One complaint levied against modern fantasy is that it adheres too closely to certain cultural stereotypes. There’s not just a “fighter with honor”, there’s a paladin. There’s not just a supernaturally powered healer, there’s a cleric of a god - or pantheon of gods.
The Final Fantasy franchise has done interesting things with some of these stereotypes, and hewed to others. What if we start with the FF jobs, and remix them to see if we can make something really new?
Most classes and jobs are associated with specific weapons or armor, listed below. Defense stats are a combined total based on armor and typical weapon(s).
Casters use implements instead, described elsewhere. Casters typically wear heavy robes (defense 1, soak 0).
Second-tier talents for experienced characters.
Here’s a sample character: Ardbert, a young Marauder on a mission. He is a natural, compulsive hero, and can’t stop helping people, even when it puts him in danger.
These are the magical implements (Genesys p. 218) used by different classes and jobs in the game.
Codex or Grimoire: used in conjunction with the arcanist’s tradition. When Conjuring a companion from aether, you automatically receive the Summon Ally effect at no extra difficulty. The creature stays summoned until you dismiss it, and you need not use the concentrate maneuver to sustain it. Encumbrance 1, Price 750, Rarity 5.
Rod: used in conjunction with black magic. When using a rod to cast offensive magic, ignore the penalties imposed by the first Range modifier, and boost base damage by 4. Encumbrance 2, Price 400, Rarity 3.
Wand or Cane: used in conjunction with white magic. When using a wand or cane, Divine Only effects are one less difficulty than normal. Healing spells also restore two more wounds than normal. Encumbrance 2, Price 400, Rarity 5.
This is an early draft of how soul crystals and jobs might work. This material is probably subject to change.
Soul crystals are small, aetherically-charged crystals carried by character in a way that harmonizes body and soul, and brings the wisdom and power of past wielders of the crystal. When someone with the Soul Crystal Attunement talent holds a soul crystal for a Job they’ve unlocked (e.g. Paladin), they gain the benefits of the talent.
First-tier talents for new characters.
A list of racial archetypes for the typical Eorzean races - Elezen, Hyur, Lalafell, Miqo’te, and Roegadyn.
I’m building the racial archetypes for the game, starting with the five playable races: Elezen, Hyur, Lalafell, Miqo’te, and Roegadyn. I also started with the 2.x classes (including Rogue). I haven’t started on talents or magic yet, but I know where I want to go, at least. And I know about jobs. So what does all this look like, and what do I think is coming next?
More on the way soon!
These are the careers available for starting characters. These are not the final “jobs” (e.g. Paladin, Black Mage, Scholar) - those will be introduced in a separate post.
What skills are we able to use? What skills are we changing?
The following magical skills exist, and use the optional rules for magic from the Genesys core book (p. 210). All skills can use the “Attack” and “Utility” magical actions.
The next post will build these skills into careers, and talk about soul crystals.
Image sources and credits:
I love the world of Final Fantasy XIV. I’ve been playing it for years, and for all that time, the story has continued to be interesting, with twists and turns and shocks and surprises, but always rooted in an essential humanity and goodness. Even the latest expansion, “Shadowbringers”, casts you as the Warrior of Darkness - but Dark is not Evil.
How best to bring this to the gaming table? I’ve talked about the Genesys system before, and I feel like its mixture of mechanical and narrative systems is a good mix for FFXIV. I don’t want something tied to the Dungeons & Dragons universe, and I don’t want to create something too far gone or too unique for gamers.
So I’m going to start writing “Quarto Decimo Novum”, an adaption of the FFXIV universe for Genesys. This is a fan-produced project only, and will not be sold or marketed in any way. I think both Fantasy Flight Games and Square Enix have produced great products, and if you feel the need to spend money, spend it with them.