Well. Here it is, at long long last, my Final Fantasy RPG. I started this out once, then realized that the pre-made system I had been intending to use wasn't going to work, so it fell rather quickly. As you all know, I very much enjoy the Fate RPG system, so I began adapting it... but it was still lacking. Eventually, the Dresden Files RPG version of the Fate system came out, which provided me with some key components I was in need of – specifically, a way to handle magic.

Keep in mind that this IS an untested form of the Final Fate system. It's probably going to have bugs. In fact, I'd be amazed if it didn't. So fair warning that occasionally rules are probably going to be changed around if I find something is too strong, or too weak.

Those familiar with the Fate system may notice that it has been trimmed down in places. For instance, there's no +1/-1 for skills interacting with other skills.

Furthermore, I will always be open to suggestions as to new things to include in the game, so if there's something that you guys want to see, TELL ME. Just understand that if all you get is a cryptic sentence back, there's odds that I've already thought of it and it will appear some time down the line.

Please wait before posting anything! This is going to be rather large, and it's going to take multiple posts to put up. So be patient and wait til I give the go ahead to post.

Skills

Skill Ladder:

+8: Legendary
+7: Epic
+6: Fantastic
+5: Superb
+4: Great
+3: Good
+2: Fair
+1: Average
0: Mediocre
-1: Poor
-2: Terrible

The way skills work in Final Fate is the same as normal Fate, using 'Fudge Dice'.

IMPORTANT: Unlike most GMs here on the boards, I trust my players to be honest... which means that I let them make their own rolls in person. For one, it makes it far, far easier on me as the GM, and also gives my players to use their Fate Points proactively to boost or reroll a roll that they know is bad, rather than bogging things down. I will, however, roll for your defense rolls against attacks. Should you wish to spend a Fate Point retroactively for a defense roll, simply post in the OOC thread, and I'll either adjust the roll or we'll negotiate via PM or chat.

So, let's say you want to make a skill roll. Lets make it an Attack ability, for fun.

First you take your base skill... say, Good (+3) is 3, for Battle. You want to attack a goblin with the Squire Attack ability Rush. You roll 4d6.
1,2 on a d6 is a minus (-)
3,4 on a d6 is a zero (_)
5,6 on a d6 is a plus (+)

You attack the goblin! And get a 1 (-), 4 (_), 5 (+), and 6 (+) on 4d6 giving you -_++, for a net gain of +1 – you attack at 4.

When posting, this would look like this:

-------------

(Post)

---
*H: Battle: 3, -_++ = 4

-------------

*H denotes it's a half-action (see Actions, below), it's a Battle roll at base 3, -_++ is the roll, and 4 is the final total.

The goblin defends with Athletics at 2, and gets a +_--, for a total of 1. You succeed! Not only did you succeed, but you also beat his roll by 3 or more. This causes something called 'spin'. Depending on your abilities, spin may trigger an extra effect on an attack or on defense. Rush has the additional effect of causing an enemy to gain the Aspect 'Off Balance', forcing them to use a maneuver to clear the effect or risk you tagging the maneuver to gain a bonus to attack the next round. You have also dealt his damage in the form of stress – more on that later in the Combat section.

Aside from combat, skill rolls are also used for various feats of physical and magical sorts, and most importantly can be used to make minor declarations or to learn Aspects. For example, a player could roll Scholarship and make a minor declaration about something he sees - “Hey, that vase is from *scholarship roll* Zeltennia!” It's a way for players to somewhat control the world around them. If he spends a Fate Point, that declaration can be even larger, especially if he invokes an Aspect – more on that later. You may also use a skill roll to put in place temporary Aspects to invoke, or to discover Aspects of a character or a place.

The skill list is as follows:

Skill List

Alertness: Avoiding Surprise, Combat Initiative, Passive Awareness

Alertness is a measure of your character’s passive awareness—his ability to stay on his toes and react to sudden changes in his environment. In short, it is the perception skill to notice things that you are not looking for. High Alertness characters strike early in a fight, tend to pick up on details of a scene simply by entering it, and are rarely surprised. They include bodyguards,

Athletics: Climbing, Dodging, Falling, Jumping, Sprinting, Other Physical Actions

Athletics measures your general physical capability—except for raw power (which is Might) and stamina (which is Endurance). Athletics covers running, jumping, climbing, and other broadly physical activities you might find in a track and field event. Characters with high Athletics move further and faster than the rest of us, making it difficult to catch or hit them in a fight—think of athletes, soldiers, and outdoorsmen.

Battle: Combat Offense, Close Combat Defense, Combat Knowledge

Battle is the skill of fighting: with swords, knives, axes, clubs, whips, hands, guns, anything. The exact weapon is more a choice of style than anything else, as this covers everything from fencing to a brawl using broken bottles and chair legs. Characters with a high Battle skill are familiar with a variety of weapons and wield them with deadly accuracy.

Bravery: Concentration, Emotional Control, Mental Defense

Bravery represents your ability to stay focused on your goals and actions despite distractions, as well as the ability to protect yourself from the psychological fallout of awful or scary events. It’s what makes you able to conquer fear, resist torture, and and ignore that one false move might mean death. Characters with strong Bravery rarely let fear get the best of them and can perform a wide variety of stressful tasks without breaking their concentration.

Craftsmanship: Breaking, Building, Fixing

Craftsmanship is the understanding of how stuff works, reflecting your practical know-how when it comes to using tools effectively. While Craftsmanship can be complemented by Scholarship, it can just as easily be the result of a lot of hours of getting your hands dirty and having a natural feel for how things work.

Deceit: Cat and Mouse, Disguise, Distraction and Misdirection, Falsehood and Deception

Deceit is the ability to lie. Be it through word or deed, it’s the ability to convey falsehoods convincingly. Characters with a high Deceit can easily seem much different than they actually are. They are masters of misdirection and they paint a sheen of seeming truth over the darkest lies.

Diplomacy: Reading People, A Shoulder to Cry On, Social Defense, Social Initiative

Diplomacy is the ability to both understand and persuade people around you. It’s also useful for keeping up your guard during a social conflict. Characters adept at Diplomacy are very perceptive about people and their motives and often end up as quiet masters of a social scene.

Endurance: Long-Term Action, Physical Fortitude

Endurance is the ability to keep performing physical activity despite fatigue or injury. It’s a measure of your body’s resistance to shock and effort. In addition to addressing fatigue, Endurance is rolled as a defense when fending off poisons and disease. High Endurance characters can take more punishment than others and can keep going long after the competition has tuckered out.

Faith: Acts of Faith, Mental Fortitude, Magical Defense

Faith represents your strength of belief. This could represent your quiet confidence in yourself, your family, and your friends, or the certitude of your faith in a higher (or, for nasty sorts, infernal) power such as magic or God. No spellcaster ever gets much power without believing in his ability to do magic, and no holy man gives the forces of darkness much pause without Faith. Characters with a high Faith are powerful, grounded individuals, whose beliefs make them able to weather any storm.

Gambling: Games of Chance, Luck, Bluffing

Gambling is required for any one expecting to sit down at a poker table and not get all of their gil taken away. Those who embrace gambling can have a natural sense for when luck may fall their way, leading to some interesting advantages. Someone with a high Gambling skill can win big, or get lucky breaks in a bad situation.

Intimidation: The Brush-Off, Interrogation, Provocation, Social Attacks, Threats

Intimidation is the skill you use for producing a sudden, strong, negative emotion in a target— usually fear. With high Intimidation, you exude menace, choose exactly the right words to chill others to the bone, and get people to lose their cool in an instant.

Magic: Magic Offense, Magic Defense, Lore

Magic determines your ability and study of wielding the raw magic found in the world. Black Magic taps into the leylines and nodes that crisscross the world to wreak elemental havok and to summon primal beings. White Magic taps into the inner life force found inside of oneself. Red Magic imbues items and weapons with enchantments. Blue Magic... well. Who knows how that works. That one still has the other schools scratching their heads. Characters with a high Magic wield powerful forces, enough to be a danger to anyone... including themselves.

Might: Breaking Things, Exerting Force, Lifting Things, Wrestling

Might is a measure of pure physical power, be it raw strength or simply the knowledge of how best to use the strength you have. Might is for lifting, moving, or breaking things. You can use the skill to add a measure of physical power to the efforts of another skill. Characters with a high Might are not supernaturally strong, but they can still bend, break, and lift things that are normally beyond the capabilities of everyday people.

Mount: Chases, One Hand on the Wheel, Riding, Piloting, Street Knowledge and Navigation

Mount is your ability to operate a vehicle or ride an animal. Day to day, it’s pretty easy and shouldn’t be rolled unless circumstances call for it (such as driving fast through busy streets, being in an aerial dogfight, or battling someone from on top of a Chocobo). With a high skill, you can pull off things that only a bard would sing about.

Performance: Art Appreciation, Composition, Creative Communication, Playing to an Audience

Performance represents your overall artistic ability, covering the gamut of endeavors that involve putting creative works before an audience (painting, dance, music, writing, and some elements of acting). This includes knowledge of composition as well as the performance itself. Characters with a high Performance are incredibly creative individuals, able to create poetry extemporaneously, dance well enough to make one’s heart soar, or put on an acting performance that will bring a crowd to standing ovation.

Presence: Charisma, Command, Reputation, Social Fortitude

Presence is a multi-faceted skill, representing attributes of leadership, reputation, and charisma. While Bravery represents your overall mental and psychological toughness, Presence is a measure of social toughness—whether or not you’ll flinch and lose face in front of others, and how your image stands up to scrutiny and/or attack. Characters with a high Presence carry themselves with a quiet confidence no matter the situation, and when they speak, others stop and listen.

Scholarship: Answers, Machine Use, Declaring Minor Details, Languages, Research and Lab Work

Scholarship operates as a catch-all skill for most kinds of regular, everyday, “book” knowledge with a few practical applications out in the field as well. Characters with high Scholarship may be adept at technology and research, well-versed in the sciences and liberal arts.

Stealth: Ambush, Hiding, Shadowing, Skulking

Stealth is the ability to remain unseen and unheard. Directly opposed by Alertness or Investigation, Stealth covers everything from skulking in the shadows to hiding under the bed. Characters with a high Stealth are like ghosts, passing through the shadows with only the barest whisper of sound.

Survival: Animal Handling, Camouflage, Scavenging, Tracking

Survival is the skill of outdoorsmen, covering hunting, trapping, tracking, fire building, and a lot of other wilderness skills. Characters with a high Survival skill are adept at dealing with animals, can survive nearly indefinitely by living off the land, and can track a man in the wilderness for days.

Aspects

Possibly the most versatile – and thereby, often hard to grasp – component of the Fate system is that of Aspects. Aspects define your character. They tell who and what your character is, what or who he's connected to, or what may be important to him. Skills are what a character 'can do', Aspects are who is is. Aspects can be named pretty much anything – it could be a catchphrase, a relationship, a belief, an item, a description.

The key thing with Aspects is the nature of their game mechanic. Aspects can be called on to aid your character by spending Fate Points. This is called 'invoking an Aspect'. The requirement is that the Aspect has to be appropriate for the roll at hand. For example... Aspect called 'Anything for a Pretty Lady' could be invoked for a skill roll to help a lovely young woman, but could not be invoked to help a man.

Invoking an Aspect can have one of three effects:

-Reroll all the dice for a roll, and you must use the new result.
-Add 2 to skill roll, after any rerolls have been done.
-Invoke for effect. Say X is happening, or X exists, and if the GM accepts it, it's true. Potentially the most powerful way to use an Aspect.

Aspects are not just on your character – other characters have them to. The environment around you does as well. By spending a Fate Point, you can 'tag' an Aspect to invoke it, despite it not being yours. This performs much the same way as invoking one of your own Aspects. Often such tags are brought about due temporary Aspects on something – for instance, the 'Off Balance' Aspect due to Rush. Temporary Aspects are, for the most part, one-shots – you tag it, the Aspect goes away. If you don't tag it, then it's usually been cleared away and the momentary advantage is lost. The key thing with Temporary Aspects is that when Aspects are introduced in such a way, they can be tagged FOR FREE the next turn, without spending a Fate Point.

IMPORTANT: Fate awards teamwork. You can pass the free tag to someone else to tag (again, for free) – this is THE ONLY WAY you can tag an introduced Aspect in the same round it showed up in.

The last use of Aspects, and probably the greatest, is a compel. A compel occurs when a GM or a player 'compels' an Aspect to force something to occur. In the GM's case, he offers a Fate Point to the player. If the player accepts, the Aspect is compelled and more likely than not the player's life just got rather complicated. If the player refuses, he spends a Fate Point to 'buy off' the proffered one, and things go along as normal. If a GM really wants something to happen, he can potentially escalate and offer 2 Fate Points or even more, with an even greater effect occuring – likewise the player himself can escalate it by refusing for one and accepting for more. This, aside from Fate Point refreshes, is the sole way of gaining back spent Fate Points.

An example:

A player has an Aspect called 'Better Late than Never'. He is on his way to a date with a young woman, who he intends to milk for... information. The GM compels his Better Late than Never Aspect – something's come up that will delay him, which could prevent him from reaching his date. If he accepts, he gets the Fate Point, but has a chance that he'll miss the date entirely, and even if he does make it, the young woman will be angry at him for being late. If he refuses, then he spends one of his Fate Points, and meets up with the young woman as normal.

This 'compel' ability is not just limited to the GM, however. Players can compel an NPC or an enemy's Aspect, or even one another player's, by spending Fate Points. This may occur even if you do not know the exact Aspect in question. In the case of NPCs or enemy's, it goes to the person in question, for use (potentially) in a later battle. In the case of player compelling player, the player that compels loses a Fate Point and 'gives' it to the other player as the cost of the compel.

Learning and Guessing Aspects:

Learning Aspects is a fairly straightforward maneuver. You make an appropriate assessment skill roll – if you beat the difficulty required, you learn it. An Aspect learned this way gets a free tag on it.

Guessing an Aspect is a bit different. You don't know for certain the Aspect is there, so you are forced to spend a Fate Point to see if it is there. If it IS there, then the tag or compel goes off. If it is NOT there, but the fact that it is there doesn't constitute major information, then the Fate Point is refunded. If, on the other hand, the fact that the Aspect isn't there constitutes major information, then the Fate Point remains spent.

For example... you are interrogating someone to try and determine if he's in a secret group. You try to compel his I'm in a Secret Group! Aspect, guessing that he has some sort of Aspect along those lines if he's part of them. As it turns out, he has no such Aspect, meaning you lose a Fate Point... but at least you know he's probably not a part of the secret group.

If you have any questions on Aspects, by all means ask. In all the Fate game's I've ran, it's always been the hardest to wrap your mind around.

Keep in mind that you do not necessarily want Aspects that solely involve good effects – keep in mind that if you want Fate Points, it pays to have one or two Aspects that can be compelled to complicate things. In fact, all players have to have a minimum of one 'Trouble' Aspect, as you will see below in character creation.

Fate Points

Each player will begin with 6 'Refresh' – that is to say, a maximum of 6 Fate Points. For each Fate Point spent on buying additional abilities, Refresh – the maximum Fate Point amount – goes down by one. This means a person with a lot of abilities will have less Fate Points, and a person with less abilities will have more.

Fate points can be spent to:
Compel, tag, or invoke Aspects
Make a declaration (does not have to use an Aspect, but is more powerful if it does)
Get a +1 bonus on a roll.
Power an ability.

Abilities

Abilities come in several types:

Attack – these are full round special attack actions. These often have special effects built in, or triggering off of spin.
Rote Spell – these are spells that require no roll to control, only to target – spells you can fire 'off the cuff', so to speak
Maneuver – these are maneuvers you've trained and practiced doing, usually used to give small buffs or perform particular actions
Reaction – Triggers when specific conditions are met. You may have one offensive and one defensive reaction 'on' at a time.
Passive – are passive buffs that are always 'on'.

Each class starts with one of each ability. The 1st Tier classes have two additional Maneuvers, to get things started. However, the classes are not limited by just these abilities alone. From the start, I wanted my players to have options with the system – I didn't want them stuck with some stock standard abilities in classes. So, instead, each Refresh point you have may function as a sort of Job Point. Each JP may be spent – meaning you lose that Refresh, permanently – toward creating an Ability of one of the above types. 1st Tier abilities, you only spend 1 Refresh to create – later tiers you can spend more Refresh to create even more powerful abilities.

For those familiar with Fate: Think of 1st Tier abilities at the same power level as Stunts from SoTC or Dresden Files RPG. You won't get on par with the more Supernatural Power style abilities from DFRPG until later tiers.

Now, for an example. I start with 6 Refresh. I have a maximum 6 Fate points I can have at any time. I decide that I want to create a special Attack ability called Throw Stone for my Apprentice class. I switch one of my Refresh to JP, lowering the maximum Fate Point amount I can have to 5. I create the following ability.

Throw Stone – Attack – 1 zone range, throw a stone at an opponent – on spin, knock him back a zone.

I now have 5 Refresh, and a maximum of 5 Fate points I can have at any time, along with a special Attack ability unique to my character.

Basic examples for creating abilities:
+2 to a specific application of a non-attack roll
+1 to an attack under a specific circumstance
Add a special effect to an attack roll on spin
+1 to defense under a specific circumstance
Add a special effect to a defense roll on spin
Gain two expendable 2 shift effects, or a persistent 1-shift effect
Reduce difficulty of skill under a particular circumstance
More powerful versions of the above, but only if you spend a fate point to power the ability

As seen above in my own Throw Stone example, don't feel limited by the basics above - feel free to be creative. Keep in mind, however, that you are still only Squires and Apprentices. As GM I still have veto powers on an ability I feel is too powerful for your current tier.

As you advance through the job tiers, you'll regain more Refresh points and then some - and will be allowed to create more powerful abilities costing more than 1 Fate Point. Also, keep in mind you can easily match one of these created abilities to one of your Aspects.

Finally, understand that you also do not have to decide on these abilities now. At ANY point in the game, you may spend a Fate Point, permanently, to create an ability on the spot.

Combat Actions, Stress, and Consequences

During your turn you may always do one supplemental action (think of it like DnD 5 ft step, can always do it), up to 2 half actions, or 1 full action.

Supplemental Actions:
Move one zone

Half actions include:

Moving more than one zone (base Athletics determines how many you can move)
Do an assessment skill roll
Do a Maneuver ability
Do a normal attack
Use an item
Cast a rote spell
Remove a Temporary Aspect (depending on the Aspect, could be full)

Full actions include:

Moving more than one zone (Athletics roll determines how many you can move)
Do an Attack
Do a non-ability maneuver
Cast a non-rote spell
Full defense (+2 to defense rolls)

Now then, for an example...

Squire
HP: OOOO
MP: OOO
SP: OOO
Aspects:

Black Goblin
HP: OOO
MP: OO
SP: O
Aspects:

The Squire starts out. He's got a Black Goblin 1 zone ahead of him. A zone equates to roughly 10 feet around you, and you can have multiple people in a single zone. In order to do a melee attack, you have to be in the same zone. So, he moves 1 zone as a supplemental action, does a Focus maneuver and a normal attack for two half-actions. For a player, this would look like:

(Post)

-----

Move 1
*H: Focus
*H: Battle: (base), (roll), (modifier) = (result)

So...

Squire DoesALot steps forward, focuses his strength, and strikes for great justice!

---

Move 1
*H: Focus
*H: Battle: 3, -_++, +1 = 5

Then, when it's time for combat turn resolution...

*H: Battle: 3, -_++, +1 = 5 vs. Athletics: 2, +_-+ = 3

The attack succeeds, beating the Black Goblin's defense roll by 2. He takes a 2 stress hit to his HP.

Black Goblin
HP: OXO
MP: OO
SP: O
Aspects:

Like so. Had he already had the second box checked off, it would have rolled up...

Black Goblin
HP: OXX
MP: OO
SP: O
Aspects:

Like so. Finally, if he had had both boxes checked off, he would have had to take a minor consequence, reducing the hit by 2, absorbing the stress completely into the consequence. If it had been for 3 instead, he would have had to also take a 1 stress hit. As it is...

Black Goblin
HP: OXX
MP: OO
SP: O
Aspects: Cut and Bruised

He takes a minor consequence as an Aspect. If he's had a minor and all stress filled, he would have to take a moderate. If that still wasn't enough, a severe. Once you are out of consequences, you are Taken Out. In the case of something like a goblin, there's a chance that he might bug out and run away before then – this goes for any enemy lacking in grit. Sometimes roughing someone up is enough to get what you want. Other times, it'll be to the bitter end.

Consequences are actual injuries that are inflicted on your body, mind, or emotions, and are inflicted when you take too much stress. There are four categories of severity: minor, moderate, severe, and extreme. Severity determines how long you will have the consequence, and how bad it was. For example, for a physical attack...

Mild: Reduces stress by 2. Small injury, small cuts, bruises, nothing serious. Something you would walk off. Lasts til the end of the scene.
Moderate: Reduces stress by 4. Moderate injury. A twisted ankle, a shallow slash across the chest. Something that would require some rest to get rid of.
Severe: Reduces stress by 6. Severe injury. Broken bones, deep slashes. Something that you want to get attention, soon, for. This injury will take some time to get rid of.

In the case of players, there is one final option for those really in dire straights.

Extreme: Reduces stress by 8. Not only do you take a consequence, you get a permanent! Aspect regarding this Aspect. It's big enough, and nasty enough, that it changes your character on a fundamental level. But, it might be worth it, if it's a choice between that and keeping your character alive. An Extreme consequence cannot be healed away by White Magic, nor can it be healed away by other means – it's here to stay for the long haul.

Consequences are Aspects denoting injuries and their severity, and like all Aspects introduced, CAN BE TAGGED FOR FREE when first introduced, and can be later tagged against using Fate Points for further bonuses. That's right. If something takes a hard hit, you can tag the consequence and hit him again, getting the normal tag bonus. On the other hand... enemies can do exactly the same thing to you.

Concessions: Sometimes you get enough of a decisive advantage over an opponent – such as a moderate or higher consequence – that they'll go for a concession instead. Instead of going to the end, they'll run away, or give you what you what. The same goes vice versa for you – if you're on the ropes, you can concede... and essentially must obey the terms of the concession as the cost.

Being Taken Out: Sometimes a fight WILL go to the end. Should you ever take enough stress that a consequence is not enough to reduce the hit, then you are Taken Out. A character that is Taken Out is pretty much left at the mercy of his opponent. Usually, if a fight is going to be to the death, then I as GM will be giving some fairly strong hints in that direction. However, being Taken Out doesn't necessarily mean death – it could mean you're knocked unconscious, or captured – any number of other consequences.

Magic

There are four forms of magic, Black, White, Red, and Blue. Each work in different ways, but the basic mechanic is the same. There are two main skills for magic: Faith, and Magic. Let us say we have a Black Mage. Hello, mister Black Mage.

Black Mage
HP: OOO
MP: OOOO
SP: OO

He says hi to Mr. Black Goblin. And then proceeds to cast Fira. Fira is what is called a 'rote' spell. It's a spell that all Black Mages know, just like all Apprentices know Fire.

Fira: 2 zone range, 2 mental stress, Weapon: 2 fire magic

Casting a rote spell simply involves a Magic roll to target, and only takes a half-action. In order to cast it, he takes 2 mental stress (MP: OXOO)... and makes a Magic roll. He really wants to kill the goblin... so he tags the Cut and Bruised consequence, and even invokes his own Sadistic Aspect, spending two fate points. Can anyone say, nuked?

---

“The light of a thousand suns in my hands... FIRA!” A huge fireball streaks toward the poor, unfortunate black goblin.

---

*H: Magic: 4, ++-+, +2 +2 = 10 W 2 vs Goblin's Athletics: 2, ++__ = 2

The black goblin tries in vain to dodge, but gets nailed with an 8 stress hit... but wait, what's Weapon: 2? Weapon: 2 adds an additional 2 stress to the hit, for a grand total of 10 stress. If the goblin had Armor: 2, he'd have reduced the stress taken by 2. Unfortunately, he doesn't. He takes a moderate consequence (Seared) and a severe consequence (Extra Crispy), and is only 1 stress away from being completely Taken Out. By this point, he probably doesn't care – he's wimpering on the ground in pain, having really wanted to have conceded earlier.

Black Goblin
HP: OXX
MP: OO
SP: O
Aspects: Cut and Bruised, Seared, and Extra Crispy

That is a rote spell. 'Rote' spell? What about other spells? There are also non-rote spells, which take a full action to cast. Rote spells are those you've drilled into so much they're second nature. A non-rote spell takes longer, and also requires a control roll using Faith.

Note – this is different from DFRPG way of handling spells – a little less powerful. Instead of safely drawing up to your Faith in power and only taking 1 shift of mental stress, instead you will start at 0. I might rebalance it out if I see it's being weak, but I doubt it – evocation is just plain nasty.

The first thing you do is draw power. For every shift of power you draw, you add 1 more mental stress to the hit you take. So, say you want to draw 2 shifts of power. You must make a Faith roll to control the power – this is your belief that the magic will go the way you plan it will. The difficulty is equal to the amount of shifts you drew. If you beat the difficulty, the spell goes off as planned. If you fail, some of it will hit as fallout (environmental consequences) or backlash (physical stress).

There are 3 ways to use a spell – attack, block, or maneuver.

A spell used to attack: 1 shift = Weapon: 1
A spell used to set up a block: 1 shift = 1 block strength, or 1 round of persistence
A spell used to maneuver: 1 shift = 1 shift of effect, or 1 round of persistence

You may, potentially, take mental consequences to fuel your spells. Just remember that consequences have... well, consequences, and you still have to control the spell you fire off (Fate Points help).

Jobs

Squire jobs lead into physical classes. Apprentice jobs lead to magical classes. The job list is as follows:

Squire
----Knight
-------Holy Swordsman
----------Heavenly Knight
-------Dark Swordsman
----------Hell Knight
----Martial Artist
-------Samurai
----------Limit Breaker
-------Sensei
----------Grandmaster
----Soldier
-------Lancer
----------Dragon Knight
-------Warrior
-------------Brave
----Thief
-------Assassin
----------Ninja
-------Trickster
----------Sky Pirate

Apprentice
----Black Mage
-------Caller
----------Summoner
-------Time Mage
----------Void Mage
----White Mage
-------Priest
----------Scion
-------Oracle
----------Messiah
----Red Mage
-------Mage Knight
----------Magitech Knight
-------Sorceror
----------Sage
-----Blue Mage
-------Shifter
----------Esper
-------Geomancer
----------Monster Tamer

Knight (which Dom I believe is probably going to go for), gets the Break ability and some very nice defense buffs. It later leads into Heavenly Knight, which uses MP to fuel special attacks, and the Hell Knight, which uses HP to fuel special attacks. Heavenly Knight gets offensive magic buffs, while Hell Knight has better anti-magic.

Martial Artist has the ever lovely Counter reaction ability, and focuses on hand to hand fighting. There are two progressions - sword and hand to hand. Sword leads to the Limit Breaker, which is essentially precisely what it sounds like - you get Limit Breaks. The hand to hand progression gets some of the best reaction abilities (*coughHamedocough*) and special punch arts... plus some self-healing as well.

Soldier gets stronger the more enemies are in the zone with him, and has taunts to get them there. He can also split his attacks between enemies as well. That has two branches - lance and blade. Lance leads eventually to Jump abilities, and eventually you make a pact with a dragon and fight with/on one in battle. Brave, on the other hand, gets Renzokuken gunblade and sword tech buffs.

Thief gets access to Steal and the ability to attack from Stealth. The Ninja progression delves further into the stealth killing aspect, as opposed to the Sky Pirate, who gets access to the gambling abilities like Slots and, of course, an airship of his very own.

The Black Mage, as those who are familiar with Final Fantasy would imagine, focuses on offensive magic, getting the standard elemental spells and then some. The Void Mage progression goes further into this, getting stronger and stronger spells, plus buff/debuff spells from Time Mage. The other branch is summons, which starts with 'calling' one shot hit summons, and finally ends with the Summoner, who calls forth a specific being and keeps it there to fight.

The White Mage is the only class capable of easily healing consequences - this is especially true of the Scion progression, which gets holy attacks and buffs as well. The Messiah progression instead focuses on determining an opponent's Aspects, debuffing them, and utilizing social attacks to sway them over to your side.

Red Mage focuses pretty much entirely on enchanting and scholarship, with being able to enchant your own weapons with elemental strikes and your armor with elemental resistances, plus additional options for Alchemy. This has two branches, one focusing on Magitek and the other on magical research. Magitek gets advanced resistances and attacks, plus additional possibilies for item enchants and possibly Magitek armor a la FF6. The Sage progression, on the other hand, pulls spells from black, red, white, and blue magic, making it probably the most versatile of the magic classes.

The Blue Mage gets access to monster abilities in classic Blue Mage fashion - you get hit by an ability, you get the ability to use it. Down the Esper progression, you gain the ability to completely shift forms into a monster of your choice, eventually making your own 'monster' of an Esper. The Monster Tamer progression gets access to Geomancy and affecting the world on its' own terms, and eventually taming and controlling monsters you encounter.

Classing up: You start off in the first tier as Squires and Apprentice. At certain points in the story line, you will go up a tier in power level. Prior to the tier lvl up, I'll reveal the basics of each class so you can make an informed decision. At this time, you will be given additional skill points, Refresh, and the ability to class up into a new class, and the chance to switch Aspects and skills around... and of course, potentially make new, more powerful abilities.

Changing class: I am currently undecided on this, but I am leaning strongly against it, as I see too much potential for abuse if I let players use abilities from multiple classes. If I were to allow a player to do it, it would definitely have some penalties involved (I.e, losing old abilities), and you WOULD have to come up with an in-game reason for the sudden change.

Alright, now let's get on to the real fun stuff...

Character Creation

Name (First and Last):

Starting Class: Squire or Apprentice.

Squire

“Well. Someone has to clean up for the horse. And polish the armor. And...”

For every great hero, there is a young man standing behind him, readying his Chocobo, polishing his sword, and generally doing all the dirty work required to make him look good while he toils in obscurity. Acting as a squire is important for two reasons – first, it teaches humility. And second, in return for his services, his master teaches the squire what he knows, and starts him on his own way. More recently, military academies have been founded where young men can go to be trained in the arts of war.

Abilities:

Rush – Attack – if attack generates spin, also attempt to knock target off balance
Focus – Maneuver – give yourself +1 on your next attack roll
Yell – Maneuver – give someone (possibly yourself) +1 on their next defense roll
Steel – Maneuver – give someone (possibly yourself) +1 on their next Bravery roll
Counter Rush – Reaction – Defensive - If defense generates spin, attempt to knock attacker off balance
Guts – Passive – Gain one additional mild physical consequence

Apprentice

“I didn't do it! Well, okay, maybe I did... but I didn't mean to!”

At a certain point in their lives, many mages take on an apprentice to teach them what they know. Often enough, this isn’t because they truly want to teach them anything… it would be more accurate to say that it’s more because they are getting old and want someone else to do the chores for them, maintaining their supplies and various projects. Still, these chores do have a reason: it is usually in a fit of anger or pique at the unjustness of the chores laid upon them by their masters that triggers their first use of magic, after which point the master begins the true apprenticeship. As an apprentice, they get the rudiments of an academic education, and the discipline required to control their mind and heart. More recently, certain academies have been formalizing the instruction of apprentices, due in part to the renaissance in magical application throughout the world.

Abilities:

Black Magic 1st Tier – Attack – 1 zone range, 1 mental stress, Weapon: 1 elemental attack
-Fire
-Water
-Air
-Earth
Alchemy – Maneuver – activate ingredients with a slight bit of magic to create an item (only lasts for encounter!)
- Potion - heal 1 physical stress
- Antidote – remove Poison
Auto-Potion – Reaction – Defensive - if defense generates spin, create a potion and use it to heal 1 physical stress
Passive – Safeguard - +2 to defense rolls vs. Break and Steal attacks

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Your character is in their final semester at the Royal Academy in Gariland, currently serving as a squire or an apprentice. Soon you will graduate. The Academy provides training for young men and women from well-off families (middle-class or higher), but has also been known to provide scholarships to promising students from poorer families. The Academy provides officers for Ivalice's standing army. Since the Lion's War two centuries ago, Ivalice has been at peace with itself and the neighboring nations of Romanda and Ordalia. Advances in technology, particularly magitek such as the airship, have greatly increased the standard of living and trade in all three nations, and has furthermore reduced tensions to the point that most of the time Ivalice's army is training for a war that, to most hopeful folk, will never come. Still, the Academy provides excellent education and training, and service lasts only two years, so many sons and daughters find their way there to get a step up in the world.

Those familiar with Final Fantasy Tactics, using the same map, same places (and then some). I'll have a world info bit up eventually for more details. Until then, run with that. Ah yes. Some of the truth about the Lion's War is known to the public, but not all of it. There's quite a bit of wrangling in the scholastic community about the whole matter, in fact.

How you came to be there, what background you originally came from, is up to you – this will be determined by your character's Aspects, found below.

As those who've played Fate before know, Aspects are important to your character – they are key quirks, items, ideals... anything that makes your character what they are.

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Aspects

High Concept Aspect: An Aspect that sums up who and what your character is.

Trouble: An Aspect describing a main internal, or external, problem that the character is constantly facing.

Zodiac Aspect: What is your character's Zodiac sign? (Sagittarius, Virgo, ect.)

Tarot Aspect: You don’t get to pick. Neither do I, actually. At the very beginning of the game, when I’m returning character sheets, I will randomly draw from the Major Arcana. That will be your character’s Tarot. You will gain an Aspect based on that card.

Where Did You Come From (Background): (Aspect)

Your character's background prior to deciding to join the Academy.

What Shaped You (Rising Conflict): (Aspect)

The conflict that caused your character to decide to join the Academy.

What Happened at the Academy (First Adventure): (Aspect)

An event that happened during the early years of the Academy that shaped what you would become.

Who's Path Have You Crossed (Guest Starring): (Aspect)

An event that happened involving another student (I.e player) at the Academy.

Who's Path Have You Crossed (Guest Starring): (Aspect)

Another event that happened involving a different student (I.e player) at the Academy.

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You will start out with 20 points to spend on skills. Skills start out at Mediocre (+0), and cap out at Great (+4). You may not buy any skills at a level higher than the skill cap. In addition, you cannot have more skills at any level than you have one level down from that. So if you buy a Fair (+2) skill for 2 points, you need to have at least one Average (+1) skill as well for 1 point. This cascades as you go further up: in order to have one Great skill, you’d also need to have at least one Good, one Fair, and one Average skill. Think of skill ranks as building blocks stacked atop one another, each level representing a rank. Each block needs one below it to support it. 20 points means you can potentially have two +4, two +3, two +2, two +1 skills, if you want to keep it simple. Else, you can have more skills spread around at lower levels.

Important Skills:

HP (physical stress track) is determined by Endurance
MP (mental stress track) is determined by Faith
SP (social stress track) is determined by Presence

Skill to stress track:
0 = [O][O] – 2 stress boxes
1, 2 = [O][O][O] – 3 stress boxes
3, 4 = [O][O][O][O] – 4 stress boxes

(Note – normally you also get additional consequences from higher skill – those are being taken care of abilities. Those paying attention will notice that Squires get another minor phys and Apprentices get another minor mental from the get go)

Alertness determines combat initiative and serves as a general perception ability.
Battle for physical offense.
Magic for magical offense.
Battle/Athletics for physical defense.
Bravery for mental defense.
Faith for magical defense, and controlling magic.
Athletics for movement.

You also have 6 Refresh to spend at the start of the game. You may spend Refresh at 1 Refresh to convert to JP to create your own Ability, as seen above, down to 1 minimum Refresh.

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I am looking for at least 4 people. Salamander, ShroudedTraveler both have spots reserved, should they wish them – they helped me considerably as I worked on this, acting as sounding boards for crazy ability ideas. Otherwise... I might – MIGHT – go above 4 if I get a really impressive character. Otherwise, out of luck.

1. (Salamander)
2. ShroudedTraveler
3. Kajin
4. Dom/SlimKop

Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go collapse into bed. Phewph.

I call dibs for spot 3. I'll look over the wall of text once I've gotten some sleep.

I'll be up for this! I'll read more at work.

Let me read up and get a character churned out.

Definitely looking for a spot.

Character creation in a nutshell:

Name:
Squire or Apprentice
20 pts spent for skills at 1 pt to raise 1 pt, to a max of +4. A 4 needs a 3 needs a 2 needs a 1.
Choose your Aspects. You'll need to work with another player to get the Guest Star Aspects - else, those slots may potentially be filled later by creating an Aspect on the fly.
6 Refresh. May spend 1 Refresh to create one Ability. Any Refresh left over is your max number of Fate Points, which you will start the game with.

Also, just a quick note - you are all human. No moogles, viera, ect. The non-human races are still pretty rare in the western part of the world, though are starting to become a little bit more common as trade picks up.