Puffin Books back in the early '80s published a series of adventure game books under the title Fighting Fantasy. The series was the creation of Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson (the British one) who also founded the Games Workshop chain of hobby stores in Great Britain and the game company by the same name. In 1984 the Fighting Fantasy line added The Introductory Role-Playing Game by Steve Jackson to their offerings. Fighting Fantasy, having started with The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, a solo adventure gamebook where the reader made choices that led to numbered paragraphs, entered the realm of white box style tabletop role-playing with a referee. An "advanced" edition of the rules would follow in 1989.
The Fighting Fantasy Introductory Role-Playing Game (FFIRPG) takes the basic mechanic of the adventure gamebooks and modifies it to accommodate tabletop group play. Three attributes Skill, Luck, and Stamina define the PC and rolling under one of the attribute scores with two d6 is the basic mechanic of the game. Simplicity at its extreme. There are no classes, no magic spell lists and all skills are lumped into the attribute Skill. The system is so simple and straightforward that today it begs to be modified by anyone familiar with other RPGs. Two adventures follow the rules sections of this thin paperback. A bestiary (Out of the Pit) and world book (Titan) are available separately.
So what makes FFIRPG worth blogging about? Well, Steve Jackson gets it. He understands and perhaps more importantly, is able to succinctly articulate what role-playing is all about, the fun, the mystery and discovery, the humor, the adventure and spookiness that is role-playing at it's heart. The book begins with a very fine explanation of the "idea" of role-playing/adventure gaming; that one player, the referee (or GM as Mr. Jackson says) draws a map and describes the things the players see then asks "What do you want to do?" Mr. Jackson points out that since the entity running the game is a person, the choices are limitless. In language like this, FFIRPG quickly gets to the essence of the hobby.
The GM/referee advice in FFIRPG is quite good. The author states being familiar with the rules is the first task of a GM/referee and very important because the players really don't need to be familiar with the rules to start playing. Learning the rules during play is part of the rookie gamer experience as is eventually mastering gameplay with experieince. The FFIRPG rules do not cover all possible situations, nor should they as the author points out. According to the rules, the ideal GM/referee will have a vivid imagination with which to imagine what is happening and could happen, relay this to the players and build the atmosphere of the adventure. The ability to think quickly is also essential so that the GM/referee keeps the action going and can quickly decide how to determine if the players' actions succeed or fail. The adventure itself unfolds as the players tell the GM/referee what they want to do and the GM/referee in turn informs the players what the consequences of their actions are. There are no winners or losers in role-playing of course and FFIRPG makes clear that the game is a cooperative effort.
The essence of FFIRPG is creative game mastering and this is true of a lot of systems and role-playing in general. FFIRPG sums up the task well. Running the game involves more than drawing the map. Deciding how to determine the outcome of an action, controlling the "flow" of the game, playing the "roles" of various NPCs and monsters, deciding when to use dice or not, assigning odds and adjustments to odds, and the ability to conjure up atmosphere all are described as being essential for the ideal GM/referee. Advice is given for how to handle specific GM/referee challenges such as dealing with bribery, doors, searching, moving silently/hiding, time management and wandering monsters and a number of other topics. All the advice is brief and sound and consistent with "old school" values (including the assumption that we are dungeon delving).
FFIRPG is definitely a product of its time. Even though it is a rules-lite (very lite!) system, Mr. Jackson mentions the desire for realism that was so characteristic of this period in the hobby. "Realism...what would it really be like?", he asks and then offers up his fantasy role-playing game as a way to experience a medieval world setting full of fantastic surprises. It is notable that in this case realism doesn't mean more rules. Through the use of our imagination a certain degree of realistic experience of life in the middle ages is possible. A vehicle such as FFIRPG, white box or other RPG can help facilitate this imaginary journey through time and space to a destination full of wonder and possibility..."What do you want to do?"
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