What's general feel / vibe of FATE-based systems?

[innerdude]

So I stumbled on the Legends of Anglerre sourcebook on Amazon this morning, and I was totally intrigued.

I've heard a lot of good impressions from people "through the grapevine" about FATE as a system, but I have zero experience or context with it.

Where does it fall on the rules heavy / rules lite sliding scale?

What's the "feel" like when playing it? What is the most comparable system to it in overall playstyle, and its biggest opposite?

What size of combats does it handle without becoming unwieldy, and what's the average encounter time for a group of 5 players?

Can you get along using the "open source" generic rules, or is it better to use a setting-specific sourcebook?

Thanks in advance, oh ENWorld Wise Ones.

 

[SiderisAnon]

I played in a single FATE/FUDGE campaign a few years back. My impression of the game system from that and from reading the rules is that the style of the system is entirely what you make of it at the table. There really is no set style or feel because the system is a toolbox designed to let you create whatever style or feel that you want.

That said, there are few things it is not. It is not a heavy crunch game. Unlike D&D or HERO, you're no going to be flipping through pages of rules and numbers. Unless the particular setting you've picked has detailed rules for combat, magic, technology, or whathaveyou, most things are left entirely in the hands of the GM. This works wonderfully with a good GM that the players trust.

FATE is not a heavily tactical system. You don't need a grid map, miniatures, or anything like that. The fights are more about description and style than wargaming.

As an additional selling point for me, FATE is also not a swingy system. Rolling the dice only adds or subtracts a small amount (-4 to +4, with typical rolls being more in the -1 to +1 range). There are things that can add a little more when it's important, but basically the underlying skill you have will be of greater importance than what you roll on the dice.


Like a number of systems out there, FATE is about letting you do whatever you want. It's generic. HERO, Savage Worlds, GURPS, and others all aim toward this themselves. Like the cores of those systems, the FATE system is not for everyone. Some players and game masters really prefer to have everything written down in the books and set in stone. They don't like the ambiguity of an open system. That said, there are some setting/genre type books out there, just like there are for the other systems I mentioned.


If I had to pick another game that had a similar feel in its play, the only one I can come up with is Amber. That is another game, in my opinion, where it's far more about the game master and the players than it is about the written system itself.


Overall, I like FATE and would happily run it myself. I cannot currently because I have to many players who are number crunching wargame/simulationist type players who really respond better to more tactical focused games like D&D.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

I've only played one Dresden Files FATE campaign, so some of my specific points might only apply to DF, not FATE in general.

Overall I think it is an enjoyable, engaging system. The rules are mostly on the lighter side of things but at least with DF the magic system was very cumbersome. I played a magic user in that campaign and I will definitely not play one in the next campaign simply for easier play.

The most engaging dynamic that it has (to me) is that it encourages complicating the PC's situations by giving the GM the power to compel a PC's actions based on their aspects. That said, I like it when the GM throws hardship at my characters because I think troubles make plots more interesting. If your players don't like SNAFUs, you can be more lenient and not introduce many complications but I think you'll miss the biggest strength of the system.

Because the system encourages complicating the PC's situations, it benefits from a willingness between the players and GM to collaborate and create a more interesting story even if that means running into some pitfalls. There can't be antagonism between the players and GM and the players need to trust that the GM is going to introduce complications that make an enjoyable story, not to penalize the PC.

We had five players and that seemed like an adequate number for combats but four might work better. Our combats didn't run very long but we had three magic users and in my experience magic can quickly tip the scales greatly in your favor with a good roll. (Although as SiderisAnon points out, it's generally not a swingy system.)

I can't help with whether it's better to use generic rules or setting specific rules but the premise to the system is so basic that I would feel comfortable adapting the DF rules for any other genre.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

I totally dig FATE. In addition to some of the points above, one of the things that is really neat is that the cool things that the characters can do comes more from *who* the characters are instead of *what* they are. If you're tired of games where characters seem cookie-cutter and the same feats are taken over and over, FATE is a breath of fresh air.

The interactive character building is fun, too. Even first level characters start in media res; there's a tangled history among the party that can create interesting intra-party dynamics if you've got the right players.

It is a bit more demanding of the players, though. If you've got a player that just wants to roll dice and hit things, they're not going to have as much fun in FATE, and it'll drag the table down more than it would in a stock D&D game, for instance.

 

[Aurumvorax]

FATE really requires a group of people willing to engage in the game. You can't have the typical wallflower player who flips dice and shrugs his shoulders whenever asked a question in another game. I played the game a few times with some friends and we all take a shot of Bacardi 151 before beginning to loosen up

The games we played were a very improvisational, casual experience. My group is used to the D&D fashion where DM speaks then players decide followed by more narration by the DM. When we played Spirit of the Century, it was more like everyone is talking roundtable, sharing in a combined narrative. It was almost symbiotic how we approached the storytelling. I'm going off on a tangent here but playing a FATE game is a very different experience from almost every other RPG I've played.

 

[Samurai]

As one of the authors of Legends of Anglerre, I can perhaps answer some questions about it. If you haven't already, I recommend downloading the free preview of it, and looking at the FATE3 SRD.

Legends of Anglerre - FREE PREVIEW #1 - Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd. | DriveThruRPG.com

SotC SRD

What the others have said is true, the game can vary significantly between groups, and requires active and interested players and GM because much of the action involves either tagging or compelling Aspects in various people, places, and things. Aspects are the most unique thing about FATE, and while they sit on a standard RPG system with skills, stunts, etc, Aspects are what set the game apart. You create your character's Aspects, and they can be anything you can imagine. They should define your character, be dramatic, and ideally be both able to be tagged (have a benefit) and compelled (have a down side). This is because you use FATE points to tag Aspects for their benefit, but you get FATE points by having your Aspect used against you. If you choose all positive Aspects, you'll quickly burn through your starting FATE points and have no way to replenish them. So something like "Strong as an ox and half as smart" is a more useful Aspect than just "Strong as an ox".

The environment, NPCs, enemies, magic items, etc all have Aspects as well, though some might be very obvious and some might be secret and need to be discovered. You can even create new temporary Aspects through maneuvers, or declare Aspects as a result of a skill check. Again, since Aspects can literally be anything, it requires an active group of players to think about a scene and the characters in it, what Aspects there are or could potentially be created there, and when and how to use them for best effect. There are tactics involved, and creativity, but not much moving around on a map for precise positioning. Instead, a roguish character might perform a Stealth maneuver in order to give an opponent the "Flanked by enemies" Aspect.

As for your other questions, I'd say it's about rules light-medium, 5 people is fine for a combat, and they don't tend to take all that long in most versions of the game. The "feel" is a lot more old school making stuff up with at most a hastily sketched map on scratch paper rather than detailed positioning. As for which version to get, there are several different ones, from Dresden Files to Spirit of the Century to Strands of FATE to Legends of Anglerre, and more. (The system is OGL, so anyone can use it and tweak it). Each one is different and has strengths and weaknesses, and it depends upon what you want to do with it. Do you want fantasy, sci-fi, modern day? Do you want a detailed magic system, or would you prefer rules for starship battles and random planet creation? There are sites that detail the system differences between the various iterations, and some are closer than others in terms of compatibility.

 

[Walking Dad]

...

It is a bit more demanding of the players, though. If you've got a player that just wants to roll dice and hit things, they're not going to have as much fun in FATE, and it'll drag the table down more than it would in a stock D&D game, for instance.

I just want to describe actions because I'm a role-player, not to activate bonuses for myself. The game can become a description contest where everyone tries to get the most benefits from trying to include 'everything' in their descriptions. It makes the 'role' part work and rules intensive.

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hat the others have said is true, the game can vary significantly between groups, and requires active and interested players and GM because much of the action involves either tagging or compelling Aspects in various people, places, and things. Aspects are the most unique thing about FATE, and while they sit on a standard RPG system with skills, stunts, etc, Aspects are what set the game apart. You create your character's Aspects, and they can be anything you can imagine. They should define your character, be dramatic, and ideally be both able to be tagged (have a benefit) and compelled (have a down side). This is because you use FATE points to tag Aspects for their benefit, but you get FATE points by having your Aspect used against you. If you choose all positive Aspects, you'll quickly burn through your starting FATE points and have no way to replenish them. So something like "Strong as an ox and half as smart" is a more useful Aspect than just "Strong as an ox".

And this is where 'power-gaming' people try to get the most universal Aspects to get most screen time for having.

The 'forced role-playing' is IMHO bet for groups that don't enjoy power-gaming, but have not enough motivation to describe action etc. just for doing that. These groups, FATE can help to bring 'color' to their games.

The environment, NPCs, enemies, magic items, etc all have Aspects as well, though some might be very obvious and some might be secret and need to be discovered. You can even create new temporary Aspects through maneuvers, or declare Aspects as a result of a skill check. Again, since Aspects can literally be anything, it requires an active group of players to think about a scene and the characters in it, what Aspects there are or could potentially be created there, and when and how to use them for best effect. There are tactics involved, and creativity, but not much moving around on a map for precise positioning. Instead, a roguish character might perform a Stealth maneuver in order to give an opponent the "Flanked by enemies" Aspect.

Active group of players also means a highly shared sense what would work in the game-world.
Tactics are: "how can I use the scene for best describing a feature that will give a bonus."

As for your other questions, I'd say it's about rules light-medium, 5 people is fine for a combat, and they don't tend to take all that long in most versions of the game.

The character creation is rules light-medium, but actual play requires a constant concentration on how aspects work and how they can be used.
The extensive descriptions and forethought how to best activate multiple aspects can slow the turns of less creative players.

The "feel" is a lot more old school making stuff up with at most a hastily sketched map on scratch paper rather than detailed positioning.
...

This depends on taste. I started with AD&D 2nd and played some retroclones of earlier variants. IMHO it doesn't feels like it.

The biggest opposite in feel, IMHO, would be D&D 3.5 / Pathfinder & GURPS. Many specific rules and tables with more specific rules covering anything.

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As you may have concluded, I'm not a big fan of FATE, but more of more 'traditional' games with FATE-like aspects (no pun intended).

For this see:

ICONs
Cortex Plus
Mutants & Masterminds Hero Points mechanic.