"Pulp" Final Fantasy - M looking for a well-read F

[Macht]

Welcome, to Macht's latest idea thread. There are many others like it, but this one is mine.

I am putting together a game inspired by (but not based on) Final Fantasy Tactics. I have an original setting in mind, which I will go over below. It's a classic Ivalice-era setting, so basic knowledge of the plot of Tactics is a must. I am examining the classes of Final Fantasy through the lens of a medieval setting, in a post-pragmatic world. That is, it is a world to which magic is returning after a long absence.

I am throwing out this hook to see if there is any interest. I will be adding story / setting / class details to this thread over time. Partners who become attached to this project will be invited to help me flesh out the setting. I have a very strict idea of what the classes will be, but input will be considered. No knowledge of game mechanics or other games in the Final Fantasy series is required for this roleplay.

Sources of Inspiration

Final Fantasy Tactics—though my story is not set in Ivalice, I am going for a similar setting and tone. Game mechanics are completely irrelevant to this story. Final Fantasy IX and X also inform my idea of where summoners and eidolons fall in this setting.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. The setting for this game is fantasy-medieval. This world will be one of kings, lords, and knights. Magic is not quite as foreign in this setting as it is in Westeros, but this world is nevertheless experiencing a magical resurgence.

The Phoenix on the Sword, The Tower of the Elephant, and The Scarlet Citadel by Robert E. Howard all inform a particular subset of my ideas—particularly how sorcerers and black magic are likely to be depicted, and how fighters fare against those wielding powerful spells. I have always felt that Howard struck a very good balance between realism and sorcery, such that the least magic did not feel like it would automatically disrupt his setting. I am also going for somewhat of a pulp fiction feeling, especially far from the settled kingdoms, where the world is far more ancient and mysterious. However I am excluding Howard's tendency towards racism and sexism. Female adventurers can slay monsters. Female sorcerers can twist their hands around the throat of nations. Female knights can win tournaments. Not every woman is a damsel in distress, though I have nothing against those.

Mazirian the Magician by Jack Vance—a woman created by a powerful sorcerer haunts the enchanted garden of a wicked magician in order to save her creator. This is one of my favorite depictions of sorcery, and ties in to how I see black magic, particularly as magic becomes more powerful. The return of magic might herald the end of the planet, giving my setting a Dying Earth feeling.

Bonus: The Cthulhu Mythos. Even just having read Lovecraft's Call of Cthulhu would help. I am looking at the possibility of religion being tied to the worship of chthonic, extracellestial beings disguised as saints and eidolons.

Premise

We will pick a tiny corner of my imagination and give birth to thousands of stories: Inquisitions into heresy, murder investigations, temple robberies, tomb raiding, knightly duels, the discovery and pursuit of a terrifying monster, and more.  What we play can be literally almost anything, depending on which Final Fantasy class you want to assume, and how you want to carry it. Is your character a politician, playing the game of thrones? Is she a romantic? Is she an adventurer? Is she a knight? As I post the information on different classes and bits of setting, your options will expand.

But by all means, post or PM your interest, even if I haven't had a chance to add to my ideas yet. We can certainly start kicking ideas around.

On Sources and Backstory

You must have played Final Fantasy Tactics and be at least vaguely familiar with the story and the setting. Some familiarity with other Final Fantasy games is useful but not necessary. If you have no concept of what a Black Mage or a Dragoon is, you might not be familiar enough with Final Fantasy to really enjoy this game.

I prefer that you have at least read A Game of Thrones but if your only exposure is the television show, that's fine—so long as you spell "sir" as "ser", and are familiar with the Seven Kingdoms and how the houses line up under House Baratheon, and how Robert Baratheon came to be king. Similar concepts will be used to organize the kingdoms of my setting. Kings must similarly worry about rebellion and regicide and foreign invasion.

All other reading from my list is optional but of extreme benefit to the both of us.