[OOC] Fabula Ultima: JRPG Adventures

THE WORLD SO FAR:

A world with a sky wracked with storms. Within the eyes of the storms, sky islands float about. Travel between eyes requires an Airship, while flight within the eyes is safe for flying creatures and less sturdy crafts. While technology is fairly down-to-earth and mundane, remnants of bygone empires can be found on the islands. Most people live fairly simple rustic existences, but travel between towns and islands is common thanks to flying mounts.

NATIONS
Everwing Island- An island where children undergo a coming of age ceremony in which they bond with a flying mount. Most of the ancient magitech here is either shut down or simple lighting.
Hegemony of Yankind: A cluster of islands that has recently begun industrializing and creating machines of war to expand their influence. Unlike most flying machines, theirs are mostly uniform and mass-produced.
Sky Camelot
Isle of Shipwrecked Children
Buccaneer's Bolt- A stormcloud-encrusted island where sky pirates hang their hooks and hats.

MAJOR EVENTS
-Rise of Imperialist Nation
-Crash of a colony airship (probably a recent development if they're still kids)

MYSTERIES
- Just what IS the nature of magic?
- Why do a storm's islands look like they fit together?
- What are the voices in the storm?
- Where is Yankind getting all that metal?
- What's with the weird statues?
- Can the collapsing island of Entegia be repaired? If not, are the other islands doomed to the same fate?

THREATS: Sky Pirates, malfunctioning ancient technology, gathering storms, Imperialist Nation's army

[clanjos]

Alright, so first things first: We've got to pick a tone. The suggested ones are High Fantasy (Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy 1-3, Soul Blazer), Natural Fantasy (Ghibli), Techno Fantasy (FF7, Chrono Trigger).

[XxFellsingxX]

I'm going to cast my vote for Natural Fantasy.

[clanjos]

Alright, to elaborate from the book:

Hider

-Great castles whose crystal spires reach the sky, fleets of ornate airships emerging from the clouds, vast stretches of enchanted forests, and ancient, sprawling ruins brimming with magical golems and powerful artifacts. A HIGH FANTASY world is an ageless classic. Every location in a high fantasy world has some magical element to it, and everything is bizarre and wondrous. Magic is abundant and omnipresent.

-Floating amidst a lush expanse of verdant forests, snow-capped mountains, and crystal-clear lakes, small villages slumber peacefully, coexisting with the beasts and elemental forces of the wilderness. Underneath it all lie the ruins of mysterious past civilizations that once ruled this world of NATURAL FANTASY. In a natural fantasy world, every location and vista is deeply immersed in vibrant colors and populated by great beasts. There are no cities or roads, only small villages and narrow paths. Magic is tied to nature, life, and the elements: Its traditions are largely oral, and a mystery to most people.

-Heavy rain falls from polluted clouds, clanking sounds over the brass and steel pipework spreading from one building to another. Casting its shadow over the rundown districts is the massive shape of an industrial chimney, the factory below draining energy and power from the depths of this TECHNO FANTASY world. Techno fantasy locations often take the form of a literal "above and below" where the shining palaces of the wealthy steal the very sun from those less fortunate. Outside the cities lies a barren world turned grey by human greed. Magic has largely been claimed by technology and turned into another source of power, wealth, and warfare.

[clanjos]

Alright, so first things first: Here's a site where someone uploaded stuff for their personal campaign, including the 19 classes and a Player Aid. Don't worry about chargen just yet, we've gotta build a world!

1. Decide the shape of your world. Is it round, flat, donut-shaped, or are there nations floating in the clouds? Has its shape even been discovered?
2. Draw a map or use a Map Sheet- remember to establish the length of a travel day!
3. What is the role of MAGIC and TECHNOLOGY in your setting? Is it a medieval setting, an age of industrial development, or is it more renaissance-like? Is magic seen as a form of science, or is it more of a grand mystery?

For me, personally, it doesn't feel like a JRPG without at least a few floating islands. Heck, it's in a lot of the promotional art for the game too.

[Raineh Daze]

Never done any sort of game in a ghibli-esque setting, that sort of thing sounds pretty fun. Although, shouldn't that also include weird and nonsensical flying contraptions too? xD

And definitely pairs nicely with flying islands. Laputa writ large, anyone?

[MrSkimobile]

Well if you're going to open it up like this here's my votes/ideas:

1. I'd also like the Ghibli fantasy feel, especially when coupled with floating islands world. Nausicaa, Laputa, let's go!

2. You asked for it lol

3. For some reason this question evokes Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom vibes for me. I like the idea of tech level being relatively down-to-earth, but that there are these ancient magitek about.

[Rin]

Large amounts of floating islands in a JRPG just makes me think of Skies of Arcadia, thus there definitely needs to be a lot of ancient magitek and sky pirates.

[Raineh Daze]

@MrSkimobile That feels a bit more like floating continents IMO.

Hmm, I think the fun thing about islands is you can go the whole Traveller route and not worry about actual distances etc.: just map the travel times between places. Then you only need a chart for your world map and each place can be mapped as needed.

[MrSkimobile]

@Raineh Daze Yeah, you're right. It was mostly to tryout how to make one in the Fabula style. It's not too difficult, so if we have a better idea of how we want the world to look like, I can slap another one together in half a lunch break, if wanted.

[clanjos]

Rin, I'm insulted you didn't think there'd be sky pirates.

I'm kind of imagining that there's... maybe a giant storm, or series of big storms, that contain certain clusters of islands. Within those clusters, people can get around on flying mounts like birds or bats, but travel between them needs an airship. Maybe different clusters use different animals? I'm imagining the sky-pirates giving their mounts little goggles and bandannas, maybe painting a Jolly Roger on them if space permits.

[apheline]

Any chance you'd have room for one more? I love Fabula Ultima!

[clanjos]

Right, uh, looks like there's gonna be two parties alternating adventures and teamups. But I'm capping the player count soon.

Aside from that, I'm going to go ahead and post the other worldbuilding steps before I head to bed.

4. Create the major NATIONS and KINGDOMS for your map. Mark their boundaries and relationships. Each person at the table should contribute at least one kingdom or nation during this step, and provide some information about their customs, industry, or citizens. (We'll
5. Discuss the major HISTORICAL EVENTS that shaped your setting. Everyone should contribute at least one.
6. What are the ENIGMAS and MYSTERIES of your world? Questions left unanswered, and truths now indistinguishable from legend. Everybody should suggest at least one that they want to explore.
7. What THREATS cast a shadow over the world? Environmental disasters, furious deities, evil empires, or perhaps dangerous miasma? Each person at the table should suggest one, as the Gamemaster will likely shape their VILLAINS around these threats.

[EverTwirling]

6. What are the ENIGMAS and MYSTERIES of your world? Questions left unanswered, and truths now indistinguishable from legend. Everybody should suggest at least one that they want to explore.

@clanjos

Everybody uses magic and takes it for granted. But why? No one can speak of the origin of magic, nor how it truly works aside from some level of instinct. Is magic something in the air like pollen and microplastics? Does it involve a pact with a being beyond mortal ken? Is it just what happens when you wish really hard?

[apheline]

A possible threat: the storms are foretold to grow in strength and there are signs that it may come to pass soon.

[XxFellsingxX]

4. Create the major NATIONS and KINGDOMS for your map. Mark their boundaries and relationships. Each person at the table should contribute at least one kingdom or nation during this step, and provide some information about their customs, industry, or citizens. (We'll

@clanjos

You cut off part of your sentence here. I'm guessing you were going to say we'll get to this bit later?

[Raineh Daze]

4. Create the major NATIONS and KINGDOMS for your map. Mark their boundaries and relationships. Each person at the table should contribute at least one kingdom or nation during this step, and provide some information about their customs, industry, or citizens. (We'll
5. Discuss the major HISTORICAL EVENTS that shaped your setting. Everyone should contribute at least one.

Mmmm, if we're doing Ghibliesque, that's an easy twofer, ain't it? Now we have one industrial, technological little island-clump that's expanding into being a hegemon/actual imperial power, and their rise is a definite fun point for recent history.

6. What are the ENIGMAS and MYSTERIES of your world? Questions left unanswered, and truths now indistinguishable from legend. Everybody should suggest at least one that they want to explore.

"Why do islands within a storm look like they fit together; were they larger islands or were all of them once joined?"

7. What THREATS cast a shadow over the world? Environmental disasters, furious deities, evil empires, or perhaps dangerous miasma? Each person at the table should suggest one, as the Gamemaster will likely shape their VILLAINS around these threats.

see the top xD

[clanjos]

Mmmm, if we're doing Ghibliesque, that's an easy twofer, ain't it? Now we have one industrial, technological little island-clump that's expanding into being a hegemon/actual imperial power, and their rise is a definite fun point for recent history.

@Raineh Daze

Aaaalright, we can work with that! Any suggestions for a name or should I roll on the tables?

Gathering Storms and Magic added to threats and enigmas respectively.

[EverTwirling]

<Snipped quote by Raineh Daze>

Aaaalright, we can work with that! Any suggestions for a name or should I roll on the tables?

Gathering Storms and Magic added to threats and enigmas respectively.

@clanjos

I feel it should be called a Hegemony of... something. Or a "Something" Hegemony. It's always struck me as the type of government says they're amazing but are secretly a Fourth Reich or something.

[MrSkimobile]

@clanjos Some ideas from my end:

4. The Isle of Shipwrecked Children: An island/cluster sparsely populated by small tribes consisting of only shipwrecked children/youngsters, possibly led by ancient and great Totem Animals with their own goals, wisdoms, specializations. Example: Bear ('Might Makes a Way'; might), Turtle ('Slow and Steady Wins the Race'; willpower), Stag ('Grace Favors Many Paths', dexterity), Owl ('Truth Lies in the Shadows', insight), something like that.
5. Crash of the Bright Dawn: crashing of a colony airship, that sought to settle another island cluster, see above.
6. Voices in the Storm: Skymen's tales tell of voices in the storm, winds that if you listen closely seem to whisper in unknown tongues. Some say they are spirits trapped in the storm, others that they are sirens luring people to their doom, and then there are those that say they are magic words, leftover echoes from Creation itself.
7. Ancient Magitek: (already included in 0th post)

[MrSkimobile]

Petitioning to name the hegemony 'Mambur' :p