diff --git a/middleman-core/features/front-matter.feature b/middleman-core/features/front-matter.feature
index 1775bc36..df5e9b5e 100644
--- a/middleman-core/features/front-matter.feature
+++ b/middleman-core/features/front-matter.feature
@@ -18,6 +18,17 @@ Feature: YAML Front Matter
     Then I should see "<?php"
     Then I should not see "---"
 
+  Scenario: Rendering markdown (template-less) (yaml)
+    Given the Server is running at "frontmatter-app"
+    When I go to "/front-matter-pandoc.html"
+    Then I should see ">This is a document</h1>"
+    Then I should see "<p>To be or not to be</p>"
+    Then I should see "The meaning of life is 42"
+    Then I should not see "..."
+    Then I should not see "layout: false"
+    Then I should not see "title: Pandoc likes trailing dots..."
+
+
   Scenario: YAML not on first line, no encoding
     Given the Server is running at "frontmatter-app"
     When I go to "/front-matter-line-2.html"
diff --git a/middleman-core/features/slim.feature b/middleman-core/features/slim.feature
index 32c4a344..2cdabecd 100644
--- a/middleman-core/features/slim.feature
+++ b/middleman-core/features/slim.feature
@@ -78,4 +78,4 @@ Feature: Support slim templating language
     When I go to "/sass.html"
     Then I should see "html,body,div"
     When I go to "/error.html"
-    Then I should see "Syntax error"
+    Then I should see "Error: Invalid"
diff --git a/middleman-core/fixtures/frontmatter-app/source/front-matter-pandoc.html.md.erb b/middleman-core/fixtures/frontmatter-app/source/front-matter-pandoc.html.md.erb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b800a11b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/middleman-core/fixtures/frontmatter-app/source/front-matter-pandoc.html.md.erb
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+---
+layout: false
+title: Pandoc likes trailing dots...
+dotty_string: "..."
+famous_quote: To be or not to be
+popular_number: 42
+...
+
+# This is a document
+
+<%= current_page.data.famous_quote %>
+
+The meaning of life is <%= current_page.data.popular_number %>.
diff --git a/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/core_extensions/front_matter.rb b/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/core_extensions/front_matter.rb
index 3301badf..4a1f9f32 100644
--- a/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/core_extensions/front_matter.rb
+++ b/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/core_extensions/front_matter.rb
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ module Middleman::CoreExtensions
     # @return [Array<Hash, String>]
     Contract String, Pathname => Maybe[[Hash, String]]
     def parse_yaml_front_matter(content, full_path)
-      yaml_regex = /\A(---\s*\n.*?\n?)^(---\s*$\n?)/m
+      yaml_regex = /\A(---\s*\n.*?\n?)^((---|\.\.\.)\s*$\n?)/m
       if content =~ yaml_regex
         content = content.sub(yaml_regex, '')
 
diff --git a/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/extensions/automatic_image_sizes.rb b/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/extensions/automatic_image_sizes.rb
index 74f3b805..49ef706f 100644
--- a/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/extensions/automatic_image_sizes.rb
+++ b/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/extensions/automatic_image_sizes.rb
@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@ class Middleman::Extensions::AutomaticImageSizes < ::Middleman::Extension
     # @return [String]
     def image_tag(path, params={})
       if !params.key?(:width) && !params.key?(:height) && !path.include?('://')
-        params[:alt] ||= ''
-
         real_path = path.dup
         real_path = File.join(config[:images_dir], real_path) unless real_path.start_with?('/')
 
diff --git a/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/renderers/sass.rb b/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/renderers/sass.rb
index a63c8026..3b2ad68a 100644
--- a/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/renderers/sass.rb
+++ b/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/renderers/sass.rb
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ module Middleman
           begin
             @engine.render
           rescue ::Sass::SyntaxError => e
-            ::Sass::SyntaxError.exception_to_css(e, full_exception: true)
+            ::Sass::SyntaxError.exception_to_css(e)
           end
         end
 
diff --git a/middleman/middleman.gemspec b/middleman/middleman.gemspec
index 6e427e04..19d05ffd 100644
--- a/middleman/middleman.gemspec
+++ b/middleman/middleman.gemspec
@@ -22,7 +22,8 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
   s.add_dependency('middleman-cli', Middleman::VERSION)
   # s.add_dependency('middleman-sprockets', '>= 3.1.2') Disabled in alphas
   # s.add_dependency('middleman-compass', '4.0.0.alpha.2')
-  s.add_dependency('sass', ['>= 3.3.0'])
+  s.add_dependency('sass', ['>= 3.4.0', '< 4.0'])
+  s.add_dependency('compass-import-once', ['1.0.5'])
   s.add_dependency('haml', ['>= 4.0.5'])
   s.add_dependency('coffee-script', ['~> 2.2'])
   s.add_dependency('kramdown', ['~> 1.2'])