FR Announcements

	Alright, here we go. First off, I'd like to thank you all for sticking around through this slowdown, and keeping things alive while the GM team worked everything out.

Now, there's several things I want to cover. At the top is the two skill changes, going into effect soon (ie. once we crunch the numbers properly).

Melee and thrown will no longer be separate, since neither of them are particularly useful outside of specific circumstances. They're being merged under Simple Weapons, which will cover primitive weapons like blades, clubs and thrown objects. That includes grenades, too.

Second, there's going to be some sort of revamp to Engineering and Electronics, since those tend to bleed together in terms of applications and real-world skillsets. I'm still working on what exactly, current idea is a 2:1 equivalency between them similar to how Body and Mind increment with Pdef and Mdef. Again, more number crunching.

We'll also be bringing out lurkd's updated unlockable equipment list, which includes some neat goodies and may be expanded even more in the future.

Now, on to the fluff/IC stuff.

The biggest change there will be that the Poolboys will no longer be assigned exclusively to SCP-354. They'll be designated as a Keter-level rapid response force, specializing in situations where no intel is available, since the Pool doesn't allow for pre-mission recon. That means runs don't have to be in the Pool or at Area-354 only anymore.

I'm also intending to loosen up the restrictions on equipment a bit, to allow things that would previously have to be bought as standard no-cost items. The best example would be sound suppressors for weapons, since those are a very good thing to have in a team environment, and don't work like in the movies.

Aaaand the last thing, which is more of a reminder than a new element: custom items! These can range from simple stuff like an enhanced rifle to boost ranged, to exotic tech based off research or even recovered items.
As long as it's reasonable, I'm willing to look at just about anything in that area. The Foundation is several years ahead of current technology, and with the Poolboys being a Keter task force, they're authorized to acquire or make experimental items, some being based off SCP materials. Although for the sake of not giving everyone headaches, putting things through !SCP-914 shall be right out.