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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aldarc" data-source="post: 8798409" data-attributes="member: 5142">Further note after reading more of Fabula Ultima:Theater of the Mind & Tactical Play: FabUlt opts for Theater of the Mind play. There are also no rules for movement, movement speed, or ranged distance for attacks. Instead, it's generally assumed that characters in a combat scene can reach other. (Again, this is fairly JRPG, apart from maybe Tactics.) Ranged attacks are more about skill interactions or being able to attack flying opponents. One side-effect of the above is that the "tactical" aspect of this game seems less about battlefield positioning and more about status effects, damage types, skills, turn order, etc.Character Death: The basic rule is simple. Whoever is the character who takes a foe down to 0 decides their fate. So death is not automatic for PCs, NPCs, or other foes at 0 HP. This is much like Fate, and also like Fate is the idea of conceding the conflict. Characters can "Surrender" before they reach 0 HP. The GM cannot kill a character who surrenders, but they can impose a Consequence, and several examples are provided: e.g., loss, despair, separated, etc.Alternatively, a character who reaches 0 HP can Sacrifice themselves. <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" alt="😲" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f632.png" title="Astonished face    :astonished:" data-shortname=":astonished:" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" /> There are conditions for self-sacrifice, namely that two of the following are true: (1) a villain is present, (2) the sacrifice would benefita character you have a Bond with, or (3) you believe that your sacrifice would make the world a better place. The "effect" of self-sacrifice can be grand, though it has to be negotiated with the GM, but the game lists some examples: lifting a centuries old curse, temporarily disabling the powers of a demigod, or fighting off an army single-handly to give your allies time to escape. And below this section on Sacrifice is something else that is quite notable: mechanically, there is no Resurrection magic.* According to the author, this is because character death should be meaningful and the afterlife should be a mystery that can be explored in play.* I'm not entirely sure if this is 100 percent true, however, as freeform Rituals exist in the game. These are worked out between the GM and players, and I could see some groups creating a Resurrection Ritual.Rituals: In other threads, I have talked about how much that I like 4e and Beyond the Wall/Through Sunken Land style rituals. Here they are in Fabula Ultima. The game provides guidelines for what Rituals can or can't do. For example, Rituals can't replicate an existing spell/skill or deal direct damage or status effects, generate creatures or equipment, etc. Though interestingly Rituals can deal collateral damage: e.g,. a chasm opening below enemies or a giant fireball used to destroy airship engine. Rituals cost MP. The potency determines the base MP cost and the Magic Check difficulty (usually rolled with Insight + Willpower). The base MP value is then multiplied by the area to determine the total: i.e,. invididual (1x), small (2x), large (3x), and huge (4x). Rare and powerful magic items can be sacrificed to reduce the MP requirement by half, though this can only be done once per Ritual. Moreover, Rituals can also be performed as Group Checks (again, hello 4e D&D). There are even rules about how to use Clocks in conjunction with Rituals during Conflict scenes.Projects: Projects are the mundane version of magical Rituals, albeit performed most often by the Tinkerer class. Costs are paid in the Zenit currency rather than MP.Experience Points and Leveling: Okay, so this is neat. How do you prevent characters from hoarding Fabula Points? You can't, BUT the party will gain an amount of XP equal to the number of Fabula Points spent by the party in the session divided by the number of party members present in that session. Characters also gain XP equal to the amount of Ultima Points spent by the Villains. Characters also gain 5 XP per session for being there. The author estimates that PC leveling will happen once every other session, but there are options for reducing or increasing the rate of leveling. PCs require 10 XP to level, which they spend that XP to do so. PCs can keep the excess XP.* Even if a character ends the session with 20+ XP, they can only level at max once per session.* For example, if a character has 13 XP at the end of a session, they spend 10 XP to level-up. They keep 3 XP towards their next level.Multiclassing Rules: Characters can have levels in a MAX of 3 different classes that they haven't Mastered (i.e., reached level 10 in). Furthermore, once you have Mastered a class, you automatically receive one Heroic skill associated with the class. Okay, so that is a nice way to limit dipping into other classes for their free benefits. It also forces some commitment, as mastering a class is the only way you can expand outside of the three classes you may have.</blockquote>

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