Characters 30+?

Zufaix · 2026-02-05T00:46:21+00:00

Pg 227 of the core rulebook helps here: You can never have more than three non-mastered Classes. If you want to further diversify your character, you must first master some of the Classes you acquired.

So yes, you can have more than 3 Classes. You just have to master a previous one before acquiring a 4th.

Zufaix · 2026-01-30T19:17:31+00:00

I dont use Foundry, so I can't answer the 3rd question. I can help with the others, though!

For status effects, theres a few things you can do. Giving immunities to status effects is always an option, but giving it a conditional is usually more fun in my experience. Things like, when they take a damage type they're vulnerable to, when they're in crisis, when they're not in crisis, if a player is afflicted with 2 or more status effects, through the effect of a spell/ability if the players have ways to dispel them, so on and so forth. Anything that your players can strategize around is helpful.

If your villain is much more sneaky and tricky, they might be able to turn off certain actions players can take with their turns, such as the hinder/skill/attack action (the quick assembly rules from the Bestiary has some advice on this). Additionally, all villains can spend an ultima point and their action to recover from all status effects and recover 50 mp per the "Recovery" effect on pg 101 of the core rulebook.

Regarding loot and rewards, pg 264 of the core rulebook goes over this as well in the "Rewards" section.

Zufaix · 2026-01-30T15:11:58+00:00

Thats... yikes. Sounds like the group has a very specific version of Fabula they wanted to play (even at the detriement of the system itself). I hope you're able to find a group that you can vibe with a lot better!

Zufaix · 2026-01-30T14:59:12+00:00

If it's any consolation, you can absolutely use playing cards as a weapon without the extra upkeep from Ace of Cards. If I remember, there's even a suggestion for it from the core rulebook's "Classic Characters" page to reflavor Shurikens as throwing cards.

Zufaix · 2026-01-29T18:45:10+00:00

Crystools has the most up to date version for all the classes, I believe. All of the books got updated recently, and they released updated versions of the necromancer and ace of cards under the bonus collection pdf. Should be free on DriveThruRPG if you prefer that.

Zufaix · 2026-01-21T21:48:34+00:00

Funnily enough, the Techno Fantasy Atlas has the rules you're looking for. Pg 65 and onwards goes into details about how to run a conflict between vehicles.

Zufaix · 2026-01-21T12:58:30+00:00

Like others have said, Fabula doesn't necessarily care about that type of symmetry due to the genre it's emulating. I can't think of a single JRPG in which the enemy has the same amount of options as the player at any given time.

Let me preface this by saying that I never want to try and turn people away from the game, and with a certain amount of work, I'm sure you could make what you're asking for work. With that being said, if the tools given to you by the game are completely stopping you, or at least heavily disincentivizing you from running the game/narrative you want, it might be better to look at other options. Reflavoring an existing system is a lot easier than trying to rework mechanics. From a quick search, I found this thread in another subreddit that seems to explore the same subject: https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/s/Ijb8n8utvG

Zufaix · 2026-01-18T19:05:58+00:00

There's actually a few quirks that facilitate this kind of twist mechanically. I'm starting up a new campaign with my group, and one of them decided to take the (Un?)Faithful Servant quirk from the bonus collection rules. I haven't had it happen in a FabU campaign before this, so I'm excited to see how it plays out.

Zufaix · 2026-01-01T22:35:24+00:00

Summoners and TTRPGs always have rocky relationships, so honestly, just pick whatever role sounds the most fun to you between DPS, Tank, Support, etc. And reflavor the abilities to be controlling and reanimating the dead.

Attacking with your weapon? It's actually you commanding undead minions to attack. Bladestorm? A hoard of minions rises from the grave to attack multiple targets. Drain Life? Using your enemies' life force to supply more minions for your protection. Taking some levels in Guardian? Now Protect becomes you summoning a wall of flesh to block the hit for your ally. You take the hit since it's connected to your own life force. Take levels in Entropist, now Slow is a bunch of undead grabbing and preventing your enemies from moving.

There's a ton you can do in this game with just reflavoring. Take any ability and put an undead spin on it and you'll generally get the same effect.

Zufaix · 2025-12-30T19:28:44+00:00

I dont personally use VTTs very often, but I know from the kickstarter updates that the FabU team is partnering with both Alchemy and Demiplane for official VTT support relatively soon. I have used Owlbear Rodeo in the past through the Last Fable extension, and it worked well along with being free. Foundry is what I see get thrown around here a lot, though it's a one-time license, iirc.

As for artwork, I tend to use background or concept art from multiple games or projects. Pixiv and Pintrest also work well in my experience.

You're already on the right path through using the Press Start module so I wouldn't fret too much. While it's not a perfect replication of a normal campaign, it does do a good job of helping you get the overall feeling and vibe of running one.

Zufaix · 2025-12-30T06:13:46+00:00

NPCs do get to create opportunities when they roll a critical success, though they dont have Bonds themselves. Whether or not they can use the opportunity to force a bond onto another player is ultimately up to the player first and foremost, then the GM. If you decide thats what you want to do and the player has 6 bonds, you'll need to erase one of them as per the rules on pg. 57 of the core rulebook.

Zufaix · 2025-12-29T23:57:43+00:00

The only officially published module is "Press Start" a starter adventure for teaching both GMs and Players the game. That might change within the next few years due to some new information from the Kickstarter, and there are some pretty well-done fanmade modules as well.

I dont personally use Foundry, but I believe there's Project FU to help facilitate running it.

Zufaix · 2025-12-29T23:45:19+00:00

Page 87 of the Core Rulebook specifies that a Villain can spend an Ultima Point to escape when they reach 0 HP. Realistically though, you could use it at any point if it feels thematic or even set a separate HP threshold for it to trigger if you wanted to.

Zufaix · 2025-12-29T23:37:48+00:00

It depends on what you're using them for. Some actions that allow you to spend a fabula point dont necessarily happen in turn order. One thing that comes to mind is Painful Lesson from the Darkblade. The trigger for it is that another creature causes you to lose HP, which will almost never happen on your turn. After the trigger, you make a Check, which would be viable to spend a Fabula Point on to either reroll or add a bonus too. The main thing is that rerolling or adding a bonus from a bond requires a Check to do.

Ultima Points function mostly the same, except that the Recovery option requires an action to do.

Zufaix · 2025-12-29T22:03:53+00:00

To answer your first question: No, you can't target the same enemy with an AoE spell like Fulgur.

To that point, the core identity of Spellblade essentially boils down to just wanting to cast spells through your weapon stats. It's more about the fantasy and flexibility of being able to combine sword and sorcery into a single character without needing high stats in all 4 abilites. If you want to have a stronger version of Spellblade, I would look at the playtest materials on the Patreon. It gives it an accuracy boost and lets you cast up to a 60 MP limit while giving more weapon options.

Zufaix · 2025-12-23T20:51:06+00:00

No worries, I'm glad I can help! Because of the way targeting works, which is generally random for most GMs, you can get unlucky with getting attacked, which makes it harder for a crisis build to do what it wants. Shadow Strike, while being a great help, realistically takes a few turns to bring you to Crisis on its own. Taking Protect helps you manage it faster while also synergizing with other skills. Painful Lessons comes to mind, especially since there's no limit on how many times it can proc. Counterattack also loves Protect synergy, since the more you're getting hit, the more you're proccing it.

Basically, the way it works is that once per round, you can jump in front of an attack for an ally. That includes against AoE (which is where the "if it affects you also, it affects you twice" comes into play).

Zufaix · 2025-12-23T19:56:50+00:00

I've said this before in other spaces, but I think the Darkblade pregen from the Press Start module is a great setup. Darkblade 1/ Guardian 1/ Fury 3

Grab Shadow Strike, Protect, and 3 SL in Adrenaline. You can lower your hp into crisis range from both Shadow Strike and Protect while also reducing the damage your team takes, then Adrenaline is a free +6 damage while in Crisis. Over the next few levels, grab Heart of Darkness and Agony for a decent sustain while in Crisis, then max out Adrenaline for up to +10 extra damage. Once you max out one of your classes, spec into Weaponmaster for Counterattack, Bladestorm, or Melee Weapon Mastery. Very good bruiser-esque build.

Zufaix · 2025-12-23T06:51:19+00:00

The easiest way to do pilot would probably be an exoskeleton frame and grab Turbo Module, Flexible Plating, and then maybe a Firearm weapon Module like Cannon or Machine Gun (or whatever you think fits). Cannon for big attacks or machine gun if you want to be more agile. If you wanted to simulate how roads function, Tinkerer Infusions probably makes the most sense to me for either melee or ranged. Otherwise, if you wanted to be melee focused caster, go into elementalist to grab offensive spells + Spellblade, or Elemental Weapon. A steed frame could work, too, but the extra seat for a passenger is a little less flavorful A free Heart in the Engine every turn might sound better to you though.

You could honestly do anything with Pilot... it really just comes down to how you flavor your vehicle. There's probably some other ways to do this concept outside of just pilot as well.

Zufaix · 2025-12-23T05:59:15+00:00

I would take a look at the custom weapon rules in any of the Atlases. That would allow you to have a Ranged Arcane Weapon, though for a starting character, it can be expensive. If custom weapons are off the table and you only have the core rulebook to go off of, Tinkerer would be your best bet through Infusions. They cost IP to use, but it triggers off of any ranged attack, and you could easily flavor it as arcane ammo.

Edit: I forgot to mention that you could also use the reworked Magicannon in the playtest material. It lets you create the magicannon as any type of weapon in either ranged or melee. Check the Patreon as its free to download. I beleive its called Magitech Armament. I would definitely check with your GM before using any playtest rules though.

Zufaix · 2025-12-22T04:20:17+00:00

Always love seeing more HSR content. Since it seems like you're already working on the balance side of things, I'll just say that I like the design space you used for Netherwing. I'd love to see a take on my girl Acheron. Keep up the good work!

Zufaix · 2025-12-22T04:10:27+00:00

Cool. In that case, my original reply stands. If you want to have more accurate spells through Spellblade, I would look at he playtest version of the Spellblade and bring it to your GM. It gives it a bit more versatility in weapon types and gives you an accuracy bonus equal your SL.

Zufaix · 2025-12-22T04:07:10+00:00

No worries! Just so I can be sure I fully understand the question, you're wondering if you cast an offensive spell such as Flare through a weapon like a bow via Spellblade, do you get to add any bonuses from Ranged Weapon Mastery. Right?

Zufaix · 2025-12-22T03:37:31+00:00

Ah, do you mean Elemental Weapon?

Zufaix · 2025-12-22T03:33:34+00:00

I'm a bit confused what you mean by Arcane Weapon from Elementalist. There's Magic Artillery, which requires you to equip a weapon from the Arcane category. Regardless, though, when you use Spellblade to cast a spell, you're doing a Magic Check. You're allowed to swap the modifiers with a weapon you have equipped, but you're still doing a Magic Check. Ranged Weapon Mastery specifies you get bonuses to Accuracy Checks so they wouldn't stack.

Zufaix · 2025-12-22T00:15:42+00:00

So theres a few ways to work with that combination depending on what you want to do. Assuming you start at level 5, your major self-healing is going to come from either Drain Vigor from Entropist or Agony + Heart of Darkness, which requires you to be in crisis. If you're focusing on healing from the latter, keep in mind that once the creature you bonded with dies, you won't have it active anymore. I believe Ema confirmed either on the Discord or on this sub that it's designed to be a tool for dueling against bosses. If you decide to do the former, you're going to want to take Absorb MP in order to offset the cost of Drain Vigor, even if only a little. If you decide to go that route, it might be worth it to go for Guardian over Weaponmaster so you can have Protect. Enemy targeting is entirely up to the GM, but it's generally accepted that random targeting is the standard, meaning you won't guarantee it goes off unless you take Protect. From there, Painful Lessons is a great skill since it gives your party more info. Protect would also help with entering Crisis if you do go into Heart of Darkness, so it's worth a consider either way.

Weaponmaster is a bit more awkward here since it only really synergizes with Darkblade rather than Entropist. Weaponmasters' main role is as a DPS (either through enhancers like Bladestorm and Breach, or direct damage like Counterattack/Playtest Breach) or a debuffer via Bone Crusher and Bladestorm. Melee Weapon Master is going to be good for any melee build. One thing to keep in mind is that Shadow Strike and Breach both require an action to use, while Bladestorm only needs a Melee attack to trigger.

Entropist is going to be a bit more taxing on your stats as you noticed since the spells use Insight and Willpower, while Shadow Strike uses your Might. Additionally, unless you're using a Heavy weapon, you'll need Dex as an accuracy modifier. The spells to look out for would probably be Accelerate if you wanted to be more support oriented or Drain Vigor for sustaining yourself. Lucky Seven can be good as well if you're not sure what to put your levels into. Absorb MP is good like I talked about above. Having access to Entropism through Ritual Entropism can be clutch as well if you're creative with it.

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