Fullmetal Alchemist

[GravyFingerz]

Has anyone else seen this show? It plays on Adult Swim, and it is simply an amazing piece of animation and story. The way magic is handled is refreshing, it has its drawbacks obviously. The characters are ones you can really empathize with, and the circumstances of it all is incredibly tragic. I like how the show delves into the darker side of alchemy, with things man wasn't meant to know, and meant to do (human transformation being the biggest taboo).

I was thinking it would be awesome to have a game using BESM in the vein of Fullmetal Alchemist. The problem is, the brilliance of this show is in the characters, their motivations, and the story. So running a game in the same world, might not have as much appeal as the show. But I think it would be pretty cool to run the PCs are state alchemists, doing odd jobs for the military.

Another appeal is the morality of the show. While it doesn't ask any thought provoking questiohns (unlike The Big O, which is another freaking awesome show on that network), it has some awesome moral situations which the main characters must go through. Such as Shou Tucker and his chimera; my god, I shudder when I think of that poor creature.

Again, awesome show, could be an awesome game. Ooooh, GoO should do a Tri-Stat/d20 book on Fullmetal Alchemist. I can see Tri-Stat/BESM handling Alchemy very well.

Hell, I might just suggest it to them. They probably have already thought of it, but it doesn't hurt to say something.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Keep a watch on CRPG's. Fullmetal Alchemist was recently released in videogame form, and a sequel is due out sometime soon. I haven't played, but that could solve the problem of having a system for these things pretty effectively.

The way alchemey works there is, AFAIK, a long and complex process except for a few exceptional individuals. You have to draw symbols all over the place, and then complete circles -- old school ritual-style magic, for the most part. the exceptions occur for the main characters, who have special items that allow them to use alchemey spontaneously, but only in a certain vein. Ed can only do transmutations. One of the miltiary people can only evoke fire...

I think the EoM spellcasting system would work great for this style of game, because it's more flexible.

The tone of the game is basically "with every light there is dark, with every reward there is cost, with every day there is night." It's very dualistic, and so adventurers in the same vien would focus on not just beating up the bad guys, but the cost it takes to achieve that victory. There should always be compromise and darkness, and the challenge is to remain upright in a world where to get anything good done, you must commit some evil.

Of course, I'm coming at this from a d20 angle. I don't know BESM from FATAL, so....

 

[Alzrius]

I agree with the sentiment that the show has incredible characterizations. This is especially shown in certan episodes where the overwhelming force of emotions just hits you like a sledgehammer. Shou Tucker is the first, but not nearly the last, time we get that.

My only real complaint with the show is its ending...it just felt forced, almost rushed. I didn't like the explanation of where the energy to perform alchemy came from, and what happened to the characters at the end didn't feel like a true resolution to me (for some characters more than others).

A campaign set in that world would be interesting, but leaving aside in-game concerns (such as the truth of that world...which is only inferred, never outrightly stated, by the end of the show), it'd be hard to perform some of the game mechanics. Even a flexible system like EoM doesn't seem well equipped to handle how alchemy seems to require exceptionally complex geometric shapes drawn, and quite often a lot of material components. This gets even more complicated if you take into account what Dante revealed about the Law of Conservation near the end of the show.

Exceptions to this should be extremely rare. For example, Roy Mustang could only alchemize fire because his gloves already had the necessary symbols on them. And the ability of people like Ed and his sensei to do so merely by putting their hands together requires a high price...one that can be difficult to adjudicate in a game setting.

All of that ignores what Talath said about how a campaign there would be very different, since you'd basically have to have it completely apart from the NPCs from the show. Essentially, only the magic system is truly unique to the show...the rest of it could be set in pretty much any kind of low-tech world.

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

Here is my Create Chimera feat.
Yup, loved the series & hanging out for the movie.

Btw, if you love FMA I reccomend the Kenshin series. If you think that parts of FMA are emotional prepare yourself for Kenshin, especially the 'Reflection' end movie - your heart may just shatter.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Kenshin is sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

I had a player develop the Hiten Mitsurugi style for his fighter's list of bonus feats.

 

[RithTheAwakener]

its on adult swim?!?! my ex had a bunch of these about a year ago in japanese, and ive been looking for it ever since (broke up b4 i could finish watching them, DAMN!) i loved the story and how they did alchemy... need to buy dvds now

 

[tensen]

Kenshin is sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

I had a player develop the Hiten Mitsurugi style for his fighter's list of bonus feats.

I got tired after I think the equivalent of the third season. Really good show, but I think it gained the title of a show that they didn't know when to end it.
Too many other anime shows end way before you want them to.

 

[GravyFingerz]

The way alchemey works there is, AFAIK, a long and complex process except for a few exceptional individuals. You have to draw symbols all over the place, and then complete circles -- old school ritual-style magic, for the most part. the exceptions occur for the main characters, who have special items that allow them to use alchemey spontaneously, but only in a certain vein. Ed can only do transmutations. One of the miltiary people can only evoke fire...

I was under the impression that transmutation was the only thing you can do with alchemy. I'm gonna show my newb-ness here, but I've only seen half of the first season and a smattering of episodes in random other seasons. I'm learning more watching the 1st season then I did when I watched it on Adult Swim.

So tell me, is Alchemy just like magic, except with complex diagrams and material components?

 

[sukael]

Techically, it's transmutation only, but you can accomplish a lot of other effects with that--for example, Roy Mustang, one of the almost-but-not-quite-main characters, can creature picture-perfect fireballs. Basically, he transmutates the air to be super-hydrogen-heavy, then ignites that with a snap of his fingers (his gloves are made a special material that, though cloth-like, sparks easily).

 

[GravyFingerz]

Techically, it's transmutation only, but you can accomplish a lot of other effects with that--for example, Roy Mustang, one of the almost-but-not-quite-main characters, can creature picture-perfect fireballs. Basically, he transmutates the air to be super-hydrogen-heavy, then ignites that with a snap of his fingers (his gloves are made a special material that, though cloth-like, sparks easily).

So basically, the more clever you are, the more you can do with Alchemy.

Sounds a lot like the magic system from The Riddle of Steel, except without the aging thing