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Fabula Ultima wins Gold Best Game and Silver Best Product at Ennies 2023!

Hi, everyone!This is an important post, and I decided to start things off with a video - the one I recorded so that I could give my thanks to the GenCon2023 Ennies Awards audience, had Fabula Ultima managed to win any awards (I was unable to attend personally due to excessive travel and stay costs, which put the publisher in a rough spot).Now, what I certainly didn't expect, especially in the context of a competition where community vote matters so much, was for the game to score not one, but two awards, and for those awards to be Gold and ...

Mini Khemia! (v1.1)

Hello hello hello!Some of you might know that I'm a bit of an Atelier fan, especially the Dusk trilogy and Atelier Sophie :DIn fact, one of my long term projects, Time of the Essence, is pretty much based upon the Atelier formula. BUT that's something that will come online in the future, not now, and since another of my major passions is minimal TRPGs, I've made this little thing called Mini Khemia (yes it's a play on words with Mana Khemia, Gust don't sue me pls).It's poker sized, it's cute, it might even work, and ...

Business Card RPG: 99 DAYS

Hello hello!So, as I manage the next Fabula Ultima playtest update and work on UnGodly, I've had this sudden urge to try and make a Persona 5 - inspired rpg on a business card.This was largely due to Luca Negri's work on SCRAPCAT, a business card-sized rpg. Luca is also the author of the amazing illustration you see above, and you should REALLY go follow his work (on itch.io and instagram).Below you can find an English version and an Italian version! Hope you have some fun with it :)

Broken Binary V2 + Critical Conditions!

Hi everyone!I recently watched Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, and it gave me the push to do something I'd been wanting to do for a while - a second version of Broken Binary, as well as a spin-off title from the perspective of runners and rogue in its futuristic metropolis.So there you have it - two minimalistic games (as well as a printer friendly version of the normally full-black Critical Conditions).By the way, Edgerunners is a damn good show, angry and colorful and terrifying and brutally honest in all the right spots. Recommended!

Fighting Hearts: Overdrive! [WIP]

Howdy howdy howdy!Hope you're all doing well, or at least as well as one can given the scorching heat and general mess we live in.Today I want to share with you a work in progress file for a little project called Fighting Hearts: Overdrive! ("Martial Hearts" was already taken, unfortunately). It's going to be a hybrid board game/roleplaying game themed around 1 on 1 fighting games (Street Fighter, King of Fighters, Darkstalkers, Guilty Gear, you name it). The character options are abstract, so you are encouraged to rename them a...

Optional Rule: Technospheres!

Cover GIF image from Final Fantasy X-2Hello folks!Today I wanted to share a couple pdf files with you: the rules (in English and Italian) for Technospheres, an optional equipment and class system inspired by FFVII's Materia, Orbments from the Trails Series, Dresspheres from FFX-2, and more.They're quite the hefty option, and they actually build upon (and require) the use of Custom Weapons, which are yet another optional rule.Technospheres will soon make their way into the full playtest document, but there's stiiiiill a couple things...

Fabula Ultima is IoGioco's "Best Tabletop RPG in Italy 2021"

Let's celebrate, everyone!!!Fabula Ultima's core book has won first place in the surveys conducted by Italian specialized magazine IoGioco (lit. "I play"), in the Best Tabletop RPG Product category!I absolutely want to thank all of you (patrons and non-patrons, veterans and newcomers) for supporting me, providing feedback, and enduring my countless changes, adjustments, and iterations.These are tough years for everyone. Doesn't look like things will get any easier moving forward. So do know this: every little bit counts.Than...

Time of the Essence Project, Reworked

Hi everyone!A bit of a lengthy post today, but I wanted to write a bit about Time of the Essence and where it's headed (I know I've been kinda silent about it for a while, but not for lack of activity on my part).After the pandemic and the Italian release of Fabula Ultima, I've had to re-evaluate my view of games; not only what they can do (and how I want to experiment with them), but also their production, distribution, and structure.Time of the Essence started as a tabletop RPG with a GM and 1+ Character Players, with a crafting d...

Clock-based Combat Speed for OSR RPGs

Howdy everyone!As i develop the rules and materials for Time of the Essence, I've had this cool little idea for combat speeds in OSR (or at least, most OSR games).Now, weapon speeds and "speed factors" have always been a bit of a sore spot in RPGs - some people spend a lot of time trying to implement them, others say there's no need for them in a highly abstract-combat game (which early D&D and most OSR clones are).Me, I don't really care for either position - but I do like experimenting with ideas and mechanics, and I simpl...

Happy Winter Holidays! (...and a Boss!)

Greetings, everyone!Just wanted to wish you all happy winter holidays.These are tough years (tougher than normal!) and we all need some time to rest, breathe, and hopefully have some fun with the people we hold dear.I also must thank all of you, guests new and old, for supporting my efforts and making our community lively; you might not realize it, but you are a big help... in a variety of ways, economic and otherwise.Attached below you can also find a little gift: a winter-themed level 20 boss, with instructions on how to adapt her to be level...

Pokémon-themed Fabula Ultima: an experiment

Disclaimer: this whole thing is 100% unofficial content, I have zero ownership of anything Pokémon related and there is no "secret Pokémon project" behind the scenes, let's be clear! The image above is from Pokémon Let's go Eevee/Pikachu.Howdy, you wonderful people!Today's post was inspired by a short Fabula Ultima campaign currently being run by a friend of mine, Alex Grisafi, who is a long-time Pokémon fan and author of the Pokémon Noir role-playing game (the Italian website for this fanmade game can be found here; it...

UnGodly Tarot Charts

Hello!I know it's been a long time since UnGodly (formerly Zodiac Echoes) saw progress, but I don't want you to think I haven't thought about it - in fact, I was able to squeeze in some design work in the last month, though it's only in pencil note form for now.Mainly, I've been working on a system that regulates dungeon exploration through its own action economy (if you're used to traditional rpg systems, you could think of it as "always being in combat/turn order). The basis is the FPS System, but there's quite...

Fabula Ultima at Free RPG Day 2021!

Just a quick reminder that the Press Start tutorial scenario for Fabula Ultima will be available in physical form for Free RPG Day 2021!!!For more info: https://www.freerpgday.com/

[ITA] Preordini Disponibili per Fabula Ultima!

Da qui fino al 6 Agosto 2021, sarà possibile preordinare la versione softcover e hardcover di Fabula Ultima dal negozio online di Need Games!Le due versioni sono in formato A5 e hanno i medesimi contenuti interni, ma la softcover ha copertina morbida e sovracopertina illustrata, mentre la hardcover è contenuta in una slipcase cartonata.Entrambe le versioni consentono immediatamente di redimere un codice per la versione digitale completa del manuale e giocare fin da subito!!!Illustrazione di copertina di Moryo.

[ITA] Sito Ufficiale di Fabula Ultima e Quickstart!

Un brevissimo post per comunicarvi che il sito dedicato a Fabula Ultima è ora online:www.fabulaultima.itPotete trovare la versione italiana della Quickstart e iniziare a giocare fin da subito!!

Full Party Strike! System

Hi everyone!Attached to this post you can find the pdf document for the Full Party Strike System, which anyone can use as a base to design action-oriented, beat 'em up-like tabletop games. It draws inspiration from many titles, among which figure Hades, Borderlands, Dragon's Crown, Metal Slug, Persona 5: Strikers and more.The Full Party Strike system is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) License.This basically means you can fully copy and reuse the contents of the FPS rules framew...

SWORD MAIDEN!

Hi everyone! Today I have a little gift for you.You see, about a year ago, while discussing gacha games, I said that I have a weak spot for female-presenting characters who fight with swords. Jokingly, some of my patrons (you know who you are!) told me I now had to write a game about sword waifus.Well, it's not called sword waifu and it's probably much more serious than those patron expected, but here it is: a two-player game where one person plays a Maiden and another plays an intelligent Sword.All you need is a classic set of domino t...

Time of the Essence Progress!

Howdy!Today I wanted to share my current design for the crafting process in Time of the Essence - I'm structuring the layout and rules to make them as simple as possible, so that each group can abundantly experiment without it being completely freeform.The game will also include options for customizing the workshop, as well as "story projects" that go beyond the base recipes in the book - such as crafting a wagon or a cottage. These will mainly be handled through negotiation within the group, and require a longer amount of time.Does...

Some Ryuutama Homebrew

Most of you probably know that Ryuutama was the basis to Fabula Ultima's system; still, every now and then I enjoy homebrewing some custom classes for the game.Below you can find the beggar and maid classes, which I developed as a result of conversations in the Ryuutama discord - hopefully you like them! I really want to play a maid PC in a campaign now... >_> Beggar Class Maid ClassIf you want to know more about Ryuutama, check out the Kotodama Heavy Industries website!

Fabula Ultima QuickStart - in progress!

Greetings everyone!I have received permission from Fabula Ultima's publisher, Need Games!, to share with you the development of the quickstart document for Fabula Ultima - it will be released much later this year, but it was really important for me to get something into your hands as soon as possible!Today I'll start by showing you how I want to structure the character sheets - the scenario will feature four characters, and teach the basic elements of the rules scene after scene. Our goal, since the game is heavily connected to videogam...

Time of the Essence: Rules Development Doc!

Hello everyone!Yesterday I figured that the 30+ pages of pencil notes and diagrams on my notebook doesn't exactly allow me to share much of the process with you - and that trying to do layout for everything was putting way too much pressure on me (it's a tough period, with plenty of work and very little sleep/rest).So I decided to start a Google Doc for Time of the Essence, where I can show you the direction of the ruleset without worrying too much about making it look pretty :)You can find the document here (and it's inside the Tim...

Fabula Ultima: Updated Playtest Materials Repository

Hello everyone!From now on, this post will be used as a general repository for the latest playtest materials for Fabula Ultima - new classes, heroic skills, options and more.These contents will be posted as attachments and marked with a date, so that you may always check whether you have the most recent version of them.Want to discuss your experience with the playtest? Come say hello on Discord!_____Last Updated / Ultimo Aggiornamento: May 6th, 2024Starting with the October 25th, 2021 update, all playtest materials will be bundled in a single f...

Achievement-Based Talents for Knave

Much like my previous experiment with Demon Contracts, here's my take on achievement-based progression for Questing Beast's Knave, which I'm currently playing (my PC, Amelia, might actually make it to level 2!)How do these work?Simply put, when you level up you may gain one of the Talents below, assuming you meet the Requirement. Each Talent can be taken only once, although some can be lost and then acquired again.BOUND SPELLBOOKRequirement: Must own at least three spellbooks.Effect: You choose one spellbook you own. From now on, yo...

Fabula Ultima Class Playtest: Symphonist

Happy New Year, everyone!For a long while, I wanted to make a music-based class for Fabula Ultima - I had several drafts, but eventually I opted for the Dancer, since it was a fan-favorite concept.I really wanted to do a singing themed class, but the two were a bit too similar and I didn't want to get a redundant design in your hands. So the Symphonist simply got stored away into a drawer of my mind, where I was afraid it would stay for a long while.Then, a certain character came out in Genshin Impact - Xinyan. She's a rocker and a clay...

Merry Christmas!!!

Just a quick post to wish you all a happy winter holiday!Please make sure to stay safe and enjoy the company of your loved ones responsibly ʕ•ᴥ•ʔAs for announcements, we've recently had an influx of new patrons, so I want to say welcome to the new arrivals, and also thank you for the veteran supporters. We're also moving closer to our first patreon goal!!!Please remember that if you still need to pick up the Fabula Ultima core book, you can still do so until the end of this year - don't forget!A big big big hug to all of you...

Gourmet, Reworked!

Hello everyone!Just a quick early access post here to inform you that the fan-favorite class, the Gourmet, has been extensively reworked with the aid of the community (special thanks go to Gyromitre, Alena, Deshter, Cryo, Gatto_Fatuo).And if you haven't done so yet, check out the amazing manga Dungeon Meshi, which was a major inspiration for this class <3

Fabula Ultima: Rule Updates and Core Book Reminder

Greetings, everyone!We're coming to the end of a very tough year, and my heart goes out to all of you. I want you to know that your support and participation might very well be what has kept me going this year - without it, I don't think I would have made it this far without saying "screw it all!"We may not be close friends in real life, but please know that you are important and that your presence, whether big or small, has made a difference.I am writing this update to remind all of you that the 2.9.4 core book files for Fabula...

Time of the Essence

HELLOOOOO!It's been a while since the last post, although many of you no doubt have kept in touch with me via the Italian Telegram Chat and our Discord server!Just wanted to make a little announcement/presentation about one of the projects I'm working on while Fabula moves to its new print form - Time of the Essence.For those of you who are familiar with crafting JRPG games such as Atelier, you already know what this will be about: apprentice alchemists growing and experimenting as they help people solve daily and not-so-daily issues.Co...

Fabula Ultima to be published by Need Games!

And finally, cat's out the bag!Today, Italian TRPG publisher Need Games (translators and distributors of titles such as Seventh Sea, Adventures in Middle Earth, The Witcher RPG, Cyberpunk Red and more) announced a physical release of Fabula Ultima for November 2021.This will be an international release, starting with English and Italian and possibly continuing with several other languages; we have hired incredibly talented artists among which are Moryo, Catthy Trinh (author of the two illustrations you see here) and Sascha Naderer (whose pi...

OVER ARMS ON KICKSTARTER!

And it's already funded!This is a game that I haven't personally designed (the author is Cory T. Burns), but I'm the one who took care of the graphic and layout aspect - from the book, to the character sheets, to the condition cards.If you're a fan of Persona, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and of similar media in which characters are accompanied and fight alongside powerful expressions of their own self, check out Over Arms on Kickstarter now!! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rookiejet/over-arms