[DarkKnightCuron]

First off, my initial inspiration idea is, oddly enough, Final Fantasy Tactics. I love the idea of having a small force of soldiers at your control that are each customizeable in large ways. While I'm not looking for a copy/paste of FFT, I am however, looking to put together something similar to that: A small force of five characters on each side, with each character being individually customized and developed by the player.

Second off, 4th Edition lends itself to fairly straight-forward combat system, and (as far as I know) very few, if any, holes in its gameplay exist, allowing for balanced gameplay. Naturally, in order to keep new releases attractive, certain classes are slightly more powerful than ones that came before, but that's to be expected. Even with new Players Guides are released, the original classes are still viable, in my opinion, and should allow for fairly diverse fighting formations. If the power gap is wider than I'm led to believe, we can simply institute a basic 'Job' system as seen in FFT (though obviously with a different and realistic twist to them).

Third, I'm looking for ideas on how to enact such a system. How complex would this be without being TOO complex? I've always loved systems that take unit/equipment upkeep costs as well as general administrative considerations when running a small army. I would also like to put in a system for reinforcing your army (aka mercenaries, recruiting, etc).

I mostly wanted to bring this idea forward and see what you all had as far as ideas and suggestions went.

[enderwiggin]

Please bear with me in my questioning.

Are you trying to use DnD 4th ed as the basic system for a TT FFT game then?

[DarkKnightCuron]

Originally Posted by enderwiggin

Please bear with me in my questioning.

Are you trying to use DnD 4th ed as the basic system for a TT FFT game then?

In a matter of speaking, yes. I hadn't thought of using the actual FFT world as a fluff background for this project, but the possibility is certainly there. I am, however, trying to use DnD 4th Ed as a basic system for a Table Top war game, yes. The battle system itself probably will not need any tweaking, I merely need to develop character creation rules (additional restrictions on those already presented in the PHB) as well as Force upkeep, arming, recruiting, etc.

The idea of running a TT FFT game intrigues me, though.

[enderwiggin]

Honestly, it sounds like you'd need to do a game like Warmachine or Malifaux.

Something based around a number of actions you can do, but splashed in with a Necromunda (or other) system to improve your forces in a directed manner.



I know it sounds funny, but have you actually looked at the DnD miniatures game? The system is fairly good imo and has the limited actions already set up. Toss in some upgrade bits and it's close to the original idea.

[DarkKnightCuron]

Originally Posted by enderwiggin

Honestly, it sounds like you'd need to do a game like Warmachine or Malifaux.

Something based around a number of actions you can do, but splashed in with a Necromunda (or other) system to improve your forces in a directed manner.

I've looked at both, but I'm not really a big fan of the Victorian-era stuff they use (I'm also not a big fan of steampunk in general). You also can't design your own units in either game (from what I can recall), but the games do seem to have solid game mechanics, though.

I know it sounds funny, but have you actually looked at the DnD miniatures game? The system is fairly good imo and has the limited actions already set up. Toss in some upgrade bits and it's close to the original idea.

Again, I don't think you can create/design your own units, you can only use the ones you buy from the individual booster packs and starter sets. What I have more in mind is the ability to design each of the units in your force using the PHB and other suppliments. I've only played DnD miniatures back in the days of 3.5 though, so perhaps the game has changed since then.

Running a FFT universe game with many of those game systems is a valid option, however, and I thank you for suggesting them.

[enderwiggin]

I did mention that you need to add upgrade/developing bits to all three. :P
I was just suggesting those games based off the focus on small wargames and decent rules close to the 4th edition DnD (I think) restrictions on power usage.


You'll definitely have to go custom to get it perfect, but one (or none) of those should give you the basic gameplay to build upon. I personally like the appeal in card flipping. :shifty:

[DarkKnightCuron]

Originally Posted by enderwiggin

I did mention that you need to add upgrade/developing bits to all three. :P
I was just suggesting those games based off the focus on small wargames and decent rules close to the 4th edition DnD (I think) restrictions on power usage.


You'll definitely have to go custom to get it perfect, but one (or none) of those should give you the basic gameplay to build upon. I personally like the appeal in card flipping. :shifty:

If it means anything, I've already got the Malifaux core rulebook on order to I can make further, more in-depth examinations of the system, and see whether or not if fits what I have planned. For the most part, initial 'playtesting' usually consisted of us using the base rules of 4th Edition DnD (full combat rules and all) in order to figure out what exactly we liked and what we didn't, andthus far, the full 4th Ed rules seem to be what I was aiming for, but using the different systems with some modifications and customizations does seem a viable idea, and I'll work on those routes as well. I was mostly just curious if folks had other ideas on this sort of thing.

Once again, I appreciate the feedback. The biggest change I want to implement is the idea of actually building characters/units from the ground up, giving them a far more personalized and customized feeling, y'know?

I was also thinking about adding personality perks and drawbacks as well, to help add to the feel of actual characters participating in battles, rather than mindless military units at times. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love 40k, but I'm looking for something far more customizeable and fantasy oriented.

[enderwiggin]

What's so wrong with DnD as a base that makes it unworkable as a medium? I mean, I know in 3.5 we just changed the fluff and the system could handle anything from Sky pirates to FF classes (yes, I'm being serious. On the old forums there was an actual straight FF conversion supplement, fan made, for 3.5).

Heck, I remember even saving (somewhere) the makings of a Metroid port over. :P

[DarkKnightCuron]

Originally Posted by enderwiggin

What's so wrong with DnD as a base that makes it unworkable as a medium? I mean, I know in 3.5 we just changed the fluff and the system could handle anything from Sky pirates to FF classes (yes, I'm being serious. On the old forums there was an actual straight FF conversion supplement, fan made, for 3.5).

Heck, I remember even saving (somewhere) the makings of a Metroid port over. :P

Ah, I wasn't saying DnD as a base wasn't unworkable, I was mostly looking for other ideas, if only for completeness sake and making sure there weren't any other systems out there that might fit my idea better than DnD does. Sorry if my post was misleading on that.

[enderwiggin]

I see, well I hope you'll keep us updated then. I'll be watching.