Final Fantasy X d20 (PDF Now Available!)

[Tobi_goodboy]

The PDF is finally available!
Click here!

This link works, its from post #2

unfortuantely it doesnt for me

[Zeta Kai]

Oh well. Guess I'll have to give them an antidote in the post battle treasure trove as well as a Soft (tip for this game: if your players have terrible Saves don't send a Dinonix after them. It doesn't end well.)

Thanks again.

Yeah, I was thinking about putting notes of what items should be included in the treasure for each monster, but I don't to stray too far from standard D&D. Plus, I think that it's up to each DM to choose their party's treasure, not some dictator writing a monster book. The Steal line in the monster entry does mention Soft as the normal steal-able item, so maybe a Bandit would be good to have in your party.

Agreed. Dinonix = annihilation. Of course, we only have the 2 characters, but still. Good thing we had an evil mirror image of Auron come in, saving them to make himself appear as a friend, then later have his minion who killed pretty much a tenth of Kilika's population attack us. -_- Ifrit saved the day.

And yes, the Dinonix is actually rather tough for a CR1 monster. He's really no big deal to defeat (he has moderate HP & low AC), & the Petrify attack has a low (DC12) Fortitude save to negate, so a party with plenty of Softs should do alright. Plus, Dino's attacks say Mute OR Petrify, so a kind DM could consistently choose to Mute his players if they cannot handle petrification.

unfortuantely it doesnt for me

1) That guy was trying to help, but he's incorrect (although he did help me indirectly by pointing in the direction that I needed to look to fix the underlying problem). The other links should would just fine, & if they don't...

2) ...You can PM me you email address, & I will send the file to you manually. Yes, it's not only free, but I will shove it down your throat send you a copy, so you don't have to go get it.

[Temotei]

Unfortunately, our rules were random generation of the status. 1 - 10 = Mute...11 - 20 = Petrify. And even more unfortunately, we got high numbers every time. And we have a summoner and a bandit.

[zerombr]

that last post made me think....what about a game that isn't focused on a summoner's pilgrimage? Anyone do that yet? Come to think of it, who here is currently in/running a FFX game?

[Kobold-Bard]

that last post made me think....what about a game that isn't focused on a summoner's pilgrimage? Anyone do that yet? Come to think of it, who here is currently in/running a FFX game?

I tried that before this one, but no one replied. I basically listed a million and one options (from Pilgrimage to being a Crusader, to being a Hypello in Measter Mika's harem), but apparently no one was interested.

[zerombr]

well, a unique setting is harder to find players for, i'm certain. One might think that it'd be easier recruiting off of this own thread, or a group discussion thread of the game/d20 conversion than from the general public.

[Temotei]

Our campaign takes place just before the end of Yuna's pilgrimage. We're assuming they collected the legendary weapons, and have the celestial mirror. (Which is cursed, and created the double of Auron)

[Kobold-Bard]

<Bumping because I'm opening a new campaign recruitment thread.>

[Sairyu]

I am so interested. :x

Also, I have some questions for Zeta Kai about a few things, if he has time.

Xtouch-Xstrike weapons
20+1/2 character level+cha mod is really good. If you're hitting multiple times, a normal monster just won't be able to save. Even 10+1/2 character level+cha mod is pretty good. Wouldn't it make more sense to not have Xtouch-Xstrike weapons scale up with the user? Most enchantments don't, and I don't see why Xtouch-Xstrike weapons should. DC10+cha mod (+2 overall) or 20+cha mod (+3 overall) are still powerful options for their cost.

Piercing
Piercing seems incredibly powerful for a +3 enchantment. It allows you to totally ignore natural armor as well as damage reduction, making all your attacks, in essence, touch/ranged touch attacks. The closest equivalent to this that I've found is the Deep Impact psionic feat, which requires the user to expend their psionic focus (not that it's a huge deal I guess) to gain the benefit. The issue I have with this is how it totally marginalizes monsters which rely on natural armor to provide for large chunks of their AC (as well as Fighters in plate mail, golems, etc...).

Using a piercing weapon, someone with full or even 3/4th BAB progression (making touch attacks on every attack) is probably not going to miss very often. Considering that the monster with the highest AC that I could find (non-epic) that didn't involve natural armor to a large extent was Spectral Keeper (AC23ish?) and that many of the monsters with lots of natural armor AC (i.e. Anima) can be hit with rolls in the 1X range, a 2-h weapon user is going to have a very happy time with power attacks.

Giving monsters/antagonistic NPCs lots of dodge/deflection/unspecified bonuses to AC or increasing monster HP to reflect how tank they are just feels like a really cheap way of dealing with this enchantment. Alternatively, I suppose regeneration or fast healing could replace DR as a similar deterrent? Personally, I feel that it would be more balanced if it were a +2 enchantment which only ignored DR (I don't believe that having piercing on your weapon shouldn't make it easier to hit something).

What are your thoughts on this enchantment? Am I missing something important?

Break-HP-Limit
For a +3 enchantment, hp rolls are maxed and you add your level in addition to your con mod to hp every time you level up. At level 10, with +0 con, you have a +55 unspecified bonus to your hp as well as maxed out health. An HD4 class will have 95hp and be on par with an HD10 class with a +3 con mod and without break-hp-limit armor has, on average, 88hp (55+4.5+30).

Even better, the HP bonus doesn't disappear when you change armor. Without punishing players via save-or-die effects, there aren't many good ways to deal with the massively boosted hp total that a character using this kind of armor with inevitably accrue. If everyone uses the enchantment, you can just scale up monster damage output or simply throw more monsters into an encounter (or nastier traps, or something to whittle off the excess hp), but if only one or two people in the party decide to use it...

Also, shouldn't this, following fluff from the game, be an epic enchantment?

Battle-length buffs
Can battle-length buffs like haste, cheer, and luck be pre-casted before a battle? Say if the party sees a group of Fiends in the distance and decides to buff up before going off to engage, is this a legit way of doing things, seeing as how they technically aren't in a battle yet?

Pray
Pray is an ability that doesn't cost MP to use. It can also be cast outside of battle (the descriptive text doesn't say it can't, and spells normally can, so I'm assuming it can), meaning that a Summoner can just top up the party for free given enough time between encounters (10 rounds is a minute I think?).

In the games (FFX, FFX-2), Pray was not usable outside of battle, probably to avoid this issue. Was this ability designed in this manner or is this an oversight?

[Kobold-Bard]

I am so interested. :x

Well then here's the recruitment thread.

[Tobi_goodboy]

*points out that pugilists with a +2 con modifyer usually end up with equal-to-or-more MP than HP--which is odd for a melee class, even if they're also casters*

[Kobold-Bard]

What the hell, now that the project is finished I figure I might as well annoy Zeta some more

Would it be possible to make the Summoning ability into some kind of template? Then giving Summoners (or White Mages as they would now be called) some offensive abilities (like lesser versions of Holy) to make up for it.

[Godna]

I have an issue with 2 of the conditions

• Slayer: Gain 5 OP each round in which you successfully kill an opponent
• Hero: Gain 5 OP each round in which you successfully kill an opponent using a coup de grace maneuver, or whenever you kill an opponent by dealing damage that is 5× (or more) your opponent’s current HP

Hero is just an inferior more restrictive slayer condition. Might i recommend it grant more OP?

[Temotei]

Avenger is pretty inferior, too, because it relies on your allies dying, and besides that, only offers 6 OP per death. Maybe if they were knocked unconscious, or every round they are dying, then lower it to 3 - 5 OP per round?

Hero should be 7 or 8, you would think. Or just change the conditions. Maybe change it to "If an ally is being attacked, you may make a reflex saving throw (or an opposed initiative check, in which you would both roll for initiative again, just for that action) with a DC equal to the attack roll of the opponent (maybe add 2 - 5 or something, or add the level of the opponent...or (opponent's level - character level, minimum 1)). If it succeeds, you can take the attack onto yourself by moving in front of the ally, pushing them out of the way (5 feet?), stepping over them (if prone or sitting/kneeling, etc.), etc."

Just some thoughts.

[lesser_minion]

What the hell, now that the project is finished I figure I might as well annoy Zeta some more

Would it be possible to make the Summoning ability into some kind of template? Then giving Summoners (or White Mages as they would now be called) some offensive abilities (like lesser versions of Holy) to make up for it.

I'm pretty sure Zeta had a rather irritable-sounding post many pages ago to the effect that he really didn't like the idea, although with extra offensive capabilities you might have a better argument.

If I were making any sort of changes along these lines, I'd probably change the classes around so that players were presented with a whole series of ultra-light 'half-classes' and were able to mix and match two of them - so instead of having 'Summoner' who specialises in summoning and healing, you would have a Summoner//White Mage. You could also combine Summoner//Black Mage or Summoner//Bandit if you wanted.

I think that would make a decent compromise as far as the earlier argument was concerned.

It's also a concept I might try to extend to the standard game at some point.

[Zeta Kai]

Would it be possible to make the Summoning ability into some kind of template? Then giving Summoners (or White Mages as they would now be called) some offensive abilities (like lesser versions of Holy) to make up for it.

I will never do that. As I stated here, here, & here, I think that's a Bad Idea. It's not faithful to the source material at all, it nerfs the Summoner class from a Tier 3 class to a Tier 5, & a scaling-power template is difficult to balance. It's thematically, mechanically, & fundamentally wrong. In short, it belongs here as much as a class based on Rainbow Brite. I will not hear of this poor concept again.

On a lighter note, I've been kicking around some ideas to improve this project further, & they include a number of possible tweaks/additions. Please post any of your suggestions for improvements that you'd like to see in Version 1.2, & I'll see what I can do. Here's what I have so far:

• Add Advancement for monsters
• Add visual descriptions for monsters
• Provoke needs to be clarified if to resist each turn, like the save to attack a summoner, or to ignore the entire effect of provoke
• Raise Doublecast feat to Will save +10
• Black Mages can’t afford a Battle Doll at 1st level & is not proficient with it; fix this
• Lower HP Stroll to +4
• Fix MP Stroll typos, lower to +4
• Clarify SOS Overdrive (gain 100OP)
• Buying Ethers & using abilities is far cheaper than using items; raise Ether price
• X-Potion is more expensive than an Elixir; raise Elixir price
• Lower the Slayer Overdrive condition from 5OP to 4OP
• Raise the Hero Overdrive condition from 5OP to 8OP
• Raise the Avenger Overdrive condition from 6OP to 12OP

Any others you wanna see in the next version?

[Godna]

I'd like it if you'd release a copy of the excel sheet you built the picture of the sphere grid with.

[Loxagn]

Great work on this, by the way.

Me and a few friends are going to try a quick one-off with this to get a feel for it, might even go for more if it turns out well.

[Zeta Kai]

I'd like it if you'd release a copy of the excel sheet you built the picture of the sphere grid with.

Well, I mean, I guess that I could, but I don't see why you'd really want it. It's not very exciting. But if that's what you folks want...

Great work on this, by the way.

Me and a few friends are going to try a quick one-off with this to get a feel for it, might even go for more if it turns out well.

Thank you, & I hope that your game went well.

Does anyone else have a suggestion for what should go into Version 1.2?

And does anyone else have any feedback on how this game behaves in actual play? Are there any classes that don't perform as well as intended? Any game-breakers? Any monsters that are too easy/hard? Lemme know, because this project may be complete, but it's still a living document to me, & I love the futile quest for perfection.

[Temotei]

Well, I mean, I guess that I could, but I don't see why you'd really want it. It's not very exciting. But if that's what you folks want...



Thank you, & I hope that your game went well.

Does anyone else have a suggestion for what should go into Version 1.2?

And does anyone else have any feedback on how this game behaves in actual play? Are there any classes that don't perform as well as intended? Any game-breakers? Any monsters that are too easy/hard? Lemme know, because this project may be complete, but it's still a living document to me, & I love the futile quest for perfection.

I hate to point this out, but the summoner kind of gets the shaft for the first couple levels. Even then, offense for them is weak until they can summon a bit more and have magical equipment. I'm not sure how you could make it better while staying completely true to the source material though.

[Lappy9000]

I hate to point this out, but the summoner kind of gets the shaft for the first couple levels. Even then, offense for them is weak until they can summon a bit more and have magical equipment. I'm not sure how you could make it better while staying completely true to the source material though.

I dunno, in a play test I had a while back at level 2 (sadly, it won't be continued), the summoner did just fine with Valefor and her trusty quarterstaff. Summons do pretty much finish just about any battle.

[Tobi_goodboy]

thankfully their limited summonings per day prevent them from intruding into bame-greaking territory for too long.

[Temotei]

thankfully their limited summonings per day prevent them from intruding into bame-greaking territory for too long.

True. It could be that there were only two players.

[Zeta Kai]

Yeah, Summoners have an interesting dichotomy going on there. On one hand, a few times a day they can curb-stomp anything that gets in their face by siccing their Aeons on their opponents. On the other hand, when their not pwning fiends, they're primarily heal/buff-bots. So they're either in the back row pumping up the guys with swords, or they're hogging the spotlight.

You'll note that FFX-d20 doesn't have many means of battlefield control, at least not on the same scale as a regular D&D game. Therefore, the Summoner's limited number of summonings per day must be used wisely, lest the party run out or get themselves in over their head. The Black Mage is a pure blaster, so they're not going to be doing Wizard-y stuff like rope trick to dictate the pace of the campaign. The primary source of BC in FFX-d20 is de-buffing, primarily by a Ronin or a Blitzer (which together, sound like Santa's backup reindeer). I made sure that the Summoner wasn't going to be able to spam Aeons too much; at least, not if the DM didn't want them to do so.

[Tobi_goodboy]

comments in the spoiler, and im probably way off on anything im saying.

Spoiler

Show

by the way, zeta; in sairyu's game that myself and a few others are playing, we found that in melee vs magic, melee gets the much shorter end of the damage stick--that, and the sleeptouch/strike -> coup de grace combo will effectively kill anything that isnt either WAY out of the party's league (and even then >_>) or immune to sleep.

yes i realize that the two statements contradict each other, but it gave me the notion that if any player neglects to get a sleep (or petrification, or death) weapon, they either:

-are purposely trying to make the game more challenging (but with mages it doesnt matter, with their much higher damage output and near-bottomless mp at higher levels. example in spoiler)

Spoiler

Show

10th level B. Mage: I cast my new fira spell, dealing... *rolls a d6, gets a 4* (4x10+10=50) 50 damage, unless he saves for half. *spends 8 MP*
10th level Ronin: I'll armor break the monster, and attack my second time this round as well. dealing *assuming he gets past enemy's AC on both attacks, wielding a greatsword* *rolls d10, gets 8* 16 damage, plus my strength mod for both attacks. *spends 12 MP*

-they're new to the game.

-or didnt want to abuse it.

also, on the subject of spells; how many sphere levels constitutes a class level (fira being 1d6+1/level)? if it's a 1:1 translation (very, very unlikely) then damage for the black mage reaches insane levels very quickly and only gets scarier as you go.

also again, does a fiend's spell damage scale with HD or...?

[Sairyu]

Well, to be fair, you could always get energy resistance (reasonably cheaply). Honestly, I think you're supposed to, with FFX magic falling into the 4-elements of blaster flavor (discounting doomsday magic like shimmering rain/ultima/flare) and no really substantial forms of save-or-die/save-and-suck that I've seen so far.

I think it was about 5 or 6 sphere levels to a class level?
Edit: It's 7

I still feel that poison is stupid though, 1d4 damage per HD of the recipient does not a happy man make (it sucks to spend a standard action getting rid of it at any rate). That being said, I really think that the '-proof' and '-ward' enchantments should be cheaper. I honestly would not spend a +3 enchantment to give myself a 40% resistance to one status condition unless every single monster was spamming it all the time, and satus-proof is 90%?

[DarkSunLord1]

Nice. I enjoy the idea of converting stuff to D&D and stating people and creatures from other sources.

[John_Olson]

Hi. I came late to the party; only just discovered this (and it has officially blown me away). I like what you did with chocobos, but doesn't the Spira version need an enhanced jumping ability, plus an (Ex) ability to produce a limited feather fall-like effect?

I'm thinking of how you get to Remiem Temple, plus the mounted acrobatics you can do in the Mi'ihen Highroad area.

Amazing work nonetheless; I've downloaded v. 1.1 and am enjoying it thoroughly.

[Sequinox]

YES! I just remembered this and I'm happy I checked. The PDF is oouuuuu---ttt... The PDF is oooouuuuutttt.... (singing happiliy)

I'll be downloading, of course.

[Friend Computer]

Sorry for the necro, buuuuuut....

There is a problem that i see here which is glaring, now that I notice it. I only noticed it because I've been going through the thread from start to finish, and...

Well, Armor Break reduces AC, and in a D20 version of the game, it makes the Ronin competitive, or at least, I hope it would, as I haven't played it. But in the game AB didn't increase your chances of hitting, but decreased the enemy's 'damage reduction' granted to them through armor or something else.

I noticed this because I read the post where, I think it was Flan, were said to have been designed with 5 DR for each HD, and someone pointed out that one flan has 60 DR! This is a huge amount, but very fitting. However, in-game, the flans were succeptible to AB.

Given this, I think the simplest fix would be to add a non-canonical 'break' ability to the Ronin to eliminate (or maybe just halve) DR. I say this because adding that to AB would be a tad powerful, and swapping the current AB write-up for a DR-elimination write-up would hurt the Ronin big time...

Sorry to bring this up now, but... well, I didn't notice it the first two times I read through!

I still feel that poison is stupid though, 1d4 damage per HD of the recipient does not a happy man make (it sucks to spend a standard action getting rid of it at any rate).

The damage you took from poison was something like (I haven't played it in nearly 3 years) 1/4 max HP/turn, so 1d4 per HD is very fitting for a conversion to D20, even if extremely painful.