Final Fantasy 1 Classes for LotFP

"For ten years I probed for the FLOATER."

Here's something I'm pretty sure no one asked for: classes for Lamentations of the Flame Princess based on those of the classic NES/Famicom game Final Fantasy, which you may have heard of. ("What?! You've never heard of Dr. Unne?") These have not been playtested as of this post, and are probably not balanced. If you use these, I would probably recommend restricting the classes available to the players to just these (and possibly other Final Fantasy- or video game-themed classes, if you have any).

All Classes - "You might think that there is something to it.... But in fact it is just an ordinary well."

• XP as Elf.
• Gain and spend skill points like a Specialist. No class starts with free specialist tools.
• Add Strength modifier to melee damage.
• Critical Hits - If a natural 20 is rolled to hit, the attack automatically hits and does maximum damage (e.g. 9 if the weapon used does d8 damage and the attack has a Strength modifier of +1).
• All classes that cast spells can do so one-handed, as LotFP Elf. A holy symbol is not needed in order to cast Cleric spells.
• The Read Magic spell is no longer necessary.
• Holy water does 1d12 damage to appropriate targets instead of 1d8.
• I wouldn't worry about alignment, personally, but if it came up for some reason, I'd say Fighters/Thieves/Black Belts can choose their alignment, White Mages are Lawful, Black Mages are Chaotic, and Red Mages count as whichever would be more interesting at any given moment.

Fighter - "You impertinent fools. I, Garland, will knock you all down!"

• Hit Dice are d10, as LotFP Dwarf (UPDATE: This was originally "d8, as LotFP Fighter")
• Saving Throws as LotFP Fighter or Specialist, whichever is better (see my Myth Warrior class for an example of how I do this)
• Base Attack Bonus, Combat Options, etc. as LotFP Fighter
• Increased encumbrance capacity, as LotFP Dwarf
• Constitution modifier continues to apply to HP gained per level after level 9, as LotFP Dwarf.
• At level 10, the Fighter earns the title of Knight, and can begin to learn and cast some Cleric spells. For purposes of determining known spells and Spells Per Day, treat a level 10 Knight as a level 1 LotFP Cleric, a level 11 Knight as a level 2 Cleric, etc. Knights can never learn or cast spells of over third level, even from scrolls (although Cleric potions of any level will work on the Knight just like any other character). Knights cannot research/create brand new spells or create magic items.

Thief - "Unprofitable business is not a practice of the Dragons of Cardia."

• Hit Dice are d8, as LotFP Fighter
• Saving Throws as LotFP Fighter or Specialist, whichever is better (see my Myth Warrior class for an example of how I do this)
• Base Attack Bonus, Combat Options, etc. as LotFP Fighter
• Only surprised on a 1 in 6, as LotFP Elf
• +1 to Dexterity modifier and +1 to AC when not surprised, as LotFP Halfling
• Extra +1 to initiative (UPDATE: Not originally included)
• At level 10, the Thief earns the title of Ninja, and can begin to learn and cast some Magic-User spells. For purposes of determining known spells and Spells Per Day, treat a level 10 Ninja as a level 1 LotFP Magic-User, a level 11 Ninja as a level 2 Ninja, etc. Ninja can never learn or cast spells of over third level, even from scrolls, wands, and staves (although Magic-User potions of any level will work on the Ninja just like any other character). Ninja cannot research/create brand new spells or create magic items, but they can learn spells (by gaining levels, copying them from other spellbooks or scrolls, or researching spells already on the game's spell list) like Magic-Users. A Ninja must buy or otherwise acquire a spellbook; one is not automatically provided.

Black Belt - "The TAIL of a rat proves your courage. I shall give you the honor due true Warriors."

• Hit Dice are d8, as LotFP Fighter
• Saving Throws as LotFP Fighter or Specialist, whichever is better (see my Myth Warrior class for an example of how I do this)
• Base Attack Bonus, Combat Options, etc. as LotFP Fighter
• Does not gain any AC bonus from armor heavier than Leather. Does not gain any AC bonus from a shield.
• Only does d4 damage with over-encumbering weapons, and does not apply Base Attack Bonus when using such weapons.
• When no more than lightly encumbered, the Black Belt does higher damage with unarmed attacks than other characters: d4 at level 1, d6 at level 4, d8 at level 7, and d10 at level 10. At level 5, the Black Belt gains the ability to make 2 unarmed attacks per combat round when unencumbered, and this increases to 3 unarmed attacks per combat round at level 10. These are altered versions of rules borrowed from Qelong by Kenneth Hite.
• Ignores damage from 10' of falling per level (maximum 100'). When unencumbered, can move up to 60' per round (180' running). In addition to using the Climb skill as normal, a Black Belt can Spider Climb (as per the spell) for a total number of turns per day equal to their level (maximum 10), and these turns do not have to be consecutive. These are altered versions of rules borrowed from Qelong by Kenneth Hite.
• At level 10, the Black Belt earns the purely honorary title of Grand Master.

Red Mage - "400 years ago, we had an advanced civilization. Our interest was the universe!!"

• Hit Dice are d6, as LotFP Cleric
• Saving Throws as LotFP Fighter or Specialist, whichever is better (see my Myth Warrior class for an example of how I do this)
• Base Attack Bonus as LotFP Fighter when up to lightly encumbered, but only BAB of +1 at heavy encumbrance or higher. No Fighter Combat Options (or Fighter firearm rules if you use guns). UPDATE: If you want to stick closer to the original LotFP rules, or if you just want the Red Mage's class features to be a little less fiddly, you could easily swap out the increasing BAB for the Fighter Combat Options and call it a day.
• Cannot cast spells if more than lightly encumbered
• Casts Cleric spells and performs other magical functions as LotFP Cleric, with some differences. At level 1, the Red Mage can cast 1 Cleric Spell Per Day, and their Cleric Spells Per Day increase every odd numbered level after this. For example, a Red Mage can cast 2 first level Spells Per Day at level 3 (like a level 2 Cleric), 3 first level Spells Per Day at level 5 (like a level 3 Cleric), 3 first level and 1 second level Spells Per Day at level 7 (like a level 4 Cleric), etc. Red Mages can never learn spells of over fifth level, and can only cast them from scrolls or other magic items.
• Casts Magic-User spells and performs other magical functions as LotFP Magic-User, with some differences. At character creation, the Red Mage starts with a free spellbook containing three random first level spells. Each time the Black Mage earns a level, they gain one free random spell of the player's spell level of choice as per Rules & Magic, but they only take one day to scribe it into their spellbook (instead of the normal research time). At level 1, the Red Mage can cast 1 Magic-User Spell Per Day, and their Magic-User Spells Per Day increase every even numbered level after this. For example, a Red Mage can cast 2 first level Spells Per Day at level 2 (like a level 2 Magic-User), 2 first level and 1 second level Spells Per Day at level 4 (like a level 3 Magic-User), 2 first level and 2 second level Spells Per Day at level 6 (like a level 4 Magic-User), etc. Red Mages can never learn spells of over fifth level, and can only cast them from scrolls, wands, etc.
• A Red Mage can make potions of Cleric spells without help from another character (see Rules & Magic p. 81).
• At level 10, the Red Mage earns the title of Red Wizard. The Red Wizard gains the "Most Learned" ability from the Doctor character class created by Patrick Stuart and published in The Undercroft #9. They also gain a 50% discount on the purchase of any hat due to their obvious and admirable expertise in fashionable headwear.

White Mage - "We, the Twelve Sages, were led here by the stars and prophecy."

• Hit Dice are d6, as LotFP Cleric
• Saving Throws as LotFP Cleric or Specialist, whichever is better
• Casts Cleric spells and performs other magical functions as LotFP Cleric.
• Can cast spells at any level of encumbrance less than over encumbered (5+ points).
• Can memorize (but not cast) up to 1 addition spell per spell level per day. This "Spell Versatility" rule is borrowed from the article "Classless Lamentations of the Flame Princess" by Marc "Lord Inar" Gacy, published in The Undercroft #4.
• At level 10, the White Mage earns the title of White Wizard. The White Wizard automatically succeeds at creating protection scrolls (see Rules & Magic p. 76) as long as an appropriate creature of at least 1 HD is sacrificed. Furthermore, the White Wizard can now create a vial of holy water in one day (and with one casting of Bless) instead of 10 (see Rules & Magic p. 76).

Black Mage - "----TCELES B HSUP A magic spell?"

• Hit Dice are d6 at level 1 and d4 after that, as LotFP Magic-User
• Saving Throws as LotFP Magic-User or Specialist, whichever is better
• Casts Magic-User spells and performs other magical functions as LotFP Magic-User
• At character creation, starts with a free spellbook containing the spell Summon, one first level spell of the player's choice, and two random first level spells. Each time the Black Mage earns a level, they gain one free random spell of the player's spell level of choice as per Rules & Magic, but they only take one day to scribe it into their spellbook (instead of the normal research time).
• Can perform "Unsafe Casting" in order to cast spells when out of Spells Per Day or otherwise unable to cast normally (see LotFP Playtest Document 0.1 for details).
• Can memorize (but not cast) up to 1 addition spell per spell level per day. This "Spell Versatility" rule is borrowed from the article "Classless Lamentations of the Flame Princess" by Marc "Lord Inar" Gacy, published in The Undercroft #4.
• At level 10, the Black Mage earns the title of Black Wizard. The Black Wizard automatically gains the spell Advanced Summon (treat as a fifth level spell, not ninth) in addition to the usual spell gained upon earning a level - this is the only way to gain this spell, and no other class can learn or cast it. This spell magically appears in the Black Wizard's spellbook, so it does not take a day to copy down. Even if cast from a scroll or other magic item, only a Black Wizard (a Black Mage of level 10 or higher) can cast this spell. Furthermore, when using a laboratory, the Black Wizard no longer needs to roll a Saving Throw vs. Magic in order to see if the value of the laboratory is decreased or if an explosion occurs; this Saving Throw is simply assumed to automatically succeed.

Closing Thoughts - "See your face upon the clean water. How dirty! Come! Wash your face!"

• I gave the Specialist's skill points to every class because Final Fantasy doesn't have anything really comparable (the Thief in the video game is basically a Fighter variant), so it seemed better to give a little bit of skill check duty to everyone in the party regardless of class instead of keeping it in the domain of one class, and therefore drastically changing how that class would probably play in comparison to the video game. Final Fantasy is a very combat-focused game, so these classes follow suit. Plus I kind of like the idea of having a skill system that is separate from and/or parallel to the class system, kinda sorta like in later editions of D&D. I'm sure this isn't to everyone's taste. An alternative idea is to ditch the skill system and play like it's pre-Supplement I OD&D: Just try things, and the DM will tell you if it works or not.
• Likewise, I added the Saving Throws of the Specialist to those of the "base" classes just to make the "everyone is a Specialist" thing consistent and to make the new classes a little tougher. It's not at all necessary. 
• I'm not entirely happy with how magic works with these classes, especially the Red Mage. I feel like there must be a simpler way to handle the number of spells these classes can cast at a given level, for example. Maybe some kind of MP system is in order, like in the video games?
• If you think holy water just isn't Final Fantasy enough, you could probably reskin it as some damage-dealing item from another game in the Final Fantasy series.
• If NPCs behaved in your LotFP campaign the way they do in video game RPGs like this one - you know, repeating the same lines over and over, occasionally speaking in weird ways, obsessively patrolling certain paths, constantly getting in your way - I imagine it could be pretty creepy and/or funny. Maybe every town in the world has been afflicted with the same crazy curse.
• Since they're so much more powerful than the default classes in Lamentations of the Flame Princess, these new classes would probably work better in a slightly more typical D&D-style campaign than in a typical LotFP campaign featuring a low monster count, rare magic, low XP-per-game, etc. It would have probably made more sense to base these classes on the B/X rules or AD&D rules or something, but I'm honestly more familiar with the LotFP rules as of now. Plus, I thought this might serve as an interesting thought experiment or something, I guess. Still, a mash-up of Final Fantasy and LotFP might not be so bad: JRPG tropes clashing with bleak cosmic horror and surprising injections of a brutal, heavy metal aesthetic. My Lamentations of the Fallen Lords campaign is similarly over-the-top in terms of character abilities, and it's been really fun, so...who knows?
• I tried to create an interesting mix of specific class features from the NES game (or at least rules inspired by them) and stuff I like from the existing LotFP rules and publications, plus some of my own ideas. If anyone has any suggestions on how to improve any of these classes, please feel free to let me know.

"My legs are beautiful! It's so nice to have legs."

I want to give a shout out to Blueberry Buttface at GameFAQs for posting the text dump of Final Fantasy that I mined for quotes. Thank you!