Editing The Wyzard Runs OD&D (section)

== An Introduction to The Fantasy Trip ==

The Fantasy Trip is an early rpg/tactical combat game.  It was designed in large part by Steve Jackson, and illustrates many core concepts that would later become the foundation for GURPS.  It is, however, much less complex and more focused than GURPS.<br/>
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In very general terms, a character in The Fantasy Trip is defined by three statistics, some number of Talents (and possibly spells), and the equipment they carry.  The three attributes are Strength, Dexterity, and IQ.  Almost everything you can attempt in the game is controlled by rolling some number of six-sided dice (usually 3) and attempting to get under one of your attribute scores.
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*Strength represents your physical power and toughness.  You can take an amount of damage up to your Strength before being defeated (and possibly killed) in combat.  It also controls how much you can carry without being encumbered and what weapons you can wield properly.  Further, it measures the maximum amount of Exhaustion you can take, which is very important for those who wish to cast spells.
*Dexterity is used to determine in what order you act, and is also rolled against to hit in combat or cast spells successfully.  Armor and other factors can Adjust your DX, usually downward.  This is known as your Adjusted Dexterity.  Whenever something calls for your DX, you use your current adjusted figure.  Keep a high Adjusted Dexterity is very important!  Without it, you will not successfully attack or cast spells.
*IQ is a measure of your character's intellect, willpower, and ability to effectively master social situations.  It also controls what Talents and Spells you have access to, since all Talents and Spells have a minimum IQ to learn.  
*Talents and Spells are purchased with Talent Points.  A starting PC will have Talent Points equal to their IQ+2.  They can purchase talents that let them use weapons, have advanced skills, or gain the ability to learn spells.  Every Talent has a minimum IQ, a cost in Talent Points, and may have prerequisites.
*Spells are purchased like Talents, except that they all cost only one Talent Point apiece.  A character must gain access to a spell through a talent, and they can then learn it.  A character casts a spell they know by declaring the action, rolling under their AdjDX on 3d6, and then spending the Strength Cost in Exhaustion (this doesn't affect carrying capacity or other Strength-based matters in any, other than potentially making the character unconscious.)  A character who fails the spellcasting roll still expends 1 Exhaustion.  A character cannot spend more Exhaustion on a spell than it would take to reduce them to 0 Strength, including however much damage they have taken.
*Weapons have a minimum Strength to use, and usually do damage in proportion to how much strength it takes to wield them.  Armor lets you resist a certain amount of damage from each hit, but adjust DX downward in compensation.
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Characters gain XP as they adventure.  XP can be used to purchase attribute points and talent points.  XP should generally be spent during downtime.