JRPG is a notoriously difficult and occasionally offensive genre to pin down. Though the term was originally an acronym for “Japanese Roleplaying Game,” meant to delineate between American exploration-centric computer RPGs and the flashy turn-based console RPGs often produced by Japanese game studios, the enormous swath of media that the term now encompasses isn’t easily constrained to a core set of rules or narrative conceits. Core to series like Final Fantasy and Fire Emblem is the creation of a party with unique, complementary abilities and personalities. Heroes like Cloud and Lyn are grounded in their world by the bonds they share with their adventuring party, and the abilities that make them unique. In that sense especially, Fabula Ultima is a fantastic vehicle for the collective empowerment fantasy that JRPGs provide, porting some of my favorite mechanics from the genre into tabletop play—

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A la carte character creation

Rather than a D&D-esque class structure, Fabula Ultima follows in the footsteps of games like Final Fantasy XII, which treat the class system like a menu to order from. A starting character gets 5 points to distribute across up to 5 of 100 individual abilities from up to 3 classes, resulting in literal millions of unique starting builds. While that sounds overwhelming, Fabula Ultima includes a handy set of quickstart templates that also make great examples for how to think about character creation.

Cliches are cliche for a reason 

Systems like Monster of the week or Die use a prompt-driven session zero to give the players additional insight into the various characters at the table and how they might relate to one another. I love these games, but the result tends to be a more grounded, less theatrical dynamic between characters, which just wouldn’t fit the JRPG genre. By contrast, Fabula Ultima invites you to create the kind of immediately recognizable archetypes that pop up in games like Dragon Quest or Octopath Traveler. Be a “Charming Diplomat without a homeland” or a “Wanted Gunslinger from the future.” In my experience these caricatures ultimately encourage players to take big swings on characterization, even when they sit down at the table as strangers. More earnest character moments will come with time, as the players feel out the nuances of their characters.

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Failing forwards

Fabula Points are multi-use narrative limit breaks best used in high-stakes moments, and they feel great to use. Unlike D&D where inspiration offers a re-roll with or without narrative flavor, Fabula Points rely on narrative positioning to be used. They represent the anime-esque moments where your character is pushed to their limit and must go beyond what they were capable of, invoking the traits or bonds that propel their characters forwards in the story, or activating an ability that’s too powerful to come for free. The primary way that players earn Fabula Points is through failing, and because characters level up by spending Fabula points, there’s a neat bit of tech where failing is an essential component to growth, which narratively feels like it occurs after the failure, when Fabula Points are spent.

Fabula points can also be spent by players to help color in the narrative of the world, setting up details or twists of fate, which has a cinematic feeling all its own. Think Marty McFly failing the dex check to avoid falling off the balcony, only to immediately spend a Fabula Point to ask the GM whether it makes sense for Doc Brown to be waiting just below with the DeLorean.

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Variety is the spice of life

The unique abilities, traits, and bonds that each character brings to the table are really what make Fabula Ultima such a joy to play. Cloud Strife, Sora, and Shulk may be fuzzy-headed, signature sword-wielding protagonists but they act and feel radically different, and they inhabit radically different worlds. Fabula Ultima is such a triumph because it never feels the same way twice, and yet it always succeeds at capturing that JRPG je nais se quois. Whether running the game or playing it, Fabula Ultima is a true delight, for die-hard JRPG fans, or just folks looking for a flashy, fun, player-driven TTRPG.

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