scruffygrognard
Adventurer
The reviews look good and I'm VERY interested in picking this up. Before I do I'd like to hear from those who are playing it, so that I can get a better picture of its strengths and weaknesses.
Anyone play Fantasy Craft?
- Thread starter scruffygrognard
- Start date
EdtheSquig
First Post
I have not picked up the actual book yet, but I did buy the PDF, which I have printed out and put in a three-ring binder. I have to admit, it is everything I always wanted from D&D 3.5 and more.
Some of the bits I really like:
-The flexibility; the classes and races are generic enough and the feats and skills are numerous and many-use-ed enough that customization is easy
-Gear that makes sense; the weapons, armor, items etc. make sense (as does the silver piece as the main currency unit), unlike in D&D
-The NPC/monster creation mechanics are super easy to use and provide options to build whatever you can think of
-The reputation/magic item rules are a new and interesting mechanic for me; the race to gather as many magic items for your character as you can to stay competitive is replaced by a few magic items that actually mean something storywise and by other rewards (holdings, contacts etc.)
-The magic system is similar (in all the good ways) to 3.x D&D, but different and improved in many ways; spells seem to be balanced and the new mechanic for determining spell save DCs make lower level spells much better later on
The game is very generic and open to creating whatever you need. I typically GM, so the sandbox-ness of the game suits my style well.
Some of the bits I really like:
-The flexibility; the classes and races are generic enough and the feats and skills are numerous and many-use-ed enough that customization is easy
-Gear that makes sense; the weapons, armor, items etc. make sense (as does the silver piece as the main currency unit), unlike in D&D
-The NPC/monster creation mechanics are super easy to use and provide options to build whatever you can think of
-The reputation/magic item rules are a new and interesting mechanic for me; the race to gather as many magic items for your character as you can to stay competitive is replaced by a few magic items that actually mean something storywise and by other rewards (holdings, contacts etc.)
-The magic system is similar (in all the good ways) to 3.x D&D, but different and improved in many ways; spells seem to be balanced and the new mechanic for determining spell save DCs make lower level spells much better later on
The game is very generic and open to creating whatever you need. I typically GM, so the sandbox-ness of the game suits my style well.
SteveC
Doing the best imitation of myself
I played a demo game at Gen Con where I also picked up the book. I'd call it the best fantasy implementation of a OGL D20 based game I've ever seen.
It is very skill based, and has a fantastic amount of crunch for designing your own campaign. If you've been put off by Spycraft's complexity, it's a lot simpler while still retaining the core of what makes Spycraft appealing.
I pretty much play 4E for my fantasy game of choice, but I would definitely play Fantasycraft in a heartbeat, which is something I wouldn't say about any other 3x inspired OGL game. In terms of game goals, I'd say it is almost 180 degrees away from the 4E design. It has a lot of crunch to it, but that crunch is directed at the "metasystem" mechanics such as the skill system and campaign qualities.
--Steve
It is very skill based, and has a fantastic amount of crunch for designing your own campaign. If you've been put off by Spycraft's complexity, it's a lot simpler while still retaining the core of what makes Spycraft appealing.
I pretty much play 4E for my fantasy game of choice, but I would definitely play Fantasycraft in a heartbeat, which is something I wouldn't say about any other 3x inspired OGL game. In terms of game goals, I'd say it is almost 180 degrees away from the 4E design. It has a lot of crunch to it, but that crunch is directed at the "metasystem" mechanics such as the skill system and campaign qualities.
--Steve
scruffygrognard
Adventurer
Thanks guys... FC is looking better and better. I'd NEVER run 3rd edition again (too much prep-work involves number-crunching rather than creative processes) but was disappointed with both 4th edition and Pathfinder. This sounds like it'll do nicely.
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