My wishlist for 2nd edition Advanced Fighting Fantasy

Priests also get
cooler costumes.

Here are a few things that I would like to see changed in 2nd edition Advanced Fighting Fantasy.


Priest rules


In Advanced Fighting Fantasy, the priest spell list and the wizard spell list are too similar.  For example, priests have an equivalent of fire bolt and wizards can cast healing spells.  However, the priest spell list was smaller than the wizard spell list and priests were restricted by the morality of their gods.  Priests need something more to make them a competitive option compared to wizards.

I wish I could use a two handed sword

Nonhuman rules


Dungeoneer has rules for elves and dwarves and Allansia includes rules for centaurs, goblins, orcs and trolls.  However, each non human race must take some skills, some of which may not be completely useful.  Elves have to take magic, reducing their initial skill by at least one point.  The initial skill for goblins and orcs is 1d6 + 4 trolls can only buy a number of skill points equal to half their initial skill in addition to having to spend at least three of those points on strength, darkseeing and a large weapon skill.

Centaurs are the only non human race who do not have to buy certain special skills but some actions involving climbing and sneaking have penalties due to their size and shape.

In D and D, humans are the 'base' race with other races being better at some things and worse than others compared to humans.  Dwarves do have darkseeing, but they do not have precious skill choices restricted.

Armour rules

She's grumpy because the chainmail
doesn't actually do anything.
(Check out female armour from Realm of Zhu)

The Fighting Fantasy combat system is quick and simple but it didn't leave much room for effective armour.

Since only 2 stamina points of damage are dealt per hit, it doesn't leave much room for damage reduction.  Jonathan Green gets around this in Stormslayer by having armour reduce damage by 1 on a roll of a 1 or 1-2 or 1-3 on one die depending on the armour.

Increasing your attack strength, even by one point makes a big difference in combat, which would make your effective skill too high.  This led to the chainmail in Legend of Zagor which did nothing apart from reduce some damage if you fell into a pit an increase the damage you sustain in an electrical trap.  Not good.

Advanced Fighting Fantasy used a variable damage system which could integrate armour.  However, it said nothing more that if heroes don't wear a few scraps of armour then the damage rolls from their opponents must have two added to them.  Allansia! also has the heavy armoured combat skill in order to fight sucessfully in heavy armour but it
does not mention what the benefits of heavy armour are.

The spell to animate this golem
costs 4 stamina points.  It takes
two spells and 9 stamina points
to make a potion of stamina.  

Making magical items rules

Blacksand has the enchant item spell which allows a hero to put a spell into an item.  It states that it requires costly requirements in terms of magical paraphenalia but there is no formula as to how much it costs.  It then gives a formula for the cost in stamina and the time it takes.  It states that:

'The basic Stamina Cost for endowing an item with a particular spell is the 6 points for Enchant Item, plus the cost for the spell itself, cast three times into the item over a period of hours equal to the total Stamina cost for the entire operation in days!'


I get confused.  So if I cast ironhand on a sword to give it a +1 bonus to attack strength, it costs 6 for the enchant item spell, followed by 3 for the three ironhand spells.  So it costs 9 stamina points, but is it over 9 hours or 9 days or 9 hours a day over a period of 9 days?  And how much does all this cost in gold pieces?

Why bother
paying stamina?

How long does this enchantment last for?  Is it a 1 use item, a multi use item or is it permanent?

And what about potions?  Would anyone really pay that much for a one use item?

Minor magic rules

Some minor spells are too powerful.  In my opinion, the biggest offender is the Hold it! spell where the caster can freeze time for two seconds.  In combat, two seconds is loads of time.  In Dungeons and Dragons, Time Stop is a level nine spell and that only lasts for 2-5 rounds.

When's the Lonely Planet on Khul out?

More about Khul and  the Old World

The three continents of Titan all have their own distinct character.  I like the dark, chaos tainted, horror infested continent of Khul.  It would be nice to see encounters for the Chaos Wastes, mutation rules or a detailed description of the places and personalities in the city of Ashkyos.
As far as the Old World is concerned, I would love to know more about the War of the Four Kingdoms or the denizens of Kakhabad.

Please, no more
silver arrows.

Better treasure tables


I know that the treasure table says that you can substitute your items onto the table, but the items are too powerful.  Humanoids get a special item on the roll of a 5-6 and then that special item could be a magical weapon on the roll of a 2 or 12 on two dice.  That gives a 1 in 54 chance of a humanoid carrying a magical weapon.  I know it sounds like a lot, but I don't think that magical weapons are that common.  I guess that it's just my opinion, but I do not want quick power creep to happen in the adventures.  I want it more to be about character development than grabbing the best items.

What skill do I need
for this situation?

Streamlining of skills

Some skills need a bit more clarification such as heavy armoured combat, which implies that if you are wearing plate mail, that you calculate your attack strength from this skill, rather than any weapon skill you may have.  That doesn't sound right.

Do there have to be so many skills for mass battles - battle combat, battle tactics, siege combat and siege lore?

Also, why does fighting on horsebakc require both the ride and mounted combat skill.  Couldn't they be rolled together?


Does world lore cover too wide a range of knowledge?  Should it be broken down into other lore skills?

How to break 1st edition Advanced Fighting Fantasy part 1 - how to create a god mod character

The new cover.

I was glad to find out that Arion Games will be releasing a 2nd edition of Advanced Fighting Fantasy.  

I enjoyed reading the three Advanced Fighting Fantasy rulebooks (Dungeoneer, Blacksand and Allansia), the monster manual, Out of the Pit and an in depth sourcebook about the Fighting Fantasy world of Titan called Titan.

I enjoyed making a wide range of characters and customising them with skills and spells.  I also enjoyed the way that the adventures were presented as films with scenes, cast list and a director.  

Grudthak (right)
and pals.

They were written with a humorous and light hearted tone.  They did not take themselves too seriously.  Here is a section from Dungeoneer:


Props


During the fight, Grudthak periodically flings half-chewed Goblin bones at the Heroes.  If you want to simulate this for your players, a few of the toy bones that pet shops sell for dogs to chew on will come in useful here.  If you want to be really authentic, a batch of week old fried chicken drumsticks would be more suitable - but we don't see why you should behave as disgustingly as the Ogre.

It says that we
should all learn
the dodge skill.

However, there were problems with the first edition rules which meant that there could be a lot of inbalance between different heroes, between different skills and between different spells.  

There are some people in this world who are very helpful and constructive and if they spot a problem with something, then they will highlight it and provide a solution.  Andrew Wright offered a more balanced AFF system.  

It's OK.  I know the
Ironhand spell.

Arion Games' 2nd edition AFF system is also addressing problems with the system as they have written in their forum.  

However, there are some people, who, when they notice problems in a system, decide to exploit them for all their worth in order to gain the best advantage possible.  

When it comes to games, I think that I am one of these people and this post aims to show you how to create an overpowered AFF hero by exploiting all of the imbalances with the system.

I will look at the imbalances between heroes and the overpowered skills and spells that they could use.

Inbalances between heroes

We could do that.  Or I could just
summon a horde of angels...

A hero's skill is determined by rolling one die and adding 6 to the result, as with most solo Fighting Fantasy books.  And like most solo Fighting Fantasy books, there is a huge difference between having a skill of 7 and a skill of 12.  

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that heroes' special skills are bought with a number of points equal to their skill score.  Their score with a skill is equal to the number of points they spend (maximum of 4) + their initial skill score.  This means that a skill 12 character can buy 12 special skills and have a score of 13 in each one.  Since most ability checks are done with 2d6, this means certain success for most rolls.

A character with a skill of 7 has 7 points to spend.  So they can have one skill with a score of 11 or seven skills with a score of 8.  A score of 8 is not too great.  

Overpowered skills

Dodge

This skill is extremely powerful and versatile compared to most skills.

Getting out of the way goes a long way.

A dodge skill can be used to avoid certain spells instead of a test for luck.  Since you lose a luck point every time you test your luck, having the dodge skill saves luck points and makes dodging easy all of the time whereas if you test your luck to avoid a spell, then it becomes harder to dodge the next one.  

This helps in the first Dungeoneer adventure, Tower of the Sorcerer, where a hero has to dodge four 'force bolts' to get close to Xorton Throg.  

The dodge skill can also be used to increase a hero's attack strength for one round during combat.  The hero can roll his or her attack strength against their dodge skill rather than skill or weapon skill.  If they succeed, they can escape or attack with a +1 bonus the next round.  

If a hero has enough time and a high dodge skill, then they can fight with an effective +1 to their attack strength.

There are plenty of things to dodge and if you use this skill instead of a test for luck then you can dodge things all day (or until you fail or roll a double 6), avoid many spells and increase your attack strength in combat.

Strength

If you have one point in this skill, you deal one extra point of damage with each hit in combat.

Disarm

Two decapitations are
better than one.

Allows the hero to disarm their opponent, which reduces their skill by 4, a debilitating penalty in combat.  It will not work if the opponent is not armed and it is harder if they have strength or  disarm themselves, but if the hero also has strength and disarm then its a potent ability.

Two weapon fighting

Gives you two attacks.  I'm unclear as to whether you roll against this skill or your weapon skill with your second weapon, but if you fight with two daggers and have the dagger weapon skill then it solves that problem.

Awareness

Allows the hero to spot most traps, ambushes and secret doors.

Scouting

Hide, sneak and disguise all rolled into one as long as you are outdoors.

World Lore

Covers pretty much everything that isn't languages, etiquette or terrain lore. Not essential for survival but good 

Healing

Restores stamina points for no cost, though not as well as the stamina spell. Not essential but a 

nice add on.

Leadership and Con  

You '...can probably persuade anyone to do anything!' (Allansia pg 15) if you use both of these skills in conjunction. Indispensible if the campaign demands a lot of persuasion and interaction 

as opposed to just combat.

Overpowered minor magic spells

This is what Magic the
Gathering costs
stopping time.

Although they are supposed to have tiny effects and cost no stamina points, some of these

spells are pretty potent.  A hero can have as many minor spells as they have initial luck points.

Minor spells can be triggered with a moment's thought and a small gesture (Blacksand pg 35), so these minor spells could be obscene:

Hold it!

Freezes time for 2 seconds in a 5 metre radius, no saves. So every time you could lose an attack round, just freeze time and get out of the way.

Smudge

Can ruin a spellbook which may weaken an enemy sorcerer. However, it can be reversed, but it may buy time if the sorcerer only finds this out when you are attacking them.

                                                         Stutter

No bottle of water is safe now.

Stops someone casting a spell if they are reading it from a book or scroll from a range of 5 metres. Once again can ruin an enemy sorcerer's day.

Honesty

Touch someone if you suspect they're lying and they will instantly tell you the truth. However, this can be negated with a skill test or luck test.

Inebriate

Makes someone drunk at a touch or if they drink some liquid instilled with this spell, no save. Drunk characters suffer a -2 penalty in combat (Dungeoneer 167) and a -4 penalty to spellcasting (Dungeoneer pg 199).

Pucker

Unless the victim tests for luck (which bad guys can't do) they will pucker and can't drink potions. Not really a game breaker but might stop a bad guy healing themselves. 

Overpowered sorcery spells

Stamina

No spellcasting for you.

Allows you to restore your stamina to 1 below its initial level, almost completely negating the damage from any combat or from spellcasting. The new AFF will have magic points though which stops this little trick.

Tongue twister

Tangles an enemy's tongue from a distance - it says that it is especially useful against an enemy sorcerer, implying that they can't cast spells for the two minute duration of the spell. It can be avoided with a test for luck, but most enemies do not have a luck score.

Iron hand

Increases the hero's initial skill (and also special skills) by 1 point per stamina point put into the spell with not limits to how much you can put in.

                                                              Weakness

Glowing eyes? Light?  Farseeing?
Man, this guy was doomed.

Reduces an opponent's skill by 1-6. Iron hand is usually better as you know how many points your skill will increase but this can be good if you want opponents to fail a roll.

Summon

Thank god it takes 10 minutes per size category or this could have been obscene. 


If you know that you need something in advance and you have the time and a small piece of it, you can summon it. Therefore, a small bag of bits of item pieces becomes an armoury, a treasury, a stable, a granary and a storeroom for pretty much anything given the time. You can also summon people with it, making jail breaks easy peasy. 


And although it costs 10 stamina to summon a very large item, you can just cast the stamina spell and get it back.

Overpowered priest spells

Silence 

this also a pretty good anti sorcerer spell - however, that is a priest spell and so by having priest magic instead of mage stops you using iron hand, weakness and tongue twister, so it may not 
be worth it.








So there we go.  Next week, I'll post a few adventurers that I created...

Fighting Fantasy RPGS

Running a pet shop
on Titan can be a
nightmare.

In the month leading up to the release of second edition Advanced Fighting Fantasy, I'll be writing about roleplaying in Fighting Fantasy.

This first post will be about the previous role playing books and sourcebooks for Fighitng Fantasy.  Then I will focus on my wishlist for changes to the Advanced Fighting Fantasy system.

I did not come across Fighting Fantasy role playing until a few years after I had bought my first Fighting Fantasy book and since, when I was 11, I never looked at the years that books were published, I just assumed that the role playing game was natural evolution from lots of solo gamebooks.  However, I have only just realised that the first Fighting Fantasy role playing game, Fighting Fantasy - The Introductory Role Playing Game, was published in 1984 when the solo gamebook series contained only ten books.  

Adventurers can fight
monsters, get treasure
or just hang with
these guys.

The rules did not expand on solo Fighting Fantasy very much.  The adventurers' characteristics were skill, stamina and luck and most situations were determined by either a test against skill, test against luck or by the games master determining what the chances of something happening out of 6.  


There are two adventures in the book, The Wishing Well and the longer Shaggradd's Hives of Peril.  Both of them are dungeon crawls through a mish mash of illogical encounters.  However, some thought has been put into making them interesting.  For example, there is a room in Shaggradd's hive where if you say that something will happen, then it will happen.  There is also an endless tunnel in the wishing well and a trap which makes zombies appear out of thin air.  

The first Fighting Fantasy role playing book did not add a great deal to Fighitng Fantasy, but it did start the ball rolling.  In 1986, another role playing book, The Riddling Reaver was published.  

He wants to get
something off
his chest.

In terms of rules, the Riddling Reaver added more to the basic Fighitng Fantasy system.  It added variable damage for weapons, unconsciousness ( a hero is now unconscious when their stamina reaches 0, mortally wounded if their stamina reaches -1 which means that they can be revived with potions or spells and they only die when their stamina reaches -2), mighty strike (when a character rolls a double 6 for their attack strength, they automatically reduce their opponent's stamina to -1) and magic.  


One character was allowed to cast the spells from Citadel of Chaos, but their skill was 1d6 + 4 rather than 1d6 + 6 and  their stamina was 14, the minimum.  Spellcasting was not guarented to work.  If they roll higher than their magic score on three dice then their spell will fail or misfire, depending on the gamemasters's (GM's)  decision.

The concert was
rocking.

The adventurers are also set up differently - they terms used are scenes and acts as if the players are in a film.  
There are four scenes in the Riddling Reaver, each one in a different location and with a different aim.  The encounters are varied but more logical (well as far as the Rever's mind is logical) and builds up to a climax where the heroes somehow have to fight their way through a huge army of jelly coated skeletons (known as replicanths) in order to stop the Reaver destroying the pendulum of fate and disrupting the balance of good and evil.  


I never had a group to play it with, but my plan would have involved the beserk armour machine.  That would have made short work of the replicanths.  

They said that the
neighbourhood was rough
but you never expected this.

In 1985, a sourcebook was published.  This was called Out of the Pit and it contained details of 250 monsters which could be encountered in Titan.

I enjoyed reading the entries about the monsters.  I also enjoyed getting the additional information in terms of their intelligence, numbers and where you would find them.  It was a nice monster manual.

In 1986, Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World was published which told many stories of the history of Titan and some of its bigger personalities such as Lord Azzur, Nicodemus, The Healer, Yaztromo and the Demonic Three.

Cats bring you mice.
Dragons bring you knights.

I enjoyed reading these stories as they gave me material to work on my own stories in the Fighting Fantasy world.

It also had maps of the continents (discussed in more detail here and here)

along with nice details such as festivals, drinks, prices and how to travel around Titan.  It really fleshed out the world of Fighting Fantasy.

The wizard missed
the mouth.

There were no more books to do with the fighting Fantasy role playing game, but in 1989, the first Advanced Fighting Fantasy book, Dungeoneer was published.  


It contains many new rules - the introduction of special skills, new spells that use stamina and also a more detailed description of many situations.  It also contains two adventures presented as movies where the gamesmaster is now the director and the adventure is split into scenes.  It is easy to tell that the rules from the Riddling Reaver were a prototype for this new system.  I enjoyed the light hearted way that the adventures and rules were presented.  

He got the mouth that
time.

Will he get the mouth
this time?

In 1990, Blacksand!  was published which expanded on the rules of Dungeoneer with new skills, minor magic, priest magic and city generation tables.  It also describes many people and locations in the city of Blacksand and ends with a new adventure.  








Then, in 1994, Allansia was released which, as well as new skills and new spells, it included rules on surviving and travelling in the different outdoor environments in Allansia.  


I love all of the books, but the Advanced Fighting system has a few big flaws and I will highlight these in my next few posts in the lead up to the release of Advanced Fighting Fantasy 2nd edition.