Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy 14, one of the best MMORPGs, will be receiving a tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) adaptation - a first for Final Fantasy.
In a Tweet from the official Final Fantasy 14 Twitter account, Square Enix revealed that the new TTRPG would allow players to "play as your own character", "embark on original adventures", and "experience dynamic narratives in Final Fantasy 14 fashion".
A TTRPG is a form of collaborative role-playing kicked off by Dungeons & Dragons back in 1974. Since then, game designers of all stripes have been creating new systems to allow players to tell different kinds of stories. CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 was famously inspired by the Cyberpunk TTRPG created by Mike Pondsmith in 1988, and the recent smash-hit RPG Baldur's Gate 3 was inspired directly by Dungeons & Dragons itself.
Fans have been creating homemade Final Fantasy tabletop adaptations for years. From Emanuele Galletto's Fabula Ultima to the Final Fantasy 14 x Dungeons & Dragons project, inventive storytellers have been offering JRPG-inspired tabletop experiences for years.
The Final Fantasy 14 TTRPG is set to feature three products: a starter set, a standard rulebook, and a gamemaster's guide. The starter set is already available to pre-order from Square Enix's website.
Gather your party
The beginner's set includes three pre-written scenarios as well as character sheets for the Warrior, White Mage, Dragoon, and Black Mage. That said, we can likely expect a broader array of Final Fantasy 14 classes once the full edition comes out. According to the official website, the starter set will be available in May 2024, but we currently have no word on when the standard rulebook or gamemaster's guide will be released.
As yet, we don't know what sorts of mechanics the game will use. However, thanks to limited information on the Square Enix store, we know that the game will use six-sided dice as well as the D20 - the iconic twenty-sided dice popularized by Dungeons & Dragons. This suggests that there will be some familiar ground here for those experienced with TTRPGs.
That said, I sincerely hope that the adaptation will depart from the well-worn Dungeons & Dragons formula. Though a classic for a reason, the best JRPGs evoke a spirit of high drama and theater that might not necessarily gel with the more down-the-line approaches taken by more traditional fantasy games. The idea of a warrior squaring up to an enemy, only to roll a '1', fumble, and drop their sword makes sense in D&D but seems out of place amongst the elegant high-drama of Final Fantasy. When the heroes of Final Fantasy make mistakes, they're dramatic and explosive, rather than banal and hilarious. The things that make Final Fantasy special, like monster summons, flashy ultimate attacks and hammy villain monologues will all need to be accommodated by this new TTRPG.
That said, should those working on the TTRPG follow in the footsteps of Final Fantasy 14's stellar mechanical and narrative design, then it seems likely that the MMO's tabletop incarnation will thrive.
Looking for more immersive tales? Check out our lists of the best story games and best single-player games.
