Tell me about Spirit of the Century

[Rechan]

I too have gotten the SotC bug. I am not a huge fan of straight pulp, but the rules are easy to use for fantasy as well.

My Advice? Use SotC with Eberron. It fits like peanut butter and chocolate.

I think that the biggest problem with the SotC/Fate rules is that they have begun to ruin me for other games. I can't play other games without wanting to houserule in aspects and chargen phases/novels. Those might be my favorite game mechanics of all time.

Don't feel bad. I'm trying to figure out how to implement Aspects effectively into 4e. With Rel's Power Stunts fueled by Action Points, I may just have a method.

 

[Nameless1]

Could you provide a link to Rel's Power Stunts? I would like to check them out.

 

[Psion]

I put a review up in the review section.

It's become one of my go-to games, along with Spycraft 2.0. Great, wide-eyed, quick, empowering.

I definitely recommend the faster conflict rules linked earlier. Sometimes characters seem too empowered and invulnerable; it helps keep the players on their toes.

The rules-light nature can sometimes get on my nerves a little ("Whaddya mean I don't get a bonus for attacking from above without expending a resource?!")

That sounds like a maneuver for the aspect "superior position" or somesuch.

Anyways, the rules light crowd tend to rip on SotC for having feat-like stunts. Just can't win, eh?

That said, I do think that it's not very simulationist, though Starblazer Adventures has some rules that are more simulationist and makes gear a bit more important.

 

[MichaelSomething]

I wish there was a SotC game I could play. This system could be the perfect thing for me...

 

[Rechan]

Could you provide a link to Rel's Power Stunts? I would like to check them out.

[sblock]There's not a whole lot to it, but here's Rel's houserules. The basic premise is this: You want to do something that your character SHOULD be able to do, given their power set, but there aren't rules for it. Such as a cleric of Moradin calling down the might of the Mountain god to collapse a cave, preventing Drow from retreating. Or a fighter picking up a boulder off a pinned kid. Or a ranger shooting the rope supports on a rope bridge to drop the orcs charging across it into the ravine below. To something like this, you need a power stunt.

To execute a power stunt, you spend an Action Point + A Healing Surge. This grants an Encounter-equivalent power. In Rel's game, PCs have charged through a portcullis, used Nature to coax a dead enemy's griffon mount to let them ride it for the encounter, and modify their existing powers on the fly.

I honestly don't know if the power stunts require rolls (Skill check or Attack), but I assume they do. Rel hasn't really posted hard and fast rules for them aside from the AP + Healing Surge = Power Stunt formula.

Anyhow, the way I figure Aspects play into this, is provoking Compels from PCs in order to give them Action Points. With the Action Points, they can do Power Stunts. So far, I haven't figured out a method of PCs tapping their own aspects, as to what that would do mechanically. I'm thinking maybe they get to re-roll on an roll that suits their Aspect, similar to the reroll SotC allows. But the +2 to a roll (which is large in SotC's system), I think I might avoid; it migh tbe too broken, considering all the other options for 4e PCs.[/sblock]

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

All of you should really check out Starblazer Adventures. It adds so much to the FATE system. It's very easy to use all the guidelines for crtitters, powers, organisations, vehicles etc. for SotC pulp. Just reskin.

On another note. There's a fantasy supplement on its way by the Starblazer guys. It sounds absolutely amazing, letting you play everything from the farmboy that knows the Queen's true name to Exalted, with Conan and LotR in between.
I've applied to be a playtester and am holding my breath!

Edit: Here's a post on the contents.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I'm not too keen on some parts of the game - I like it when most dice roll modifiers are based on the tactical situation rather than the narrative - but I think the Aspect-related parts of character creation is brilliant. It gets you in the right mood before the game starts - and it gives you a reason why the PCs know each other and are able to work as a team...

 

[Silvercat Moonpaw]

Does anyone know how well it works in Play-by-Post games? It would seem with Aspects this is a system that requires rulings right in the middle of the action, which would slow PbP down.

 

[Lackhand]

Does anyone know how well it works in Play-by-Post games? It would seem with Aspects this is a system that requires rulings right in the middle of the action, which would slow PbP down.

I've never tried it, but you'd have to be pretty draconian in terms of when you allow aspect tags/invoke. I think you'd lose a lot of the fun.
Consider the following play snippet (it really happened in my game):

DM : The gobelin leader howls to his minions to "attack" and hits you with his axe. 6 minions... he got an 8.
Meg : I dodge. Uh, 6. I tag his "Mighty Big Axe" -- it's too slow to hit me -- so we tie.
DM (having not hit anyone recently ) : Hrm. His muscles bulge. "Mighty Thews". He's up +2. In fact, he's also going to tag the pyre behind you ("on fire") -- his reach is longer and faster than you think and it drives you into the embers, he's up +4.
Meg : Ew. Uh, I'm going to tag "quick brawler" -- he's up +2, and I'll take that as stress.

That's a lot of posts.

Similarly, every exchange in combat involves a lot of back and forth -- you can't even resolve a successful hit without input from all parties.

You could try it, but I wouldn't recommend it.
But it's _awesome_ face to face!


Now, when the heck is Dresden Files coming out?

 

[Mallus]

Consider the following play snippet (it really happened in my game):

BTW, thanks for the concrete example of a fight scene. Some questions:

Do you flat-out tell players what Aspects the NPC's and environment have at the start of a scene?

Do you choose all the environmental/NPC Aspects beforehand or stick to text descriptions, assigning Aspects on the spot (bit of both, I'm guessing)?

edit: now I find myself wanting to convert my soon-to-be-off-hiatus 13th level 3.5e campaign to SotC. The current plan is to convert it to M&M2e/W&W (an easier system for me to run than high-level 3.5e). But SotC seems like such a terrific way to describe the PC's. Running jokes would become their actual character abilities (specifically, 'Not in the Face', 'In His Hands Cowardice is a Deadly Weapon', 'He's Covered in Blood Again', 'I Bottle It!').

I wonder if I could sell my guys on this...