Reviewing FC after a year

[Catodon]

The next issue of RPG Review will be a D20 special. RPG Review is a non-profit free fan magazine with a readership of a couple of thousand. It would be a shame if FC was not mentioned.

So I have been using Fantasy craft now for just over a year now and thought I would write a review based on my experiences. Problem is the deadline is a month from now and I'm really busy. I just don't have time to sift through the forums and polish my writing. So I thought I'd crowd source it here.

I will be presenting each section as I finish the first draft. I humbly seek your comments, additions, gramar corrections, spell checks (UK), and anything else. Please I'm thick skinned and I want to put together a good article fast.

A year with Fantasy Craft
When D&D3.5 was scrapped for 4th edition a number of companies scrambled to provide a game for those who preferred 3.5 While it looks like Pathfinder (aka 3.75) has seized the initiative the latecomer Fantasy Craft deserves a very close look.
There are a lot of reviews of this game online and almost all are glowing. I recommend you read those reviews too. However, the online reviews were mostly written when the game was new by those who had only read through the book or had run a single play-test game. Here I try to provide an in depth look at Fantasy Craft after a year of experiences with the game. While, like most others, my review is glowing, there is not one game for everyone. This review recounts my experience with Fantasy Craft and why it suits my needs. If you are wondering “is Fantasy Craft the game for me?” then this review should help. I’ll take time to point out some of the games FEATURES. If you do decide to play Fantasy Craft then the TIPS and TRICKS I’ve picked up over this year will help you get started and get the most out of this game.

[vardeman]

I've highlighted a few minor changes I would make.  Feel free to use or discard them as you like.

V

A year with Fantasy Craft
When D&D 3.5 was scrapped for 4th edition, a number of companies scrambled to provide a game for those who preferred 3.5.  While it looks like Pathfinder (aka 3.75) has seized the initiative, the latecomer, Fantasy Craft, deserves a very close look.
There are a lot of reviews of this game online and almost all are glowing.  I recommend you read those reviews too; however, the online reviews were mostly written when the game was new by those who had only read through the book or had run a single play-test game.  Here I try to provide an in-depth look at Fantasy Craft after a year of experiences with the game.  While, like most others, my review is glowing, there is not one game for everyone.  This review recounts my experience with Fantasy Craft and why it suits my needs.  If you are wondering, “Is Fantasy Craft the game for me?” then this review should help.  I’ll take time to point out some of the game's FEATURES.  If you do decide to play Fantasy Craft, then the TIPS and TRICKS I’ve picked up over this year will help you get started and get the most out of this game.

[Mister Andersen]

You might care to mention that FC's development process predated both 4th Ed and Pathfinder, nd would have been out at the same time if they hadn't taken the opportunity to review and revise the operating system

[Catodon]

Thankyou for your nit-picking, no really, this is exactly what I wont.

I've highlighted a few minor changes I would make.  Feel free to use or discard them as you like.

V

A year with Fantasy Craft
When D&D 3.5 was scrapped for 4th edition, a number of companies scrambled to provide a game for those who preferred 3.5.  While it looks like Pathfinder (aka 3.75) has seized the initiative, the latecomer, Fantasy Craft, deserves a very close look.
There are a lot of reviews of this game online and almost all are glowing.  I recommend you read those reviews too; however, the online reviews were mostly written when the game was new by those who had only read through the book or had run a single play-test game.  Here I try to provide an in-depth look at Fantasy Craft after a year of experiences with the game.  While, like most others, my review is glowing, there is not one game for everyone.  This review recounts my experience with Fantasy Craft and why it suits my needs.  If you are wondering, “Is Fantasy Craft the game for me?” then this review should help.  I’ll take time to point out some of the game's FEATURES.  If you do decide to play Fantasy Craft, then the TIPS and TRICKS I’ve picked up over this year will help you get started and get the most out of this game.

[Catodon]

You might care to mention that FC's development process predated both 4th Ed and Pathfinder, nd would have been out at the same time if they hadn't taken the opportunity to review and revise the operating system

Excellent, I'll paraphase this when I talk about the quality and value offered by FC

[Catodon]

This next bit sets the stage for the rest of the review. The structure of the piece will use the criteria outlined here to assess Fantasy Craft. Note some of the criteria are not overt (eg. quality of writing, ease of conversion etc.). I worry that this is a bit wordy though.

A personal historical context
Though not a fan of 3.5 I sympathise with all the 3.X refugees out there. Let me explain.
It all starts in the early 80’s when I discovered rpg and soon after AD&D. As high school teenagers we had many good weekends exploring dungeons and creating our own fantasy worlds. Over the two decades that followed we came to understand the deep structure of the rules and created new races and classes including dragons and giants well before the official versions. The second edition cleaned-up the layout, improved the clarity, and tweaked the rules just a little we ate it up. You could use your old 1st edition stuff with the new edition but that was what was expected from a new edition in those days.
The 3rd edition of D&D felt like a betrayal. The ethos was lost, no longer was the game presented as a toolkit to build your own worlds; the gods of Greyhawk were in the core book as defaults! It seemed much of the ‘poetry’ was lost and replaced by mechanics and battlemat. You couldn’t use your 1st and 2nd edition stuff with the new game because it was a totally new game. This was not a new edition, it was called D&D but that was about the only similarity. The quality of the volumes produced fell, riddled with typos, poor writing, and ‘clunky’ rules.  In time I played a few sessions of 3rd edition and had to admit it wasn’t a bad game but it just wouldn’t do what I wanted. As the years went by my ability to find 2nd ed. players diminished. I wanted to find a game that captured the spirit of those first twenty years and encouraged creativity but used a modern set of rules.
My criteria were:
1.   Mechanics would allow for representatives of the iconic species of western mythology and fantasy literature
2.   Game must be not be tightly linked to a specific world and ideally would not be presented with a setting
3.   Provides a toolkit for creating your own settings and encourages you to do so
4.   Rules detailed enough to delineate what is possible in unfamiliar settings
5.   Rules not overly complicated slowing play even for experienced gamers
Your criteria might be different. Note though that I wasn’t looking for something that would perfectly recreate AD&D.

[Crafty_Pat]

Thanks for taking this on, Catodon! We really appreciate the review.

I'll let you know if I see anything big. So far, so good!

[ludomastro]

A personal historical context
Though not a fan of 3.5 I sympathise with all the 3.X refugees out there. Let me explain.
It all started in the early 80’s when I discovered role playing games in general and soon after AD&D. As high school teenagers we had many good weekends exploring dungeons and creating our own fantasy worlds. Over the two decades that followed we came to understand the deep structure of the rules and created new races and classes including dragons and giants well before the official versions. Second edition AD&D cleaned-up the layout, improved the clarity, and tweaked the rules just a little. We ate it up. You could use your old 1st edition stuff with the new edition but that was what was expected from a new edition in those days.
The 3rd edition of D&D felt like a betrayal. The ethos was lost, no longer was the game presented as a toolkit to build your own worlds; the gods of Greyhawk were in the core book as defaults! It seemed much of the ‘poetry’ was lost and replaced by mechanics and a battlemat. You couldn’t use your 1st and 2nd edition stuff with the new game because it was a totally new game. This was not a new edition, it was called D&D but that was about the only similarity. The production quality of the new volumes fell.  They were riddled with typos, poor writing, and ‘clunky’ rules.  In time I played a few sessions of 3rd edition and had to admit it wasn’t a bad game; however, it just wouldn’t do what I wanted. As the years went by my ability to find 2nd ed. players diminished. I wanted to find a game that captured the spirit of those first twenty years and encouraged creativity but used a modern set of rules.
My criteria were:
1.   Mechanics that would allow for representatives of the iconic species of western mythology and fantasy literature
2.   Game that wasn't must be not be tightly linked to a specific world and ideally would not be presented with a setting
3.   Game that provides a toolkit for creating your own settings and encourages you to do so
4.   Rules detailed enough to delineate what is possible in unfamiliar settings
5.   Rules simple enough for the novice but deep enough for the not overly complicated slowing play even for experienced gamer
[I would suggest a space here to break up the list from your comment.]
Your criteria might be different; however, please note that I wasn’t looking for something that would perfectly recreate AD&D.

I have been told that I have a tendency to over-edit style.  If I have done that, please accept my apology.

Also, while I share a love of the English language, I speak the President's rather than the Queen's English.  Please watch out for any spelling "errors" I may have made.

[Catodon]

Ah, the Queen vs. Webster, the very first version war, as equally divisive and pointless as 2.0 vs 3.5  

Anyway, used all of your changes except your changes to #5. There is a shade of meaning changed in your version, this suggests to me that my original version wasn't saying what I wanted clearly. I'll keep trying.

[Catodon]

Next bit,

Your Dungeon, Your Dragon, Your way
Over the years I looked at numerous fantasy games trying to find a game that would replace 2nd edition AD&D. A game with a similar feel in play and offer the diversity of all the iconic fantasy races and classes. GURPS, Tunnels and Trolls 5.5, FATE 2e, and Legends of Anglere deserve honourable mentions.
As time went on most games on the market came tailored for their own highly specific worlds and my hope of finding a good fantasy toolkit faded. Then I encountered the Fantasy Craft tag line “Your Dungeon, Your Dragon, Your way”. This seemed to indicate that in a market where most games were built around a specific setting here was a game that put creative freedom back in my hands (criterion 3). I got my hands on the free preview. Fantasy Craft was a d20 game and therefore easier to get players for. The classes and species (races) allowed for all the classic fantasy genre archetypes even giants and dragons! (criterion 1) Next I read reviews of the game, the game was well received by reviewers, so I took the plunge.

TRICK: Drakes are a PC species that looks like a classic dragon. They are probably only not called dragons so dragons can be D&D style monsters festooned with all manner of non-traditional magic. Call drakes dragons, make your players happy.
FEATURE: In Fantasy Craft what most fantasy games call races and sub-races are called species and sub-species.
 

[ludomastro]

5.   Rules not overly complicated slowing play even for experienced gamers

Perhaps something more along the lines of this?
Rules that aren't so complicated as to hinder experienced gamers.


Now for the new post

Your Dungeon, Your Dragon, Your way
Over the years I looked at numerous fantasy games trying to find a game that would replace 2nd edition AD&D. Such a game would need to offer with a similar feel in play as well as and offer the diversity of all the iconic fantasy races and classes. GURPS, Tunnels and Trolls 5.5, FATE 2e, and Legends of Anglere all deserve honourable mentions.
As time went on, most games on the market came tailored for their own highly specific worlds and my hope of finding a good fantasy toolkit faded. Then I encountered the Fantasy Craft tag line “Your Dungeon, Your Dragon, Your way”. This seemed to indicate that in a market where most games were built around a specific setting here was a game that put creative freedom back in my hands (criterion 3). I got my hands on the free preview. Fantasy Craft was a d20 game and therefore easier to get players for. The classes and species (races) allowed for all the classic fantasy genre archetypes even giants and dragons! (criterion 1) Next I read reviews of the game, the game was well received by reviewers, so I took the plunge.

TRICK: Drakes are a PC species that looks like a classic dragon. They are probably only not called dragons so dragons can be D&D style monsters festooned with all manner of non-traditional magic. Call drakes dragons, make your players happy.
FEATURE: In Fantasy Craft what most fantasy games call races and sub-races are called species and sub-species.
 

Not sure how you are using the word FEATURE even after I went back and read your definition.  I think of FEATURES as an optional element that allows flexibility.  Pointing out how terminology differs doesn't seem to fit the word FEATURE.  Perhaps TIP or NOTE?

Overall, very well written.  I'm looking forward to the next one.

[Desertpuma]

Same here .. good stuff

[Catodon]

Hmmm, features don't have to be optional but I can see how the association springs up. I've had a bit of a look for synonyms but could not find anything I could use. Suggestions?

[Catodon]

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 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). 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 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.

[Desertpuma]

Nicely put Catadon