FF Tactics DnD Campaign Setting

I'm working on a Final Fantasy Tactics based campaign setting. I'm not sure whether to put it before or after the story of the game itself. I won't be starting it till after I beat the game again, because I would like to refresh my memory of the background.

I am not using the Final Fantasy creatures (except I'm adding the chocobo!) with this campaign. Since the game contains a lot of creatures that are already in the MM (goblins and mind flayers to name a few) I will base the encounter tables on things you might actually encounter in certain areas in the game.

Some interesting things are the types of weapons sold in different areas, for instance the sale of oriental weapons in trade cities and the guns of Goug Machine City.

For the normal guns I am going to use one of the higher technology levels from the DMG (but obviously not the modern era or very high tech weapons.) For the magic shooting guns I was thinking that you load a wand keyed to a particular type of gun and it works like the use magic device skill. The magic could backfire on a natural one, but otherwise I would like to keep it consistent. I won't allow anything higher than a third level spell
into a gun, and I think I will nerf the caster level bonus on some spells. I think a gun that allows any character to use a 10d6 fireball might be overkill, but controversely a 3d6 blast fifty times for a significant ammunition cost isn't unbalancing at all.

I will not base the campaign on the Zodiac stones and will instead opt on the lawful evil church and the nobility running the background of the world. I plan to spend a significant section of the game in Goug opting to discover technology and history. Goug also has the bandits that run the show behind the scenes, and they are tied into the church as well.

Some interesting NPC's like Delita are already done for me if I chose to start the campaign after the Zodiac Brave Story.

For the mechanic I am going to use the Artificer prestige class from the netbook of classes. I would like to use some of the other classes that don't have direct matches, and if anyone would like to maybe give me an example of Heaven and Hell Knights or any of the unique characters. I was thinking that Holy Knight corresponds to Paladin and Blackguard matches the Dark Knight.

I am not sure what to do with races, but there are no dwarves, elves, or orcs in FFT. I guess I could make them foreigners or intigrate them into society completely. I could also cut out all of them... except those that are monsters found in the game.

If you have any ideas that could help me out tell me.

Ah, I love FF Tactics. Good battle-system, excellent plot.

One thing that I thought of some, you could set up a structure like the game had for prerequisites for classes. Make the characters start out as Squires and Chemists (classes with pared-down skill and feat options). Then once they have the level requirements, it would be ok for them to level into the 'prestige classes' of knights, warriors, monks, mages. Later on you would get samurai, summoners, etc. The level limits in the game were 10th for all respective classes, which is what most prestige classes have.

You may meet a bit of resistance from players if you muck with the class rules too much, but personally most of my crew has played the game extensively, and would like a chance to try it out.

Now my brain is percolating on this. I might just come up with a prestige class or two for it. Always wanted to play a lancer. =)

How (if at all) do you plan to do Calculators?

Thats a damn good question... how the hell would I make a calculator class?

Several months ago, I started working up all the classes from FF5 and Tactics as full 20-level classes, complete with skill lists, special abilities, etc, and got about 50 - 60% finished (I'll get them done EVENTUALLY).

While working on it, I kept coming back to the Calculator. I tried several variations (Feats, a couple of Prestige Classes, a Template) and finally had to put them all down and concede that, in the interest of play balance, "there ain't no way".

The class COULD be done, and be balanced, but it would't bear a great deal of resemblance to the original class. For all the potential problems with dropping a calculated Flare spell on the battlefield, the Calculator has a lot of potential to be waaay overpowered compared to other spellcasters.

Calculators were overpowered compared to the other spellcasters, that was why it was such a high-tier class. Their only weakness was their horrible speed, easily compensated by switching to a faster class and using Calculate as the secondary skill. The reason I think they couldn't be done is because it would be too complex to use in an actual battle, slowing things down way too much figuring how everything could work and utilizing tactics and such.

LightPhoenix

Not only calculators, but how do you plan on implementing Mimics? Not much material there for a full 20-level class, or even a Prestige Class, and seems rather powerful for a feat.

I recall someone on these boards made a Mimic PrC that required perform checks and such.

Heres my idea for spellcasting classes and in general, I found it best to convert everything to a mana system, that way you could have Time Mages that cast slow/haste at low levels, and also add a certain # of initiative extra (see below) to the casting of spells like Meteor Swarm to balance things out. Make feats related to the class that you get every 2-3 levels that are generic, where you can pick from a list, every spellcasting class buys their spells with some kindof point system or has a learned spell progession level (like a sorceror). Time Mages might get Extended Duration, which adds +2 to the rounds of any spell with the equivilant level of 6 or lower (So this can make haste/slow a viable option at low levels). Instead of rolling for initiative assign a class, make it 10+Whatever the classes modifier, and you keep counting down in that order.

Calculator? Pick a spell on your list, and roll 1d20 by 1d20, these are 5 ft. by 5 ft. blocks where the spells center is chosen, give the calculator feats they can take to increase or decrease this by 1 5 ft. square each time they take the feat.

For several of the knight classes, assign them points as well (just a slower progression) that they can use for their abilities. Treat the divine knight's attacks as ranged sunder attempts with something like a +2-4 bonus to attack and damage. Holy Knight and other powers can be convereted similarly, using 5 ft. squares as a rule of thumb for assigning their range. (Holy Explosion, for instance, would be 40 ft. long but only 1 5 ft. square wide).

swordsman1612 said:

Not only calculators, but how do you plan on implementing Mimics? Not much material there for a full 20-level class, or even a Prestige Class, and seems rather powerful for a feat.

Click to expand...

I never finished their write-up, but here's the short version: BAB and Saves were all average (I included the "+9 at 20th level saves" used in Star Wars), Perform ability-based talents that let them mimic other class abilities. There was another ability that functioned similar to the "Use Magical Device" skill (that skill was not a part of my conversion). Level in Mimic limited the level at which you could emulate another class. They got a few bonus Feats from a short list, a pretty decent skill selection (and 6 points / lvl, IIRC)

Calculators and Mimes relied heavily on metagame concepts that don't carry over very well to D&D. Most of the information a Calculator relies on in FFT is stuff a D&D player doesn't necessarily know.

That being said, I imagine a Calculator PrC would look something like this:

Requirements: can cast level 7 arcane spells, 15 ranks Knowledge (Mathematics), and at least 2 metamagic feats.

BAB Progression, Saves, and Skills: as Wizard.

Lvl
1 Times 5, Know Ability
2 Times 4, Know Ability
3 Times 3, Know Ability
4 Times 2, Know Ability
5 Prime Number, Know Ability

At each level, the Calculator gains the basic Calculator ability of that level, then chooses a "Know Ability" to help determine targets for his effects. The following traits are acceptable for a "Know Ability": Level, Hit Points, Initiative Count, or any ability score.

To use a "Know Ability", the Calculator must spend a standard action observing the battlefield. At that point, he knows the appropriate trait for all targets (friend or foe) he is aware of within 90 feet. He can use that information in ways that does not involve Calculation if he so wishes.

To use a Calculator ability, he must choose an arcane spell that he can cast and can take effect on only a single target (no Personal spells). He then spends a full-round action altering that spell to affect every target that fits one particular "Know Ability" that he has used during that battle, then casts the spell itself. Any failed Concentration check during this time ruins the effect and causes the spell to fail.

If the casting succeeds, every target within 90 feet (friend or foe)who has a trait that fits the Calculator Ability (multiple of X for Times X, or a prime number for Prime Number) will be affected as if targeted by that spell. Normal saving throws and other attack mechanisms apply. If the attack requires a ranged touch, all such attacks are at -1 per target (because it is hard to aim at all targets at once).