Premise
The name Fabula Ultima is latin for “Last Fable,” a nod to how the game is a love letter to video game RPGs from Japan.
Core Mechanics
Stats are represented by size of dice, and every roll consists of two different stats. (Sometimes the same one.)
Every Roll has two important things to make a note of: the total, and the higher of the two dice. Skills may refer to one or both of these numbers.
Fabula Points gives players several special effects, while Game Masters Ultima Points for a different set of special effects.
Quick and Dirty Character Creation
As a group, all players decide on various aspects of the world; such as deciding how all the player character’s know one another. Every character decides on their character concept, and starts at level 5.
They then pick 2 or 3 classes to distribute those levels between.
Each character also picks a stat array, and buys their starting equipment.
What It Does Well or Interestingly
The collective world creation gives all players input on the game world.
There’s a lot of other narrative mechanics that provide structure to the roleplaying aspect of Fabula Ultima.
Potential Pitfalls
Character creation is best done altogether, so every player is able to have input during steps such as world creation.
There’s a lot of minutia and specific rules in all the class skill lists.
Sections to Pay Attention To
Fabula Points are the heart of Fabula Ultima.
Every class has an ample skill list that is worth paying attention to.
The villain and monster creation sections provide plenty of tools for Game Masters that may need structure to help them run games.
Final Thoughts
Fabula Ultima strikes a perfect balance between being a game, and also being about role playing. It leans into familiar aspects of both video game RPGs, and well as their tabletop counterparts, and delivers the best of both worlds, all while keeping its arithmetic to a minimum.
