Settings - Ivalice?

[Andor]

Has anyone ever done an RPG writeup of Ivalice as a campaign setting?

Ivalice is the world in which several FF games are set including FF XII and the seminal Final Fantasy Tactics (my personal favorite console game ever.)

Of course it varies considerably between games. I'd think it would have to be written with different epochs of play in mind, similarly to the SW games.

Anyway if anyone knows of such a work, let me know.

 

[drothgery]

There's the Final Fantasy Saga project, though that's using modified Star Wars Saga rules, not 4e rules.

http://bluwiki.com/go/Finalfantasysaga

 

[I'm A Banana]

Well, Ivalice isn't *entirely* internally consistent, but it has a lot of fascinating plot threads floating around.

Specifically, check this out. The History section is really good. About as authoritative as you can get, and mostly entirely system independent.

If I was going to set a FFZ game in an FF world instead of off on its own, I'd choose Ivalice. It's easily the most "campaign setting" of the worlds. Everything else kind of looks like Dragonlance: after the Main Characters tromp through, it's basically over but for the hardcore fans. Ivalice dodges this bullet nicely.

 

[Orius]

Of course it varies considerably between games. I'd think it would have to be written with different epochs of play in mind, similarly to the SW games.

There's the Final Fantasy Saga project, though that's using modified Star Wars Saga rules, not 4e rules.

As if there weren't enough "FFXII = Star Wars!!!" cracks out there....

Well, Ivalice isn't *entirely* internally consistent, but it has a lot of fascinating plot threads floating around.

That's an understatement. I have no idea how the hell FFXII and FFT are supposed to link up. Most of the other games are handhelds too, so that doesn't help, since I generally don't play handhelds.

If I was going to set a FFZ game in an FF world instead of off on its own, I'd choose Ivalice. It's easily the most "campaign setting" of the worlds. Everything else kind of looks like Dragonlance: after the Main Characters tromp through, it's basically over but for the hardcore fans. Ivalice dodges this bullet nicely.

I can agree with this. Many times when I've played FFT, I've looked at the world map and think it would be a cool D&D setting. And there's a good deal of depth to FFXII for a DM to work with.

Some of the worlds are definitely not reusable, in some of them particularly the early games, monsters appear because the natural state of balance has been disrupted, and winning the game sets things right again, making the monsters disappear. In more recent settings like Spira and Ivalice, the monsters are part of the natural ecology, so there's plenty of opportunity for adventure.

Another decent choice for a campaign world would be Gaia from FFIX. There's lots of places, particularly on the western continents where the DM can put lost ruins and stuff to explore. Monsters seem to be somewhat natural. I'd probably adapt the Taint rules to do the Mist.

 

[I'm A Banana]

That's an understatement. I have no idea how the hell FFXII and FFT are supposed to link up. Most of the other games are handhelds too, so that doesn't help, since I generally don't play handhelds.

As far as I can tell, FFT is set in the distant future of FFXII (presumably after some horrible Moogle-destroying apocalypse leaves humans alone on the planet). But if you're playing the PSX FFT (instead of the PSP remake), it's hard to really tell what the heck it's even about most of the time, given the wonky translation and the intrigue-laced plot.

Many times when I've played FFT, I've looked at the world map and think it would be a cool D&D setting. And there's a good deal of depth to FFXII for a DM to work with.

The portable games only expand these options. And it helps that each game in the "Ivalice Alliance" is only set it a limited region. There's always a LOT MORE going on than your characters are even privy to, and there's so much history that is only piecemeal...

 

[Shadeydm]

I really don't know anything about FFT for the PSP but the old PS1 game about the "Zodiac Brave Story" has the makings of a very cool campaign setting. I would love to do it sometime or see it done.

The original FFT is also one of my all time favorite PS games. I found my copy a few weeks ago and was very excited to play it. I dusted off my PS2 and started to play only to be disappointed because you can't save PS1 games on your PS2 and that is game that really needs saving. I eventually ended up finding a PS1 emulator for my laptop so now I have started a new game and am loving every minute of it. (Well there are some scenes I would like to be able to skip so loving almost every minute is more like it.)

I could never understand why there was never a FFT2 (or is that what the handheld version is?).

 

[erf_beto]

I could never understand why there was never a FFT2 (or is that what the handheld version is?).

Unfortunately, the handheld versions are nothing like the original PSX game. It's the same world but with different races (I suppose they also show on the newer consoles: baanga, viera, etc) and a bit of a "childish" storyline - children are the majority of Nintendo handhelds' target audience, I believe. Great games though... but I still want to see a FFT as complex and rich as the first!

 

[DandD]

The original Final Fantasy Tactics (on Playstation 1) is a separate Ivalice universe (that has more similarities to the world in which Ogre Battle/Tactics Ogre is set) than the Ivalice from Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced (an imaginary world in a fantasy book), which again inspired a new Ivalice (this time its own world), becoming the Ivalice from Final Fantasy 12 and Final Fantasy Tactics Advanaced 2 (where a boy from the real world like the first FFTA on GBA enters the definite Ivalice).
It's not that complicated, if you think about.

 

[Andor]

I really don't know anything about FFT for the PSP but the old PS1 game about the "Zodiac Brave Story" has the makings of a very cool campaign setting. I would love to do it sometime or see it done.

The original FFT is also one of my all time favorite PS games. I found my copy a few weeks ago and was very excited to play it. I dusted off my PS2 and started to play only to be disappointed because you can't save PS1 games on your PS2 and that is game that really needs saving. I eventually ended up finding a PS1 emulator for my laptop so now I have started a new game and am loving every minute of it. (Well there are some scenes I would like to be able to skip so loving almost every minute is more like it.)

I could never understand why there was never a FFT2 (or is that what the handheld version is?).

You can save a PS1 game on a PS2, just pop in a PS 1memory card. ^^ I play FFT on my PS2 all the time.

 

[Krensky]

The original FFT is also one of my all time favorite PS games. I found my copy a few weeks ago and was very excited to play it. I dusted off my PS2 and started to play only to be disappointed because you can't save PS1 games on your PS2 and that is game that really needs saving.

As an aside, I know you've gone the emu route, but you can save PS1/X games when playing on a PS2, you just need a PS1/X memory card to do so with.