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The horizon stretches out before you, vast, indifferent, and unending. It is your trial to venture forth, towards that place where the sky meets the earth; to grow strong, to explore distant lands, and to defeat evil wherever it may be found. You will burn bright, fight hard, laugh loudly in the face of danger, and, when the time comes, sacrifice yourself for something worth dying for.

Last Odyssey is a game that is about translating the experience of playing a JRPG into tabletop—a TTJRPG, to borrow a turn of phrase. It is a game about taking risks, overcoming fear and anxiety, forging friendships between players, and journeying into the unknown.

More specifically, Last Odyssey is a TTJRPG for 3-5 players and a single GM inspired by JRPGs like Metaphor: ReFantazio, Final Fantasy XIII, and Lost Odyssey that explore anxiety, growth, and loss alongside more heroic themes like discovery, exploration, and the battle between good and evil. Last Odyssey has a fragmentary design structure, with separate systems for combat and exploration that serve as the rigid backbone for the more story-driven and rules-lite aspects. The result is a game that, in the tradition of JRPGs, is more than the sum of its parts.

Last Odyssey follows contemporary TTRPG structure, in the sense that the GM is the arbiter responsible for explaining the world and interpreting the game rules, while each player plays a single, powerful character whose actions earn them experience that allow them to become more powerful and take on more dangerous challenges.

You Will Experience

• Team-based tactical combat. Each Hero has their own unique set of abilities that work in tandem with the abilities of other players to achieve victory. No character can stand alone, and no character is left behind.
• Streamlined exploration and worldbuilding. When traveling from place to place, characters will have to deal with both warrior encounters and with the natural world. Simple mechanics like weather effects, navigation, and the node-path system streamline exploration while still creating the sense of a world that extends beyond the bounds of the story.
• Mechanics that emphasize drama. The Scenes system rewards players for tempting fate, by asking them to put their relationships, their aspirations, and even their lives at risk in order to gain Anima, which in turn allows them to become more powerful and gain the upper hand during gameplay.
• Lethal Antagonists that can manipulate fate. Antagonists are not just powerful warriors, but special characters that can take player Anima and throw it right back in their faces. Villains and Monsters can earn and spend Anima, and are also the only thing in the world that can kill players without their permission, making them terrifying opponents to face down.
• Elegant creation tools for GMs. Last Odyssey is a game by a GM, for GMs. In addition to mountains of ready-made objects and characters to put into your game, Last Odyssey also outlines how GMs can easily create their own warriors and items to both challenge and reward players in ways that keep the game feeling fresh, even for veterans.
• Acquiring knowledge and secret Lore. Investigation and Lore mechanics resolve player information-gathering in ways that align character knowledge with player knowledge. There is no such thing as a failed knowledge check—instead, players are encouraged to be curious and meet the world on its own terms.
• Spiting death, and dying well. In Last Odyssey, Heroes are normally insulated from death, encouraging a sense of fearlessness. However, at critical moments, they may risk dying for the sake of earning Anima, and Antagonists may kill them permanently if the opportunity presents itself.
• A balance between free and structured play. Last Odyssey is “rules-heavy” in some places and “rules-lite” in others. Its free parts and its structured parts are strictly delineated in a way that makes it easier to run and also supports multiple kinds of play.
• Forging bonds between players. The Heroes, and thus the players, need to cooperate with one another in order to succeed, both on and off the battlefield. They will treat each other’s wounds, carry each other’s burdens, and have each other’s back when it counts.

Get Started

• Beginner’s Guide: For people new to fantasy role play and experienced gamers new to Last Odyssey.

• Glossary: Some general RPG and Last Odyssey-specific words you will need to understand when reading this document.

Acknowledgements

So far, my contributing illustrators have been Luna P, who drew the Pelagic Shard logo, and Lilith Dorado and Billy Valentine, who contributed illustration work and consulted on the design of the Last Odyssey logo.

Closed playtests are still ongoing—a big thank you to the participants, whose names I, as of writing this, do not have permission to disclose, who have already given me a lot of thoughtful feedback to incorporate.

Special shout out to Billy and Diane for their technical help as well as Billy for his general guidance; to Lottie, for keeping me humble; to Irving, for telling me I could do it; to Andrew, for telling me how to do it; to everyone who believed in me.