Quick question of opinion: if you were going to run a game set in the Fable universe and wanted PCs to be Heros with unique properties while NPCs use regular rules what would you do?
Use Mythic tiers or have the party gestalt? I feel conflicted on the issue. While that games have shown many Heroes are paragons of one discipline (Strength, Guile, or Will), I wonder if gestating will let my players let them create a more varied (and thus potent) character. Thoughts?
I would stay away from mythic tiers if you're trying to recreate fable heroes. That's a great way to mimic Marvel Super Heroes, but not fable heroes.
Honestly I don't know off the top of my head. I would probably use the classes of the Advanced Class Guide (I think that's what it's called)
to give it a different feel.
I would stay away from mythic tiers if you're trying to recreate fable heroes. That's a great way to mimic Marvel Super Heroes, but not fable heroes.
Honestly I don't know off the top of my head. I would probably use the classes of the Advanced Class Guide (I think that's what it's called)
to give it a different feel.
Hmm, not sure I agree that is the best approach. I personally only find a few of the classes in the ACG fun to play, and my players are likely to feel more distant from them then me (I have one player who's only ever played either a gunslinger, witch, or inquisitor, and he doesn't seem keen on changing).
I suppose the matter I face is this:
Gestalt- Players will be stronger and far more varied than the common folk, and will allow a better chance to mimic the customization of the franchise.
Mythic- Players will be far stronger than the common people and better represent the 'paragons' often seen in the Fable lore. In the games most of the powerful Hero NPCs are specialists in one field and Mythic would better represent this, as well as serve as a thematic source of 'this is why we are above mere mortals, hence the hero title'.
Only problem is I am not sure which to implement. I do feel though the ACG won't fill either role though, but thanks for the suggestion.
I suppose the question would be - are your players supposed to pic a Fable character and develop them within the Pathfinder Rules set to the best of their ability or are they creating 'new' Fables meant to experience the Fables universe?
The other question would be are you using Fabletown or are they supposed to be in the time before that of fighting against the Adversary? (I'm only about 5 graphic novels into the comic myself).
Regardless I don't think there's an easy answer here. The approach I would take is that you're going to need to bend the rules a bit for each character. If they're creating storybook Fable characters of renown then they should each have their own specialty based on their own legends.
For example "Jack of the Tales" is cursed to be unable to see the consequences of his actions, but will always act in what seems to be the best payoff in the short term. His story "power" I would say is that he is always lucky enough to get through the trouble he causes
So if someone were to play "Jack" you could give them a particular 'Hindrance' to coin a Savage Worlds phrase that he should be playing to his character's weakness when it comes to making decisions. The benefit of this would be to give him extra 'luck' such as either a Paladin's charisma bonus to his saves or have him start with an Extra Hero Point every session or simply *give* him a Hero Point everytime he makes a short-sighted decision.
Hope this rambling helps and I look forward to what you come up with.
I suppose the question would be - are your players supposed to pic a Fable character and develop them within the Pathfinder Rules set to the best of their ability or are they creating 'new' Fables meant to experience the Fables universe?
The other question would be are you using Fabletown or are they supposed to be in the time before that of fighting against the Adversary? (I'm only about 5 graphic novels into the comic myself).
Regardless I don't think there's an easy answer here. The approach I would take is that you're going to need to bend the rules a bit for each character. If they're creating storybook Fable characters of renown then they should each have their own specialty based on their own legends.
For example "Jack of the Tales" is cursed to be unable to see the consequences of his actions, but will always act in what seems to be the best payoff in the short term. His story "power" I would say is that he is always lucky enough to get through the trouble he causes
So if someone were to play "Jack" you could give them a particular 'Hindrance' to coin a Savage Worlds phrase that he should be playing to his character's weakness when it comes to making decisions. The benefit of this would be to give him extra 'luck' such as either a Paladin's charisma bonus to his saves or have him start with an Extra Hero Point every session or simply *give* him a Hero Point everytime he makes a short-sighted decision.
Hope this rambling helps and I look forward to what you come up with.
Thank you for the feedback but I do believe you and I are referring to two different Fables.
I am talking about the one that takes place in the land of Albion, where a human with ability to use Will (read as 'magic') defeated a group of three god-like beings called the Court. The human became known as the Archon, became immortal, a proceeded to have many children, grandchildren, and so one. These descendants become the Heroes of Albion following a age of crisis and over time their presence has waxed and waned.
In the first game, set in a very Feudal setting, Heroes wer everywhere thanks to a Guild that sponsored them and gave them training from a young age. In this one the last surviving member of the Court, Jack of Blades, resurfaces in an attempt to end the Archon's line and restore a very potent weapon called the Sword of Aeons.
In the second game, set long after the first and during a time of progress, you play one the last people with a lineage to the Archon; following the first game people blamed the Heroes as the source of the destruction that occurred (Jack had been pretending to be a Hero prior to the events of Fable, so most of the common people believed he was a normal Hero who went power hungry).
And in the third game you play the child of the second game's protagonist during a new industrial age. In this one your brother and acting king is a despot that you lead the revolt against only to learn a terrible secret: you're brother was an ass but only because of a great threat that was looming over the horizon. Through the game you go on an adventure similar to one your brother carried out and through it you meet a creature called the Crawler, something that may or may not be the embodiment of Darkness, and learn it decimated an exotic land some years ago and has the same goals in store for Albion. After dethroning your brother you have a choice- become the kind of king people want you to be and spoil them but in doing so not prepare them for a shadowy apocalypse. Or be a despot too to raise enough resources to combat the Crawler.
My Fable game will take place immediately after the events of the third with the PCs playing orphans from the Crawlers rampage across the land. Following sometime they come into contact with a old object that releases the dormant abilities of the Archon, making them a new generation of Heroes. The only think I can't decide is if mythic better represents this, or if gestalt all-in-all will create a closer feeling to the game for the players (again, most PCs in Fable end up being Jacks of All Trades, but NPC Heroes are almost always masters of either combat, magic, or cunning).
If you're going to use Mythic tiers, use only couple or so. If you go as high as 6, you might find your players jumping miles in the air and/or causing craters from a single melee attack (not an exaggeration).
In fable you can easly max out each of the 3 category before the final boss.
Fable char can heal, cast meteor swarms in full plate, use multiattack, DD, 2 handed weapon, teleport and whatever. They are probably all some kind of gish, either EK or magus. To make things more interesting i suggest make them gestalt. I don't think mythic is appropriate since Fable heroes are just very broad in they breath of skills, but are not outstanding for pathfinder standards in what they actually do.
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I've played in a Fable game before that used the Pathfinder system. I played a fighter, with plans to multiclass as a fighter/wizard/eldritch knight. Note: With the "Nature Soul" and "Animal Ally" feats, one can emulate a Fable II hero pretty well as any class.
One thing I think that would work well to create a Fable atmosphere would be a revised magic system. Essentially, borrow the mechanics used for psionics (power points) and apply them to spells. Maybe merge the sorcerer and wizard, or simply use the upcoming arcanist in place of the two, since Fable will-users didn't really "prepare" spells, but seemed to benefit from learning (hence the presence of a Hero's Guild).
Fighter = Hero of Might
Rogue = Hero of Skill
Arcanist = Hero of Will
Multiclass to get a "hero" as per the video game series. Hell, you could ban all other classes other than those listed above, and then create a number of hybridized prestige classes to better represent the heroes depicted in the games.
In fable you can easly max out each of the 3 category before the final boss. ** spoiler omitted **
Fable char can heal, cast meteor swarms in full plate, use multiattack, DD, 2 handed weapon, teleport and whatever. They are probably all some kind of gish, either EK or magus. To make things more interesting i suggest make them gestalt. I don't think mythic is appropriate since Fable heroes are just very broad in they breath of skills, but are not outstanding for pathfinder standards in what they actually do.
I agree, partially. No one in fable can mimic meteor swarm. Each meteor explodes in a 40-ft radius, each of them individually aimed. That's too much for a game like that.
They can teleport, but not of the same caliber. Pathfinder/DnD wise, you can teleport any distance instantaneously if you have seen the location. You can't use longer range teleports to your advantage in combat because teleporting like that in fable is too specific.
Yeah, though, nothing in fable is impressive in the higher tier of pathfinder.
Now that I thought of it more, I have better advice than I last suggested. You should use Gestalt/multiclass, maybe even 3 classes, like Detect Magic has mentioned. Limit it to only 5 levels per class to a max of 15 levels. Use a slower experience progression, because I think that may work better.
Thank you all, I am getting a lot of great feedback. A three class gestalt would be a new and interesting take, and it might just prove to offer the customization I was hoping for.
As for magic I hadn't put much thought into which specific magic system to use but considering it I'll likely use the Spheres of Power beta system. It does a good job of recreating the Fable spells, at least in my opinion.
As for magic I hadn't put much thought into which specific magic system to use but considering it I'll likely use the Spheres of Power beta system. It does a good job of recreating the Fable spells, at least in my opinion.
Words of Power (Ultimate Magic) might be pretty useful. It might not be for you, but give it a look.
Just a fun little tidbit, but if you played fable:lost chapters
Ranger fits skill more than rogue. And maybe yes meteor swarm was a bit of exageration ^^
Well nothing in the realm of fable cant be replicated with good old standard multiclassing.
....ohhhhhh....righhtttt...the video game series Fable...well now I feel dumb.
Sorry about that, I've just been in a comic book mood lately.
I'd say go Mythic rather than Gestalt in this case, but as others in this thread have mentioned you don't need to go too terribly high up the mythic paths to re-create some of the high tier stuff you get as a main character in the Fable games.
While PCs can dabble in Might, Skill, or Will it does seem to boil down to "Strength" "Ranged Skills" and "Oh-god-why-does-anyone-choose-anything-other-than-magic."
You could mix a couple of the Mythic Paths together to create a "Might" "Skill" and "Will" path. Have each of your characters choose a "Primary" path that they will have higher than the others, but you could work in a system of being able to occasionally choose a power from another path to represent dabbling in some Might so your archer can hit harder, some Skill so your warrior can be a mean sharpshooter, or some Will to gain some magic tricks for your fighter. The possibilities are varied but I think creating these "Custom Mythic Paths" by cobbling together the others would add to the 'feeling' of being a hero in Albion.
I am not very familiar with the Mythic aspect of Pathfinder, but from what I have read here, why not go Gestalt, and have two or three tiers of Mythic? Might that fit the bill?
That's not a bad recommendation, only I fear that might put the party at ridiculous strength; then again I won't be running any Fable game for a long while so I have the time to overcome that. I need to consider this route.
Inthink you shoul consider giving folks custom templater based on what fable they are. The rules does not reflect the relative power levels of the different fables. Decide a few main features of the fable they play and let them have some sort of power from that. And make sure to give them all extra staying power in some way.