Tell Me About the FATE System

[Treebore]

FATE doesn't do grit very well (or, arguably, at all). And it only really works (like most narrative games) for settings where who you are is significantly more important than your equipment list. Larger than life - but not reality-rewriting (much) is the sweet spot, but beyond that it's almost genre independent. Sword and sorcery where Conan can grit his teeth and press on in the face of Thulsa Doom by virtue of being Conan works. I don't think the Black Company or high lethality D&D would at all.

I totally disagree. When I ran my Starblazers game my players were telling me how gritty it felt, and I wasn't even going for the feel.

 

[RobShanti]

Thank you, everyone, for your responses. I'm going to try a gritty Prohibition-era pulp game with FATE. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Isaac Chalk]

Thank you, everyone, for your responses. I'm going to try a gritty Prohibition-era pulp game with FATE. I'll let you know how it goes.

No problem. Also! The makers of FATE Core are due to have a Kickstarter very soon. Any support level nets you the playtest PDF and the final PDF is pay what you want.

The most startling revelation is that Awesome Cop from the cover sketch was secretly Awesome Magical Cop all along!! He's still damn happy to arrest you.

 

[village6]

Thank you, everyone, for your responses. I'm going to try a gritty Prohibition-era pulp game with FATE. I'll let you know how it goes.

Have fun with that!

Me and my group discovered FATE when Spirit of the Century came out, and it has become our go-to system of choice. We have run everything from WW1 pulp to Amber-like gods/lords of creation. 'Aspects', the hub around which the system is built, are the 'killer app' of RPGs, IMO. I will never run another game without Aspects, whether they be part of RAW or bolted on. Once you 'get' it, it is the most adaptable toolkit RPG I've ever seen.

All that said, it might not be for you if:
1. You (or your group) thinks equipment is as/more important than the PC themself.
2. If you are really in love with the wide spread of a D20 (and many other die mechanics). In effect, if you think 'chance' should play an equal or larger role than PC design choices, this might not be your thing.
3. If you are desiring a 'simulation', then this might have way to much 'cinema' narrative control for you. Players have a lot of options and ability to control or 'nudge' outcomes to their advantage or intent. Some GMs are not comfortable with that, and some players too.
4. To be done right, FATE requires more engagement and creativity from your players than most games. Staying on top of Aspects, and how to suffer from them so you can later benefit from them, that takes active engagement and a level of creativity. If players just want to sit and 'experience' a spoon-feeding, they will dislike FATE.
5. If your group hasn't played numerous games, then the paradigm shift may challenge them. Aspects, like any truly groundbreaking idea, take longer to grok for some folks, because they are a new paradigm that many gamers haven't experienced.

FATE isn't everyone's cup of tea. What game is? But my experience is that once exposed to it, every player I've encountered personally has been addicted. The ability to customize your character without boundaries is just so wonderful.

Be seeing you...
# 6

 

[RobShanti]

So, what Spirit of the Century skill applies to watercraft? Do people use Pilot?

 

[Neonchameleon]

So, what Spirit of the Century skill applies to watercraft? Do people use Pilot?

I'd put it under either Pilot or Drive - whichever seems appropriate for the campaign.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

There is Strands of FATE, an indie RPG unisystem using FATE. The writer recently completed a Kickstarter for a sci-fi FATE RPG called Nova Praxis.

At the risk of sounding like a dirty shill, I feel I should mention that Strands of Fate is on sale for $1 until the end of the year.

So if you are interested in FATE at all, I think it'd be worth your buck to check it out.

 

[darjr]

That's awesome! Thanks!

 

[RobShanti]

I'd put it under either Pilot or Drive - whichever seems appropriate for the campaign.

But I guess that's my question...what criteria does one use to determine which skill is more appropriate for watercraft? How would the campaign setting change which skill is more appropriate?

Question #2: Spin...as I understand it, per the Spirit of the Century book, a successful defense against an attack roll by 3 or more Shifts allows that defender to grant/impose a +1 bonus or -1 penalty to the next roll made by anyone in the scene (be it ally or opponent) or may be treated as Overflow for a Supplemental Action (pp. 79-81). What if the defender successfully defends by 6 shifts? Does the bonus/penalty increase to a +2 / -2 Spin? In other words, is Spin a plus/minus 1 for every 3 Shifts?

 

[village6]

But I guess that's my question...what criteria does one use to determine which skill is more appropriate for watercraft? How would the campaign setting change which skill is more appropriate?

Question #2: Spin...as I understand it, per the Spirit of the Century book, a successful defense against an attack roll by 3 or more Shifts allows that defender to grant/impose a +1 bonus or -1 penalty to the next roll made by anyone in the scene (be it ally or opponent) or may be treated as Overflow for a Supplemental Action (pp. 79-81). What if the defender successfully defends by 6 shifts? Does the bonus/penalty increase to a +2 / -2 Spin? In other words, is Spin a plus/minus 1 for every 3 Shifts?

Question 1:
In my experience, the answer to your question is based on some other questions, and would be campaign-specific. The questions I would consider would be:
1) How important is watercraft to the campaign? (If the campaign is set on the 7 seas, or was about pirates, then I might add watercraft as a stand-alone skill.)
2) Is either Pilot or Drive a skill that -needs- more trappings to equalize its usefulness?
3) Which skill's activities, Pilot or Drive, most closely approximate the activities that you foresee occurring with 'watercraft'?
4) Would it make sense to have Drive -and- Pilot assist in watercraft operation when appropriate? i.e. Driving a speedboat is similar to a car, and a luxury liner more similar to an airplane?
5) Would it be a better choice to allow boat/ship operation via a stunt, rather than a skill or trapping?

Ultimately, the answer to your question resides with you. FATE implementations generally go out of their way to value a lower number of skills that are more broadly useful, rather than a high number of skills that are more granular. This, I believe, reflects the general design philosophy of FATE that "heroes should be pretty darn competent". You, as GM, need to feel that the skill fills a needed niche, and accomplishes something that furthers the game. Your players need to feel the same thing, and if you find a skill consistently not being taken/used, then that is a red flag that it might be improperly balanced.

For my money, in my pre-WW1 game in development, I have a version of Watercraft that is a stunt, applicable to Drive or Pilot when appropriate. But that was just for my game, based on my 'read' of the campaign.

Question 2:
My understanding of the rules is that spin is one and done. Achieving multiples of spin does not convey an escalating +/- bonus. That said, I don't see running it the other way as being unbalancing, and you could certainly try it out to see how it plays.

"Spin" is replaced by "Boost" in the coming Fate Core, and since a Boost is a temporary Aspect it will always convey a +2 to the character's use (and it is a one time use).

I recommend that you frequent the Fate YahooGroup [http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/FateRPG/] for a stand-up bunch of folks who know FATE inside and out, and are willing to take on any question.
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Be seeing you...
- 6