[Spinachcat]

>Could you give more info on the magic system?

Here it comes!


>Are spells (ugh) memorzied or is there a more unique approach?

There is Prayer and Magic.

Anyone can pray and maybe get an effect. You roll D20 + Courage bonus vs. a target number to get a effect based on to whom/to what you pray. If you fail, you may suffer a spiritual crisis. You can pray to the Heavens, the Earth, the Uru or the Muses.

There are 14 Schools of Magic and each has 12 spells. Each spell costs a certain amount of Spell Points which regenerate slowly. Magic spells are powerful so casters will use them sparingly. It is a BIG deal when somebody tosses a fireball.
Cantrips and minor magic tossing is easy to pull off, but your wizard will carry a sword at his hip to deal with many threats.

Casters do not outshine warriors in Fantasia, but when they throw down, everyone knows it and it can change the battle quickly.


>What about the character classes, can you name them all?

All races can be Adventurers.

Men can be Barbarians, Cavaliers, Charlatans, Clerics, Druids, Holy Men, Mystics,
Necromancers, Nomads, Paladins, Ranger, Sorcerer, Thief, Viking, Warrior, Wizard or Woodsman.

Elves can be an Animist, Champion, Shadow, Strider or Swordmaster.

Dwarves can be an Elder, Glandran or Urudar.

Halfmen can be Bard, Burglar, Highman, Scout or Sherriff.


>DO they get kewl abilities as they level up?

Yes and no.

You have a class ability that stays with you 0-10th level. You gain somewhat random bonuses each level - maybe +1 to an abilty, maybe a new general skill, maybe more skill points, maybe a specialty skill, etc.

You can use you Story Points you acccumulate through good role-playing and heroic storytelling to buy Kewl Powers like Spellcasting, Faith, Longevity, Auras etc.


>Is this a magick high world or a gritty magick low world?

Depends.

There are lots of "little magics" available, but it is quite possible to have a party with no spellcasters and do fine. It would be rare to have more than one caster in a party. The game is not generous with Spell Points so mages will be careful to choose when to cast. Think Gandalf casting, not D&D casting. Personally, I enjoy the D&D spell flinging at any moment, but the LOTR style of Fantasia calls for a more restrained use of flashy magic.


>Is magickal helaing plentiful? Is combat deadly?

Combat and ALL rolls lean toward player success. However, the combat system doesn't screw around and the monsters are not pushovers. Combat can be deadly if players do not use their wits. There are both Fear rules and death spiral that could cause a normal combat to go all FUBAR and lead to a TPK.

It's less deadly than Warhammer, about on par with OD&D. D20 gives a lot of umph to spellcasters and makes healing potions much easier to acquire so deadliness is blunted. However, if you ran D20 Conan or a D20 no cleric game, then the deadliness is about equal.

In Fantasia, healing magic is uncommon, but herbalism is common and healing herbs can be found. Since your HP is usually between 10pt - 25 pts, there isn't much to heal up and resting is probably the characters best healing resource (1 per day or 2 per day if fully resting). Raise Dead is exceedingly rare and it is mostly called "bury the body, roll a new hero".

The more times I read Fantasia the more I like it. I lean toward odd fantasy, tweaking out my D&D with stuff like Planescape, Mecha, Dark Sun, etc so I rarely ever run "vanilla" Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms. Fantasia is a really great alternative for people looking for a LOTR experience. I think its the best Tolkein RPG I've played.