Reviewing FC after a year

[ludomastro]

What you get for your money
The cover of this big heavy tome is colour; the interior is black and white. Interior illustrations are good quality and frequent enough; moreover, they never feel like without being padding. The Fantasy Craft book is a stitch hardcover with pages of good quality paper able to withstand years of gaming table abuse. When asked on the forum the Crafty guys confirmed that this was a deliberate choice.
As a pdf the image resolution is good, the document is searchable, and there are three layers of bookmarks. On the first page is a place to click to hide the page frames, presumably to save ink if you print pages. At 52.1MB it’s a little on the big side but not overly so.
There is a lot of font 10 writing; other larger companies would have taken these rules padded them with fluff and spread them over four books. This is very good value. Reading cover to cover there are almost no typos and the writing is concise. There is very minimal fluff, a deliberate choice to keep the game a generic toolkit and deliver value. As you work with the rules you can feel the parts fitting together and you know the rules have been carefully thought through and tested. On many occasions the Crafty guys have put back release dates to ensure a quality product. On these occasions there is grumbling but when you finally get the book it is of the same high quality as this core book (though supplements are soft cover).

[I would break the paragraph here to better highlight your comment on timing of FC versus Pathfinder and 4th ed.]

Interestingly, Fantasy Craft's development process predated both 4th Ed and Pathfinder. Fantasy Craft would have been released at the same time as these other games except Crafty felt compelled to delay release while they revised the rules top to bottom. The result is was a faster, more elegant game than their SpyCraft system.

TIP: Character sheets are available as pdf’s free from the Crafty or Fantasy Craft Database sites. A form fill-able pdf version enables you to store your character on your computer and email a copy to your referee.
TRICK: You can copy and paste text from the pdf into a word processor. This enables inexperienced players to make cheat sheets with class abilities, spells etc.

[Catodon]

Thanks, used all of the above correstions.
OK here is today's section

General Comments on the Rules
The core of Fantasy Craft is a simple mechanic familiar to most gamers (d20+mods roll over) and many of the other rules are altered and simplified versions of the most popular rpg ever. For example, combat in Fantasy Craft is very streamlined compared to 3.5 but also includes good game rules for actions like taunt and anticipate that ensure everyone, not just the combat wombats, can contribute effectively.
The core book is a thick imposing looking tome but the bulk of the core book is actually made up of ‘systems’ and examples of the output of the systems. The thing with systems is you don’t need to learn the all the options, only have an understanding of the steps involved. There is a system for creating PC’s, a system for NPCs, a system for inventing modified equipment, a system for magic items, even a system for building worlds. With this book you could create enough new characters, monsters, inventions, magic items, and worlds to fill a lifetime of gaming and never buy another damn book if you wanted to.
Unlike other very popular games Fantasy Craft is designed to be somewhat modular. The most obvious examples are magic. Without the sorcery and miracles campaign qualities you can build a world without spell-casters and your player character parties will still be functional in the game without having to carefully adjust all your encounters and adventures. Similarly, you can have a world without any magic items.

TIP: Whether designing a PC, a monster or a world the first step described in Fantasy Craft is always to create a concept. This is very important because without a previously thought out concept to guide your choices you could be quickly overwhelmed by options.
TIP: Fantasy Craft is a D20 game with changes. Do not assume rules from other D20 games apply. The following differ from the D20 standard: lifestyle, reputation, size and strength, scaled weapons, non-magical healing, gear bonuses, class abilities and roles, magic, narrative control, and combat. These changes streamline play and increase flexibility. Changes to combat are discussed on page 203.
FEATURE: At its core Fantasy Craft is what many would call a cinematic rules set. While cinematic brings to mind Hollywood films I found this approach a good match for the hyperbole of European legends, folklore, and old epic like Beowulf. However if you want a ‘realistic’ game even after applying campaign qualities you might be better off with something like GURPS.

[ludomastro]

Thanks, used all of the above correstions.
OK here is today's section

General Comments on the Rules
The core of Fantasy Craft is a simple mechanic familiar to most gamers: d20+mods, roll high. roll over)
[I know this is bordering on nit-picking but it needed a comma and I was left with the question of "Roll over?  Roll over what?"]
and Many of the other rules are altered and simplified versions of the most popular rpg ever. For example, combat in Fantasy Craft is very streamlined compared to 3.5 but also includes good game rules for actions like taunt and anticipate that ensure everyone, not just the combat wombats, can contribute effectively.
[I get the feeling that you purposefully staying light here so you can cover this in more depth later.  Is that right?  If so, I concur.]
The core book is a thick imposing looking tome but the bulk of the core book is actually made up of ‘systems’ and examples of the output of the systems. The thing with systems is you don’t need to learn the all the options, only have an understanding of the steps involved. There is a system for creating PC’s, a system for NPCs, a system for inventing modified equipment, a system for magic items, even a system for building worlds. With this book you could create enough new characters, monsters, inventions, magic items, and worlds to fill a lifetime of gaming and never buy another damn book if you wanted to.
Unlike other very popular games Fantasy Craft is designed to be somewhat modular. The most obvious examples are magic. Without the sorcery and miracles campaign qualities* you can build a world without spell-casters and your player character parties will still be functional in the game without having to carefully adjust all your encounters and adventures. Similarly, you can have a world without any magic items.

* You haven't mentioned campaign qualities until now and it requires a certain understanding to really appreciate what "Without .... campaign qualities ..." means.

I humbly suggest the following:

Unlike other very popular games Fantasy Craft is designed to be somewhat modular. Mostly this is accomplished through the use of Campaign Qualities - think of them as tested and balanced building blocks that you can use to build a different world.  The most obvious examples are magic. Without the sorcery and miracles campaign qualities you can build a world without spell-casters and your player character parties will still be functional in the game without having to carefully adjust all your encounters and adventures. Similarly, you can have a world without any magic items.

TIP: Whether designing a PC, a monster or a world the first step described in Fantasy Craft is always to create a concept. This is very important because without a previously thought out concept to guide your choices you could be quickly overwhelmed by options.
TIP: Fantasy Craft is a D20 game with changes. Do not assume rules from other D20 games apply. The following differ from the D20 standard: lifestyle, reputation, size and strength, scaled weapons, non-magical healing, gear bonuses, class abilities and roles, magic, narrative control, and combat. These changes streamline play and increase flexibility. Changes to combat are discussed on page 203.
FEATURE: At its core Fantasy Craft is what many would call a cinematic rules set. While cinematic brings to mind Hollywood films I found this approach a good match for the hyperbole of European legends, folklore, and old epic like Beowulf. However if you want a ‘realistic’ game even after applying campaign qualities you might be better off with something like GURPS.

[Catodon]

No, nick pick away that's what I need.

Currently, I hope to talk about the rules & Combat later in specific sections but then the version you get here is very close to how it comes out of my brain. I have something of a structure in my head but on subsequent passes whole sentences will be shifted around.

I think that given the degree to which FC is modular to say its mostly due to campaign quals is over-selling campaign quals by a lot. I'll use another example (not magic) here and save campaign quals for thier own bit.

[Catodon]

ok this version is still magic but CQ's are not mentioned. I think talking about non-magic worlds is a good idea. It shows how divergent from a typical vanilla fantasy you can get and will appeal to LOTR and historical fans.

Unlike other very popular games Fantasy Craft is designed to be somewhat modular. For example, you don’t have to use all the classes; you can build a world without spell-casters and your player character parties will still be functional in the game without having to carefully adjust all your encounters and adventures. Similarly, you can have a world without any magic items.

[ludomastro]

I think that given the degree to which FC is modular to say its mostly due to campaign quals is over-selling campaign quals by a lot. I'll use another example (not magic) here and save campaign quals for thier own bit.

Fair enough.  In hindsight, I can agree that my edit oversold campaign qualities.

Unlike other very popular games Fantasy Craft is designed to be somewhat modular. For example, you don’t have to use all the classes; you can build a world without spell-casters and your player character parties will still be functional in the game without having to carefully adjust all your encounters and adventures. Similarly, you can have a world without any magic items.

I like this.  I feel that it captures what you want without any extra baggage.  Did you also want to add that you can build a world without magic?

[Catodon]

good point, its implied above but wouldn't want it to be missed.

[Catodon]

Today's offering

An alternative to Dungeon and Dragons
When learning a game I use an active read through approach; I read the book cover to cover building a character, a world, and an adventure as I go. Since I was looking for an ‘update’ for AD&D I decided to rebuild an diverse old home brew world built with AD&D. As far as being able to represent my vision Fantasy Craft actually did a better job than AD&D. The diversity of that world, its cultures and species of people were actually handled better by Fantasy Craft. It was pretty easy to find equivalents to most of the ‘races’ and ‘sub-races’ of AD&D, probably because the designers had built the game as a possible alternative for D&D3.5.
I was also able to generate PCs that were ‘look alikes’ for many iconic AD&D/D&D races including many that required optional or house rules in AD&D. In D&D 3.5 characters like giants and golems would require level adjustment or levels in a race-class. In D&D 3.5 you begin as a small juvenile dragon or giant, these are not the concepts most player actually want to play. The D&D methods of dealing with large or odd species are unsatisfying and clunky. In Fantasy Craft these characters are balanced at first level as full grown, though inexperienced, adults. This is because the Crafty guys shed a lot of D&D baggage and reworked the rules to provide a game environment where odd species are balanced. Examples of these changes include: the Construct type does not get a big bonus to hit points, dragons (drakes) are not festooned with spells, strength is assumed to be proportional to size (an average giant has 10 strength), and giant weapons are balanced against human ones. My first character for Fantasy Craft was a storm giant, my second a dragon both first level characters. Both were eventually used in play and seemed completely balanced against elf and dwarf companions.

FEATURE: Designed to draw in disaffected 3.5 players Fantasy Craft includes many familiar monsters and PC species.
FEATURE: Species that are optional and poorly represented in D&D by optional rules are balanced core species and sub-species in Fantasy craft.
FEATURE: Fantasy Craft does not provide you with a campaign setting but the core book alone gives you the tools to recreate most published or home-made fantasy settings.
TIP: The Adventure Companion supplement has a big list of what species and feats emulate which classic ‘races’ drawn from numerous sources including D&D, Tolkien’s novels, and World of Warcraft.
TRICK: If you want a play in a popular published setting its worth checking the Licence to Improvise section of the Crafty Games Forum and the Fantasy Craft Database. At these locations you’ll find other fans have probably done a lot of the work for you.
TRICK: Fans of Planescape should check out the Planescraft playtest edition online. Also read the discussion on the forum; the Planescraft team have yet to update their work based on the forum’s feedback.

[ludomastro]

An alternative to Dungeon and Dragons
When learning a game I use an active read through approach; I read the book cover to cover building a character, a world, and an adventure as I go. Since I was looking for an ‘update’* for AD&D I decided to rebuild a an diverse old home brew world built with AD&D.

[While these two sentences have separate points, they seem redundant.]

As far as being able to represent my vision Fantasy Craft actually did a better job than AD&D. The diversity of that world, its cultures and species of people were actually handled better by Fantasy Craft.

Perhaps: As far as being able to represent my vision including the diversity of that world, its cultures, species and people Fantasy Craft actually did a better job than AD&D.

It was pretty easy to find equivalents to most of the ‘races’ and ‘sub-races’ of AD&D, probably because the designers had built the game as a possible alternative for D&D3.5.
I was also able to generate PCs that were ‘look alikes’ for many iconic AD&D/D&D races including many that required optional or house rules in AD&D. In D&D 3.5 characters such as like giants and golems would required level adjustment and/or levels in a race-class. In D&D 3.5 you could begin as a small juvenile dragon or giant; however, these are often not the concepts most players actually want to play. To my way of thinking, the D&D methods of dealing with large or odd species are unsatisfying and clunky. In Fantasy Craft these characters are balanced at first level as full grown, though inexperienced, adults. This is because the Crafty guys shed a lot of D&D baggage and reworked the rules to provide a game environment where odd species are balanced. Examples of these changes include: the Construct type does not get a big bonus to hit points, dragons (drakes in Fantasy Craft) are not festooned with spells, strength is assumed to be proportional to size (e.g. an average giant has 10 strength), and giant weapons are balanced against human ones. My first character for Fantasy Craft was a storm giant, my second was a dragon.  Both were first level characters and both were eventually used in play and seemed completely balanced against elf and dwarf companions.

FEATURE: Designed to draw in disaffected 3.5 players Fantasy Craft includes many familiar monsters and PC species.#
FEATURE: Species that are optional and poorly represented in D&D by optional rules are balanced core species and sub-species in Fantasy craft.
FEATURE: Fantasy Craft does not provide you with a campaign setting but the core book alone gives you the tools to recreate most published or home-made fantasy settings.
TIP: The Adventure Companion supplement has a big list of what species and feats emulate which classic ‘races’ drawn from numerous sources including D&D, Tolkien’s novels, and World of Warcraft.
TRICK: If you want a play in a popular published setting its worth checking the Licence to Improvise section of the Crafty Games Forum and the Fantasy Craft Database. At these locations you’ll find other fans have probably done a lot of the work for you.
TRICK: Fans of Planescape should check out the Planescraft playtest edition online. Also read the discussion on the forum; the Planescraft team have yet to update their work based on the forum’s feedback.

* When you say "update" I think you are meaning an improvement over AD&D.  Are you aiming more for "improvement" or something closer to "alternative" or perhaps "something that simulates AD&D"?

The emphasis on the word "average" is mine; however, I think it brings out your point while also helping to explain why giants don't get a massive strength buff.  They are average, after all.

# While I understand what you are trying to do here.  The wording seems to limit FC to only disaffected 3.5 players.  Please consider alternative wording.

Are you allowed to add links to your article for the FC forum and Planescraft?

[Catodon]

I will probably incorporate most of these changes but there is a lot to think about so I'll sleep on it.

*all of these things, 'update' seemed an economical way to say improved rules that simulate the kinds of characters, worlds and game play of AD&D. Anyway I shall probably change my wording.

# will have another go at this.

I have no idea if I can put a link in but my chief editor of rpg review runs a super computer for a living so I suspect 'yes'.

I intend to add you to the credits for the article, OK?

[ludomastro]

I will probably incorporate most of these changes but there is a lot to think about so I'll sleep on it.
<SNIP>
I intend to add you to the credits for the article, OK?

Yes, better decisions are made after a good night's sleep.

If you would like to credit me, I would be honored.

[Catodon]

This one I'm not as happy with...

Characters
Fantasy Craft characters are competent and every character can bring something to every situation. Your soldier the can blanche a king with a glare and has the resolve to weather a political storm. Your Courtier can snatch victory in battle by inspiring teammates or knifing enemies. You get the idea.
The other upshot of this is unlike AD&D and 3.5 you don’t have to fill specific party roles or risk weakening the entire party. In AD&D you need a warrior, a rogue, a wizard and a priest; if your party is missing one of these types adventures become very challenging or have to be carefully designed for your weakened party. The advantage of the D&D approach is that it encourages teamwork. Slowly I realised that Fantasy Craft encourages teamwork through a more subtle method. Most Fantasy Craft characters have abilities that give other PC’s a boost.
Characters are built around a core of three choices Species, Speciality, and Class. Species and Class will be recognised by most gamers. Specialities remind me of 2nd edition AD&D kits, they are small parcels minor abilities representing your profession or background. As with AD&D a massive number of combinations of species, class, and speciality are possible. The core rulebook alone can support thousands of character concepts. In Fantasy Craft Speciality is what you do for a living, class is the abilities you use to do that work. It is quite possible to think outside the box and, for example, create Mage Gladiators because unlike the kits of old specialities are not linked to class. Some specialities are based on D&D classes.

The core Fantasy Craft book has the following species: drake, dwarf, elf, giant, goblin, human, ogre, orc, pech (gnomes and halflings), rootwalker (ent/treant), saurian, and unborn (golem). In addition humans select one of 25 talents like educated and ruthless.
The following classes are offered: assassin, burglar, captain, courtier, explorer, keeper, lancer, mage, priest, sage, scout, soldier. After 5th level you can take an expert class these are: alchemist, beastmaster, edgemaster, paladin, rune knight, and swashbuckler.
Specialities included: acrobat, adept, adventurer, archer, aristocrat, artisan, barbarian, bard, cavalier, cleric, corsair, criminal, dragoon, druid, fencer, fighter, fist, gladiator, guardian, lord, merchant, miner, musketeer, mystic, nomad, physician, ranger, rogue, shaman, shield bearer, sorcerer, swindler, tribesman, vanguard, warden, and wizard.

TIP: Fantasy Craft provides very little fluff allowing players to describe sub-species, classes, etc to suit their concept. Alternative explanations for the same game rules are often called ‘skins’. For example a Mage could be a studious wizard, someone harnessing nature’s fury, or a small god growing in power etc.
TIP: Though Fantasy Craft has a lot of species and classes in one book it neglects to warn players that not all of these might be available in your referee’s world. The chapter on Worlds discusses at length how, as a referee, you probably wont want to use all the species and classes.
TIP: When creating a character don’t forget you have two free choice Origin Skills. Use these to pick two skills you want but are not on your class skills list.
TIP: For a Jack-of-a-trades (master of none) with many different skills you need to Well Rounded feat. You cannot take cross-class skills.
TIP: The Forge chapter lists an enormous variety of equipment however your referee will have chosen an Era that limits your choices. Your referee can alter the equipment available in other ways too always check for setting limitations on equipment.
TIP: The Fantasy Craft Assassin is geared more towards the James Bond or Lady Borgia approach than a 1st edition AD&D or Assassin’s Creed one. You could build a sneak and stab assassin with this class using careful feat, attribute, and proficiency choices. Alternatively, use the Burglar class to be very sneaky and then use other options to make her deadly.

[Mister Andersen]

One thing is that in a side-by-side comparison, 4th edition characters are flat out more durable than FC ones due to the -- from memory -- 3x max hit points at first level they receive instead of 'average' vitality + wounds

[Catodon]

Thanks Mr A, keep the comments coming.
I have never opened a 4th ed book so I have shied away from talking about it. As it is with only about 8 hours of 3.5 game-play behind me I feel like I'm going out on a limb as it is. (Hell, I only have 4 hours of real-life table play with FC!)

That said, if anyone has comments on 4th ed and gives them in publication ready sentences I'll use them and credit thier contribution.

[Catodon]

Almost there now. Will post a few more sections next week.

Building a world
Looking over my converted world I saw I had tapped only a fraction of the games capability. I went back to the drawing board and built a world to take advantage of the game’s features. There was a project I had wanted to do for a long while and Fantasy Craft provided the tools. My setting is the epic First Age, a scant few generations from creation when the elder species dominate the world and gods meddle in mortal affairs This is the time when legends are forged with bronze and oratory. When kings, priests, heroes, and legions wrestle for the future of the world.
How well did Fantasy Craft handle this?
Following the instructions in the World chapter you begin by sketching out a concept for your new setting. What is your world’s ‘feel’ and genre? What are your inspirations? After that the book guides you through a series of choices. For the most part this is a version of the kind of world building advice rpg veterans have seen numerous times; however it is a pretty good example of this kind of thing. In the old days you would have been given advice and that’s it. Fantasy Craft takes things a step further and lets you alter the game rules to support your vision. This is where the deep modular nature of the rules really shines.
You can choose Campaign Qualities to tweak the game rules. Essentially these are ‘official house rules’. Using these you can make combat more or less deadly, have characters advance faster, reduce or increase the availability of magic items and more. Some of these are cross-referenced throughout the book as prerequisites for equipment, character options etc. This is a really handy way for a referee to communicate her vision to the players and flag what options are available in her world. For example if you don’t have Miracles or Sorcery this neatly removes all the magic from your world and communicates to players that Mages and other options that have Sorcery or Miracles listed as a requirement are out of bounds. For my world I chose: Miracles, Rare Magic items, Sorcery, Difficult Magic, Non-scaling NPCs, and Dominant Heroes. I felt that these choices tweaked the game to provide for the kinds of stories I wanted to tell.
You also choose an Era describing technological and social development. Every item of equipment and some character options have an Era requirement. This is something like a GURPS technology level restricting player choices and helping to define what technology the world has. Declaring an Era clearly tells your players what equipment is ‘in’ and what is out of bounds. Fantasy Craft supports four Eras: Primitive, Ancient, Feudal and Reason. An Industrial Era (‘Victorian’) is discussed but not supported elsewhere in the core book. For example, I wanted to create a world something like the ancient past of a typical D&D world so I chose Ancient Era to represent a time of heroes, spears, gods and legions.
Fantasy Craft does not use the axiomic alignment familiar to D&D players. Instead alignments are whatever the referee decides is important to the people of her world; these could be philosophies, religions, star signs, patriotic nations or whatever else is important in your world. Fantasy Craft enabled me to outline the competing beliefs so important to my world and back them with game mechanics using the Miracles campaign quality.
Overall Fantasy Craft did a good job of supporting my particular vision. The choices available can describe a great variety of worlds and rules are able to be tweaked to support a variety of fantasy genres, though the rules remain somewhat cinematic. I have seen settings as diverse and Conan and Planescape represented well by these rules; however if you want gritty simulation Fantasy Craft will manage, but struggle.

TRICK: The Eras are very coarse grained. Primitive covers everything from Chimpanzee tools to the Neolithic. Ancient includes both Troy and Rome. Every item also has a complexity by adding a limit to complexity you can add a finer grain to Era. For example the Bronze Age is Ancient Complexity 10. Players can add ‘upgrades’ like Crude Materials to lower complexity of items to represent emerging or imperfect technologies.
TRICK: For a campaign where ideology is important insist every PC takes an alignment but be sure to include ‘no faith’ as an option. You can list other alignments as opposed to the faithless representing the wrath of the gods (Clash of the Titans) or lack or respect (Planescape’s Clueless).