As we all know, Fabletop is a highly competitive multi-player game. The objective of the game is to be better and more powerful than all the other players, whilst simultaneously using these players to your own ends so that you can defeat the final boss, the dreaded ‘Game Master’.
This pro-level, expert guide will teach you how to optimise your Fabletop build. Please feel free to use this forum to share your own tips for rising to the top of the FT Meta.
Might, Agility and Wisdom
Overall in Fabletop, the base states are fairly well balanced:
As you are likely to use your best stat for attacking, all stats scale equally well for combat. There are however different amounts of out-of-combat usage
-Might is probably the weakest stat of all, scaling well for damage, athletics and endurance, but little else. Still a solid choice overall.
-Agility is slightly better than Might Ranged combat, stealth, dexterity, acrobatics, dodging and often ‘speed’
-Wisdom is probably the strongest stat overall. To give an example of Wisdom’s power, it covers 50% of the core stats of ‘Dungeons and Dragons’. Intelligence, wisdom, senses and all of speech makes this enough on its own, but if there is any form of fantasy element to your Fabletop game (one of the main arenas featured in the current game), this stat also affects magic. The only caveat with wisdom is that by a strict reading of the rulebook, ‘agility’ would be the stat for all ranged combat, including magic-missile type attacks. It is therefore at the GM’s discretion whether wisdom can be used as a main combat stat. The GM may use the their “ ‘attack style’ is an optional rule “ attack to nerf your damage. This can be avoided however with a 1/3/3 build. Which brings us onto…
Stat Spreads
The most obvious thing to do is put a ‘4’ into your combat stat, ‘2’ into your next most important stat and a ‘1’ into a stat you don’t need. This is a solid choice. Especially in a game that allows custom traits.
Putting a ‘3’ into all but one stat can keep you with high dice in 2/3rds of situations. You lose a little bit of DPS but become more well-rounded to non-combat scenarios
Going 3/2/2, 2/3/2 or 2/2/3 prevents you from having any weakness, and you can still equal the previous build in damage. You’re much less likely to have individual rolls that are super high however.
You should min-max and put a 4 into a stat to optimise for damage. For utility choose either of the other two builds.
Life and power:
Power is objectively better than life when compared pound-for-pound in Fabletop. This is because a roll to block / dodge / otherwise avoid damage, costs 1 power and spending a power point also adds 1 star to a roll. You are therefore, in theory, just as tanky as 2/6 then as a 6/2, as you can just use power to block / dodge / otherwise avoid damage. However, big hits could hit a character to 0 life even after a block roll if no stars are rolled against a 4 or 5 damage attack. It is therefore probably sensible to have 3 or 4 life points in reserve.
Go 3/5 if you are playing a mage, healer or other class that relies on regularly using power point abilities. Otherwise, go 4/4. If you are thinking of being ‘the tank’ or another ‘big tough brute’ archetype, you may be tempted to go 5/3 or even the dreaded 6/2. However, due to the previously mentioned method to avoid damage with power points, this is actually the wrong move. Having a high life stat only adds to flavour, character RP and fun; none of which are at all important if you want to win at Fabletop.
Choosing your Bonus Traits
Here is a tier list of all the built in Fabletop traits
S: Mage, Mystic (space-fan), Flight, Climb, Gadgets, Armor*
A: Warrior, Gunner, Wolffen, Military, Doctor, Marksmanship (space-fan), Mercenary, Kung Fu, Cyber Arm, Ork, Elf (Cyber City), Detective, Scientist (mod-crime), Journalist, Bodyguard, Martial arts, Marksmanship (mod-crime), Huge, Fire control, Ice control, Power Beam, Psychic, Force Control, Claws, Senses
B: Rogue, acrobatics, influence, mystic (med-fan), elf (med-fan), halfling, tech, diplomat, influence (space-fan), Science, Subterfuge (space-fan), Leadership, Physical, Hacker (cyber city), Gearhead, Slick, Brainiac, Subterfuge (Star Voyage), Shadowy, Hacker (mod-crime), Infiltration, charm, quick, leader, entangle,
C: Nature, influence (med-fan) performance, dwarf, gnome, underworld, engineer, navigator, communications, Scientist, cyber senses, Mechanic, Armor*
D: Pilot (space-fan), Survival, Pilot (Mod-crime),
E: Bureaucracy, Street wise
F: Holy
*note on ‘Armor’: if this trait allows the player to roll even a single die of passive armour in combat, it is S tier. Otherwise, if it only allows the players to add 1die to a an existing roll to reduce damage, using a power point, it is only C tier.
Custom Traits
The goal of custom traits is to stack as many things into a trait as possible and argue with the evil GM as much as possible if they don't allow your most over-powered, broken ideas.
In general, you want to cover any stats you have assigned '1' into by piling everything this base stat covers into trait descriptions. For example, if you've dumped might, make sure you have custom traits adding to strength, athletics and physical endurance.
At the same time, try and make at least on, or ideally both, of your traits add to combat to optimise your DPS
Remember, don't take 'no' for an answer, keep arguing with the GM until you defeat them (Just watch out for their dreaded 'table ban' special move, which is the most broken attack in the game and NEEDS to be nerfed as it is undodgable)
Conclusion
You now know everything you need to make the most brutally efficient and over-powered Fabletop character possible. The GM will quake in fear when they hear you have used this expert guide.
Oh and one more important point: have a happy April Fool's day 2025
This pro-level, expert guide will teach you how to optimise your Fabletop build. Please feel free to use this forum to share your own tips for rising to the top of the FT Meta.
Might, Agility and Wisdom
Overall in Fabletop, the base states are fairly well balanced:
As you are likely to use your best stat for attacking, all stats scale equally well for combat. There are however different amounts of out-of-combat usage
-Might is probably the weakest stat of all, scaling well for damage, athletics and endurance, but little else. Still a solid choice overall.
-Agility is slightly better than Might Ranged combat, stealth, dexterity, acrobatics, dodging and often ‘speed’
-Wisdom is probably the strongest stat overall. To give an example of Wisdom’s power, it covers 50% of the core stats of ‘Dungeons and Dragons’. Intelligence, wisdom, senses and all of speech makes this enough on its own, but if there is any form of fantasy element to your Fabletop game (one of the main arenas featured in the current game), this stat also affects magic. The only caveat with wisdom is that by a strict reading of the rulebook, ‘agility’ would be the stat for all ranged combat, including magic-missile type attacks. It is therefore at the GM’s discretion whether wisdom can be used as a main combat stat. The GM may use the their “ ‘attack style’ is an optional rule “ attack to nerf your damage. This can be avoided however with a 1/3/3 build. Which brings us onto…
Stat Spreads
The most obvious thing to do is put a ‘4’ into your combat stat, ‘2’ into your next most important stat and a ‘1’ into a stat you don’t need. This is a solid choice. Especially in a game that allows custom traits.
Putting a ‘3’ into all but one stat can keep you with high dice in 2/3rds of situations. You lose a little bit of DPS but become more well-rounded to non-combat scenarios
Going 3/2/2, 2/3/2 or 2/2/3 prevents you from having any weakness, and you can still equal the previous build in damage. You’re much less likely to have individual rolls that are super high however.
You should min-max and put a 4 into a stat to optimise for damage. For utility choose either of the other two builds.
Life and power:
Power is objectively better than life when compared pound-for-pound in Fabletop. This is because a roll to block / dodge / otherwise avoid damage, costs 1 power and spending a power point also adds 1 star to a roll. You are therefore, in theory, just as tanky as 2/6 then as a 6/2, as you can just use power to block / dodge / otherwise avoid damage. However, big hits could hit a character to 0 life even after a block roll if no stars are rolled against a 4 or 5 damage attack. It is therefore probably sensible to have 3 or 4 life points in reserve.
Go 3/5 if you are playing a mage, healer or other class that relies on regularly using power point abilities. Otherwise, go 4/4. If you are thinking of being ‘the tank’ or another ‘big tough brute’ archetype, you may be tempted to go 5/3 or even the dreaded 6/2. However, due to the previously mentioned method to avoid damage with power points, this is actually the wrong move. Having a high life stat only adds to flavour, character RP and fun; none of which are at all important if you want to win at Fabletop.
Choosing your Bonus Traits
Here is a tier list of all the built in Fabletop traits
S: Mage, Mystic (space-fan), Flight, Climb, Gadgets, Armor*
A: Warrior, Gunner, Wolffen, Military, Doctor, Marksmanship (space-fan), Mercenary, Kung Fu, Cyber Arm, Ork, Elf (Cyber City), Detective, Scientist (mod-crime), Journalist, Bodyguard, Martial arts, Marksmanship (mod-crime), Huge, Fire control, Ice control, Power Beam, Psychic, Force Control, Claws, Senses
B: Rogue, acrobatics, influence, mystic (med-fan), elf (med-fan), halfling, tech, diplomat, influence (space-fan), Science, Subterfuge (space-fan), Leadership, Physical, Hacker (cyber city), Gearhead, Slick, Brainiac, Subterfuge (Star Voyage), Shadowy, Hacker (mod-crime), Infiltration, charm, quick, leader, entangle,
C: Nature, influence (med-fan) performance, dwarf, gnome, underworld, engineer, navigator, communications, Scientist, cyber senses, Mechanic, Armor*
D: Pilot (space-fan), Survival, Pilot (Mod-crime),
E: Bureaucracy, Street wise
F: Holy
*note on ‘Armor’: if this trait allows the player to roll even a single die of passive armour in combat, it is S tier. Otherwise, if it only allows the players to add 1die to a an existing roll to reduce damage, using a power point, it is only C tier.
Custom Traits
The goal of custom traits is to stack as many things into a trait as possible and argue with the evil GM as much as possible if they don't allow your most over-powered, broken ideas.
In general, you want to cover any stats you have assigned '1' into by piling everything this base stat covers into trait descriptions. For example, if you've dumped might, make sure you have custom traits adding to strength, athletics and physical endurance.
At the same time, try and make at least on, or ideally both, of your traits add to combat to optimise your DPS
Remember, don't take 'no' for an answer, keep arguing with the GM until you defeat them (Just watch out for their dreaded 'table ban' special move, which is the most broken attack in the game and NEEDS to be nerfed as it is undodgable)
Conclusion
You now know everything you need to make the most brutally efficient and over-powered Fabletop character possible. The GM will quake in fear when they hear you have used this expert guide.
Oh and one more important point: have a happy April Fool's day 2025