Precious and Fragile Things

Why do I think of Mory? Oh right, because there's only one solution to getting out of a situation, and it's one that's so clear to her, the person who designed everything. Even if the players come up with something else, it's wrong because it's not what she had planned.

(By the way, Darths and Droids is a great comic. You should be reading it.)

I just want to write up a tiny medium-sized rant/explanation of something regarding FFRPG. Please, feel free to skip/ignore.

The Divination trait does not grant you clairavoyance, omnipotency, or omnisciency. If you take the Divination trait, your character does not suddenly become Miss Cleo, nor does your character gain 24/7 access to the Akashic records. What Divination does is - combined the use of Key Points(KP) - give you vague clues about the immediate future. How vague depends on how many KP you part with, and even if you have a GM who will give you a crystal clear vision of some future event, it doesn't mean your character gets to have all the answers. It really doesn't mean your character can learn about other characters just by being their presence.

Here, let's break it down by looking at what's written in the PDF:

Divination
Effect: The character can foresee tiny fragments of the future or inklings of a destiny yet to come. How the character derives this knowledge varies from person to person; some may use Tarot cards or palmistry, others swear by smoke and tea leaves, and others still see the future through natural talents alone.

-1 Point (Spontaneous): By spending 1 Point, the character can obtain a vague vision of the not-too-distant future – either pertaining to themselves, another character, or the party as a whole. While accurate, this vision is open-ended enough to allow a number of interpretations.

-3 Point (Spontaneous): By spending 3 Points, the character can obtain a clear and unmistakable vision of the not-too-distant future – either pertaining to themselves, another character, or the party as a whole. This vision is lucid enough that there is no doubt as to what is happening, but still given without context. [Emphasis added]

See the parts I put in bold there? That means, even with the three-point version, you are not going to know everything. You will never be able to "see forever," or be able to learn Character Y's deepest, darkest secrets (and speaking from experience, you probably don't want to know what Character Y does in hir downtime). You can, on occasion, be able to inform the party of something that may or may not happen in the very near future, and sometimes you can get a fairly exact vision of it. However, it requires that you spend KP, which means you don't get to do that voodoo that you do on a whim.

There is no ability that allows a player to be truly psychic, and why would you want to be? If your character can have a crystal clear vision of the future and/or know everything there is to know about PCs and NPCs, where's the fun in uncovering plot, or having any sort of character development? Maybe there is a GM out there who doesn't mind hir players knowing what's in store for them, but I think I'd become rather bored playing in a campaign when I know how a major plot element is going to turn out. As a GM myself, I have fun throwing curveballs and springing surprises on my PCs.

You can probably have a lot of fun making a character whose catchphrase is "Call me now!" and you can even have hir be eccentric and just plain weird. I, personally, could have a lot of fun coming up with silly prophecies or making dire predictions for my comrades (think Miss Sybill Trelawney from Harry Potter), and I could put my own spin on events to say "See, I totally called it!" With the Divination trait, I could actually be right on the rare occasion - just enough to keep my fellow party members on their toes and freak them out. Or, I could be a charlatan who uses various tactics to make myself appear psychic though really all I'm doing is making educated/informed guesses. Of course, the first time I get caught going through a fellow PCs personal stuff to get clues about hir, I'll probably have to fight hard to keep my character from getting the crap beat out of hir. I could still use Divination to, again, know something on the odd occasion that's scarily accurate (and probably make the pissed-off PCs more inclined to keep my con-artist character around). And maybe you can have the real deal, but accept that you aren't going to be allowed to learn the secrets of the cosmos, and that your psychic abilities are never going to be exactly earth-shattering. If nothing else, it keeps the plot interesting, fun, and it keeps you from ticking off your fellow players because you spoil everything/have to know their secrets.

I bring this up because I have encountered, on more than one occasion, players who thought that merely taking the Divination trait granted their PCs psychic abilities. It does, but only when spending KP and certainly not to the degree I've seen some try to claim. It's especially frustrating when a player takes the Divination trait without understanding what the word "vague" means, and then complains that a GM didn't provide enough information. Nowhere in there does it say that a vision granted by Divination must be helpful to the party. It'd be nice if they all were, but it's not a requirement. It pays to think carefully before asking a GM for a specific vision of the future. The more direct and exacting your question is, the better your results will be; however, bear in mind a GM can always deny you the right to use any trait regardless of how much KP you're willing to use.

So, please, don't take the Divination trait expecting to be Doc Manhattan. Really, some secrets/surprises are better left unkown.

I think only two or three people might get this, but I still found it funny:

<Hjre> "Hi, miss healer lady. Mind giving me some pointers?"
<Clotho> "Don't get involved with married men."
<Hjre> "...okay..."

(Hjre = Newbie_X for those not in Triumph.)

There a couple of things bothering me right now when it comes to FFRPG and, specifically, Triumph player submissions.

First of all, RTFM. At level one, the highest rank you can have in any skill, language, or lore is 50%. It's right there in Chapter 2, you know, the one entitled "Character Creation." It's in a section labled "Skills" right after the "Combat Statistics" section. It would make sense that if you're creating a character that you would read this chapter especially. When I read your sheet and see that you have 70% in a skill at level one, I'm not going to bother reading anything else on your sheet. Why should I? You obviously didn't feel the need to read the whole rulebook.

Secondly, if you have to ask "Does my character fit the setting?" the answer is likely going to be no. It's most certainly no if your character is some sort of zombie or lich (yes, this actually happened). When a setting is provided and the GMs/devs have put time and effort into providing a world map with descriptions of regions, cities, and towns, it would behoove you to take advantage of the information provided. If you still have question about the appropriateness of your concept, then ask a GM so you can save both your time and our time. It's better to look like a fool in front of one of us than to demonstrate your foolishness for everyone who reads the wiki and to be told "Hell no" by nine people.

Thirdly, if you want to stab shit/beat the shit out of bad guys, then please take a fucking Warrior job. White Mages, Bards, and especially Chemists are support jobs. Support means you help the party, whether it be by healing Hit Points or buffing. Your primary function is to aid your fellow players. Yes, White Mages have a few offensive spells, but by and large their spells are for healing and buffing. Chemists get that awesome Mix ability at Level 34, but that is the only ability they get that is not support. Bards get a couple of neat offensive abilities, but their true awesomeness lies in their ability to buff the hell out of the party (especially at end-game - I speak from experience). I do think it's silly to give a WHM Two Weapons, and I hate seeing a Chemist with twinked out MAG at level freaking one.

Yes, I know I may be a minority in this as a GM, but my experience has solidified my position on this matter. In a small campaign, the party is static for the most part. Players can adjust to having someone play a healplz job as something else. However, in a campaign like Triumph, when the party changes every session, players come to expect that a healplz will act as support. Again, speaking from experience here, nothing is more annoying than watching your Sword Master go into SoS and seeing the WHM blast enemies instead of heal you because his awesomely tweaked out MAG lets him blast Aeraga. Remember, those with a Warrior job in the party usually can't do much else but beat things senseless. If you're there both healing and taking away from their killing spotlight, player resentment builds up quickly. If the bulk of you abilities center around healing, then take that as a big clue as to what others will expect from you when you play. Honestly, no one is going to be surprised if you say you prefer beatstick jobs over healplz. Plenty of us feel that way, and I say that as someone who got burned out on playing a WHM.

To sum up: For the love of deity, THINK before you submit your sheet.

Remora, check out what you missed! Elisha, nope, this wasn't about goats. :(

I've already stated that if people who are not devs/GMs are not reigned in, I will walk. I won't take this bullshit happening everytime someone has a minor nitpick over language. Really, this was fucking ridiculous. Yes, I'm annoyed.

( Only relevant if you're in Returners community or know much of anything about FFRPG 3rd edition. )