FOFL Dev Log #1
Fables of Folly & Legend (FOFL) is a tabletop roleplaying game which I have been developing since January of this year. I have made significant progress in that time, and am optimistic about getting the system playtest ready before the end of the year.
This article, and future development logs, will serve both to keep myself accountable about my progress, as well as to share with others who may be interested in the system's progress. I plan on making one of these every few months, or when a major point in development is reached.
Today, I am going to go over at a high level what the system is about, highlight some features of the system I believe may set it apart from existing systems and talk a bit about what the next steps are.
Overview
Fables of Folly & Legend is a roll-high, d20 system, which strives to not only be setting agnostic but also genre, theme and tone agnostic. This means that it will use the same set of 6 standard polyhedral dice common in existing systems, such as Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder, with a higher number on the die being better. As for the rest, my goal is that you can use this system to tell stories of all varieties, not just fantasy, and not just heroic adventures.
Special Action Systems
Special Action Systems are my answer to the problem of catering to distinctly different genres. In a system like Dungeons & Dragons every element of the game is suffused with magic. Even if you choose not to play a spellcaster, a monk’s qi is unmistakably magical (they even let you cast spells) and a barbarian’s rage takes you far beyond what is natural (with most subclasses having clear magical involvement). This makes it extremely difficult to tell a story which doesn’t include magical elements, unless you’re will to include onerous restrictions on character creation, re-flavour every ability you have or just suspend disbelief to the point of absurdity. I should be clear here, this isn’t inherently a problem. D&D is a fantasy game, and one that I love, but it’s a limit I do wish wasn’t there.
And so enter Special Action Systems. These systems are the core of the different classes. Each class provides access to one special action system, with the potential to access other as you level, should you choose. They grant the character special abilities beyond that of other class options. The initial release will include five special action systems and 14 classes. The special action systems which will be available in the initial release will be: Combat Techniques, Spellcasting, Psychic Powers, Social Prowess and Advanced Crafting. I also have at least six additional Special Action Systems planned to cater to different genres, including science fiction and the paranormal.
Classes then build on top of these systems to help you lean into the particular identity you are seeking to create in your character.
Combat Techniques
This special action system grants the character access to a fuel, stamina, which can be expending to fulfill a wide variety of purposes, including the execution of the eponymous combat techniques. These will allow those interested in martial combat, whether in melee or ranged combat, the ability to engage in strategic and tactical combat, or simply increase the damage dealt and the number of attack made.
Spellcasting
Those with access to spellcasting will gain a resource known as mana. This resource can be assigned to a set of different spell categories as you level, allowing you, regardless of which spellcasting class you choose, ultimately customize the exact nature of your spellcaster and their capabilities. You can then spend this resource to cast a wide variety of spells, ranging from attacks, to utility, healing or beguilement.
Psychic Powers
Psychic powers grant the player the ability for their character to manipulate the world around them, as well as the minds of others with thought alone. To do this, they expend will points, which represent their mind’s capacity to exert that their will on the world and minds around them.
Social Prowess
The social prowess system gives players the opportunity to be the slickest and most persuasive, or the deceitful and most intimidating individual in the room. The social maneuvers which this system allows you to execute can calm the nerves of a nervous individual, utterly gaslight the masses or see deep into someone’s intentions.
Advanced Crafting
The classes who provide you with access to advanced crafting are built around the idea of using little trinkets, tools and even machinery to advance your progress towards your ultimate goals. Whether it's deploying traps on the battlefield or creating a niche device to solve a predicament you find yourself stuck in, these individuals will build themselves a solution.
Action Economy
Every action in FOFL falls into one of five action categories: Offensive, Defensive, Utility, Reaction and Social & Skill. In combat, each creature, on its turn, may make one Offensive action, one Defensive action and one Utility action, and they make one Reaction between the start of their turn and the beginning of their next turn. Additionally, any number of the Offensive, Defensive and Utility cations can be substituted for either movement, or a Social & Skill action.
Action Category Exclusions
Some actions are more powerful than others. To prevent creatures from being able to perform too many powerful actions on a single turn, action category exclusions exist. They also serve to, in some cases, bolster verisimilitude, as it just doesn’t make sense to be able to do certain actions in conjunction with one another.
Some actions exclude the usage of other action categories on the same turn in which the action itself is used. For example, an action which allows you to lunge forward and extend your reach to attack, may be exclusive with Defensive actions, as performing such a lunging action, while it provides you with an advantage in your attack distance, leaves you unable to do anything to sure up your defenses. Conversely, an action which buffs your defenses may require you to focus on it beyond the point at which you can split your focus towards an attack as well, making it exclusive with Offensive actions.
The Current State of Things
As of right now, I have the bulk of the core rules outlined, as well as the core design philosophies. I have outlined the classes which will be included in the initial release, as well as several subclasses for each of those classes. I have also defined a list of status effects which many features of the system, including class features, items and special actions, will utilize to affect creatures in the world.
While I have the general concepts outlines for each class, and their subsequent subclasses, I have not completed the feature design for all of them. Only two classes currently have a full feature set, and no subclasses are complete. Obviously, though, even these “complete” classes will still require significant playtesting and will probably look much different in their final form.
What's Next
My upcoming plans include designing the weapon system and all the basic weapons which will be available, design a starting set of playable species as well creating a significant set of special actions. (spells, combat techniques. etc)
Before the systems is playtest ready, I will also need to create design principals for skills (similar to feats in D&D 5e) and monster stat blocks. I will also need to complete the feature design for at least six classes and one subclass per each of those classes.
I look forward to posting my next update on the systems, as well as to hopefully begin playtests in the near future.