Fabula Ultima general thread [+]

[Aldarc]

TBF I think DH is far easier to play as a F20 game by default, FU has more opinionated system level implementation and guidance (it never says "you can ignore this stuff if it doesn't work for you" for instance IIRC). Like, honestly, in play at my tables there's very little that actively separates DH from a 5e game that's being run in a "play to find out" sense, and it's far more open that it expect the GM to front and guide a dramatic story.

The advice is more along the lines of "be careful of unintended consequences when you tinker with the rules" and make sure there is a consensus at the table about the change:

As you grow more familiar with the rules, you will probably want to change or tweak some of them, and that’s perfectly fine. Nothing in this book was written to be set in stone, but to be a functional game, whose components interact with each other and work together to bring an epic, heroic and fantastic tale to your gaming table. Because of this, make sure to think carefully about the changes you make: they might influence a greater number of elements than what you had anticipated. To make life easier, the book includes a variety of optional rules that can be used to safely customize your play experience.

Needless to say, whenever you want to change something, make sure to discuss it with your game group: you shouldn’t change anything unless everyone agrees.

 

[zakael19]

The advice is more along the lines of "be careful of unintended consequences when you tinker with the rules" and make sure there is a consensus at the table about the change:

I mean more how DH like 5e etc has a "you can just ignore any of this guidance or rules if you want to play differently" and FU especially in the GM side stuff is vastly more directive. DH also says "play to find out/don't prep a plot" up front and then has an entire section about planning story arcs.

Eg: as you note FU says "Follow the Rules" right in the first stuff aimed at the GM whereas DH opens its rules with stuff like ye old "Golden Rule" (The most important rule of Daggerheart is to make the game your own) and in the GM section "Because, at the end of the day, the “big secret” about GMing is that you aren’t bound by a rigid ruleset like the players—you get to make it all up."

 

[Aldarc]

 

[Staffan]

And there it is. No "prewritten plot." Not grinding for monsters or doing fetch quests is also nice, but the lack of prewritten plots is key.

Likewise, this suggests to me that the story and world revolves around the characters instead of the inverse.

But notice here what comes first. The protagonists (i.e., the players playing their PCs) establish goals and make choices. It's about them. The GM's goal is to create obstacles that challenge the PCs' goals and choices but in a way that makes them "shine." What's interesting here for me is that the relationship almost feels reversed, with the GM reacting to players instead of the usual framing found in other TTRPGs of the players reacting to the GM.

I think this part requires some nuance. This all sounds like the default mode of FU is some sort of sandbox/hexcrawl kind of thing, which I don't think is true. Ideally, you will still have grand villains making grand plans and heroes becoming wrapped up in those plans... the difference being that the villains and plans are built around the heroes. So if you, during character creation, establish that your character was part of an East-India Trading Company analogue and broke with them due to realizing how horrible they were, that means that foiling the plots of the EITC-a will likely be a big part of the campaign because you put them there. But it's not like the player in question has any control over them once created.

 

[Aldarc]

I think this part requires some nuance.

Spoilers: This is not my first reading of Fabula Ultima. Nevertheless, I am posting my thoughts about what I see as I read through the book. But we are also not to those pertinent sections yet.

 

[zakael19]

Yeah sorry I've been jumping ahead too.

 

[Campbell]

I want to highlight a few passages which I think will be important later (it will be important when we get to checks).

This is a game about larger-than-life heroes and tragic antagonists. There is no predetermined plot, scenario, or "adventure" — the heroes' actions, motivations, and objectives will drive the story forward while the Game Master reacts to their choices and places obstacles on their path, often in the form of powerful villains with their own devious agendas, which will change time and time again as the protagonists manage (or fail) to thwart their plans.

The heroes of Fabula Ultima are destined to accomplish great deeds, and they will only meet their end when the person who plays them deems it appropriate. That said, the price of defeat will often prove steeper than death — a major part of this game will be discovering how your heroes rise from their failures and learn to work together in order to accomplish what they could never do on their own.

I think we're starting to see a view of heroic fantasy that centers overcoming adversity (and differs from the sort of big damn heroes aesthetic predominant in say Draw Steel [which I also love]).

I also find this quote instructive (taken from a comment Emanuele Galletto made on this Youtube video).

... and admittedly I guess on that final note I should add, Fabula wasn't built as a power fantasy but as a trial to overcome and struggle against (because that is what heroism means to me as a person) and I am 100% sure people have not really figured that out... but I also didn't want to say that outright in the book, felt like being paternalistic rather than just let people learn for themselves. To each their own of course, I'm sure some people will disagree strongly with this authorial style and decisions, especially on a communicational level.

 

[Aldarc]

Good catch, @Campbell!