Let's create a Fabula Ultima character!

This week, to add to my series of character creation posts (which started a few weeks ago with a Cairn 2e character), I'll make a Fabula Ultima character. This game, which is presented as a TTJRPG, takes inspiration from Japanese RPG videogames such as Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest or Xenoblade Chronicles (among others).
It is quite a different system from D&D or any other in the OSR sphere, but I encourage you to check it out if you like the games it takes as inspiration.


 

I've been intrigued by this game for a while now, but always held back on trying it. The standard party in this game is made of 4 PCs, which is what I'll probably use if I ever get around to play it solo, but for now I'll create the first character.
Unlike other entries in this series, this time I start with a character idea already in mind; the rulebook has some tables to roll on, and even some "classic characters" templates to give you ideas in case you need them.

Note: I have the Italian version of this game, as it is the original one; I'll translate everything in English, but I can't guarantee they'll be the same as the official English version. 

The book divides character creation in 8 steps; let's go through them in order.

1. We start by creating the character's IDENTITY. This is not set in stone and can change throughout the campaign. Here the book presents a list of examples and even some rolling tables for Concepts (up to 2), Adjectives (also up to 2) and Detail (just 1). As I mentioned, I already have a character in mind, so I'll put Hotheaded Elemental Pugilist on my character sheet.

2. Next we have the character's THEME, an ideal or emotion that guides their actions, another trait that can change throughout the campaign. Once again the book presents a list of suggestions (and encourages you to create one that fits you). I'll go with Justice from the list, as I see this character being always ready to defend the weak and helpless, even to their own risk.

3. Now we have the ORIGIN, where in the world your character comes from. The game doesn't have a pre-made setting, instead instructing the GM and players to create the world together in session 0; since I've not done that yet, I'll leave it blank for now.

4. Here we choose the starting CLASSES of our character. That's right, in this game characters start at level 5 and they have to be of two or three different classes; multiclassing is a key component of Fabula Ultima. There are 15 classes in the core rulebook (plus a few more in the expansions, called Atlases), and for each level you gain in a class you pick a skill from its list to customize you character.
As I mentioned before, the rulebook presents some templates for common character tropes, such as Evoker, Healer, Ninja or Pirate, detailing which classes to pick and which skills to choose in those classes.
For my character I'll pick 2 levels of Weaponmaster with the skills Bonebreaker and Tempest Strike, which also adds 5 to my max HP and lets me equip martial melee weapons and martial shields, 1 level of Fury, which also adds 5 to my max HP and lets me equip martial melee weapons and martial armor, picking the skill Frenzy for improved critical chances, and finally 2 levels of Artificer, which adds 2 to my max IP (Inventory Points) and lets me start Projects (a mechanic exclusive to this class that allows characters to work on long-term inventions, ranging from love potions to airships) and picking Technology - Infusions twice as my skills, allowing my character to spend IP to add damage to their attacks and turn it into an element of my choice, hopefully exploiting enemies' vulnerabilities.

5. Next we choose the values of our character's ATTRIBUTES. There are 4 of them: Dexterity, Insight, Might and Willpower. The value of each of them is represented by a die size (d6 through d12) and when creating a character we can choose between 3 arrays: Jack of all Trades (d8, d8, d8, d8), Average (d10, d8, d8, d6) and Specialized (d10, d10, d6, d6); I see my character as a pure brawler with a lot of focus and willpower, so I'll pick the Specialized and assign the d10s to Might and Willpower and the d6s to the other 2.

6. Now we calculate the starting values of various stats:

  • Starting HP is the level (5) + 5 times the Might die size (50) + 10 from two of our classes, for a total of 65;
  •  Starting MP is the level (5) + 5 times the Willpower die size (50), for a total of 55;
  • Starting IP is 6 + 2 from the Artificer class, for a total of 8;
  • DEFENSE is the Dexterity die size, MAGIC DEFENSE is the Insight die size and the INITIATIVE MODIFIER is 0, but all three can be influenced by the armor you wear, which we'll choose in the next step, so I'll wait a moment to fill those;

7. We have a budget of 500 zenit (this game's currency) to buy our INITIAL EQUIPMENT. We get 2 Iron Knuckles, one for each hand, for 150z each, and a Brigandine armor for 150z, which sets my Defense at 10, doesn't influence the  Magic Defense (so it's 6) and applies a -2 modifier to my Initiative; the remaining 50z get added to the result of a roll (2d6x10=60) to make the STARTING MONEY, in our case 110z.

8. Last, we choose the NAME and PRONOUNS of our character; once again the rulebook presents a table to give you ideas, but I already have one in mind: Rikah (she/her).

And we're done! This is quite a different system than any I'm used to, but I find it very interesting and I'd love to get the chance to either play or GM a game of Fabula Ultima!
What about you? Have you ever heard of this game? If so, have you played it? I'd love to know your experience.

This is all for this week, see you next Sunday for my next post!

May your dice never betray you,
Kirhon

 

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