allgeektout

Okay, the title of this post is stretching it a bit – Chapter 7 is not the only part of Fantasy Craft that I like. Overall, the entire product is very strong, and it is becoming one of my favorite rulesets. But Chapter 7 kind of represents in a nutshell what it is a like about Fantasy Craft – that first and foremost, it’s a toolkit for creating the game you want to play, and secondly a game system (not that the system isn’t good, but that’s beside the point). So let’s have a look at some of my favorite things that Chapter 7 has to offer.

Campaign Eras – There are five eras for you to pick from that help you clearly define what time period it’s taking place in – Primitive, Ancient, Feudal, Reason, or Industrial. Combine this with the Forge section of the book, and you have an idea of what technology will or won’t be available to the players.

Alignment – Chapter 7 encourages alignments that are more than just moral stances. For example, one of the suggested alignment systems is “Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water”. I don’t know why this is so revolutionary to me, but this really stands out as an incredible way to show the divisions in your world’s society. Plus, you can have multiple alignment tracks (so, both the elements and the traditional moral system, for example). Why hasn’t anyone told me this before?

Campaign Qualities – An easy way to define what is and isn’t possible in your campaign. There are the obvious ones – like do Miracles happen, and are there spellcasters? Other one aren’t obvious, but help to emphasize themes – like ones that let your heroes recover some money if they lose something while doing something heroic.

These are just the mechanics that Fantasy Craft offers! It also has a lot of great ways to make you really think about the way your world works, including how Spellcasting and Miracles affect the world, and even how trials would work if your PCs were to commit a crime. So if you want to create a realistic fantasy world, Fantasy Craft has plenty for your purposes. And if you’re not worried about realism, then there’s still lots for you to use.

So, I decided the best way to show this system off was by creating a pirate-themed world that is not inspired by any pirate movie in particular. So, without further ado: the Six Seas.

The Six Seas
A Fantasy Craft Setting

The Six Seas is a world in turmoil, where the paradigm that has remained constant for centuries is about to undergo a huge shift. The era of piracy is ending. The technology of the Anglian Lords is beginning to catch up the the enchantments given to the Court of Thieves’ vessels by the Heathen Gods. Unless the Pirate Warlords finally unite and make a stand, it seems that soon the wild and untamed seas will be controlled by the iron fist of Anglia.

Genre: Historical Fantasy (Pirates)
Age: Reason
Alignments: Anglia, Gaule, Court of Thieves, Unaligned, etc.
Miracles: Yes
Sorcery: Yes
Heroic Species: Human Only

Permanent Campaign Qualities:

• Complex Heroes - Subplots get double the normal XP.
• Monty Haul– Players don’t take penalties for a heavy load, and can carry two times the normal artifacts and Prizes.
• Triumphant Heroes – The Action Dice spent to activate a critical hit also add to the character’s reputation.
• Bold Heroes – Action Dice explode on both the highest and the lowest number. The characters also start with two Action Dice.

Alright, brief moment to talk about design choices here. Since the characters in the theoretical movie this is based on find themselves constantly switching sides, I figured that having normal alignments were out of the question. Instead I decided that it would be based off of Nationality, with Unaligned being a Pirate unaffiliated with the Court of Thieves (these pirates don’t keep to the Code, and tend to be vicious and generally unfriendly). Even though it’s still a very poor representation of alignment, it does give an idea of what type of ideals the character would uphold, even if they do it in their own twisted way.

Miracles and Spellcasting both exist, but in a very limited way. The Heathen Gods occasionally see it fit to cause miracles, but as their influence vanishes it happens much less often, and it is definitely not player controlled. However, that doesn’t prevent there from being Priests and other such classes who honor the Heathen Gods – they just channel the voodoo magic left behind by the Gods in a different way from normal spellcasters.

And briefly through the campaign qualities - Complex Heroes because oftentimes the characters try to accomplish multiple things simultaneously, Monty Haul because a true pirate never leaves any treasure behind, Triumphant Heroes because fantastic deeds make a name for a pirate (sea turtles, mate), and Bold Heroes because pirates of the Six Seas often “rely on luck as much as skill.”

Now, the point of the Six Seas isn’t exclusively to play as pirates sailing the Six Seas. The moral divide is unclear, (some pirates are just as honorable as Anglians, and vise versa) so the PCs could reasonably play as any faction they choose. They could be Anglian Pirate hunters, or Gaule privateers trying to make an honest living, or (if they really want to) they could engage in a political game where the Anglian Lords have to negotiate how to best deal with the pirate threat. They can be anything they choose

There’s a bit more to the world of the Six Seas, but that’s the bare minimum of it – just enough to get you started with Fantasy Craft. Savvy?

(And don’t even get me started on how I feel about the NPC creation – to say it was fantastic would be an understatement.)

Want to learn more about Fantasy Craft? Read on…

• Atomic Array: Fantasy Craft (Atomic Array 032)
• Game Cryer: Review by Chris Perrin
• Questing GM: Questing with Fantasy Craft
• allgeektout: What Fantasy Craft Has to Offer
• Campaign Mastery: Mine Fiction for Campaign Qualities
• Emerson’s Bookshelf: Fantasy Just Got Crafty
• Critical Hits: Critical Review
• Fear the Boot: Fear the Review
• Gnome Stew: GM Spotlight: What Fantasy Craft Brings to the Table

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