Terranotos is a land in a world where the rules of the FFRPG, and the
consequences thereof, are a normal part of life. This page will detail, in
part, how this affects the citizens of Terranotos, and the kingdom itself.
"So, wait. You mean to say that these guys can look at a sheet of paper and
compare exactly how strong they are with the next guy and his piece of
paper?"
Uh, no. But theoretically one could measure a person's strength in points.
There's just never been a need to. Just like in our reality, you can tell when
someone is stronger than you ust by, say, watching them lift something.
"So, when two people want to see who's stronger, they sit down and roll some
dice at each other?"
No, I don't seem to be getting through here. Though the phyisics of Terranotos
are described in the FFRPG Rulebook, the way those physics manifest themselves
is the same as how our physics manifest in our universe.
"Okay. Then answer this: How do they register EXP and Levels and stuff like
that?"
While people don't actually see their EXP and Levels go up, they do feel
themselves become more skilled and stronger as they experience battles. Each
Level comes not as a sudden realization, but as a gradual increase.
"Oh. What about Phoenix Downs and White Magic? Wouldn't being able to bring
a person back to life be a bit of a problem?"
Well, yeah. But that doesn't happen, because Phoenix Downs and White Magic
don't actually do that. They work more like smelling salts; Phoenix Downs
bringing a person back to conciousness - and nothing more - and �FullLife and
such being a combination of the magic in a Phoenix Down and in a Potion. When a
person dies - as in, their head is chopped off, or their heart stops beating,
or they just get old - then they're gone.
"Okay. But with all that healing flying around, wouldn't it be really
hard to kill someone? Murder and assassination have shaped out lives, you
know."
Yep. But you'll notice that, due to a strange twist in the way characters are
stacked against monsters, people can deal lots of damage, but they can barely
take any in comparison. So it would be really easy to kill someone according to
the rules - just get them down to (maximum HP x -2). With magic like Flare and
moves like No Mercy, this shouldn't be a problem.
"But what about Scenario Points? Can't you just use one up and come back to
full HP/MP, even when you're really, really dead?"
No. Here's how that works here: Assume you hit 0 HP. You spend a Scenario Point
to get back up. However, you'll still be at 0 HP. Also, once the battle is
done - or you hit (-2 x Maximum HP) - you enter the Fatal status. If you don't
get lots of medical help (Phoenix Downs out the wazoo!), you're dead.
Irreversably plot-dead.
"So, if I carry around 99 Phoenix Downs, I'll be okay!"
No. The Inventory here works like in Earthbound. You've got a 2 x (STR) grid of
names, effectively, a "backpack" (or whatever your character would use) with a
limited capacity. Each space can be taken up by one item, be it a Tonic,
Excalibur, or a Key Item of some kind. Items don't stack - that is, if you have
two Tonics, they take up two name-spaces. More likely than not, there will be
ways to increase your inventory space eventually - making things stack-able, or
just getting more name-space in your pack.
"So, about Scenario Points again. I want them. How do I get more of 'em?"
Heh. They're awarded out on a call-it-as-the-GM-sees-it-basis, but there are
some things which are more likely to garner the points than others:
"I wanna use magic in a way that isn't directly covered in the Magic
chapter."
No problem. If the effect you're going for is related to a spell your character
has - IE, a White Mage wants a nice breeze, and has �Aero - they can just cast
the spell and have the relative effect happen. If it's radically different from
anything they have, and isn't covered by some other spell somewhere, then run
the idea by the GM and you and he will take it from there. If it's different
than what you've got, but it's covered somewhere else, chances are you can't do
it, unless it's something *really* small - IE, the White Mage wants to light a
fire with magic.
"For a prospering nation, Terranotos doesn't have many cities or towns, hunh?"
Well, that's because a lot of the towns simply aren't on the map. Also, there's
nothing on the islands because the GM isn't completely ready to lock those down
yet. Simply put, the GM reserves all right to - and probably will soo enough -
add towns, villages and even cities at his discresion.
"Can I try to make items, or build/buy a store, or hire Mercenary/Wanderer
NPCs, or take on an Apprentice, or-"
Yeah. If it seems really out there, try to talk to the GM before you try to do
it in-game, but on the whole, feel free to take a piece of "scenery" and blow
it out of proportion.
"I can't think of any ideas for my character! HELP!"
Big crybaby. Why not go, say, here and flip a cliche on it's head?
Or here, for some real nice tips and links?
"I don't understand your character sheet!"
Okay. Lemme see if I can clear a few things up.
"Name of Character, Race Job" means you put in your
character's name,
their race and their Job (as per the rules).
Example: "John Smith, Human Fighter".
"Written by Player Name (Email@Address.com)" means to
put your
name (or frequently-used handle) and an oft-checked E-Mail address after it.
Example: "Written By Elemental Knight (Elemental _ Knight 1 @ Yahoo . com)
"STR: XX/XX" would be your current score of STR, followed by
your maximum possible score.
Example: "STR: 10/25".
The rest of the "XX/XX"s on the sheet are for:
"current score / maximum possible score".
Where there is only one set of "XX"s, it is your "current score".
"I've got a question you haven't answered here. How can I get in contact
with you?"
You can either E-Mail Elemental Knight (for queries about the first, "Lial" campaign) or
Lady Moryssa (for queries about the second, "Chocobo Messenger Service" campaign),
or catch them in #returners, on any Esper.Net IRC server. There's also a room on
the Esper.Net servers - #terranotos - designed specifically for discussion in
relation to this campaign. Once the game actually starts, that's probably where
it'll be held.