Vilcomen to Chapter Seven!
The article is going to be about re-inventing and simplifying the character classes and advancement in D&D, but I also want to talk a little bit about how story defines a character in FFZ.
In D&D, measured awards come in the form of XP and GP, both of which you get for beating up something and taking it's stuff.
FFZ has XP and Gil, but neither is where this shines. Gil, for one, is mostly awarded to cover the cost of buying new equipment and training, staying at the inn, and buying expendible magic items (potions and grenades and the like). XP is kind of to be expected at a regular rate, and is fully in the hands of the individual player, rather than the GM (who shouldn't usuall tell you which job you have to be).
The story, however, awards AP. Which, in this terminology, is called Ability Points.
AP is in the hands of the GM, in the hands of the storyteller, and can have deep effects on your character. The menu of available awards that you can buy with AP is in the hands of the GM. The monsters he has you face can give you certain abilities -- if you face off against a lot of demons, you will have a lot of abilities related to and derived from demons. You will wield blessed weapons (spending AP on the "Blessed Equipment" ability), you may be resistant to fire (spending AP on the "Fire Resistance" ability), and you will probably have a very aware mind (spending AP on the "Muddle Resistance" ability). If you explore the demons for long enough, you may find a long-lost hero of your people (spending AP on the "Heroic Ally" ability), or may find some ancient treasure of great power (spending AP on the "Legendary Equipment" ability).
In effect, this works like placed treasure. Dragons will have different treasure than humanoids who will have different treasure than fungus-monsters. Except whereas these are loose items in D&D, they are inherent abilities in FFZ, that become part of the characters as they face off against these threats.
This helps emphasize a theme for the game, and as a game gets a theme, and things start reinforcing that theme, it seems more and more like a story. For instance, if you were facing off against a lot of demons, you could be crafting a theme of "Fallen Lights," where the main villain is a once-great retainer to the noble king, but who has betrayed him in the midst of some powerful war for the benefits the demons could offer. Thus, as the party faces off against the villain's minions, they gain abilities related to the theme, abilities about darkness and sin and the choice whether or not to fall deeper into it (abilities like the Dark Equipment ability, or the Penitentce ability or the Conversion ability).
Just as the world is changed by the character's stories, so the characters are changed by what happens in the world.
It's something you could even adopt for a D&D game without too much effort. Just take care to tailor the treasure to reflect the challenges you plan on having them face. FFZ's system of Award Menus makes this easier for a GM, but a little browsing (and creative use of occasional intelligent or cursed items) can tell you which items will reflect the kind of theme you're trying to build.
Oy, this was a lot of work. I'm off to post an article about it, but download, enjoy, and ask away! Tell me what you think about the Black Mage, ask about the spells and stuff (I've got a few written up, not a whole list, but I've got a good idea of how I want them to look), I'll be happy to answer.
