Final Fantasy TTRPG Starter Set

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• RRP: 59.99 USD
• player: 3-5 (Recommended for 5 players)
• Playing time: 120+ minutes
• Age group: 14+
• Box dimensions: 12.20 inches x 8.70 inches x 1.97 inches

To set expectations, I want to make it clear that this starter set only offers a small glimpse into the gameplay experience of this RPG system – how combat works and how the narrative flow works (e.g. how skill checks work). Almost all customization aspects and systems are still a mystery and will not be explained here.

The set includes everything you and up to four friends need to complete the three included scenarios: four pre-made characters (two DPS, one tank, and one healer), a player’s book, a game master’s book, and all the necessary cards, tokens, and Do-Dads needed to complete the scenarios.

FF14 follows the general flow of all tabletop RPGs, where players tell the game master their idea and the game master has them roll dice to see how well they do at their endeavor, with the outcome of their actions ultimately being the deciding factor. Occasionally, players will get into combat where they learn certain skills or abilities tied to the character’s class that they can use to take down their enemies. Players will also have to roll dice. You can expect a lot of hilarious moments where plans crumble in the first few moments and things just spiral out of control, but these moments are also part of the charm and magic of these games. These will ultimately give you and your friends some amazing memories, so just enjoy the ride.

For players of other popular tabletop RPGs like Pathfinder or Dungeons & Dragons, there are many similarities in the way combat and skill tests work in FF14. Rolling uses a D20 – a 20-sided die – to determine whether you succeed at something and how well you do it. If you have an advantage or disadvantage in a situation, you must roll two dice and take the higher/lower of the two. Critical hits are possible if you roll a 20 – it all feels familiar and comfortable (as a long-time D&D player). That’s not to say FF14 is an exact copy, as it still tweaks and adapts some mechanics that impressed me, and it feels like its own game rather than a D&D clone with a Final Fantasy coat of paint.

A quick look at the four characters included in the set shows that Square Enix has made an effort to incorporate the MMO’s key systems into the tabletop experience. Players coming from the digital game will notice familiar terms and concepts for each class and role. The Black Mage gets bonuses when casting spells of the same element at the same time (such as extra damage with fire spells thanks to his Astral Fire trait), or the Warrior has attacks that can be used in combination with each other, allowing him to perform multiple attacks in a single turn. And there are also the incredibly powerful Limit Break attacks, which can turn the tide of a tough encounter if used at the crucial moment.

The thing I enjoyed the most was the “direct hit” mechanic for attacks. Instead of rolling dice to see if you hit at all, FF14 instead goes with the idea that you always at least hit a target, but if you roll and manage to meet or exceed the target’s physical or magical defense rating, it counts as a “direct hit.” These “direct hits” can deal additional damage or trigger effects.

Let’s take the Warrior’s main Overpower ability as an example. The ability’s base effect causes enemies not targeting the Warrior to take a penalty when attacking anyone other than the Warrior. However, if you successfully attack and get a direct hit, Overpower deals an additional 2 damage to all targets. One of the most devastating things in a TTRPG is planning a cool attack in your head, lining everything up, and then watching everything around you crumble because you roll poorly and not only miss that cool moment, but risk missing that turn, period. I love being able to remove Miss with an attack, not worry about losing a turn and not helping my team.

Where this starter set stumbles (and stumbles pretty badly) is how little of the actual system you see with this kit – which is a shame, because what is shown is pretty cool. If you want to find out how to level up your character and gain new abilities, you won’t find it here – instead, grab three character sheets of the same character at three different levels. Or how about a look at how the equipment works? There’s not even room for that on the sheets provided.

Class changing, non-combat jobs, character creation, racial bonus details, and the list of parts of this system that remain a mystery goes on. However, none of this would matter as much if the set had been released alongside the core player and game master books. Instead, this starter set was released in isolation from all other releases, meaning all of these questions remain unanswered.

And if playing this set piques your interest, you will have to wait to continue playing, and the only consolation is the message “Coming Soon”. Some websites, such as sabrina1988have a pre-order page that says “March 2025” for the standard manual, which means players may have to wait quite a while. Without the availability of those core rulebooks to continue your adventures then, it means that this starter set will have to serve as both the start and end point of your time with the game for the foreseeable future, and there’s simply not enough “stuff” in this set to meet those needs.

These problems are all topped off by the relatively high price of $59.99 on Square’s store page – a price that is almost three times that of other TTRPG starter sets (which arguably offer more features) or the same as the video game Final Fantasy XIV Online Complete Edition which bundles the base game and all its expansions.

The production quality of this set is great, with thick paper for the character sheets, the cards and books are glossy, and the full-color books and cardboard tokens are sturdy (it was a bit of a challenge getting the tokens out of the die-cut boards in my copy), but it would have been nice to get miniatures of the four characters as well. The price hurts a bit more, as both the Player’s and Game Master’s books are free to download, so you’re basically paying $60 for some cardboard, dice, and folded cards.