Fabula Ultima

Fabula Ultima is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game inspired by Japanese role-playing video games such as the Final Fantasy series. It was designed by Emanuele Galletto, illustrated by Catthy Trinh and Moryo, and published by Need Games in 2023.^[1][2] The game won 2023 ENNIE Awards for Best Game and Product of the Year.^[3][4]

Fabula Ultima

Designers	Emanuele Galletto
Illustrators	Catthy Trinh, Moryo
Publishers	Need Games
Publication	2023
Genres	tabletop role-playing game, fantasy

Gameplay

Fabula Ultima's dice mechanics were inspired by Ryuutama. Character abilities are described using an increasing die size—a d6 reflecting weakness, up to a d12 representing significant prowess—challenges are resolved with a dice pool composed of the dice of two stats, or of a single stat twice, and attempting to meet a given total. Character bonds, backstory, and themes can allow a player to reroll dice for better results.^[1]

Reception

Fabula Ultima won two 2023 ENNIE Awards: the Gold ENnie for Best Game and the Silver ENnie for Product of the Year.^[3] Matt Jarvis for Dicebreaker called the game, "everything I could hope for from a Final Fantasy-like tabletop RPG."^[1] Alex Meehan for Dicebreaker named Fabula Ultima one of the best tabletop role-playing games to play in 2024.^[5]