========= The Final Fantasy IV challenge for Final Fantasy Tactics ========= Here is a proposal for a challenge to be used when playing Final Fantasy Tactics. The goal is to model the characters in your party after the characters from Final Fantasy IV (released in the US as Final Fantasy II). This challenge was inspired by the Truly Old-School Challenge (a.k.a. the Final Fantasy One Challenge) by NeoElfBoy. This challenge is meant to provide more flavor than difficulty, since it gives you a rather balanced party, with only modest restrictions. ========= Section 1: General Rules ========= Every non-guest character in your party must be modeled after exactly one of the characters from Final Fantasy IV listed in section 2. Any character that doesn't mimic one of the FFIV characters must be kicked out of your party. Each FFIV character may be emulated by only one character in your party. You are not required to emulate every possible FFIV character. FFIV character roles are imitated by restricting the jobs and abilities that each character may use. No character may be used in a story battle before attaining one of its permitted job. If a permitted job requires job levels in a job that is not permitted to the character, the required job (and its abilities) may be used to raise the necessary job levels, but only in random battles. After the pre-requisites are met, the forbidden job may no longer be used. It is preferable if you can gain sufficient JP to access your target job through the "bleed-off" effect from other characters who are permitted to use the required job. (In case you didn't know, whenever a character earns JP in battle all other characters on the same team in the battle also earn a small fraction of that JP for that character's current job.) If a character is permitted abilities that come from a job that is not permitted, the abilities may be learned through the JP earned while satisfying the dependencies for a permitted job, through JP earned from teammates using the forbidden job, or through crystals (or through any other method that doesn't involve actually using the forbidden job). The zodiac compatibilities are suggestions meant to reflect the interpersonal relationships of the characters in FFIV. They are around mostly just for symbolic, role-playing value. Don't go crazy trying to satisfy these requirements. You are encouraged, but not required, to use Rafa and Malak to play the roles of Porom and Palom, in which case, you are allowed to use their Truth and Un-Truth abilities, but only when they are standing within 4 squares of each other. Ramza doesn't have to play the role of Cecil; you can model him after any male character from FFIV that the rules allow. In fact, it might be great fun to use Agrias (with the Holy Knight job) instead of Ramza to play the role of Cecil-as-Paladin, if you don't mind the gender-bending and you don't think her Holy Sword abilities are too unlike Cecil's abilities in FFIV. (Puts an odd spin on the already rather slash-prone relationship between Cecil and Kain.) If you're enough of a GameShark wizard (and assuming it's technically possible), you might find it fun to give your Cecil-as-Dark-Knight character Gafgarion's Dark Sword abilities (but only for Chapter 1, as mentioned below). I know that the same logic that prevents Edge from being used until late in the game should also prevent Tellah from being used except toward the beginning of the game, but if that were enforced, he wouldn't provide you with much fun at all. The fun factor is also my excuse for including Golbez, even though he wasn't a player-controllable character in FFIV at all. Characters names should match the name of the role they are playing whenever possible. But that's impossible when you're using special characters to play a role. And throwing away your initial generics to hire new characters may be more trouble than you're willing to go through. ========= Section 2: Specific Rules For Each Character ========= Name: Cecil Zodiac Requirements: Must be compatible with Rosa Permitted Jobs: Knight Permitted Abilities: The BATTLE SKILL command is only permitted during Chapter 1. Other Knight abilites are always permitted. After Chapter 1, the abilities from the Priest job are permitted except for Cure 4, Raise 2, Reraise, and Holy, as well as Defend (from the Squire job), HP Restore (from the Monk job), Defense UP (from the Oracle job), and Two Hands (from the Samurai job). Notes: Cecil's loss of Battle Skill and subsequent gain of (most) White Magic in its place is meant to model the class change from Dark Knight to Paladin. Name: Kain Zodiac Requirements: None Permitted Jobs: Lancer Permitted Abilities: Any from permitted jobs. Name: Rosa Zodiac Requirements: Must be compatible with Cecil Permitted Jobs: White Mage, Archer Permitted Abilities: Any from permitted jobs and Time Mage, except for Meteor. Notes: Time Magic may be used because many of the spells found in Time Magic are present as White Magic in FFIV. Rosa's inability to use the Time Mage job is meant to keep her focused on White Magic and archery, thus differentiating her from Palom. Name: Rydia Zodiac Requirements: Must be compatible with Edge Permitted Jobs: White Mage (Only in Chapter 1), Wizard, Summoner Permitted Abilities: Any from permitted jobs. Notes: Rydia's loss of White Magic mirrors the same loss that Rydia experiences in FFIV. Name: Tellah Zodiac Requirements: Must be incompatible with Edward Permitted Jobs: Calculator Permitted Abilities: Any from the following jobs: Wizard, Priest, Time Mage, Oracle, Calculator Notes: Since Tellah can't use the normal mage jobs (except when earning the job levels needed to become a Calculator), the spells that he knows will be significantly limited. This is intended to reflect the fact that he's forgotten most of his sagely lore. Gathering the crystals of enemy mages and using the JP that bleeds off the other mages in your party should still provide him with enough spells to be competitive. His worst handicap would probably be the Calculator's inherently low speed. Name: Edward Zodiac Requirements: Must be incompatible with Tellah Permitted Jobs: Bard, Mediator Permitted Abilities: Any from permitted jobs. Also Sunken State. Extra Rules: May not equip guns or knives, even when job is Mediator. Notes: Sunken State models Edward's Hide ability from FFIV. The Mediator's Monster Talk ability is meant to reflect Edward's supposed affinity to monsters (i.e. the Antlion). The rest of the Mediator abilities are allowed in a vain attempt to reduce his spooniness (heh), and also because they seem pretty similar to a Bard's verbal abilities. However, using guns or knives completely violates the spirit of Edward's personality. Name: Yang Zodiac Requirements: None Permitted Jobs: Monk Permitted Abilities: Any from permitted jobs. Also Accumulate. Name: Palom Zodiac Requirements: Must be identical to Porom Permitted Jobs: Wizard, Oracle Permitted Abilities: Any from permitted jobs. Extra Rules: May only use Flare when standing within 4 squares of Porom. Notes: Palom's ability to use the Oracle job Yin-Yang Magic is meant to model the fact that Black Magic in FFIV includes a little more status-inflicting spells than it does in FFT. It's also to make him a little more interesting and different from other magic users. Palom and Porom's inability to use their strongest spells without the other nearby is meant to model the "Twin" magic ability they have in FFIV. Name: Porom Zodiac Requirements: Must be identical to Palom Permitted Jobs: Priest, Time Mage Permitted Abilities: Any from permitted jobs. Extra Rules: May only use Holy or Meteor when standing within 4 squares of Palom. Notes: Time Magic may be used because many of the spells found in Time Magic are present as White Magic in FFIV. Palom and Porom's inability to use their strongest spells without the other nearby is meant to model the "Twin" magic ability they have in FFIV. Name: Cid Zodiac Requirements: None Permitted Jobs: Engineer, Chemist Permitted Abilities: Any from permitted jobs. Extra Rules: This role must be filled by Mustadio in order to get the Engineer job. Notes: Since there are no hammers in FFT, you are encouraged to equip the character playing Cid with an axe instead. Name: Edge Zodiac Requirements: Must be compatible with Rydia Permitted Jobs: Ninja, Samurai, Thief Permitted Abilities: Any from permitted jobs. Extra Rules: May not be used in story battles until Chapter 3. Notes: Edge can't be used until late in the game because you don't meet him in FFIV until late in the game. The Thief job is allowed to make it easy for him to learn stealing. The ability to Steal Heart is important for role-playing purposes, as it reflects his playboy nature. Using him in story battles as a Thief is not recommended, as the sprite doesn't reflect his personality and appearance from FFIV. A Ninja using Draw Out as his secondary ability is probably more useful anyway. Name: Golbez Zodiac Requirements: None Permitted Jobs: Holy Swordsman, Wizard Permitted Abilities: Any from permitted jobs. Extra Rules: This role must be filled by Orlandu in order to get the Holy Swordsman job. Notes: Golbez is played by Orlandu to model Golbez's very high power. ========= Conclusion ========= It should go without saying that you should tweak these rules in any way that you see fit.