The Bar (Discussion)

[Inquisitor D]

Well, we've got a spell to go before starting up. I know we've got two people who've expressed interest but haven't got threads up yet, and there's a few games that'll be closing recruiting shortly, so we'll be bumped up the ad queue.

In the interregnum @Colette, @Irrelephant668, let's talk a bit about what you're after in a game. You're both down for a Seekers narrative, do you have any more specifics in mind for that? More a globe trotting adventure where you see a variety of locations and meet a whole bunch of different people, or more dialling in on the process of the hunt, going from point to point, perhaps more of a focused chase with a rival faction? Those aren't entirely contradictory of course, just trying to sorta 'weigh' my planning a bit. Any JRPG tropes you specifically like or hate?

And Colette, this may be wrong, but I'm getting the impression you're waaay more experienced with Fabula Ultima than me. 😉 Hope you're okay with a newbie running the game, and if you've got any advice, I'd appreciate it.

[Colette]

I have played Fabula Ultima's quick start once before. That is it, as far as actual play experience is concerned. 

My knowledge of the system is mostly theoretical: looking into character builds and such. This is not all that balanced a system. It is possible to stack Defense and Magic Defense so high that the character becomes unhittable. It is possible to break the game's action economy using Acceleration in conjunction with any number of extra targeting abilities, such as Mathemagic. There are all sorts of über-builds, so I have looked up.

Even my own build is on the sketchier side, given the sheer amount of unarmed damage it can output. And yet, talking to the author on their Discord server, it seems to be functioning as intended. This is just how Fabula Ultima is supposed to work, it seems.

The kind of Seeker-type campaign I am looking for is similar to Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. (Both are games that the author of Fabula Ultima likes very much. They occasionally use Star Rail as a comparison point when discussing Fabula Ultima, they admitted to a Genshin reference in the High Fantasy book, and both games have a dedicated channel in the author's Discord server.) That is, the campaign is about globe-trotting, but each story arc zooms in on a specific nation and goes very deep into that nation's politics, plots, conspiracies, threats, and other pressing developments. Only after a given country's largest concerns have been fully addressed does the party subsequently travel to a new nation.

One JRPG gimmick that could work in a video game but that I would find unpalatable in tabletop is the one wherein the protagonists are tricked into committing or releasing an unspeakable evil. Luke being tricked into blowing up the entirety of Akzeriuth in Tales of the Abyss is a prime example of this. I do not want this gimmick in our game.

One JRPG gimmick that I like is the protagonists rapidly, very rapidly going from local-level plots to cosmic-level ones, culminating in defeating some godly demiurge.

[Doggie_arf]

Oooh, a Fabula Ultima game.

I've played a bit before; one concern I do have is regarding handling the alternating turns in combat scenes for PbP - you might end up waiting ages for that one last person who hasn't taken their turn yet this round. Possible workarounds for this could be for each player to declare a few (2-3?) possible actions which the GM can take if they need to "autobattle" them in their absence (e.g. cast Heal on whoever's in Crisis; attack target with lowest HP etc.). It'll still feel like their character is contributing without just defaulting to them Defending (unless Defending is their thing!).

Concept wise...what do we know so far about the Unapproachable West Li Ban and its surrounding states? I was thinking of playing someone who was exiled - ahem - sent as a distant diplomatic envoy from the Opal Throne to the new Demon Queen. It's totally a snipe hunt to get an inconvenient loose end out of the courts, but they can't do anything about that...for now. Got to bide their time until they have enough support to go back and clear their family's name and honor. Thinking of some combination of Elementalist and Weaponmaster - Li Ban is the First City of Magic, after all.

[Inquisitor D]

6 hours ago, Doggie_arf said:

Oooh, a Fabula Ultima game.

I've played a bit before; one concern I do have is regarding handling the alternating turns in combat scenes for PbP - you might end up waiting ages for that one last person who hasn't taken their turn yet this round. Possible workarounds for this could be for each player to declare a few (2-3?) possible actions which the GM can take if they need to "autobattle" them in their absence (e.g. cast Heal on whoever's in Crisis; attack target with lowest HP etc.). It'll still feel like their character is contributing without just defaulting to them Defending (unless Defending is their thing!).

I think my main solution for the turns issue is just not being too fixated on the turns alternating. It's the ideal way to do it, but things won't collapse if the PCs take 2 turns, then the GMs side takes two turns. There's always a risk of someone taking forever to post, but this way we'll have the freedom to post when they can. At least in theory.

6 hours ago, Doggie_arf said:

Concept wise...what do we know so far about the Unapproachable West Li Ban and its surrounding states? I was thinking of playing someone who was exiled - ahem - sent as a distant diplomatic envoy from the Opal Throne to the new Demon Queen. It's totally a snipe hunt to get an inconvenient loose end out of the courts, but they can't do anything about that...for now. Got to bide their time until they have enough support to go back and clear their family's name and honor. Thinking of some combination of Elementalist and Weaponmaster - Li Ban is the First City of Magic, after all.

Oooh, fun! :) I'll flesh things out, but as ever, everything here's changable if you want something different!

Li Ban's the ultimate temptation for powers wanting to grow their empire. It's rich, culturally significant and lacks a standing army. But conquering a city with so many mages isn't easy. Vossen tried to invade about a hundred years back, with some of their first skycraft: these great battle dirigables. Li Ban's skycallers blew them out of the air with great strokes of lightning. There's many prestigous magical academies on the island, some interested in spirituality or research, others more akin to martial arts schools. Duels to find the greatest style of battle magic are pretty common, to the point that public tournaments are a pretty big sporting event.

Notably though, there's still no true military on the island: just a bunch of isolated warriors. Closest you'll get is the Honourable Custodians of the Peace. (nicknamed Beakies for their helmets that run above the nose). They're the local law enforcement, mostly charged with keeping public order or seeing off pirate attacks. They're decent at their jobs, but they've got the numbers and training of a city watch, not professional soldiers. A cadre of elite bodyguards, the Starlight Cloaks, guards the Opal Throne, but that's it. "How would you conquer Li Ban?" is a common hypothetical military question for mainland military academy tests.

Politically, Li Ban's a soft ruler for the west. The Opal Throne's favouriatism causes islands to rise and fall: if they judge a people or their ruler well, Li Ban can facilitate trade agreements, see to a good education for the young, send doctors for the sick or monster slayers to defend the isle. It's left Li Ban a very politicised place: there's no one thing to unify the west around, so personal grudges and wider political movements flow into and amplify each other. A doctor fails to treat the son of an island's ruler, that doctor's school and the island's allies will end up bitter enemies, trying to do each other down. A wannabe Grand Empire falls apart because the one charismatic guy pushing for it ends up securing a bigger job, and no one else has the charisma to unify the group. Violence is uncommon, an extreme, but certianly not unheard of.

The Opal Throne, when it intervens directly, tends to play the role of peacemaker. The people of Li Ban tend to refer to the monarch and bureaucracy as just 'The Opal Throne' or 'The Throne' out of a belief that no one monarch who takes the throne does so alone. The spirit of every past ruler of Li Ban supposedly sits with them, providing advice, council and a vote on any decision. Thus, according to myth at least, the current ruler is more of a 'first among equals': a caretaker and provider of guidance, but capable of being outvoted. The royal family is treated with some reverence, but it's not blind and usually based on how close to the throne you are. Branch houses and lesser cousins are still blood tied to the throne, that's important, but they're ultimately just... people. Most of them have a day job.

A lot of the city's aristocracy actually emerges from the Opal Throne's bureaucracy. Rather than inherited titles, ministerial sons and daughters are simply expected to perform well and rise to prominence on their own. Granted, these silver quill kids get the best education money can buy, and are usually promoted up the ladder pretty quickly, so power tends to coagulate in a few bloodlines. Still, there's an appearance of equality, and without formal titles these families can fall relatively quickly. Technically every minister reports directly to the Opal Throne, but unofficially the Ministers of Education, Trade, Health, Faith and Justice (The "Five Fingers") meet frequently to coordinate among themselves. How much of that is simple efficiency, and how much an underhanded power grab is the stuff of constant, very quiet debate.

Travel to the mainland is getting more common, thanks to inroads by groups like the Kosman Trading Association. That's a relative thing though; most of the inhabitants of Li Ban are proud of their city and don't have much desire to see the rest of the world. Kosman's main clients are those with nothing: survivors of a destroyed school, political failures, disgraced medics. The people who seek a new life away from the City of the Moon. Kosman takes some of those offers, but provides bankroll and a second chance to others. Their influence around the city is starting to grow.

EDIT: And just to be clear on that last point, the Opal Throne does send ambassadors, though how that works is gonna vary. You're either sent from one of the ministries with a specific remit for what you're negoitating about, or by the Throne itself as a long term general representative.

Edited December 10, 2023 by Inquisitor D (see edit history)

[Colette]

It is an exceptionally long story that would take days to explain, but Jinzhancao (金盏草)/Marigold was and still is the princess of Li Ban's Opal Throne. She does not like to talk about it. The cat is quite recognizable to anyone from Li Ban, and they keep on begging their beloved princess to come back, but she does not want to go back. Sooner or later, someone will try to force the matter.

Edited December 10, 2023 by Colette (see edit history)

[OsmundCinderholt]

Heya folks! I've finished up my character concept.

Never played this game, but as a big dork who collects too many RPGs, but never has a chance to play them I thought I'd give this a go.

[Colette]

Are we allowed to start with a Bond in this game?

[Inquisitor D]

*hums* It's not default. I'm already inclined to budge on Zero Powers though, I'm open to a pitch if folk want that.

[Colette]

I was asking because at least one other character has already written in a Bond.

[Inquisitor D]

I figured. The question stands: I can see some merit to starting with a bond as a houserule, but if folks prefer to do bonds in play, that'll be the rule instead. It's something I'd considered regardless, so would rather open the question up to everyone than just rule yes or no arbitrarily.

If we do go with it, allowing each PC a single level 1 bond would probably be my call. Gives a starting point, but leaves room to shift/grow.

[Colette]

I can go either way, with or without a starting Bond.

[Irrelephant668]

On 12/11/2023 at 5:40 PM, Inquisitor D said:

I figured. The question stands: I can see some merit to starting with a bond as a houserule, but if folks prefer to do bonds in play, that'll be the rule instead. It's something I'd considered regardless, so would rather open the question up to everyone than just rule yes or no arbitrarily.

If we do go with it, allowing each PC a single level 1 bond would probably be my call. Gives a starting point, but leaves room to shift/grow.

I'm fine either way for that

[PerilousAdventures]

Necromancer is a free DLC for Fabula Ultima and wanted to know if it is available for your game?

[Aavarius]

I could go either way on the starting bond. Would be nice, but isn't required.

[Niblooey]

Apparently, while referencing CSS classes works in-editor, it doesn't work once you post it. :p

Also ah, I guess since I might be making a character here, how does the lands of rural Vossen look like? Was thinking of having my character be from a village that never got to evacuate, so everyone there ended up stuck in the hinterlands while it all froze over. I'm guessing the region's mostly uncontrolled, with Madrigal focusing on her city and the flying cities governing themselves, so the town could be the pet project of a monster taking advantage of the isolation, using the townsfolk as stock for curses (they're transformed into semi-monstrous people or animals or both), or as living bait to draw in roving monsters they can prey on. Kinda worried this might be a bit dark of a backstory, though, and dunno if Madrigal'll let her countryside get filled with monsters.

Edited December 22, 2023 by Niblooey (see edit history)