Yup. Pretty much what I thought and just what I was hoping for

Thank you

No problem!

Thank you for the reply, it's appreciated.

My pleasure!

So there are a few intricacies that need to be taken into account that I haven't come across yet (I'm a slow reader), but it all points to a well-thought-out game.

Let us not forget that the core element behind Fantasy Express is Against the Darkmaster (an excellent d100 game in and of itself).

In any  case, I did about 30-ish playtest  versions  before releasing  the final version, so we  did  go  through  a lot of iterations and changes as the game developed.

Would you say FX is built for long campaigns with generous offerings of character improvement? It looks as if that's the case. It strikes me that with an open-ended system, difficulties can rise very high, and still, a character has a chance to succeed with exploding dice rolls. That's one of the first things I look for in an RPG. I guess I'm spoilt by the 'D&D' zero-to-hero longevity.

I havn't even looked at D&D  since  3.5 was released, so I have no idea what it even looks like now and when I talk about D&D, it is going to be about 3.x  version, please keep that in mind.

Generous offerings for character improvement - Yes, there definitely is. As I mentioned  previously, GMs want  to  encourage  the use of Drive points to  allow  the player some minor control over things  that can happen. They also track the Drive that they spend (this is called the Hero Path), and for every 10 Drive spent, they get  to select  a  Milestone to develop their character a little more. The Core rules provide 42 different Milestone options for players to choose from  and each helps develop the character in some fashion. And even if that character dies, the next one gets half of the points  from the Hero  Path  to start with.

Unlike D&D, there is no pre-defined path that  is followed (i.e.  characters do not get ability x at level y). And the system is more skill based overall. Players get 24 DPs each level from their 2 Kits. And they start off with a few abilities (from Kin and Background Gifts that they purchase  at character generation), and 54 skill ranks split among  many different skills  (24 from Culture,  and 15 ranks from each Vocational Kit). And the Development Points  are tied to those specific Skill  Categories (they can be moved, but at a cost, but they can also be saved  for later as  well).

As for long  campaigns-- yes, definitely. The open-ended mechanism allows for a small chance of success against anything (think of  Bard's arrow piercing that one tiny spot where Smaug was missing a scale, and killing the dragon with a single arrow,  from  the  Hobbit books -- that  would be considered  an open-ended roll, possibly combined  with some  Drive Point usage).

So there  is always a  chance for success, there is also always the change for a one shot kill as well (page 123, the higher costing Combat Options, or even the Randomized Critical Results option from EA#2.

Just been looking at the FEAT Table and I have a couple of questions.

1. A newly created character needs a 20 on 2d10 to achieve a (full) Success (Difficulty 20 )and a hefty +9 modifier to start from a baseline Standard difficulty.

The reason I bring this up is that I'm used to the baseline Standard difficulty being around the 50% chance mark for ordinary folk. Yet that requires the +9 I mentioned above.

2. It feels strange that a "Failure" result sits alongside a "Standard" difficulty. Is this intentional?

Yes, that is intentional, but I think perhaps you may  have a missed a couple of elements of things....

A result of 16-19 gives Partial Success OR Failure, depending on what the action is...... Partial Success just means you did not get it all  done in a single roll, but you at least got some of it done.. For jumping across a pit, this may not be so good, but for picking a lock? just take another round or two and you  will get it done...


  says "
on page 115, the fourth paragraph under Skill Rolls says "If there is no opposition, no pressure, and nothing interesting is at stake, there is no need to roll the dice. The heroes simply take enough time to succeed in their task, unless they are attempting something that is clearly impossible."

Then in the second column on the same page, under Taking the Time, it says "A character Taking the Time to accomplish a task gets a special +4 bonus to his Skill Roll, but employs at least twice the amount of time normally associated with the action."

Thus, by taking just a little extra time, they get a +4, so the need for that +9 drops to +5.

Additionally, characters can also Help one another, as explained on page 116, where successful rolls from  friends can apply the Success Levels  as a bonus to the main roll being attempted.

And let us not forget Drive points. We recommend giving players at least 1 per session (up  to the 5 that they are allowed), as this will also encourage them to spend them more freely as well). Each point of Drive spent gives a +2 to all rolls for a given scene!  (i.e. not just a single roll, but all of their rolls for that scene...). For 3 Drive points, they can treat ANY  one roll as if  they rolled a natural 20  (i.e. making the roll open-ended, so that they  get to roll again).

Now, lets take a look a what a starting bonus could look like......

At first level, a character may have 2 purchased ranks, up to 2 ranks from Culture, and up to 4 ranks (max) from Vocation. That is a potential 8 ranks  before adding in stat bonuses., say an average of 2  for the stat, and that gives them a starting bonus of 10

Of course only one or two skills may be this high, and usually only if  they double up on a Vocation, or take complementary Vocations

Looking at a few of our 16  pre-gens  that are in the quickstart module

For Argorn, 7  and 8  are the average  for most skills, but he has some with bonuses as high as 12.

Beskar has one skill at 12, and most of  his  range from 7 to 9

Chzor has one skill with a max of 11, his primary weapon is at 9 andso forth.

Gylor - his spells have total bonuses ranging from 9 to 11, and he has several other at 8.

and so on through them all....

from a malus perspective, any changes to the dex/move /ASF  modifiers?

They would be roughly  the same. as would the Qualities  as well (i.e. the ASF, Rigid, and Metal Qualities) , However, this system, instead of having a Dex Mod, would have a Max Dex, which would be equal to 6 minus the Dex Mod (+/- Kin modifier for Dex). Thus armors  would affect all Kins equally, and the Kins would not lose any  advantage from their stats...

Thus, since a Wood Elf gets +2 to their Dex from their Kin, where a Hman would have a Max Dex of 4 with a Chain Shirt, a Wood Elf would have a Max Dex of 6, and a HIgl Elf (with a Kin Modifier of +1) would have a Max Dex of 5 when wearing a chain shirt.

Note also, changing to Max Dex would also increase Defensive Modifiers, since it would limit the amount of Dex that could be used, as opposed to applying a modifier to  it. And the Max Dex would apply to any Dex applied to skills as well.

Clothing:  no modifiers

Quilted: Max Dex: --, Mv Pen: --, AB Pen: --, Cold(1),  Flammable

Soft Leather: Max Dex: --, Mv Pen: -2, AB Pen: --

Reinforced Leather: Max Dex: 5, Mv Pen: -5, AB Pen: -1-, ASF (1) for Studded Leather,  ASF(2) for Ring Mail, RIgid for Boiled Leather

Chain: Max Dex: 4, Mv Pen: -7, AB Pen: -1-, ASF (4), Metal

Scale: Max Dex: 4, Mv Pen: -9, AB Pen: -1, ASF (5), Metal

Plate: Max Dex: 3, Mv Pen: -11, AB Pen: -3, ASF (6), Metal, Rigid


For ancillary pieces:

Greaves

• Reinforced Leather: Mx  Dex: -1, Mv Pen: -1; AR+1; Rigid
• Metal: Mx Dex: -2, Mv Pen:  -2, AR: +2, RIgid, Metal

Bracers

• Reinforced Leather: AB Pen: -1, AR +1, Rigid
• Metal: AB Pen:  -2, AR: +2, RIgid, Metal

Helms

• Arming Cap: AR+1
• Leather Skullcap: AR: +1
• Leather Helm: AR +1, Rigid
• Chain Coif: Per Pen: -1, AR: +2,  Metal
• Half Helm: Per Pen: -1, AR: +2,  Metal, Rigid
• Chain Coif: Per Pen: -2, AR: +3,  Metal, Rigid

Pants

• Padded/Quilted: Mv Pen: -2, AR: +2, Cold(1), Flammable
• Leather Buckskins: Mv Pen: -1, AR: +1
• Chain Leggings: Mx Dex: -1,Mv Pen: -4, AR: +3, ASF(2), Metal

Robes: Mx Dex: 5, Mv Pen: -1, AB  Pen, -1, AR: +1, Cold(2), Heat (2), Flammable
Furs/Pelts: Max Dex: 4, , Mv Pen:  -4, AR: +3, Cold (3),   Flammable

If you are asking for Fantasy Express (the question is posted inside the FX folder),

Oops... I missed that... ROFL....

you don't convert XP, as the character earns XP it will eventually gain a new level, at that time it will receive a number of DP on each Skill Category based on the 2 Vocational Kits selected.

Yes, this is correct.

In Fantasy Express, you are award XP by the GM. once you XP total exceeds the amount required, you go up a level.

As stated on page 112 of Fantasy Express (page 70 of  Fantasy Express Lite)

Example: You have 18 XP total, and you have just completed a session. The GM tells you that you gained 3 XP this session. This gives you a total of 21 XP and means that your character has progressed from level 1 to level 2.

Upon gaining a level you then gain 24 Development Points (in total) -- which as split between the various Skill Categories based on the two Vocations you character has.