Re: [RPG]: Fantasia, reviewed by Robert Lionheart (3/4)
Excellent review, Robert!
To what other games would you compare the level of Fantasia's complexity?
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Re: [RPG]: Fantasia, reviewed by Robert Lionheart (3/4)
I would rate Fantasia's complexity at the same level as the Rules Cyclopedia for OD&D, more involved than UniSystem or Savage Worlds, but less complex than Gurps or Exalted. The crunch could be considered about midway between Castles & Crusades and D20.
As for Gygax, I am a devoted fan of The Gary. A few summers ago, I sat down and read every word of the 1E PHB and DMG, something I doubt I ever did in high school. It was great fun and part of the joy was Gary's flip-flopping from "it's your game, do as you please" to "if you deviate from my commandments, your table will burst into flame!" Some people are turned off by this prose, some ignore it and others will enjoy it. If you are looking for specific examples, go read Gary's admonishments on why hit points rule vs. hit locations, why playing monsters is bad fun and how an economic system is a major priority when creating game worlds.
But hey, the Mighty Gygax was laying down the first words for a brand new hobby without the benefit of 30 years of hindsight and publishing experience. He just had some dice, some minis, some handwritten notes (no MS Word and no laptop) and the deep grooves of disco. So thus, we must forgive his purple prose.
Re: [RPG]: Fantasia, reviewed by Robert Lionheart (3/4)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spinachcat
But hey, the Mighty Gygax was laying down the first words for a brand new hobby without the benefit of 30 years of hindsight and publishing experience. He just had some dice, some minis, some handwritten notes (no MS Word and no laptop) and the deep grooves of disco. So thus, we must forgive his purple prose.
Nope, I'm not buying that excuse Mr Gygax Outright contradiction of ones' own instructions ("Use your own rules" - "Don't! You'll catch porphyria!") is not excused by lack of precedent. I'm also curious as to how he could write a thesis on why hit points are better than hit locations if no prior games existed to make use of the latter?
Re: [RPG]: Fantasia, reviewed by Robert Lionheart (3/4)
My friends consider me a RPG archeologist and I have read many fan magazines from the mid-1970s to learn more about how our hobby developed in its infancy. I find it fascinating to look at the arguments, thoughts and rationales of these primitive dice tossers...and watch them resurface again on RPG.net in 2006.
By the time Our Lord Gary wrote the DMG, there were several other proto-RPGs on the market trying to steal the thunder of D&D and there were MANY articles about house-ruling this and that, articles attacking the various tropes of D&D and articles suggesting we take D&D far away from where Gygax began with his idea. I believe - and I may be wrong - that much of his contradictory prose was a reaction to these new voices OR maybe he didn't have a editor which wouldn't surprise me either.
Re: [RPG]: Fantasia, reviewed by Robert Lionheart (3/4)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spinachcat
By the time Our Lord Gary wrote the DMG, there were several other proto-RPGs on the market
In what possible sense could Runequest, Traveller, and Chivalry & Sorcery (all released before the DMG) be considered 'proto'? They were fully and completely designed rpgs, and something Gygax never took into account: competition.
Re: [RPG]: Fantasia, reviewed by Robert Lionheart (3/4)
>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.
Re: [RPG]: Fantasia, reviewed by Robert Lionheart (3/4)
Outright contradiction of ones' own instructions ("Use your own rules" - "Don't! You'll catch porphyria!") is not excused by lack of precedent. I'm also curious as to how he could write a thesis on why hit points are better than hit locations if no prior games existed to make use of the latter?
Re: [RPG]: Fantasia, reviewed by Robert Lionheart (3/4)
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