Fabula Ultima: Final Fantasy is a Tabletop RPG

Fabula Ultima is a TTRPG that I've been absolutely loving recently. It's super simple, really fast paced, and replicates my favourite video game genre almost perfectly.
Patreon: / the_twig
Character sheets: drive.google.com/drive/folder...
Drive-Thru RPG links:
Fabula Ultima: preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/p...
Press Start (free one-shot): preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/p...
Fabula Ultima Atlas: High Fantasy (expansion): preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/p...
All music is from The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, and The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC
00:00 Intro
01:38 Weapons
02:40 Ability Checks
05:41 Fabula Points
06:52 Lloyd Bannings
07:37 Elie MacDowell
08:15 Tio Plato
08:58 Randy Orlando
09:27 Combat Setup
10:41 Combat
15:03 Post-combat Summary
15:45 Just Play This Game Damn It!
Also play Trails in the Sky.
store.steampowered.com/app/25...
#ttrpg

[@jinxtheunluckypony]

This game looks really interesting. If I still had an active gaming group I’d totally try this out.

[@ekurisona663]

search mythic gameaster emulator (oracle) for gmless solo play of any ttrpg

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

6:04 "Level 1 Wish" sounds Very Hugs.

[@edwardklein1610]

Your fight demo was very well directed and executed. Nice work!

[@MsamaB3]

I adore the books. They remind me of the old "Prima Strategy Guides". The creators absolutely know what they're doing. I'm so happy to have found your video! It was very enjoyable. :3 Keep up the good work!

[@the_twig131]

Yeah, it looks fantastic. I basically learnt to read on the Pokémon Emerald Prima guide, so I have a lot of love for the style.

[@user-zi3br3ds5x]

The physical books are about the size of Manga Chapter books (Something that is intentional from what I recall correctly.) if a bit thicker than some. Which makes it bit more portable than the Pathfinder 1e books I tend to bring to an in-person campaign. Which to me is a big plus. I have seen a comment or two on videos where some people don't like the book layout. I don't get it so much. It's easy to navigate. You can find what you are looking for because certain sections in the core rulebook are colored on the side to easily pick out the sections.

[@peterclaymore2239]

I've been GMing FABULA ULTIMA sense shorty after it came out, if it wasn't for my friends Dice Queen Di. and Neko I would have never discovered this amazing 10/10 game. My hope is that more people discover this game and see all of the wonderful and streamlined ideas that this game puts forward.

[@thisrandomdude2880]

My D&D party (Who has very little TTRPG experience) loves the whole gatherin' round the table and messing around having beers, snack, and most importantly, fun. Problem is, D&D's kinda inflexible, a bit too complicated (mood is super casual and relaxed), and they often feel frustrated at a lot of the mechanics, especially how they can't create characters that fit their unique vision, or item management, as well as bloat in their abilities and spells. I gave them a tour of the Fabula Ultima rulebook and they're super thrilled to try it out. We're gonna play a couple sessions to test the waters, and I really hope we'll make the switch cuz I've fallen in love with this game.

[@PartridgeQuill]

Loved this easy-to-follow video! More Fabula Ultima content, please!!!

[@crimson6553]

That combat demo was awesome! Looked just like a normal jrpg!

[@the_twig131]

Yeah, I wanted to make it as visual as possible. The characters and scenario are actually pulled directly from The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero, which is the sequel to Trails in the Sky, my favourite game.

[@franciscoadasilvajr4514]

I'm trying to get into Fabula and your video was AMAZING Fast, but explaining the system and giving a great example by making some characters and a quick combat

[@the_twig131]

Thanks, I figured that a practical example would probably be the most helpful thing I could do.

[@caseykits]

ayyyy twig is actually covering games other than 5e! LOL excellent video as always! it was a blast trying out fabula ultima with you last year. and to think that all of the problem points (initiative, acceleration) we found during our press start run are being addressed in the january 10th updates... hope to see maybe one or two more videos on fabula regarding teaching people how to find resources and make cool characters. maybe a full build spotlight up to level ~30 or a peek at some actual play you've done with friends/patrons. whatever you end up doing before 5.5e comes out ;)

[@xaropevic7918]

Oh, I also thought that acceleration has a lot of potential to be broken, while initiative looked actually more balanced than in most traditional rpgs (including dnd) because it just gives an extra action no matter how much everyone invests in to initiative, didn't like it from a flavor perspective because is likely that the one with highest initiative doesn't act like the leader of the party

[@the_twig131]

The fact that there are regular playtests and updates is really cool. You can tell that the dev is really looking at how people are playing their game.

[@F_N_Inquisitor]

Probably the most helpful video I've seen on this game. As a forever GM, I loooooove telling stories with my campaign, and D&D's system sadly isn't really designed for that, it's still designed as a dungeon crawler. But this? Narrative seems to be the biggest focus, rules can be over written because narrative. bosses escape, why? Because narrative. New boss forms, why? Because narrative. My book comes in the mail today, I can't wait to try this out

[@Professor-Badger]

Aw man that looks like a blast, wish I was better at roleplaying cause every time I play a ttrpg I feel I'm only really good at playing good lads that are kinda boring while getting distracted with action

[@user-zi3br3ds5x]

Do not be discouraged. Playing a good natured player character helps balance out any trauma-based/rougher edge type characters in a group. With the right character synergy you can help put that other player character on a character arc to better themselves. Or in the case of a FF d20 campaign in, I am the grump to a cheerful character, or the straight man to an eccentric/crazy character. On roleplaying. Roleplaying isn't something that always come naturally to someone, and you have to have opportunities to improve at it. The benefit of this game is the use of Scenes. You can always initiate one if you want to have a moment between characters, without the GM having to prompt it. And players agree on who is involved, and who isn't at the moment. They can be simply reacting to something that happened prior, a flashback or a memory emerging, or simply a conversation while walking or resting. And much more. To help practice a bit I often draw inspiration from an existing character to act as bit of a base template to build a character from, then I tweak the character idea. I also add in one aspect of my personality to help get better in character. I try avoid bleed by putting in some degrees of separation between myself and the character. A simple exercise is thinking of simple scenarios and how would the character act in them. You can't account for every scenario that can come up in a game, but getting use to the general idea of how your character would act helps.

[@Professor-Badger]

Thankies for encouragement, I just gotta find a game now I suppose

[@Skimmer951]

Im so glad seeing fabula ultima mentioned more and more. The use of trails music in the background gives me so much joy! The simulation of a battle scenario in fabula using trails from zero characters was also really fun and choesive and explains so well.

[@the_twig131]

The Crossbell crew are probably my favourite 'traditional' four man band RPG party, and I think that I did a pretty good job of building them. Glad that some Trails fans got to see this too.

[@Skimmer951]

@@the_twig131 crossbell is the one arc i havent played but i want to. Do you have plans for more follow up videos like character building or other aspects of the system to highlight? Or do you have perhaps other systems of interest?

[@the_twig131]

The Crossbell games are pretty great. Not as good as Sky, but given that Sky is my favourite series ever, that should be obvious. I don't really have any specific plans, but I might do more depending on what people think of this.

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

Wait until the playtest episode! I like the Playtest Initiative that just makes it "Look for Ultima Points, if you see any, enemies go first, otherwise you go first."

[@the_twig131]

Yeah, the playtest updates are really nice.

[@BestgirlJordanfish]

Glad to see you talk about other games! Been GMing Fabula Ultima a little bit and it’s such an absolute delight (mainly inspired by Honkai Star Rail and Xenoblade). There’s a lot I find absolutely delightful there and almost every part of it I find just right.

[@Charlie-ix9nv]

I’ve been on my knees begging everyone to try this system it’s sooooooo good.

[@SuperPierre112]

this was really great. also, the: "heheheh~ this wasn't even my final form" caught me off guard. liked that. also enjoy you adding scenarios. really explains everything clearly. love it

[@the_twig131]

I always try to add examples when explaining something complicated or new. They just help understanding so much.

[@NathanPatrickLane]

First time on this channel. I really enjoyed this video as an overview on Fabula Ultima. I've been reading the book, but hearing someone teaching things out loud is what I need to help things click sometimes. I especially appreciated the example combat at the end. Subscribed and liked - I hope to see more non-D&D videos from you in the future.

[@Enkidu659]

Looks really cool! I'll add it to my list of TTRPGs to try someday

[@xaropevic7918]

Loved the OST used and I am interested on that ttrpg! Thanks, I will try to learn it and actually play it, differently than most systems I try to learn

[@the_twig131]

So the music was one of the many subliminal messages to play Trails in the Sky. You should do that.

[@xaropevic7918]

@@the_twig131 so ALL OST of this video is from this game?

[@the_twig131]

Yep. Every single track. I was completely lying when I said that the video wasn't about Trails, there were an ungodly number of references to it.

[@bg-cc6hn]

This system seems pretty cool! I love JRPGs and this seems like a really neat way to blend it with DnD Really glad you covered this!

[@the_twig131]

Yeah, it's a really well made game.

[@tjduck85]

There is a simpler version of Initiatve that the author now recommends. It's basically (1) Named Villains go first, then (2) PCs, and then (3) Unnamed NPCs/Monsters.

[@GambeTama]

Very happy to see you giving this game a spotlight especially. It really scratches an itch that, while has been touched upon by other systems, it gets in a way that its peers don't quite strike right. It is just the right balance of that console game feel similar to Retro Phaze, but with a more mainstream feel that should be a lot easier to get into from more contemporary systems such as Pathfinder. All that said, despite the odd weakness here and there, it definitely manages to average out these qualities in a way that feels like it managed to get across just what it wanted to, and in a way that most people should be able to enjoy without feeling drowned in a sea of esoteric trends that only make sense if it were actually a console game. Also, big thanks for the combat simulation! As obvious as it sounds, a demonstration goes a long way to get somebody on board with a an idea, and this should help wonders!

[@the_twig131]

I'm glad people are liking the combat so much. I thought it was super important to see how the game plays in context. I was a little worried that it would drag too much.

[@davidmkohl1984]

book was out of stock everywhere for a bit. just came in stock today and I bought it up. looking forward to enjoying it!

[@TheHellspawnHero]

I only just heard about this game today, and I'm usually slow to grow interested in something new and unfamiliar, but the amount of care and enthusiasm you put into showing off this system's class options and combat mechanics did a really good job of selling me on it. I look forward to checking out the books myself, hopefully soon.

[@the_twig131]

Have fun. It's really simple to learn, so you should be able to get a game going pretty quickly.

[@coatesjk1]

I'm gonna be presenting this game to my group as the next thing I want to run. Amazingly concise video that shows how compelling the action is!

[@RhetoricalGamer]

Yeah just ordered my books. Honestly this is all I ever wanted in a TTRPG. Now I dont have to pay $60 to Hasbro anymore.

[@the_twig131]

Have fun, it's really good.

[@tsl4031]

Hell yeah Dragon Quest IX mention

[@ebensirges]

I haven't heard of this system but it sounds fun!! I'm always glad to see more systems brought up, I'd love to see more like this :)

[@the_twig131]

Any in particular that you think would be good to talk about?

[@mikeyuso9231]

I literally just started looking in to this game. Great video and it helps a lot! Might send this to the people i want to be my players.

[@aleafmusic1681]

Looks like a really solid game, will definitely try it out!

[@thonktank1239]

Have this game on my shelf for over a year now, b9ught it because it seemed cool but never actually picked it up. Definitely gonna read through it now and see if I can convince one of my groups to try it. Thatnks for the video!

[@esther6138]

hey, i just wanted you to know that, while i had seen a lot of suggestions for fabula ultima before, your video is what made me really look into it, and now i've picked up the books and have a press start session coming up soon

[@the_twig131]

Brilliant, did you enjoy it?

[@des-trina]

Great video, I'm excited to try the game.

[@Sawzie]

so happy to see you talking about this game! it's become my new favorite, and this video will be super useful for helping my friends understand how it all works and encouraging them to try it. hope you talk about it more in the future!!

[@lolsuperpoop]

A game that encourages Power RP through 'Level 1 Wish'? Huh Neat.

[@the_twig131]

Yeah, it's pretty cool. I've seen similar stuff in games like Blades in the Dark, where you can accumulate stress to retcon in the fact that you set a tripwire, but Fabula is way more open about it.

[@deadpyne-2083]

would love seeing this more for other systems like savage worlds and never going home

[@shiuntouya]

Loved the video and trails references!

[@notanotaku1101]

You've definitely sold me on trying this out. Seems simple enough I could sell it to my players, and I know we've got at least one JRPG fan in the group besides me!

[@the_twig131]

Yeah, it's a really easy system to learn.

[@jonathanhaynes9914]

How'd I miss this.

[@involuntaryascetic3602]

6:06 actually Fabula kinda takes the baseline assumption that the GM has final say and shreds it, the GM has to agree to opportunities but not to Fabula Point spends to Alter the Story unless they change an existing story element. also Ellie took 3 actions instead of 2 on her first turn, as casting accelerate costs one action

[@the_twig131]

Elie only took 2 actions. Elemental Weapon lets you make a free attack if you use it on yourself.

[@drunkendelver1966]

I love how this game is gradually picking up traction and finding its audience. I always feel a little weird suggesting Fabula to larger TTRPG channels, because it makes me feel kinda like a shill invading someone else's space. >w>; But this game really does come across as something special in the RPG scene, and it's great to see it slowly getting attention, at least from smaller creators. I'm currently trying to pitch this game to my group, and it seems like a few are on board to try it. I'm hoping that the collaborative nature of the worldbuilding will get them invested in the setting and their characters. :)

[@vayneglory655]

Subbing just off of this video. Im so in love with this game already.

[@the_twig131]

Thanks, glad that there's an audience who likes this so much.

[@PressRToZeus]

i was looking at this a couple months ago. i wish i had read more about it. when i have the opportunity i'm definitely gonna pick this up

[@enz1TheSpooky]

Good video, definitely going to give it a read

[@mitchellburcham6221]

I've been a big fan of JRPGs and been planning on playing this for game nights while I take a break from DMing DND 5e. Can't wait to hear more tips and tricks!

[@DndUnoptimized]

Looks like the rules have a lot of fun ways to interact with other players. I really enjoyed the music here, and the pixel art in the book definitely makes it feel like a JRPG. I love FF, so maybe I'll give this game a try!

[@the_twig131]

If you liked the music, you should play Trails in the Sky. All of it came from there.

[@devorezz]

Oh holy crap, I need to play this!

[@Chowder_T]

Ooooo this looks really fun I wanna play it

[@houstonhall1144]

I’m only 4 minutes into this video and I’m already sold! I appreciate this video but my wallet doesn’t lol

[@user-zi3br3ds5x]

As someone who runs this game as an easier improv mini-campaign between a bigger game. If your players are used to the GM being the impetus for things happening, then it takes a bit to break the habit. Had to work a bit for the players to realize that they have sizeable inputs into scenes, especially with Fabula points. I love this game. Easy prep, Easy to grasp rules. And the combat while simple on the surface has a lot of nuances in choices from classes and actions.

[@Kusagrass]

One thing I think would allow fabula to survive long is if rooster releases more content. Our table does allot of double dipping in classes (some of my friends can’t help but to max min) and allot of our play styles end up being similar.

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

16:15 Shared this on that Discord I did!

[@the_twig131]

Thanks for that.

[@TwistyOne]

More of this yes please

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

Good Buneary Teacher Deserves. Deserves. So. Much.

[@curlyninja9636]

Good stuff

[@tridentgreen3346]

Honestly, this game seems really cool. Damn me being in 5 TTRPG games a week already though. I might try running Press Start with my tabletop club though, might be easier to do in our kinda limited weekly club time every once and a while.

[@Demonskunk]

I really want to play or run this. I own all the books.

[@JackalTornMoons]

Fabula is awesome 🍻

[@leodouskyron5671]

Slightly off topic but one thing I was surprised to hear from Japanese RPG makers was that calling them JRPGs felt racist to them. The augment that I gathered was as classifying the games as JRPG was as if they are not “real” RPGs but a lesser form game the Japanese make. I think it came to the fore thanks to some particularly arrogant western game developers laughing at them in public. I always saw it as more of a style and personally loved them when I had that kind of time. I am glad that this TRPG was made. Last time I saw such a game was for the Record of Lodoss War using the Fusion system. Yeah I am old … and stay off my lawn! 😂

[@the_twig131]

Yeah, it's definitely a style or subgenre. I wouldn't call something like Skyrim just an RPG either, that's more like an ARPG, and Baldur's Gate is probably a SRPG. I expect that that was probably just a small group of devs lashing out at people who were actually belittling them. As for Lodoss War, I've never played that, but it did get a really cool 1990 anime.

[@MemphiStig]

This one's on my wishlist, along with Ryuutama, another jrpg-inspired trpg. The combat example was very good, but initiative was a bit obtuse. Tho tbh I've got Press Start, and Group Checks and Initiative aren't exactly simple, which is maybe the only thing I'd fault the game for, from what I've seen. It looks easy enough to understand once you've done it a bit, but it's still overly fiddly imo, for an initiative mechanic.

[@Verbose_Mode]

This seems like it's right up my alley, but I would have concerns for my players... does this err on the side of crunchiness with lots of tactics and maneuvers for my players to metagame, or does it lend toward players describing their actions and interpreting results? My biggest fear is combat ending up like any JRPG where combat starts and it gets an eye roll because of how rote and straightforward it can be. How does it add variety to its mechanics and interpretations thereof?

[@the_twig131]

So first off, the battle I showed in this video was stupidly easy. It was mostly designed for the party to show off, whilst trying to remain only about 5 minutes long. Real combats are normally a lot more complicated, with more monsters in different combinations, some of which can fly or have multiple attacks or other complicating features. Characters tend to have a lot of different actions in combat, and are typically rewarded for doing things like studying the monsters to identify their strengths and weaknesses, or for spreading status conditions. The existence of Fabula Points allowing you to just make stuff up on the spot always exists as well. The way my group ended up describing it was "rules heavy, rules easy, and designed for you to break the rules." As for characters themselves, the only things that I would call overpowered are specifically the Acceleration spell, and having more than one tank, just because of the way Defence works. I'm pretty sure I heard that Acceleration was getting an errata though, so one of those issues will hopefully go away.

[@Verbose_Mode]

@@the_twig131 - And this is why I like this channel. Actual information, and just want I wanted to hear!

[@Reialgo13021]

Hehe "getting over the barrier" of her defence I see you Anyway I've been in a Fabula campaign for several months now, as my very first TTRG I've been having a wonderful time with my chimerist fighter dog owner always in tuned with nature.....

[@the_twig131]

Huh? What's that? This video wasn't about Trails... Have fun. Chimerist is a really cool and flexible class.

[@pretentiosaurus]

this sounds like a great game to try getting my less interested friends to play ttrpgs, instead of me making a janky system all on my own again, thank you very much for this video

[@the_twig131]

Yeah, go for it. As I said, it's super easy to learn. I do genuinely recommend Press Start. It's a great introduction, and isn't too long.

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

New Game!!!

[@CrazyOnna]

Sorry if I missed the reason but why doesn't the final roll count as a critical? She rolled double 5s. 14:58

[@the_twig131]

You only crit if your double is 6 or better. This is basically to make it so that increasing your stats doesn't reduce your crit chance, and so that having d6s isn't the optimal choice for builds which care about critting.

[@CrazyOnna]

@@the_twig131 ooooohh. Right! I'm new. Thank-you!!

[@orpheus1138]

TBH sounds interesting but it has so many mechanics it would just confuse my group lol.

[@the_twig131]

Nah, it's an incredibly easy game to learn. Way simpler than game like D&D.

[@Zeithri]

I've already bought the rulebook just not read through it. The fluff at the start kept distracting me and boring me out. I don't like the idea of " _every one decides on the story_ " and stuff like that because it distracts from the purpose of the GM, *but* I can see the point of it and the joy of it _IF_ the GM is also a player in the party as well. Then it totally makes sense. But anyway there was one thing that already annoyed me here. You said that rolling double, is an automatic crit. And yet when she rolled two fives at the end, it _wasn't_ a crit. So either you did wrong or there's some specific arbitrary rule that determnes that it wasn't a crit because... reasons? Stuff like this often bothers me with when people suggest rules and go " _it's so easy because this that and that except when a blue moon happens under a red sky_ ". This was a good video though and I'll probably browse into the book someday soon for the combat rules. Gosh I have so many systems I want to learn and so little motivation.

[@the_twig131]

The double 5 at the end wasn't a crit, because you only get a crit on double 6 or better. This is so that you don't get worse at critting as you level up. Rolling a double on 2d6 is a lot easier than rolling a double on 2d12, so the 6+ rule is there to prevent that. As for 'everyone deciding the story', it's a very lopsided 'everyone'. The GM still has control, players can just spend a resource (which has many other good uses as well) to impact it, and the DM always has veto powers. It's more there to encourage interaction rather than to allow players equal input to the plot.

[@SoberGin]

I looked at this a while ago, and it looks cool, but the "player input" parts bother me a little. As the DM, I want to tell a narrative I planned from the beginning. Player input and creativity are key to that, yes, but giving them the narrative control of just... declaring things happen, outside of their PC's actions... It seems like too much power, and could give way to WAY too much chaos if you even have a single problem player. Plus, as a player I like to have mechanics. Being given near-infinite freedom to "say something happens in the story" with the use of a point is... too daunting of a choice; it's just make it less fun for me when everyone else uses it jsut fine while I struggle to figure it out. Skills are also my favorite part of d&d 5e, and simplifying that system this much really makes things feel like it's exclusively made for combat, which is kinda the part I enjoy the least about d&d already. Then again, I've not played the system. Could you tell me your opinions on my concerns here, and how you think the system handles them? I'd rather ask the opinion of an actual player than just base it off my assumptions. I quite enjoy JRPGs so I really want to like this system.

[@the_twig131]

So with Fabula Points and Opportunities, the DM can always veto things if they are deemed too powerful. Saying "I put an instakill poison into the villain's drink" just isn't fun for anyone. The game is fairly built around collaborative storytelling and world building though, it's not designed to be the DM's world that the players just exist in. It actually goes as far in the book as suggesting that players write some locations on the map. As for out of combat, there aren't many mechanics for it, but that works fairly well for a group that likes heavy roleplay. The fact that you can't see that you have -1 Persuasion means that you're more likely to try to talk to the king instead of doing that thing of awkwardly turning to the Bard and saying "Can you say this for me?". It also means the the GM can say what abilities you should roll based on how you behave, rather than talking to someone basically always being Charisma.

[@SoberGin]

@@the_twig131 Gotcha, might not be for me then. I'll still consider it though. Thanks for the reply! (and the video, of course) Happy gaming!

[@JTMC93]

Fabula Ultima is based on Ryuutama. Which is Hayao Miyazaki's Oregon Trail. Both games are fun.

[@flavorgod]

Doesn't it wholesale rip off Ryuutama?

[@gabrielroias8373]

To a degree yes but every ttrpg has taken inspiration from other games. That being said I can't remember if fabula credits ryuutama. Both games have a different focus and are a joy to play. Ryuutama is a beautiful masterpiece that is overall more rewarding. "If you only do what you can do you will never be more than who you are now." -Master Shifu

[@NathanPatrickLane]

@@gabrielroias8373 Yes, Fabula Ultima credits Ryuutama. They put it right at the top of their Origin and Inspirations section on page 4, saying that Fabula Ultima is "partially based" on Ryuutama.