battle_94.jpg\" alt=\"A hill giant battle\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hill Giant<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/crpg-1098-battle_91.jpg\" alt=\"An owlbear battle\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Owlbear<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/crpg-1098-battle_63.jpg\" alt=\"The Queen Bee and her guards\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Queen Bee and guards<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Made on a homelab AI server, not a paid service<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every one of these monsters was painted by an image AI running on <strong>our own hardware<\/strong>. It runs on a server in our homelab with an NVIDIA Tesla P100 graphics card, the open-source <strong>ComfyUI<\/strong> and the <strong>DreamShaper XL Turbo<\/strong> model. No paid image service, no per-image fees, and nothing leaves the house. For each monster the server paints several candidates. We pick the one that fits Basic Fantasy best, and its exact settings are saved so it can be painted again identically. This pass took about 130 renders, roughly 40 seconds each.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/crpg-1098-kobold_king_candidates.jpg\" alt=\"Three AI candidates for the Kobold King, rendered on our own server\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Three candidates for the Kobold King, straight from the server. We kept the first.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Death is real now<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A hero knocked to exactly 0 HP is only knocked out and gets back up after the battle. A hero struck <em>below<\/em> 0 is slain and stays down until raised, with a Scroll of Raise Dead from the Mystic, a temple priest, or the Cleric&#8217;s own <strong>Raise Dead<\/strong> spell at level 5. That&#8217;s how Basic Fantasy plays it, and it makes every fight count.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/crpg-1098-battle_73.jpg\" alt=\"The giant black widow in the Nameless Dungeon\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The giant black widow &#8211; fights like this now have consequences.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Battle talents for Fighters and Thieves<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spellcasters no longer have all the fun. Fighters get <strong>Mighty Blow, Second Wind, Shield Wall, Precise Strike<\/strong> and <strong>Riposte<\/strong>, and Thieves get <strong>Backstab, Vanish<\/strong> and <strong>Pilfer<\/strong>. Talents run on stamina, which Fighters draw from Strength and Thieves from Dexterity.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/crpg-1098-talents_screen.jpg\" alt=\"Fighter talents\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Choosing talents<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Lore Tome that remembers your gear<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every weapon, armour and item you pick up gets its own page. Each page shows what it does, its +1 \/ +2 \/ +3 smithing path (with the tiers you&#8217;ve owned ticked off) and the gems you&#8217;ve had set in it. Gems have pages too, and each one&#8217;s weapon and armour enchantments stay hidden until a smith sets that gem for you. In the inventory, <strong>Details<\/strong> (or Shift \/ the controller&#8217;s X) opens an item&#8217;s page.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/crpg-1098-lore_armory_dagger.jpg\" alt=\"Lore Tome page for a dagger: what it does, its smithing path and the gem set in it\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A dagger&#8217;s page<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/crpg-1098-lore_armory_ruby.jpg\" alt=\"Lore Tome page for a ruby: the weapon enchantment discovered, the armour one still unknown\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A ruby: one enchantment found, one still a mystery<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Smaller things you&#8217;ll notice<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Character creation:<\/strong> Back on every step and a <strong>Cancel New Game<\/strong> button that never touches your save slots.<\/li><li><strong>Options \u2192 Keyboard Keys \/ Controller Buttons:<\/strong> remap anything, including the map shortcuts. WASD is supported too.<\/li><li>The paid game has <strong>no ads at all<\/strong>.<\/li><li>The Player Guide and Walkthrough have been rewritten for this version.<\/li><\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/crpg-1098-creation_back_3_ask.jpg\" alt=\"Cancel New Game asks before leaving - no save slot is touched\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cancel New Game<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/crpg-1098-input_config_keys.jpg\" alt=\"Options - Keyboard Keys: remap any key\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Remap your keys<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Play it<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Android version is in a closed test on Google Play. Email your Gmail address to <a href=\"mailto:support@coolrpg.us\">support@coolrpg.us<\/a> and we&#8217;ll add you, then join at <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/apps\/testing\/com.coolrpg.crpgv1\">play.google.com\/apps\/testing\/com.coolrpg.crpgv1<\/a>. Members can also play in the browser from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coolrpg.us\">site<\/a>. Found a bug? Use <strong>Options \u2192 Report a Bug<\/strong> in the game. <a href=\"https:\/\/nexus.xinle.biz\/media\/CoolRPG_Volume_I_trailer_2026-10.mp4\">Watch the full trailer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>CoolRPG: Volume I adapts open-licensed Basic Fantasy material (CC BY-SA 4.0). Thank you to Chris Gonnerman and every Basic Fantasy contributor.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Death has teeth, Fighters and Thieves get battle talents, the Lore Tome records your gear and 29 monsters get new art.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[16,17,20,15,18],"class_list":["post-207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-whats-new","tag-android","tag-bfrpg","tag-monsters","tag-playtest","tag-update"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/coolrpg-1-0-98-monsters.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=207"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":224,"href":"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207\/revisions\/224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coolrpg.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}