Fire Emblem: A Tabletop Adaptation

A hack of chess. Created for the Art is Ego game jam, which has the following prompt: “Make a thought piece with unplayable mechanics.”

I’ve seen TTRPGs that try to replicate the mechanics of Fire Emblem, sometimes obsessively, but none that try to replicate Fire Emblem’s core idea, which is “chess, but every piece has their own story.” Here’s a game closer to that idea, but still with a bunch of extraneous Fire Emblem elements. Keep what works for you and toss what doesn’t.

FAQ:

Q: How long does this game take to play?

A: I have no idea! One of the rules of the game jam was “don’t playtest it.” It probably takes less time than playing a real Fire Emblem game, but no guarantees.

Q: I’ve never played a Fire Emblem game before. Why doesn’t the knight piece get one of the classes with “knight” in the name?

A: Because most horseback classes in Fire Emblem aren’t called “knights,” while pegasus riders and people trundling around the battlefield on foot in heavy armor are.

Q: I have played a Fire Emblem game before. What happened to the wyvern rider class?

A: Wyverns’ stats are too good. If either side had one, it wouldn’t be fair to the other player.

Q: What do the stats do?

A: Nothing.