First, let me introduce myself. My name is Bruno Carvalho and i've been playing and GM'ing since the nineties (1994, to be exact). I'm from Brazil and a huge fan of the Returner's FFRPG (been playing it since the First Edition - and yes, it was EVEN WORSE than the dreaded second). Upon the death of the Returner's group and SeeD's decision to move to computer-assisted gaming (as they openly recognize FFRPG SeeD is optimized for IRC gaming and not for tabletop), there were a Brazilian game designer called Fernanda Parker who took the third edition and translated it to Portuguese, maintaining it alive here in Brazil... until last year. Last year, she decided to abandon the project to real life issues.
So I decided to keep the steam going, and to do that I'd rather adress some of the glaring problems with Third Edition. And after looking at it for a while, it seemed that the best course of action was to start it anew and create a new game, instead of trying to fix its myriad of problems. So, since January this year, I've been creating what I (without any modesty, i confess) call the FFRPG Fourth Edition. I've taken inspiration not only on Returner's FFRPG, but also in SeeD, Zodiac, FFd6 and other FFRPG sources available.
And it's about done. It's actually playable - I've run some playtest campaigns and there is other campaigns run by other GMs popping around here in Brazil, but I've reached the point that the project is getting bigger than I can tackle it alone. So here I am, looking for help! Let me detail my key points:
1) System Features (these are already done)
a) Compact, rules light gaming
The actual game book have 100 pages total, in comparison to 3rd Edition's over 400. And it is written in portuguese. In comparison to english, portuguese takes around 30% more words to say the same thing. And its already in English, with about 90 pages in the core book, plus 29 pages for the first supplement.
b) Collaborative narrative
In character creation and during play, the players can use the built-in collaborative mechanics to drive the story foward. This way, the GM get inputs before and during play to what story better suits its players - and while the GM still have the final word, the players have the tools to really feel in the driver's seat of the story.
c) Intuitive task resolution
The task resolution mechanics uses a intuitive system, without tables or abitrary difficulty scales. Characters of all levels can contribute to meet the party's goals, without creating the situation where only optimized characters can have a chance of sucess in their area of expertise.
d) Customizable characters
Albeit still working on a class/level structure, the job system presents 17 unique jobs with multiclassing rules that allow over 80 unique job combinations. Also, the job descriptions present several different abilities and spells who can be chosen or not - no more "every swordmaster knows the same skills" from 3rd Edition. Geomancy, Blue Magic and Summon are descripted in the first expansion pack: Forces of Nature.
e) Inverted leveling up system
Instead of the traditional "Gain XP -> Level Up -> Improve Stats", you invert the logic, and you "Gain XP -> Improve Stats -> Level Up", akin to systems like L5R (but simpler). In this way, characters of distinct levels can exist even with the same XP, and that leads to better balanced spels and skills that use Character Level (no more Lv.5 Death kiling either no one or your entire party)
f) Fluid combat initiative
Instead of having fixed combat initiative orders, the system uses a phase-based system(akin to the 7th Sea combat mechanics) that allows for another level of tactical combat. Due to the increased complexity of this mechanic, the combat movement is very simplified and the use of tactical maps and miniatures is discouraged.
g) Character-driven advancement system
Instead of just awarding XP for "killing monsters and completing missions", the character advancement system depends on the players character's motives and personality. This allows the players, as a group, to signal to the GM the kind of adventures they want to play. "Killing monsters" and "Completing Missions" are still valid options to earn XP, but it's not mandatory or the sole way.
h) Racial mechanics, Monster Construction guidelines and a sample Bestiary
The main Final Fantasy Races are there in the first expansion pack, called Forces of Nature, along with monster construction help and some sample monsters ready to use.
2) Current Works (I'm working in these points right now)
a) Job Changing rules and Tactical-map based combat
Next in request is the FFT and FFV-like job changes rules.
3) The much needed help (Wished I could do but I simply can't)
a) Art and Editing
I simply have absolutely NO art skills. Can't draw a stick figure for good. That includes not only interior drawings in the book, but also editing and stuff like that. Also, I'm sure the book can have a better layout and editing - I just lack the skillz to do it.
b) Worldbooks
No RPG is complete without great Scenarios. And few games have better worlds than the Final Fantasy series. So I'll need help writing down these worlds and converting them to this system, to enable Game Masters to jump at their favourite worlds.
c) MOAR playtest
No ruleset is good without notes from the field. This one is the point I'd like more to see going. Without playtester feedback, it's very hard to see what's good and what's broken in the rules.
d) Assorted critcism and suggestions
Of course, any help in this direction is good, no matter how small it may look.
Anyway, thanks for your patience reading this long post! Hope you all have fun and good games!
DOWNLOAD SECTION (I'll try to keep this updated)
PORTUGUESE VERSION
CD 1:
http://bit.ly/FFRPG4eCD1CD 2:
http://bit.ly/FFRPG4eCD2Forces of Nature Expansion Pack:
http://bit.ly/FFRPG4eDLC1Final Fantasy IV Wordlbook:
http://bit.ly/FFRPG4eDLC2Character Sheet:
http://bit.ly/FFRPG4FichaENGLISH VERSION
Disk 1: Archived
Disk 2: Archived
Forces of Nature Expansion Pack: Archived
Final Fantasy Complete 4th Edition:Archived
Final Fantasy Revised 4th Edition:Archived
Final Fantasy 4th Edition Remastered :
http://bit.ly/FFRPG4ERFinal Fantasy IV Worldbook:
http://bit.ly/FFRPG4thDLC2Final Fantasy VI Worldbook:
http://bit.ly/FFRPG4thDLC3Final Fantasy Tactics Worldbook:
http://bit.ly/FFRPG4thDLC4Character Sheet:
http://bit.ly/FFRPG4eSheetVersion History:
2019-12-19: Remastered the corebook
2018-10-7: Revised Edition added
2017-10-19:Uploaded the Final Fantasy Tactics Worldbook - English Version
2016-09-24: Final Fantasy VI Worldbook added
2016-03-11: Final Fantasy Complete 4th Edition Added
2015-11-05: Final Fantasy IV worldbook added
2015-08-14: Original Post