JRPG style TTRPGs

[jeffh]

I was just doing some layout work on my own love-letter to Final Fantasy, so I've bookmarked this thread and am checking some of the links with great interest. I have several, and was aware of most but not all, of the games mentioned. I especially appreciate the discussion of how the official Ys TTRPG works, which I only became aware of in the last week or so.

From where it's at in playtesting I can honestly say combat in mine feels a lot like in FFI through X (it's especially similar to the latter) and runs much faster than any version of D&D without losing tactical interest, though character creation takes just as long as in other leading RPGs (longer than really old-school D&D).

 

[aramis erak]

Had to look this one up. Artwork looks cozy!

In Re Yeld's art - it looks like it comes from FFT on the DS. I love it.

 

[kimberlyto69]

And it seemed to me that character creation now takes a bit longer. Maybe I'm wrong

 

[jian]

And it seemed to me that character creation now takes a bit longer. Maybe I'm wrong

Sorry to ask, but I’m not sure which game you mean here?

 

[PrunellaUK]

If you like anime such as The Irregular at Magic High School, or Lycoris Recoil, here's a world setting for the QuestWorlds rule set that you might enjoy: Spec-ops Magica Crisis

 

[aramis erak]

Got to play Fabula Ultima at a local con today. Was pretty nice.

 

[jian]

Re-reading Anima Prime now.

The main thing it’s got is the “build power to smack the bad guys next round” mechanic, which I think it might be the first game to use - I think it predates Fantaji and Exalted Essence, which are the two other games I can think of to use that mechanic. Basically, to do anything decisive (like attack) you need to build strike dice by Manoeuvring (successes on Manoeuvre checks give you strike dice; you then roll strike dice to lay the smackdown). There’s therefore a built in rhythm and tactics in whether you Manoeuvre more or less before attacking, and what the other side will do on their turn.

It does a nice job of rounding the mechanic out with more options and extra bits, such as Charge Powers (you can build charge dice that you can then use to activate powers alongside your attacks) and Achievements (doing something other than attacking, which can be useful) as well as Combined Manoeuvres, Achievements, and Strikes. It’s reasonably similar to Fantaji in that regard.

While it’s framed for JRPG style games (really FF7, come on, let’s come out and say it) it doesn’t have to be, at all - it’s for exciting tactical (probably magical) team-based battles, whether it’s FF7 or dungeon fantasy or AtLA or whatever.

 

[jian]

An interesting recent entry to this rather limited pool is Our Stormy Present, which is aimed most at narratively emulating Final Fantasy games. There are certain genre assumptions: there is always an Empire and it is always terrible; there is always a Resistance and it generally contains or recruits the PCs; there is always an Airship for the PCs to fly around in. Yes, you could definitely use it for something Star Wars adjacent too.

The system is similar to PbtA but I quite like that when you take Stress it isn’t harm, it’s the risk of harm - whenever you take Stress (which can be physical, mental, or narrative) then you roll a d10 and if you roll under your current Stress total, you have to choose Fallout (whether it’s getting injured, forgetting something important later, or having an ally betray you).

Finally, I am a big fan of the three suggested settings, which are fantasy (the world is invaded by the Empire of Ink), modern (Cold War with industrial magic) and post-apocalyptic (quite Snowpiercer but with added robots).