FF at the tabletop

[pouncingpanda]

Hiya,

I'm a big fan of tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, with Fighting Fantasy having been my "gateway drug".

So, I'm interested in whether or how people have used stuff from the FF books in a TT RPG.  Could be a scene, idea, story, character, picture - whatever!  What worked well?  What worked less well?

I can start: I wholesale stole the scene from Dead of Night where you defend a farmhouse from some marauding SKELETONS.  In the book, it's a bit of a mini-game.  I used it in a gothic D&D game, using a map of the farmhouse and making it clear to the players that the real challenge was protecting the farmers, not surviving the encounters themselves.  It was a blast, really tense!

A friend used Port Blacksand as the setting for a traditional D&D game and it remained as strong as ever.  There was just so much to do!

As for stuff that worked less well - I've tried using the surreal stuff from Spectral Stalkers and it bombed!  Also think that "puzzle challenges" like the Bloodbeast in Deathtrap Dungeon would work less well with multiple players, but I could be wrong.

How about YOU?

[bloodbeasthandler]

I have played most of the FF adventures unadapted. That's to say we stuck to standard FF for Wishing Well and Riddling Reaver and AFF for Dungeoneer and Blacksand and I enjoyed it. I GMed Shaggradd's Hives of Peril a few years ago for my children and they liked it, there were some memorable set-piece encounters in it.

But that's not what you're asking.
I'm not a big roleplayer at all these days, but I can see that the AFF Blacksand book is full of ideas for source material for a D&D campaign. There are so many 'hooks' in there.

[sylas]

Way back in school, I proposed the idea involving world-hopping with a party of heroes from various times and realms - an idea I also 'borrowed' from Spectral Stalkers. At the time, we were using the RPG system GURPS which, in comparison to FF, is quite in depth and complex. It worked incredibly well and each session we would have a different Gamesmaster running their own world for the other heroes to play in.

Nowadays, I use generic fantasy settings for RPG sessions but I do try to incorporate FF elements into my campaigns, mainly the monsters, and I've featured creatures such as the Chattermatter from Creature of Havoc, the Cauldron Lizard from Revenge of the Vampire, and even Rat Men based on the Deathtrap Dungeon computer game. I'm mostly a D&D4e player though as I can't find other FF players nearby.

[pouncingpanda]

Wow, the Chattermatter! Good call!

Would love to dust off the two Dungeoneer adventures in 5e, especially for younger players.

[slloyd14]

May 20, 2022 12:09:39 GMT pouncingpanda said:

Hiya,

I'm a big fan of tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, with Fighting Fantasy having been my "gateway drug".

So, I'm interested in whether or how people have used stuff from the FF books in a TT RPG.  Could be a scene, idea, story, character, picture - whatever!  What worked well?  What worked less well?

I can start: I wholesale stole the scene from Dead of Night where you defend a farmhouse from some marauding SKELETONS.  In the book, it's a bit of a mini-game.  I used it in a gothic D&D game, using a map of the farmhouse and making it clear to the players that the real challenge was protecting the farmers, not surviving the encounters themselves.  It was a blast, really tense!

A friend used Port Blacksand as the setting for a traditional D&D game and it remained as strong as ever.  There was just so much to do!

As for stuff that worked less well - I've tried using the surreal stuff from Spectral Stalkers and it bombed!  Also think that "puzzle challenges" like the Bloodbeast in Deathtrap Dungeon would work less well with multiple players, but I could be wrong.

How about YOU?

Greywood Publishing made some FF books into DnD 3rd edition scenarios - www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/2377/Greywood-Publishing/subcategory/4451_4673/FIGHTING-FANTASY

Also, Arion Games has made Warlock, Citadel and Sorcery! into Advanced Fighting Fantasy scenarios - www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/667/Arion-Games/subcategory/1684_25223/Advanced-Fighting-Fantasy

[pouncingpanda]

Has anyone played the FF adaptations for D&D? My only experience in them was an episode of the Fear of a Black Dragon podcast where they tore the Warlock of Firestop Mountain module to shreds!

[sylas]

I'm starting to wonder whether anyone in the world actually runs FF or AFF roleplaying campaigns. All the ones I've read about seem to be D&D adaptations using FF elements but not the system.

[CharlesX]

May 13, 2023 19:15:02 GMT sylas said:

I'm starting to wonder whether anyone in the world actually runs FF or AFF roleplaying campaigns. All the ones I've read about seem to be D&D adaptations using FF elements but not the system.

Might explain why just three people have voted and no comments other than the opening one in my sci-fi FF RPG thread in the advanced FF RPG section.

   FF RPG = very rare.

   Sci-fi FF RPG = Very, very rare.

I knew some mates who ran the entire basic FF RPG books back at university so that's an entire group of several people in the world who play FF RPG  . My understanding is basic FF suffers from being simplistic, and (I don't doubt people will challenge me on this) imo the starting books aren't brilliantly written, while advanced FF just isn't as competitive\developed as RPGs with a similar audience, chiefly Warhammer FRPG, and even the later version of advanced FF struggles getting the experience system aright. I suspect some people house rule that and other things in FF RPG.

[a moderator]

The simplicity can be regarded as a positive. Way back in the 1990s a friend of mine ran a campaign for some family members who were curious about RPGs, and he chose to use AFF at least partially because the players had no trouble getting their heads around the rules.

[Pete Byrdie]

May 15, 2023 16:46:22 GMT a moderator said:

The simplicity can be regarded as a positive. Way back in the 1990s a friend of mine ran a campaign for some family members who were curious about RPGs, and he chose to use AFF at least partially because the players had no trouble getting their heads around the rules.

I do remember back in the day we played the adventures in the first two AFF books, and suddenly had a lot of players from our peripheral friends who'd seen us roleplay many times but didn't have the patience for D&D, Warhammer or even Vampire: The Masquerade. I suspect we sorted their characters out but they picked it up quickly, and our table had never been more crowded.

[sylas]

Simplicity is definitely one of FF's biggest strengths. The more complicated, abundant and tedious the rules become, the less it feels like the FF system and more inclined to other popular rpgs. So the question quickly becomes, why should I play AFF if I feel other systems have proven to do it better?

This is why I believe Fighting Fantasy (weretiger one) and The Riddling Reaver work far better as the FF system than any AFF contribution. They are simple enough, have there own uniqueness, easy to learn and run, and most importantly, still feel like you're playing Fighting Fantasy in a group. Isn't that all we ever wanted?

[CharlesX]

May 16, 2023 15:33:03 GMT sylas said:

Simplicity is definitely one of FF's biggest strengths. The more complicated, abundant and tedious the rules become, the less it feels like the FF system and more inclined to other popular rpgs. So the question quickly becomes, why should I play AFF if I feel other systems have proven to do it better?

This is why I believe Fighting Fantasy (weretiger one) and The Riddling Reaver work far better as the FF system than any AFF contribution. They are simple enough, have there own uniqueness, easy to learn and run, and most importantly, still feel like you're playing Fighting Fantasy in a group. Isn't that all we ever wanted?

In the case of basic FF it has the same flaws as solo FF, chiefly a big gameplay character generation imbalance, in particular about Skill. I also think the magic system isn't solid\strong enough. Off-the-top-of-my-head, I think the Maelstrom one (in which the more unlikely an event is, the harder and more draining it is to cast) is a good one, but might not be too applicable to the FF universe. Also I HATE the writing in Riddling Reaver for its linearity and treating the Riddling Reaver like a Batman TV foe.

   Advanced FF would be a fine concept as it would let parties explore Allansia alongside the worlds of Warhammer, Tolkien and Gygax, but the mechanics haven't been right. I'd rather house rule a mix of basic FF, advanced FF, some other RPG and modules other than the most basic or the Dungeoneer-Blacksand-Allansia, and get some flavour of the world.

   It's horses-for-courses but basic systems also have their drawbacks, mainly the feeling that without some flesh on the bones of characters and setting games can feel like a video game or a TV show. If your message is about 'trying too hard' I think I'd rather play a GURPS Doctor Who game than Timelord, and I wonder whether an FF one would work? 

[sylas]

May 16, 2023 19:22:43 GMT CharlesX said:

May 16, 2023 15:33:03 GMT sylas said:

Simplicity is definitely one of FF's biggest strengths. The more complicated, abundant and tedious the rules become, the less it feels like the FF system and more inclined to other popular rpgs. So the question quickly becomes, why should I play AFF if I feel other systems have proven to do it better?

This is why I believe Fighting Fantasy (weretiger one) and The Riddling Reaver work far better as the FF system than any AFF contribution. They are simple enough, have there own uniqueness, easy to learn and run, and most importantly, still feel like you're playing Fighting Fantasy in a group. Isn't that all we ever wanted?

In the case of basic FF it has the same flaws as solo FF, chiefly a big gameplay character generation imbalance, in particular about Skill. I also think the magic system isn't solid\strong enough. Off-the-top-of-my-head, I think the Maelstrom one (in which the more unlikely an event is, the harder and more draining it is to cast) is a good one, but might not be too applicable to the FF universe. Also I HATE the writing in Riddling Reaver for its linearity and treating the Riddling Reaver like a Batman TV foe.

   Advanced FF would be a fine concept as it would let parties explore Allansia alongside the worlds of Warhammer, Tolkien and Gygax, but the mechanics haven't been right. I'd rather house rule a mix of basic FF, advanced FF, some other RPG and modules other than the most basic or the Dungeoneer-Blacksand-Allansia, and get some flavour of the world.

   It's horses-for-courses but basic systems also have their drawbacks, mainly the feeling that without some flesh on the bones of characters and setting games can feel like a video game or a TV show. If your message is about 'trying too hard' I think I'd rather play a GURPS Doctor Who game than Timelord, and I wonder whether an FF one would work? 

Since I love The Riddling Reaver it seems like our views on the basic FF system are going to differ greatly. I was trying to say I liked FF more when it was that basic little system that created its own charming uniqueness by being different from other RPGs. AFF has far too many details to keep track of whether you're a player or especially as the DM. I found it incredibly difficult to run AFF adventures simply because I couldn't keep track of everything and the rulebook isn't the best either if I wanted to quickly look up how certain actions were performed. There are minute rules for everything yet it's not presented in a way that makes it intuitive. Details are important and create a lot of variety but here it feels like they're getting in the way of having fun.

I will agree that the way Skill works is a huge imbalance to gameplay and not one I can rectify easily without having a few house rules. I normally resort to using point-buy character creation and adding a WITS attribute so that not every roll is based on Skill. A blend of FF and AFF works much better than primarily AFF imo, but that's not what AFF is trying to be.