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Ever since development began on the Third Edition of the FFRPG, many questions have come up, both on the boards and through e-mail. In an effort to make a little more information about this far-reaching overhaul to the game available, we've put together a basic FAQ covering some of the more common points raised.   Why a third edition?     As many players may have noticed, the 'second edition' of the game was far from a watershed as far as editing, design or fidelity to the source material was concerned; after six years of relatively minimal changes to underlying mechanics and a steady accumulation of untested material, the FFRPG's original developers decided it was time to rework the game's bloated, messy Second Edition into something a little more elegant. Part of the problem with the FFRPG as it currently stands has to do with the way the game has been built up since the days of the Board; with the basic system complete, anything halfway relevant was incorporated into the game as submitted without much serious editing, resulting in hefty oversights like the Ranger's Call Animals table going AWOL and Fire 2 doing all of one additional die while still costing 18 MP more than its first-Level counterpart, Fire. At the same time, in the early days the lack of available material to draw upon meant that the original developers ended up borrowing heavily from other sources or just inventing wholesale; this resulted in oddities like Black Magic sporting entries lifted from D&D, or Secret of Mana's Matango race ending up as core material. As a result, over several years, the FFRPG has become a mess of bandaid fixes, contradiction and obsolete legacy writing far out of touch with the reality of the series as it stands today. In creating a Third Edition, we wanted to do three things for the FFRPG: Streamline the game, creating a consistent, logical set of rules which serve as a framework for future expansion. Previous editions were inconsistent to extremes, collecting a large number of idiosyncratic rules and systems under one roof and in the process significantly raising the learning curve required to get to grips with the game. With some of the published material dating back to the FFRPG's inception, spring cleaning was long overdue. Bring the game up to date with the series. As far as the FFRPG2 is concerned, support for the e-games ebbed away after Final Fantasy VI; 3E as it stands now includes material from all games up to and including Final Fantasy XI. Ensure all material is as balanced and playable as possible. Playtesting was in short supply with previous iterations of the FFRPG, resulting in material with dubious balance and fundamentally unusable writeups, and necessitating numerous updates after each new edition was 'published'. While there is no way that all eventualities can be covered as a result of testing, at the very least it would give us chance to nip some of the worst offenders in the bud.   What can we expect from the new edition?     First and foremost, a cleaner, more professional and streamlined product; with the benefit of dedicated editing and testing, the overall quality of 3E improves on the standards of 2E by leaps and bounds. True to its name, the FFRPG3E is also 100% Final Fantasy; backed by extensive research and incorporating the latest developments in the series to deliver a faithful recreation of the e-games instead of a generalised mish-mash of Square RPGs. The full extent of 3E's changes and amendments would take several pages to cover, but some of the most notable changes include: A new method for calculating Attribute maximums taking into account the character's chosen race and Job. Restructuring of the old Class/Aspect system into a more readily understandable Class/Job one; elimination of Attribute requirements. Revised character advancement; no longer are characters required to sacrifice Attribute gains to improve Skills or vice versa. Removal of map combat as the standard system for battles; all formerly hex-based listings have been converted to a simpler system for abstract combat. Elimination of Damage Capacity/Magic Damage Capacity in favor of an wholly Attribute-based system of damage calculation, with a far less random spread of damage; no more danger of Ultima being out-damaged by a puny Fira because the dice didn't roll in your favour. New Extreme Initiatives system, allowing high-SPD characters to make multiple Actions per Round even without the benefits of Quick. Revamped Availability and pricing systems for all equipment; no more hunting around Price Category tables just to find the cost of the item you want. Blue Magic selection expanded to include nearly two dozen new Spells from Final Fantasy VIII, IX and X. Expanded Summoning System, including substantial rules for sustained Summoning and an increased variety of Summon creatures. New material for less experienced players, including a comprehensive GM chapter and an introduction to the Final Fantasy series as a whole. Revised Monster Construction System, with support for specialised monster attacks like Capture, Alarm and Timed Attack. Several levels' worth of sample monsters have also been included for GMs.   What's the current status of the Third Edition?     Currently, our focus is on polishing, refining and playtesting existing material. Barring further 'upheavals' like the Skill and damage calculation revisions, most of the major systems and mechanical changes are already in place; the remaining work involved lies in fine-tuning this material, filling in the small details and completing the accompanying color text.   When will 3E be released?     Uncertain at the moment. We aren't going to give tentative release dates for a simple reason: there's no guarantee we'll keep them, and more often than not, we won't. A date will be given when we're 100% certain we'll be able to make it, though we hope to have something ready by Summer 2003 to show off at the much-mooted "ReturnerCon".   So... what's taking so long?     A couple of things, actually. First off: we're taking our time to make sure we get it right this time around -- previous editions featured some changes and enhancements to basic rules from version to version, but kept the same underlying game; 3E, on the other hand, is rebuilding the FFRPG ruleset from the ground up. This in turn means coming up with, weighing and oftentimes discarding ideas for improving the basic game, tweaking written material as a result of data obtained from playtests, and processing feedback from others in regards to playability and balance. Playtesting, too, takes time, requiring nearly a week's worth of preparation per session; with the large number of variables -- Job mix, Level, available gil, monster difficulty -- to take into account and the overwhelming range of material that needs a run-through, this part of the development process accounts for a good chunk of the time spent on 2E as a whole. Finally, many of us have real-life concerns like school, university and jobs to attend to; as much as we love the game, these things will always take priority over development.   What's happening after 3E is out?     We've been kicking around ideas for a number of supplements already; with 3E as a basis, there's a lot of places we can take the FFRPG at this point in time. On the cards right now are a monster compendium -- featuring the most colorful opponents from twelve e-games and beyond -- a full-fledged vehicle supplement and a crossover/metaplot supplement, but there's about a half-dozen other projects we're hoping to eventually release. We're also planning to release a number of one-off rules and articles to further expand the options of the FFRPG ruleset. Beyond the 'official' material, the Resources section will once again be open for third-party submissions, though certain guidelines will have to be adhered to when sending in new writeups.   Will I still be able to use my 2E character with 3E?     A 2E-to-3E conversion guide for PCs is one of our top priorities. Due to the large number of changes made, not all characters will be able to make the transition, but we'll try our best to make the switch as painless as possible.   What about my homebrew material?     Uncertain at this point in time. Ideally, we'd like to offer suitable support for GMs trying to port material over from 2E to 3E, but the nature of some of the changes made in the new edition will make this difficult.   What can I do to help?     We still need dedicated playtesters as well as knowledgeable FFRPG veterans to assist with putting new writeups and material through their paces. Playtest announcements and further information can be found on the RGi message board.