@Red Wizard Well, will you look at that, a handy dandy guide (with a
one-page summary of the system even!) ;)
The Fate system is quite simple, generic and flexible. This makes it a powerful system, but it can be a bit difficult when first starting out with it. It has to 'click', and key to that is its Golden Rule (see down at the bottom).
(holy -hopefully dummy-proof- wall of text batman!)
In short, Characters in Fate have:
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Approaches: stats, but generic (this char is good at 'Sneaky' things; depending on char, could be backstabbing, hacking, illusions, etc.)
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Aspects: short phrases describing important things about a character (their one-liner summary, obstacles and flaws, desires, etc.)
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Stunts: abilities, items, traits that make them truly special. There are no pre-defined feats or spells, but are defined by the player+GM.
When GM offers a challenge (could be a battle, or solving a puzzle), they set a difficulty. A player rolls 4 Fate dice (with only +, - and blank sides), and to their sum they add the used Approach bonus. Depending on the Outcome (Fail, Tie, Success, Success with Style), this can cost the player or give benefits, and sometimes (depending on which Action a player takes) there are multiple options you can choose from.
Players in addition get a pool of Fate Points (FP) that they can use on Aspects or Stunts:
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Invoke Aspects: invoking aspects grants a player a re-roll, or +2 bonus on a roll. They do have to narratively explain why.
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Use Stunts: stunts can create special effects (set the room on fire by creating an 'on fire' aspect, e.g.), or give bonuses on rolls.
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Compel Aspects: GM/Players can also use an Aspect to 'tempt' a character into a situation (by gifting 1 FP), but can be denied for 1 FP.
Because Fate Points are limited, characters can't just spam their wow-amazing abilities all the time. They will also have to do things that are sub-optimal or not always get their way in order to get FP back (maybe they lose an argument, retreat from a battle, or they get tempted into doing something which complicates things). So in the best Fate games, you get this balance between awesomeness and 'oh shit'-moments. It is important for players to know this up-front: you will not always get your way, and you will sometimes have to roll with it - that makes it fun!
And that's about it. There are some other things like how to deal with damage, and how character development works. But that's for later.
Gameplay example: a party is trying to get into a castle occupied by goblins. Their rogue has the aspect 'I hate goblins, they killed my family'! And the party has compelled this aspect to tempt them into attacking the camp instead of sneaking by it. The player accepted and the rogue is now trying to attach a rope ladder somewhere. In Fate terms, this action could be an 'Overcome' action, as it would try to overcome the 'Darn Wall!' aspect in the scene. GM sets its Difficulty to 0 (reasonably easy). The rogue has verrry bad luck and rolls a -4. Their Sneaky approach is +3, making the roll's total a -1, so they Fail. They don't have any Fate Points left (they will only get the reward for the compel after this scene), else they could have used 1 FP to Invoke their 'Acrobatic Ninja' Aspect to gain another +2 bonus, but at least they can choose to Succeed at a Major Cost. So the ladder still gets attached, but the guards are alerted. Oh no! How will the party get out of this one!?
IT IS MOST IMPORTANT to note that the system is
narrative-first. The
Golden Rule that is foundational to the whole Fate system is that the story comes first, and the rules only really serve to support it. The rules are basically guidelines on
how tension and ups and downs can be created in a story. And you can be as spammy or sparse with them as you like, and can overrule them as you like. For this reason, it is also very dependent on a solid back-and-forth between players and GM, as players have quite a lot of agency and control over the worldbuilding, story and how the rules are interpreted.
So yeah, I really like the system, and if you do choose to go ahead with it, I'll be more than happy to Co-GM.
Sylvan
Tachi
rush99999
LadyAmber
FourtyTwo
Red Wizard
Krasnaya
Bacon
Sky Blue
Chronic
