Table Top Final Fantasy

[Zane]

As some of you may or may not know, I run a weekly table top Final Fantasy game. It's based loosely off of the D&D rule set, but with some heavy modifications to better suit the Final Fantasy world. Combat mechanics are closest to the NES era Final Fantasy's in order to avoid the heavy number crunching that goes into calculating Accuracy and Damage with the newer games. For example, Accuracy - Evasion = % Chance to hit. It is a jobless system, with point-buy abilities, meaning that you earn points upon leveling up, and select the spells and abilities that best suit your character.

 

The setting can best be described as a mixture of Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XII, and Final Fantasy Tactics. The characters are in a war torn world full of action, intrigue, political maneuvering, and deepening shades of gray. Many characters are officers in the various military's of the world, some are mercenaries, and others are just trying to find a way to end the fighting.

 

Why would I bring this up? Because occasionally while DMing the game, I find that I need a new NPC, or a new story arch to keep the action fresh. People I know and their personas are my greatest muse, so, at times I've borrowed a few people I've met to insert into the game world in order to enhance the story. I thought it might be fun to post up a few character sheets I've done to see what you guys think. Unfortunately, while perusing my character sheets, I realized that there are only two people I've role-played with that I have character sheets up for despite the fact I've introduced more characters into the storyline at some point or another.

 

WARNING: I am not a perfect game designer, and there are a few balance issues. I'm constantly tweaking my game to get ever closer to balanced. As such, do not be offended if your character seems rather weak by comparison, I can assure you I play test often and find those characters that are too strong or too weak and adjust them accordingly.

 

Dyterium:

Level: 21

Archetype: Thief

 

HP: 674 +40

MP: 74

STR: 25 (12) +25

AGI: 30 (11) +4

INT: 23 (10) +3

MND: 17 (11)

 

Main: Trident

Sub: Elven Cloak

Head: Twist Headband

Body: Genji Armor

Accessory: Mythril Bracers

 

Attack: 65

Defense: 62

Accuracy: 114

Evasion: 29

Magic Defense: 38

Magic Attack: 13

 

Gil: ???

 

Items:

 

Job Abilities:

Call Wyvern

Spirit Link

Spirit Surge

Third Eye

Warding Circle

 

Job Traits:

Accuracy Bonus

Attack Bonus I

 

Spells:

 

Limits:

 

Points Remaining: -14

 

EXP: ???

 

Rank Points: --/--

 

Chain of Command: Dragon

 

----------

 

Lumineux

 

HP: 64

Attack: 22

Defense: 12

Accuracy: 92

 

Dyterium is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the Allied Empire of Onrac. Once a Major in the Kingdom of Pravoka, he was one of the few heads of the military that were able to escape after the Empire of Lefein conquered his hometown. Fleeing to the near-by kingdom of Coneria, he works tirelessly as the new leader of the Pravokan resistance along with Armads. Renowned for his skill with the lance, Dyterium has placed many times in the annual tournament and is a force to be reckoned with respected by ally and enemy alike.

 

Dyterium was designed to be a dragoon first and foremost, with a hint of Samurai. Two things that might seem odd about this character sheet are his "Points Remaining" and Wyvern. In game, and out of game play testing showed Dyterium to be one of the most broken and powerful characters within his level range. This led to me nerfing a few key abilities by adjusting the point value of the abilities. That is why Dyterium currently has negative points, he has more abilities than he should be able to afford at his level. In regards to Lum, he's been a thorn in my side every time Dyterium goes into battle. He's either too powerful and makes Dyterium near unstoppable, or becomes so weak he gets one-shotted and becomes next to useless. Since there are no PC Dragoons, Dyterium's updates usually only occur when I suspect he may be engaging in a fight soon. Lum is currently in the weak phase until I Dyterium's presence on the battlefireld is needed once again. Then I will try to find a happy medium between super Lum and god awful Lum.

 

Zarik:

Level: 20

Archetype: Black Mage

 

HP: 652

MP: 197

STR: 12 (7)

AGI: 22 (10)

INT: 33 (14)

MND: 25 (13)

 

Main: Ice Brand

Sub: Leather Shield

Head: Diamond Helm

Body: Ruby Armlet

Accessory: Mythril Gloves

 

Attack: 35

Defense: 40

Accuracy: 107

Evasion: 31

Magic Defense: 42

Magic Attack: 19

 

Gil: ???

 

Items:

 

Job Abilities:

 

Job Traits:

[ice Damage]

 

Spells:

Barblizzara

Barfira

Barthundra

Blindna

Blink

Cure

Cure II

Cure III

Poisona

Protect

Silena

Silence

Vanish

Blind

Blizzard

Blizzard II

Confuse

Fire

Fire II

Focaga

Focus

Haste

Sleep

Sleep II

Slow

Stun

Temper

Thunder

Thunder II

 

Limits:

 

Points Remaining: 117

 

EXP: ???

 

Rank Points: --/--

 

Zarik is currently the highest ranking officer in the Shin army. Once a nobody caught in the stream of intrigue gripping the continent, his life changed after much of the Conerian nobility, including his father, were assassinated during the first raid on Pravoka. While wandering the world trying to find a purpose to believe in, he was picked up by the one of the heroes of old, Magestic (Don't look at me, PC.) There, Zarik acted as adviser despite his low rank and helped Magestic build the country of Shin. Using his charisma to it's fullest, he recruited many hidden talents across the continent into Magestic's employ and soon earned the highest rank within his army. Only he knows the power he holds within Magestic's Kingdom, for without him, there would be no Shin. Inwardly, he has a soft spot for his previous home, but outwardly he carries with him the strict air of neutrality Magestic seeks to enforce in the Great War. Believing the answer to his father's assassination lies somewhere within the walls of the great Empire Lefein, Zarik will use his new influence behind this army to find out the truth behind the veil of lies.

 

Zarik was designed to be an old school Red Mage rather than the FF XI incarnation of Red Mage. As such, his spell list contains many spells not seen in FF XI at all. Zarik's points are also rather high at the moment since I recently buffed spellcasters and haven't made it to Z yet to update the sheets.

 

Those are just the character sheets I've done. There are a few other members of the Sylph RP community that have appeared throughout the game in different capacities. If any one is curious if their character was used at all, let me know and I'll tell you what they did. Also, if you guys are interested, I will post up the character sheets as they get updated. Finally, if any one is uncomfortable with me using your character in my table top game, let me know and I'll remove them. Any and all feedback is appreciated!

[Nanapariri]

If you want to borrow any of mine, FFXI since not 100% sure on my FFXVI characters, its fine with me. lol.

[Smiling River]

I'm certainly curious if Berkan/Darkcat/Dirant made it into your game! Also if you need to use any of em, feel free.

[Zane]

Dirant actually made an appearance. Originally, there was a rebellion against the Queen of Coneria, and the leader of the Allied Empire of Onrac. It was widely believed she was incompetent, leaving all matters of decision up to the Conerian senate and what ever general in the military had her ear at the time. Dirant joined this rebellion against the queen and became mid ranking officer due to his political savvyness and the large amounts of money he was able to lend in support of the rebellion.

 

A few months later, Dirant discovered the rebellion was just a front to serve the ambitions of a particular officer within the Onrac government. After that general betrayed Onrac, killed the leader of the rebellion, and took most of the rebel's armies, money (A significant amount of the money once belonging to Dirant) and land for his own, founding the Empire of Lefein, Dirant left to rejoin the Allied Empire of Onrac. While he has little faith in the queen, he knows true freedom can never be obtained under the Lefeinian Emperor's rule, so he uses what influence he has within Onrac to fight against Lefein in the hopes that one day a better ruler may come into power.

 

Also Tsumi, I'll keep that in mind. I'll probably have to role-play with you a bit to get a feel for your character and how they would act before I implement them. While I can never do the original character justice, I attempt to emulate them as close to the original in a new setting as I can. Since my Table Top game is part traditional RPG, and part War Game, I'm always in need of new officers and other people of interest. For example, the game currently has around 125ish major NPCs, of which, I probably created 75 - 80 from scratch all with unique personalities and goals. When I run out of character ideas, I turn towards others that inspired me and emulate their characters in this world. The large cast of characters is necessary to make it feel like a real war zone, but it can be a bit of a headache to keep it all under tabs. Which is why I have a forum, and three separate notebooks I use to keep track of everything on a week by week basis.

[Nanapariri]

np. I'm used to RPing in messenger so hit me up with a PM if you need any characters.

[Smiling River]

Wow that's quite extensive! Thanks for including my character.

[Kylin]

I love the fact that Zarik was made a character and liked the description for him. If you ever need to use any of my other characters (of which there were tons >.>), feel free to. They're all listed on the Sylph RP wiki.

[Guest]

Just out of curiosity, you wouldn't happen to be willing to post what edition D&D rules set you're using, and what modifications you made? I tried to write a FFXI tabletop game using GURPS, but lost interest after awhile as I had nobody to test play it with D:

[Zane]

I wouldn't mind posting my rules. To be honest, almost every essence of D&D got scraped out of my table top game at it's current version. Really, the main focus of the game is Role-playing since it's an intrigue type of world, so the rules and formulas aren't as important. They are necessary however to facilitate battles, especially of the PvP variety. I'll put a brief explanation in spoiler tags since it'll get a little long (Even as a summary).

 

Battle system is a direct rip of FFI's method of calculation modified slightly for ease of use in a table top environment, I take no credit of it for my own. Here is the breakdown:

 

Physical Attacks:

I. PHYSICAL ATTACKS

 

A) ATTACK DAMAGE

 

D = Damage rating of Attacker

A = Absorb rating of Target

L = Level

Damage = Damage done by a successful Hit

Xâ¦Y = An inclusive range in which a random number is generated

 

D = STR/2 + Weapon

--If target is weak to an Elemental or Enemy-Type attribute of the weapon, D = D + 4

--If target is Asleep or Stunned, D = D*5/4

 

A = Sum of equipped armor

 

Damage = Dâ¦2D â A [Minimum value = 1]

 

Critical Hit Damage = (Dâ¦2D) + (Dâ¦2D â A [Min = 1])

Both sets of Dâ¦2D use the same value

 

 

B) CHANCE TO HIT

 

Base Chance to Hit (BCH) = 84

-If the Attacker is blind, subtract 20 from BCH

--If the Target is blind, add 20 to BCH

--If the Target is weak to an attack (Weapon attributes match Enemy Type or Enemy Weakness), add 20 to BCH

H = Attacker Hit% (H = BCH + AGI/2)

E = Target Evade% (E = 24 + AGI/2)

 

Chance to Hit = H â E

If the target is asleep or stunned, it does not evade the attack.

 

Critical Hit Rate = Weapon's Critical Hit Chance

 

A random number is then rolled 1â¦100. If the number is equal to or less than the Chance to Hit, the Hit connects. If the number is equal to or less than the Critical Hit Rate, then that hit is also a critical hit (if the number is equal to or less than the Critical Hit Rate but higher than the Chance to Hit, the hit still misses). The number 1 is always a successful hit and a critical hit, and the number 100 is always a miss.

 

 

C) STATUS ATTACKS

 

Base Chance (BC) = 50

If target is immune to Attack Element, Base Chance = 0

MD = Target Magic Defense

MD = MND/2 + (Level + 10)

 

Chance to Inflict = BC â MD (Minimum = 1)

 

Then roll a random number, R = 1â¦100. If this number is equal to or less than the Chance to Inflict, the status is applied.

 

Magic Attacks:

II. MAGIC

 

A. MAGIC DAMAGE

 

E = Effectivity

--If the enemy is strong to the spell element, divide Effectivity by 2 (or reduce by 50%)

--If the enemy is weak to the spell element, multiply Effectivity by 1.5 (or increase by 50%)

 

The damage calculation has two steps:

 

1) Damage = (Eâ¦2E + INT/2)

 

2) If the spell is not resisted and succeeds in the Chance to Hit calculation (explained below), this value is doubled.

 

 

B. CHANCE TO HIT (DOUBLE)

 

NOTE: Status spells can hit or miss, which is determined by this calculation. Damage spells always âhit,â but may be âresistedâ in which case the doubling component of the damage calculation does not occur, and the spell does only half of its potential damage.

 

Base Chance to Hit = 74

--If target is strong to the spellâs element, set BC to 0

--If target is weak to the spellâs element, add +20 to BC

(if an enemy is both strong and weak, the base chance is set to 0, but you still add 20, so the chance is then 20)

SA = Spell Accuracy + INT/2

MD = Magic Defense

 

Chance to Hit = 74 + SA â MD

 

A random number is then rolled 1â¦100. If the number is equal to or less than the Chance to Hit, the spell hits (or doubles). The number 1 is always a successful hit, and the number 100 is always a miss.

 

Each spell has it's own parameters which I will explain with an example:

Name - [Target]: Effectivity; (Accuracy); Element; {MP}

 

Dispel - : Remove Buff; (107); Dark; {35}

 

Name is self explanatory.

 

The target specifies if it is [C] for Caster, for Single Target, or [A] for AoE. There are also spells that can hit the entire field, designated as [F], but those spells are far and few between.

 

Effectivity is the effect of the spell. In Dispel's case, it's "Remove Buff". For a damaging spell, effectivity is replaced with a number that goes into the Magic Damage equation above.

 

Accuracy is the number added to your Magic Attack in order to check to see if a Debuff lands, or if a damage spell is resisted.

 

Element is the element of the spell. All spells have an element, with very few exceptions (Such as Non-elemental damage spells like Ultima.)

 

MP cost is simply how much MP the spell costs to cast. Much of the MP costs are changed from FF XI's, but if you want to try this system, feel free to adjust it to your own specifications. As I said, this is a work in progress, and isn't 100% balanced yet.

 

Character Sheet Breakdown

 

Level: Self explanatory. This system runs off of a level 1 - 100 system.

 

Archetype:

Since I took out the job system, instead in it's place are "Archetypes". Boiled down to it's components, Archetypes are what determines the growth of the character. Below is a sample Archetype.

 

Monk

Strength: 4

Agility: 2

Mind: 1

Intelligence: 1

HP: 4

MP: 1

+1 AP per Level

Martial Arts

 

First is the name of the Archetype. Please keep in mind the name does not necessarily mean you are to be that job. In fact, only 6 of my currently 50+ archetypes are named after jobs, those being the classic Final Fantasy 6.

 

Next is all of the different stats that make up a character. I boiled the stats down to it's necessities for ease of use in a table top format, but I am debating adding an extra stat that determines Defense. For now though, it's just the 6 stats. In addition, each stat is given a number between 1 and 6, 1 being dismal, and 6 being the best. I have a separate excel sheet that tracks stat growth which I unfortunately will not post here since it's even too lengthy to post on my forums. Essentially though, the four core stats (Str, Agi, Mnd, and Int) increase at a certain rate. If you have a 6, that means every time you level up, your stat will increase by 1 giving you a grand total of +99 at 100. If you have a 1 in a stat, it gets a grand total of I believe 20 incremental increases between levels 2 and 100. HP and MP work slightly different in that there are specific values for each number at each level. I simply have to look at the chart and assign the correct number to the character sheet.

 

Below the stats you'll notice the "+1 AP per level". Since the Monk archetype has slightly sub par stats, it gets a boost to the amount of AP gained upon leveling up. Normal AP per level is 10 per level. With monk, the character would get 11 AP per level. This may not seem like a lot, but when you consider that's +100 AP at level 100, it adds up.

 

The "Martial Arts" in italics is an extra ability you get for free with the Archetype.

 

Hard Stats: Explained in "Combat Mechanics" and "Archetypes".

 

Equipment: For ease of use, there are only five slots for equipment.

 

Soft Stats: These are the stats you will use for most battle conditions. After you do the math to convert the stats from Hard Stats, Equipment, and abilities, this is what you'll end up with.

 

Gil: Currency of the game.

 

Items: Self explanatory.

 

Job Abilities: Same as FF XI, these are activated abilities that take a standard action.

 

Job Traits: Same as FF XI, these are static abilities that do not required to be activated, but may need trigger conditions (Such as Counter, Double Attack, etc.)

 

Spells: Self Explanatory.

 

Limits: There are no Weapon Skills in this system, but there are Limit Breaks. Limit Points are gained in much the same manner as TP - Hitting enemies or getting hit. Because of the versatility of Limits and the characters that use them, there are more ways to obtain Limit Points. Because of their raw power, it's harder to reach 100 limit points. Each character can have up to 8 limits, designated by a number, 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, etc up to 4-2. Those familiar with FF VII's limit system should recognize that. For every 100 limit points you get, you can use that level of limit (I.E. 100% = 1-1. 200% = 1-2, 300% = 2-1.)

 

Points:

Ability points are what is used to learn new abilities, spells, and in general enhance your character. As described in the "Archetype" section, each character receives 10 AP per level unless otherwise noted in their archetype. Here is a snipet from my Point Buy list to give you an idea of ability costs:

 

Accomplice: 10

Activate: 75

Addendum: White: 20

Afflatus Misery: 5

Afflatus Solace: 5

Aggressor: 10

Ancient Circle: 9

Angon: 19

Animated Flourish: 3

Arcane Circle: 5

Aspir Samba: 5

Aspir Samba II: 10

Assassin's Charge: 25

Astral Flow: 100

Avatar's Favor: 50

Azure Lore: 100

 

Changing the point value of abilities is what directly effects character balance, and is the easiest way to adjust characters. In general, most spell caster abilities (except for the very powerful ones) will be cheaper than melee characters. In addition, spells are very cheap to help encourage melee characters to dabble a little in spells for well-roundedness and also to prevent mage type characters from feeling overwhelmed at the sheer number of spells appropriate for their character versus the few abilities appropriate for melee characters. There is no scientific way of determining an abilities point value, other than your own good judgment (Which may sometimes be wrong ). Just assign it a point value that seems right, and adjust it later if necessary.

 

EXP: This is where I put PC's EXP. As is standard with most RPGs and Table top games, EXP determines when you level up. This number is excellent in setting the pace of your game, I recommend looking at some early FF EXP models to determine how fast/slow you want progression to be.

 

Rank Points: This was something I had in part 2, but put on the back burner for part 3 (The current part of the game I'm hosting.) Rank Points was essentially how close you were to ranking up in your military unit. Completing tasks granted Rank Points, and failing to listen to an officer's orders would take away rank points. You can look at it as mission scoring in a way. I took it away in Part 3 since that is when I was doing an overhaul of the game engine to make it simpler for use on table top rather than using several programs I designed just to keep track of tons of info.

 

Chain of command: I put this in here to help show how military chain of command is established within each nation. Chain of command only applies to people in the military and only shows their superiors, not their subordinates.

 

EPICs/Mortal Strikes: When a circumstance would normally claim the life of a character, they may (depending on the circumstance) be able to take a Mortal Strike. Mortal Strikes represent the near death experiences many heroic characters in many of our favorite stories experience. You may accrue up to 3 Mortal Strikes on a character before you are unable to accrue any more. At that point, your character's luck has run out, and they do die. You can also spend EPICs on getting rid of a Mortal Strike on your character. EPICs are representation of great and heroic feats your character has accomplished. Every time you perform a truly heroic feat, as decided by your DM and peers, you will be awarded a letter, "E", "P", "I" or "C". When you spell out EPIC, you may use that for any number of things. Getting rid of mortal strikes, increasing the base value of a stat in your Archetype, Limit Breaks, or Character specific abilities. Character specific abilities and limits are designed by the player, and are unique to that particular character.

 

Flow of Combat:

 

This is very similar to Final Fantasy Tactic's combat system.

 

Firstly, when combat starts every character rolls initiative (hereafter referred to as CT) with a d100. This provides their initial position. Turn order can get a bit complex if you aren't good with number crunching several separate initiatives in your head or have a program to assist you, so it may be wise to stop right there. To properly conduct Initiative however, turns have to be taken in Clock Ticks. You add 5 to everyone's initiative to determine effects (I.E. Poison Damage is dealt every Clock Tick, Duration of buffs/Debuffs is measures in Clock Ticks, and other temporary effects.) If someone's CT reaches 100, they take their turn. Turns consist of two possible actions, Movement and Standard Actions. A character can do both on their turn, one or the other, or even neither. If the character takes two actions, subtract 100 from their CT total. If they take 1 action or movement, you subtract 80, and if they do nothing, subtract 60. After everyone has taken their turn, repeat the process until it's someone's turn again. Haste and slow effect the CT gain. If you have Haste, you add 6 every Clock Tick rather than 5, and with Slow it's 4, or Slow II which is 3. If you are afflicted with Stop or KOed, your CT gain is 0. Sleep allows CT to accrue normally, but if you are asleep when it's your turn, 60 is subtracted (Since no actions were taken.).

 

Again, this can get very difficult to keep track of without assistance, so if you can't crunch and remember insane amounts of numbers in your head or program a simple initiative program. I would recommend either taking the simple Initiative method or getting paper to keep track of everything. (Though one combat session may take up a lot of paper depending on how you take notes)

 

That's the basics of my system, it's a very rough work in progress that can use some balancing and adjusting, but it's a start. If any one is still interested in some of the finer points of using this table top system, I can elaborate on any topic of interest via PM to avoid boring everyone with lengthy bouts of rules.

[Seraphine Felstar]

Actually the cool thing about Zane's game that I found is how the npc's ended up evolving differently. For example, Amutiyaal doesn't just stand around San d'Oria (renamed Provoka for the game), take your money and warp you to Al Zhabi anymore. He's a crazed lunatic that killed Sherilla during a tournament and is pretty much the last person you'd want to meet in a dark ally. Aphmau is about 17 I think and one of the strongest world leaders although nearly all the Blue Mages were wiped out in the recent war against the Middle Lands. Rochefogne is a member of the Onrac alliance and leads Tavnazian. We get to have a lot of fun coming up with alternate versions of the characters.

 

Another fun thing we get to do is once a year Zane does a "movie". It's usually non-cannon so you can do things with your character you wouldn't normally get to do. For example the last movie was the FD&D world based in Dissidia like combat. Our characters could be any age so some characters had more information about the future then others, you randomly got items and cards (which could either hurt or help your character)and it all focused on PVP.

 

We try to do all the peoples characters we "borrow" justice although sometimes I think it would be much more fun to have the people who created them there to contribute. Maybe one day I can talk Zane into doing a vent movie where anyone we knew could participate ^.~

[Zane]

Well, it's time for the annual tournament for my table top game. This year many of the NPCs in the roster are filled by people who I've played with in FF XI, so I thought I would post up what the match-ups will look like. For those of you curious, the tournament functions much in the same way as the "World Martial Arts Tournament" from DBZ. It's a flat open area, non-lethal combat, and only the best of the best in the world's fighters are allowed to enter after many preliminary contests. You win by knocking your opponent out of the arena, or by KOing them. Below the match up chart I'll include a short description of each character in case any of you are curious what the character you're up against is like. Also, if any of you want, feel free to give me a theme song for your character in case a PC winds up facing you.

 

 

Brytor: Brytor and Aegis have been undefeated in battle, leading troops to victory against Lefein. The shield has seemingly protected him from all harm on the battlefield making him truly invincible. If Batgroob is to have any hope of stopping Coneria's onslaught, this man must die. But how do you kill that which cannot be killed by any army? (Job: Pld/Rdm)

 

Castian: Captain in the Onrac Army under Lieutenant Colonel Armads' jurisdiction, Castian has not had the opportunity to make a name for himself on the front lines yet. However, his strength in battle cannot be underestimated. His qualification in the tournament is testament to his combat prowess. (Job: Old School Dark Knight)

 

Grant: Grant's rage grows day by day against the Kingdom Coneria. Through innumerable losses, he has honed his hatred into a powerful weapon. Grant has vowed to kill Brolic and Dragon at any cost, but perhaps there is another more deserving of his undying rage? Will Grant burn the world to find the answer to the silent question buried deep within his heart, and will there be anything left by the time he comes to that realization? (Job: Drk/War)

 

Dyterium: Lieutenant Colonel Dyterium now leads the Pravokan arm of the front lines along with Armads in a push against the Lefeinian army. With his home recovered and morale at an all time high the wielder of the legendary spear, Gungnir should make a very good showing at this year's tournament. After all, he once claimed second place only to lose to the infamous Batgroob. Now that he is unable to compete, there is little that can slow his ascent to the top. (Job: Drg/Sam)

 

Zarik: Zarik is currently the highest ranking officer in the Shin army. While wandering the world trying to find a purpose to believe in, he was picked up by the one of the old heroes. Using his charisma to it's fullest, he recruited many hidden talents across the continent into Shin's fold and soon earned the highest rank within it's army. Only he knows the power he holds within the kingdom, for without him, there would be no Shin. (Job: Old School Red Mage)

 

Clint: With Nikolai's death as head of the Lefeinian forces against Coneria, the mantle falls upon Clint to lead Lefein against Coneria. Amidst espionage, intrigue, and distrust Clint's future is in peril and he knows it. Kaien grasps for loyalty, and Fuma shuts Clint out from the rest of the officers. Will their actions set a man loyal to Lefein into a collision course with destiny through their self fulfilling prophecies, or is Clint just a man forever caught on the winds of chance as he searches for truth in a world of lies? (Job: Rng/Cor)

 

Kaien (PC): Kaien now sits at the crossroads of his life's journey. It almost seems as though everything in his life has led to this one moment, but which path will he embark down? Will he remain a loyal subject to Coneria - pushing the war effort against Batgroob and Lefein ending the war swiftly with cunning genius? Will he return to liberate Pravoka, and lead the country now in shambles back to some semblance of prosperity it once held? Or will he rekindle his old dream of establishing the group Holy Orders? His actions may determine who lives and dies in the months to follow. (Job: Smn/Blm)

 

Renay: Captain in Onrac's military, Renay was often over looked until she was hand picked to join an infiltration mission into the heart of Lefein. When the mission went awry, it was Renay who risked life and limb to recover a missing agent and the information he recovered. Since then she has held a more prominent role in the offensive against Lefein. (Job: Whm/Mnk)

 

Brolic: Leader of the now defunct Hunter guild of Dark Knights, his strength and combat prowess are renowned the world over. Few individuals are willing to fight him, and even fewer can last more than a minute face to face with him. (Job: Drk/War)

 

Vyvian: Often seen around the Conerian capital as an adviser to the throne, her combat ability is largely unknown to the rest of the world. Soon to be deployed to the front lines with the main force in an effort to take Jeuno from Lefein's clutches, it was decided she would make her premier at the annual tournament - a scare tactic against Jeuno's would be defenders. While it's known she is in possession of Spharai, it's raw destructive power will only now be making it's debut along with it's wielder. (Job: Mnk)

 

Fuma (PC): The loss against Coneria left a great distaste in many a Lefeinian. As soldiers leave Batgroob's fold to fight in Dragon's holy war, and distrust among officers is at an all time high, one man in Batgroob's employ does not seem phased. Fuma knows what this loss against Coneria means, and relaxes in confidence with the knowledge of the times to come. For Fuma has not lost faith in Batgroob. He does not fear the darkening skies and the uncertain future. He embraces it. (Job: Blm/Nin)

 

Jagan: Jagan shares one distinction from the rest of the Lefeinian officers, which has led to the unexpected friendship between himself and Fuma. Meandering through life without reason, he's begun to learn how Fuma's mind works and the confidence he displays in the current situation tells him that things are about to become very fun. The higher the stakes get, the more his twisted heart leaps with joy. Are Jagan and Fuma the catalyst to the events to follow? (Job: Drk/Nin)

 

Akah: A regular here at the tournament, Akah brings Midge in the hopes of finally claiming the grand prize. (Job: Pup)

 

Kofi: Kofi is Shin's second highest ranking officer next to Zarik, and is often used to gather information from Lefein and Onrac to help guide Shin's foreign policy. Although captured several times, he often uses his wiles and incredible luck to get himself out of what may otherwise be a certain death situation. Very easy going, he is very slow to anger, sometimes forgets to collect his pay, and enjoys oranges. (Job: Brd)

 

Jack (PC): Assassin for hire who recently decided to formally join the Allied Empire of Onrac. He's been a competitor at every single tournament since it's recent re-emergence, and while he almost always makes a good showing, he has yet to place in the top four. (Job: Nin/Thf)

 

Hayai: Ex-member of the Altepa Bandits, Hayai joined Onrac when he found out his leader Amutiyaal was secretly working for Lefein. Recently released from the hospital after his injuries sustained during an espionage mission on Lefein, Hayai competes to honor his girlfriend who died fighting in the tournament. (Job: Rdm/Nin)

 

Armads: Lieutenant Colonel of the allied empire of Onrac, Armads has proven his combat prowess on several occasions. Between his relentless offense and nigh-impenetrable defense, his first appearance at the tournament should make a lasting impression. (Job: Pld/Nin)

 

Bola: One of the leaders of the Dark Knight rebellion, Bola fights with an unusual weapon - a massive Dark Steel ball attached to a chain which he flings around with ease. Physically the strongest competitor at the tournament, he's suffered numerous humiliations as of late losing to opponents many thought stood no chance. Can Bola regain his pride at the tournament? Or will he suffer more unfortunate losses. (Job: War/Drk)

 

Elfhelm: A member of the Pravokan branch of Onrac's military, Elfhelm is making his debut at the tournament this year. (Job: Rdm)

 

Fiend: A captain in Onrac's military, the man referred to as "Fiend"'s name and origins remain a mystery. What is known about him however, is that he is an expert in infiltration and heads many of Onrac's black ops missions. One would think the tournament's open field would work to his disadvantage. Unfortunately for his opponents, Fiend has remarkable combat ability, and will be showing off his famed weapon "Death Penalty". (Job: Cor/Nin)

 

Shenjiro (PC): A Paladin from Pravoka, he serves Onrac faithfully out of love for his home nation. With a great many deed under his belt, he comes to the tournament once again in hopes of reaching the top four and beyond. (Job: Sam/Pld)

 

Seraphine (PC): Seraphine's faith renewed, and a new determination to stem the tide of darkness growing in the heart of the world, she embarked on her first mission as a soldier of Coneria - the liberation of Pravoka. With it's success, and Pravoka returned to it's former rulers morale is at an all time high within the country of Onrac. As the war rages on however, one thing quickly becomes apparent: Seraphine is the thread that will ultimately decide the outcome of this war, for better or worse. (Job: Pld/War)

 

Amelia: Amelia has forsaken her roots as a Dark Knight and trained under Dragon and Seraphine to become a powerful Paladin in her own right. Now the time has come to serve Coneria on the front lines against Lefein. What will happen if she meets Grant on the battlefield? Are Dragon and Batgroob playing a dangerous gambit with unpredictable results, and who will ultimately pay for this? (Job: Pld/Drk)

 

Sabastion: With Nikolai's death, a new officer is inducted into the inner Lefeinian war council. Known as the Battle field Reaper, Sabastion has begun to carve a reputation across Lefein's battlefields. The inevitable battle between Sabastion and those who he once called friends draws near. Will Dragon kill his one time brother in arms if it's the only way to get to Batgroob? Can he? And where will Kaien stand in this titanic clash? As the tournament favorite, many predict Sabastion will become the first champion in the wake of Batgroob's departure from the tournament scene. (Job: Drk/Thf)

 

Baronwolf: Baronwolf has ever been the defender of the Conerian throne since he joined the military. Now, more than ever however, the world needs someone with a purely good heart to resist the times. As Baronwolf loyally follows Dragon and leads Coneria in war against Lefein his bravery and strength of character is one of the few bastions of hope for a new age of peace. Can this man who has cheated death so many times continue escape it's cold embrace? Or will the shadow of the underworld finally take him? (Job: Bst/War)

 

Hunter: Brother to the savior, and left dead over twenty years ago, he was recently brought back from death - the first instance of such an occurrence in a forbidden ritual conducted by Batgroob. Never having the chance to repent in life, and after suffering twenty years in the underworld, he seeks to defy his past and redeem himself for his past misdeeds by fighting against the very Empire that brought him back from the dead. (Job: Drk/War)

 

Velecic: Velecic is currently a Major in the Allied Empire of Onrac. No one knows how she came into possession of Apocalypse, whether through a difficult quest, dumb luck, or some demonic pact. Only two things are certain - She is a terror on the battlefield, and at least thus far, can control the immense powers of Apocalypse yearning to be free. Should Velecic worry for her life, something Amutiyaal has no hesitations in taking even in a non-lethal tournament, or does the wielder of Apocalypse have everything under control? (Job: Drk/Sam)

 

Amutiyaal: A ruthless man, feared throughout the continent for the mark he's carved into this land's history. Losing once to Velecic on the battlefield, Amutiyaal has vowed to get his revenge. Now, as luck would have it, he is given the opportunity in the first round. Will he redeem himself for his previous loss, or will the results be the same? (Job: Drk/Nin)

 

Damien (PC): Star pupil of Brolic and rival of Bola, Damien has demonstrated his worth on numerous occasions. Denied a place in the top four during three separate tournaments, will his luck change this time around? (Job: Drk/Sam)

 

Volke (PC): A student under the old hero, Kore. Volke has offered his services to helping the kingdom of Onrac. Talented - but still learning - the arts of magic, Volke often performs better under a supporting role. (Job: Rdm/Whm)

 

T.J.: Terrance-James was a prodigy of the paladin guilds of Pravoka, far surpassing his peers. For a long time, he was the young face of the new generation of heroes who would fight back the evils of the world and claim glory for the nation. That all changed when Pravoka fell, facing a force much larger and stronger than his own, T.J. was convinced by Fuma to surrender his force and join the Lefeinian empire. Though his life was spared, the decision to abandon his comrades and ultimately the fall of Pravoka weighs heavily on his soul. (Job: Pld/War)

 

Larsus: Another leader of the Dark Knight rebellion, Larsus's role perplexes many even today. A man of honor, and a skilled combatant - it was a surprise to many when he joined the likes of Jagan and Bola when he rebelled against the Empire of Onrac. Even today he retains his views on honor and while he laments his fall, he carries with him an air of no regrets. (Job: Drk/Thf)

[Hayden]

I am actually quite shocked SE has not released a table top FF rpg yet....honnestly it seems like the thing to do.

[Hayden]

Also, I'm hurt...no mute, female dark knights weiliding great swords. Poor left out Azreiel :'(

[Seraphine Felstar]

Seraphine (PC): Seraphine's faith renewed, and a new determination to stem the tide of darkness growing in the heart of the world, she embarked on her first mission as a soldier of Coneria - the liberation of Pravoka. With it's success, and Pravoka returned to it's former rulers morale is at an all time high within the country of Onrac. As the war rages on however, one thing quickly becomes apparent: Seraphine is the thread that will ultimately decide the outcome of this war, for better or worse. (Job: Pld/War)

 

I think it's pretty funny Seraphine's faith is renewed simply because the enemy killed off the queen. "Thanks for killing of the witch queen I hated, now I'll kick your butts", is pretty much her attitude Seraphine honestly doesn't want any part of the tournament because she's pretty sure it's a trap. I think she's only doing it to get a chance at convincing Zarik to leave Shi* and come fight for Coneria instead since he's totally wasted in that do nothing country. Join the cool side Zarik! :afro:

 

I'm hoping since Seraphine decides the outcome of the war she gets to throw Fuma in a fire :approve:

 

I actually think it would be fun to bring in more characters but as the NPC's outnumber the PC's atm it's a bit difficult. Plus the "evil" characters are suppose to have the upper hand in numbers so there isn't a lot of room for good characters right now. Later on in the story I want to have Seraphine try and recruit more good guys and some of the Altepa bandits so hopefully Zane will add more characters.

 

I'll add Az and anyone else who is interested to the list of Seraphine's recruits Who knows, maybe I can convince Zane to do a non-cannon online event where everyone can play their own characters one of these days I think the other guys in our group would think it was cool because they've only heard of you guys and they've been asking when Dyterium is going to join us IC

[Zane]

Also' date=' I'm hurt...no mute, female dark knights weiliding great swords. Poor left out Azreiel :'([/quote']

 

I had added Johnson at some point, but I must admit that I hadn't added Azreiel. Probably would have been a good idea during the Dark Knight Rebellion storyline, but I'll keep her in mind if I need another NPC at some point.

[Xaefan]

I wonder if anyone else is interested in this concept. I played a FF-based tabletop before using some system called "Zodiac" or something like that, but I've never considered using more mainstream D&D and the like.

 

Anyone?

[Zane]

I never heard of the Zodiac system before.

 

I know there are D20 rules floating around the internet with a Final Fantasy rule set. In fact, I think one of my friends gave it to me, so it's on my computer but I'm a bad DM and never looked at it.

 

We originally tried doing the Final Fantasy campaign pure D&D style, but at the time I was running my Final Fantasy game (Named FD&D) and a regular D&D campaign as well as attending a third D&D game with some of my friends. The final fantasy setting was the most popular, and I had already changed how a few things worked in the game to better suit a final fantasy atmosphere, so I just overhauled the entire system and made my own game engine. (Something I don't recommend doing btw unless you have experience at it, or have a lot of patient friends willing to see the game engine change and help you work it out. I know my friends have wanted to kill me on multiple occasions for it, and I think even now they get a little peeved when I make minor adjustments to different abilities. )

[Nikolai]

Oh, wow! Always good to see other table top FF players. Personally, my friends and I use this system as a base: http://www.returnergames.com/ord/index. ... e_Rulebook

 

I've been putting together a campaign set in Vana'diel for my friends to play through, and in the meantime another of my friends is running a game that's more similar to a cross between Warhammer and FFT. Both required a number of alterations to the mechanics, but I feel FF lends itself much better to a d10 system, not to mention this system was specifically made for FF-themed games to begin with.

 

Also, three cheers for the puppetmaster I hope she wins~

[Seraphine Felstar]

The puppetmaster, Akah, won his first round so your cheers must have helped

[Nikolai]

Awesome. Puppetmaster happened to be my favorite job in FFXI. I loved how intricate it was, and I just love the style of it; the automatons are adorable~

 

I've been trying to whip up a Puppetmaster class for my setting, but it's proven rather daunting; there's so much to keep track of! Most of the attachments were easy enough to translate, but there are a lot of them. I've made it so maneuvers are essentially swift actions, allowing a puppetmaster to piggy-back them onto other actions so that one doesn't have to spend several rounds just stacking them. I also want to include a burden/overload system. I've even got some ideas as to how it would all work, but... like I said, lots to keep track of, and all for just for a handful of NPCs! It may turn out so stressful that I'd end up avoiding the use of them! As none of my PCs care to play PUP, I probably shouldn't even bother pouring so much energy into it, but, y'know... it's my favorite class. :<

 

Haha, I guess what I'm getting at is, how did you guys manage it?

[Dogberry]

I have PDFs for an FF RPG that I intend to use. I'm not quite sure it's the Returners system. I found it posted in an LJ community of all places. I'll check it out a bit later and if it's different I'll put it up on rapidshare or something. It looks like a decent system that appears to be built with FF11 in mind.

[Zane]

Awesome. Puppetmaster happened to be my favorite job in FFXI. I loved how intricate it was, and I just love the style of it; the automatons are adorable~

 

I've been trying to whip up a Puppetmaster class for my setting, but it's proven rather daunting; there's so much to keep track of! Most of the attachments were easy enough to translate, but there are a lot of them. I've made it so maneuvers are essentially swift actions, allowing a puppetmaster to piggy-back them onto other actions so that one doesn't have to spend several rounds just stacking them. I also want to include a burden/overload system. I've even got some ideas as to how it would all work, but... like I said, lots to keep track of, and all for just for a handful of NPCs! It may turn out so stressful that I'd end up avoiding the use of them! As none of my PCs care to play PUP, I probably shouldn't even bother pouring so much energy into it, but, y'know... it's my favorite class. :<

 

Haha, I guess what I'm getting at is, how did you guys manage it?

 

DISCLAIMER: I've never played Puppetmaster, so if I'm wrong with how anything, please forgive me.

 

I ran into the same problem at first since I only ever had 1 PC make a puppetmaster, and it was only for one session before they decided they didn't feel like playing that character any more. NPC Puppetmasters are very few and far between as well, so I never completely hashed out the rules on them to a point where I believed they were balanced.

 

Firstly, you can buy all of the attachments at a shop and equip the attachments any time outside of a battle. Likewise, you can choose to equip them with any of the different frames. The hardest part, for me at least, was to figure out the Automaton's base stats so it was neither broken or stupidly weak. Much like my issues with Dragoon's Wyverns. I've quickly learned that Pet Jobs seem to be the most powerful in my current system, but even the smallest tweaks and they're suddenly the weakest. Here is a sample character sheet for Akah:

 

 

Level: 22

Archetype: Pirate

 

HP: 726

MP: 77

STR: 32 (18) +25

VIT: 27 (13) +6

AGI: 35 (14) +4

INT: 23 (9) +2

MND: 16 (10)

 

Main: Iron Nunchaku

Sub: Elven Cloak

Head: Twist Headband

Body: Red Jacket

Accessory: Mythril Bracers

 

Attack: 40

Defense: 67

Accuracy: 99

Evasion: 39

Magic Attack: 12

Magic Defense: 40

Magic Evasion: 20

 

Gil: ???

 

Items:

 

Job Abilities:

Activate

Overdrive

Repair

 

Job Traits:

Evasion Bonus I

Martial Arts I

Resist Slow I

 

Spells:

 

Limits:

 

Points Remaining: -11

 

EXP: ???

 

Rank Points: --/--

 

Chain of Command: Zane > Vacancy > Rahal

 

Midge

 

Frame: Sharpshot

 

HP: 527

MP: 0

Attack: 45

Defense: 25

Accuracy: 106

Evasion: 64

Magic Defense: 50

Magic Attack: 2

 

Weapon Skills:

Arcuballista

Armor Piercer

 

Attachments:

Accelerator

Accelerator II

Analyzer

Armor Plate

Armor Plate II

Attuner

Auto-Repair Kit

Auto-Repair Kit II

 

 

A few things to note:

 

- Akah does not actually use Nunchuks. I haven't implemented Hand-to-Hand Claw type weapons, but there are a few weapons that can be used with Martial Arts, and Nunchuks are one. They're only there to serve as a stat boost until I finish balancing Hand-to-Hand weapons properly.

 

- He currently has negative points because of job tweaking I did with Puppetmaster in an attempt to balance it more. During ability cost tweaking, I let character get up to a -40 in points before I make them start scrapping abilities simply because the nature of ability cost tweaking may see that number go up and down over a short period of time and I don't want to have people keep buying and scrapping the same abilities until I get it right.

 

- I equipped Midge with all of the different Puppetmaster Attachments/Weapon skills in Alphabetical order to test them, since Akah is the only reliable Puppetmaster NPC that appears in the game. Once I test all of the different attachments I'll equip Midge with more abilities that actually make sense.

 

As far as attachments, you can only equip a certain amount of attachments to your automaton based on your level. Some of the attachments needed to be re-worked so they actually worked with the system, but I tried to give each separate attachment some usefulness.

 

As far as controlling the automaton, rather than make it so your actions/health total/Automaton's health total/attachments/etc. determined it's actions, I decided to just give the person controlling the automaton free range to use it as they see fit, just as Dragoons can command their Wyverns, and Beastmasters can command their pets in this system. The main reason I believe the PC was not given the ability to control their pets in XI were game limitations, where as in a table top game, one can have direct control over both and suffer no consequences to the game engine.

 

As far as actions are concerned, as I said before, I use a battle system much like Final Fantasy Tactics. You get one Movement, and one "Attack" Action per round. However, Buff moves (Such as Berserk, Warcry, Aggressor, etc.) follow a slightly different ruling. It's similar to swift (If I remember correctly, those were the free actions taken on your turn, but can only be done once per turn? Or am I thinking quick?) where you can use one buff on your turn with no penalty. However, you also have the choice to use your "Attack" action to apply a second buff on yourself. I found this really speeds up the game and makes buffing abilities more useful, since before characters would rarely waste an attack action on buffing unless it was pivotal to the encounter.

 

Finally, as for a Burden/Overload system, I haven't tinkered around with that enough yet to make it work properly. If I had more PCs interested in playing Puppetmasters, I'd probably give it a little more thought. Seeing as Akah is the only Puppetmaster character that sees the light of day in the game at the moment, and he usually only shows up for the tournament or the occasional Mass battle, Puppetmasters don't get much field testing time.

[Dogberry]

Apparently what I have is version 1.5 of the Returners FFRPG. So I suppose I'll be updating to 3rd edition, then. It looks more refined.

 

Zane, thanks for this thread. Good luck with the game!