Welcome to Final Fantasy d20!

In this handbook, you will find all the information needed to run a Final Fantasy d20 game, or to add Final Fantasy flavor to your normal Pathfinder campaign. The series is designed for electronic distribution, made to for modular access to the game system in PDF format that is easy to print out and use as you need them for your games.

This particular chapter is only the beginning. It is designed as an introduction to the FFd20 game, to give interested parties the overall design philosophy. This chapter is an introduction to the game itself.

It is important to note that this game is built entirely with the Pathfinder 1e (1st edition) rules in mind, and thus often very closely resembles those rules. Departures from the core system were carefully considered and studied to measure their impact on the game. Those departures that were ultimately embraced were those that added a significant “Final Fantasy Feel” to the tabletop game, which includes emulating some aspects of a computer RPG (CRPG) in Pen-And-Paper format, and adopting some of the more archetypal FF trappings. Departures include things like the magic points, limit breaks, FF spells, summons and plenty of other ways in which FFd20 is distinguished.

Even with these diversions, care has been taken to ensure a balance with non-FFd20 sources. Any materials made for the core system of Pathfinder should work side-by-side with the FFd20 rules without much complication. It is largely assumed, however, that in using the FFd20 system, you will be largely using things designed for the FFd20 system. As such you will not make use of magical items or enchantments from Pathfinder that have effects or use spells that are not found within FFd20, or have a spell that lacks an equivalent FFd20 version, it is up to GMs to waiver this.
Final Fantasy d20 puts you in control of the vast worlds of Final Fantasy. Regardless of how you use the material in these documents, it is your world now.

What is Final Fantasy d20?

Final Fantasy d20 (abbreviated as FFd20) is a table-top role-playing game that uses Pathfinder 1e (1st edition) rules combined with the style of the Final Fantasy videogames to create a pen-and-paper RPG that is capable of putting the epic, save-the-world adventure, deep characterization, and story philosophies that have become the hallmark of the Final Fantasy games into the control of any group of gamers.

In doing this, FFd20 takes Pathfinder as its rules base, and supplements it with new races, new classes, feats, skills, spells, prestige classes, characters, monsters, meanings, and iconography of the Final Fantasy games. Rather than focus on emulating the mechanics of the FF games, FFd20 cherry-picks from various games in the series, utilizing trends that unite them to forge a table-top game system that can successfully drive home a unique Final Fantasy feel in play.

In short, the rules and advice in these documents is not just for any night of normal gaming. FFd20 promotes episodic, narrative-focused, character-driven gaming, in which the players put themselves in the roles of heroes, not just adventurers. More dramatic and involved than dungeon raids, the campaigns of FFd20 focus on philosophical themes of humanity, such as death, love, truth, evolution, time and space, and true human nature, entwining these ideas into the heroes and the villains and the world itself.

FFd20 explores these stories with imagery drawn from the Final Fantasy series, and through that series, through world myth and legend. At the center of FFd20, like at the center of any FF game, is the concept of envelope-pushing storytelling, examining the meaning behind the myths, and drawing them into a blending of logic and passion, coupled with fast-paced, interesting battles and epic struggles the entire way. FFd20 does for tabletop role-playing what FF has done for video games, creating a dynamic and robust system for pushing the meaning of RPG Fantasy to its final limits, and breaking through. Enjoy it!

Content to use with FFd20

While some amount of effort has been placed into combining the use of FFd20 with Pathfinder’s base mechanics and content, not all of the pieces work together or are advised to be used at the same time. Find the advised parts of Pathfinder to use with FFd20 below:

Campaign Setting & 3rd-Party Material: FFd20 is not designed with any campaign settings or 3rd-party content in mind, aside from any that has been altered to fit the system. This applies to any content below as well. Ask your GM for approval for anything regarding campaign settings or 3rd-party.

Weapons & Armor: You can freely use any and all weapons and armor from both Pathfinder and FFd20 together.

Gear: You can freely use any gear in both Pathfinder and FFd20 together.

Traits: FFd20 is made to work with almost all traits from Pathfinder, in addition to the ones listed on the site: FFd20 traits. 

Feats: FFd20 is made to work with almost all feats from Pathfinder, aside from the few that have seen changes in the FFd20 feats sections. Where they appear, use the FFd20 versions.

Skills: FFd20 makes several changes to base Pathfinder skills as well as adds in several new ones. Use all Pathfinder skills but make changes and additions based on the skills page.

Spells: Do not use any spells from Pathfinder, these are completely replaced with FFd20’s spells and songs. If an equivalent spell in FFd20 doesn’t exist, the spell does not exist.

Spell Schools: FFd20 uses its own set of spell schools, subschools, and descriptors, found on the magic page.

Learning Spells, Scrolls and Wands: FFd20 mostly follows the same rules as found in Pathfinder, with a few alterations, find them at the bottom of the magic page.

Wondrous Items: For the most part you can combine both Pathfinder and FFd20 wondrous items. The items you should not use in FFd20 are ones that require any spells that do not exist in FFD20. Spells that have been renamed, but otherwise have the same mechanics and description text, can be used for their PF counterpart spells. For example, the Bands of Unbreakable Camaraderie requires the battlemind link spell, since that does not exist in FFd20, the item cannot be created or used.

Weapon Special Abilities: Use the FFd20 Magical Weapon special abilities where at all possible and do not use the Pathfinder variants. Otherwise, follow the rules as with armor.

Armor Special Abilities: For the most part you can combine both Pathfinder and FFd20 Magical Armor special abilities. The special abilities you should not use in FFd20 are ones that require any spells that do not exist in FFd20. For example, the Fortification special ability lists the limited wish and miracle spells, neither of which exist in FFd20, so the special ability cannot be used.

Races & Classes: Do not use any races or classes from Pathfinder, use only the races and classes found in FFd20.

Bestiary & Creatures: Where possible, stick to the FFd20 Bestiary. Some blue mage spells reference Pathfinder monsters, so feel free to use those. It is up to the GM to pull from the PF bestiary, though note that many are weaker than their FFd20 counterparts.

Currency: FFd20 operates on the use of Gil, which equates to 1 gold from Pathfinder. Find more information on the Gil & Currencies page.