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During the FFRPG's lifetime, many questions have arisen. This section is aimed at providing a broad set of responses to some of the more common ones, as well as some information on the project itself.   Is this game officially endorsed by Square Enix?     No. We have no official backing from Square Enix, and are not legally licensed to use the Final Fantasy name. Should Square Enix ever issue a cease-and-desist, we would immediately -- albeit reluctantly -- cease distribution of the FFRPG. However, we have a few reasons to be optimistic about the game's long-term survival prospects: Firstly, the FFRPG does not infringe on Square's own revenues, nor those of its licensed subsidiaries. No official, licensed Final Fantasy RPG exists, nor has Square Enix shown any interest in producing such a work. Admittedly, part of this may be cultural, as pen-and-paper roleplaying is a relatively niche hobby within Japan. The content of the FFRPG doesn't directly harm the sales of Square-made or -subsidised products. We do not excessively abuse Square's media. All artwork in Third Edition material is original, and what little graphical material we use in this website does not feature recognisable characters. Japanese companies seem to be a little more easygoing on copyrights than its US counterparts. Doujinshi, fan-drawn comics using copyrighted characters and settings, have flourished in Japan for years without fear of prosecution. Finally, we've tried our hardest to ensure that the Third Edition FFRPG is a product consistent with Square's own high standards, and does the name 'Final Fantasy' justice. While this still doesn't guarantee that this project won't be shut down, we hope that Square Enix recognises this effort for what it is; a means of extending a vibrant universe, an opportunity to draw new gamers into the worlds of Final Fantasy, and a tribute to one of the finest roleplaying series in the history of gaming.   Where did the FFRPG originate?     The FFRPG originally began life as a project founded by Scott Tengelin on the rec.games.video.nintendo newsgroup in February of 1995. Development began with a small initial group of designers and administrators consisting of Tengelin, Martin Drury, Chris Pomeroy, and Matthew Martin. They were subsequently joined by Matt Perrotti, who managed the mailing list's archives, and Paul Mulka, webmaster for the fledgling system's first website. This 'Board of Administrators' acted as primary designers and maintainers of the system, maintaining final say in the FFRPG's progress. Initially, this arrangement worked. However, as the number of writers and contributors increased, more and more of the system slipped out of the Board's control. In August of 1997, the Board decided to reassert control by purging the system and starting afresh, sparking an internal conflict that resulted in the FFRPG's contributors splitting into two factions. The Board began work on an entirely new project, the Shinra, Inc. Final Fantasy RPG, while the majority of the remaining contributors formed a new faction under the leadership of Robert Pool to continue developing the existing system. This faction called itself the Returners, taking its name from the rebel movement in Final Fantasy VI. By 1999, the Board had lost interest in the Shinra, Inc. FFRPG and ceased all development. That same year, the Returners released the first edition of the Returners FFRPG. A second edition followed in 2001, although most of the differences between the first and second editions were superficial at best.   Why a third edition?     The second edition was far from exemplary as far as editing, design or fidelity to the source material were concerned. So after six years of superficial mechanical changes and a steady accumulation of untested material, the FFRPG's original developers decided it was time to rework the game into something a little more elegant. In creating a Third Edition, we wanted to do three things for the FFRPG: Streamline the game, creating a consistent, logical set of rules that 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. With some of the published material in Second Edition 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 XII. 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.   Will the game ever be published?     Highly unlikely. Without a formal license from Square Enix, the FFRPG can never be legally published.   Where can I find older editions?     Only through private channels. We stopped making the Second Edition available because we felt that the shoddy quality of the last 2E release reflected poorly on everybody involved in Third Edition's development.   Why an original system? Why not use an existing system, like d20?     The Final Fantasy games are somewhat tricky to emulate in a tabletop setting with any degree of accuracy. On one hand, they are driven by a complex and intensely detailed combat system; on the other hand, there is a great streak of character-driven storytelling that runs throughout the series. Creating a new system seemed like it would give us better fidelity to the source material than trying to shoehorn these seemingly contradictory elements into an existing RPG.   Can I host a copy of the FFRPG on my own site?     If you want to mirror any FFRPG-related files, please contact one of the administrators beforehand. While we don't have any fundamental problem with others spreading our work around, we have to ensure that we know where it is going and that we are receiving proper credit for our effort. We also would prefer it if mirrored files were kept up-to-date with the latest versions wherever possible.   Can I link to you?     Yes. A link button, if one is needed, is available on the front page; right-click to save this to your hard drive. Please don't remote-link the graphic; it's small, but bandwidth does add up.   Can you link to me?     That depends on the context of your site. At the moment, we are only linking sites which are of interest to the FFRPG community; that is, those sites which contain FFRPG-related content. This may change in future.   How do you become an affiliate?     Up until now, our affiliates have been sites indirectly related to the FFRPG whose audience was large enough to merit a permanent link on the front page. However, we welcome any applicants willing to exchange links with us. The only firm requirements are that your site must have a reasonable readership and that you provide us with a URL, an 88 x 31-sized link button in .gif or .jpg format, and include a permanent link to this site in a prominent location once affiliation has been agreed on. Should this link be removed, your link will be removed in kind. All affiliate applications should be forwarded to M.