Thursday, August 1, 2013

FATE and I May Become Friends

I picked up this intriguing little gem yesterday. The FATE system and I have not seen eye to eye after a few annoying experiences, but this wee book is really something. The pieces all fell together thanks to a stripped down presentation and clear, concise layout. I have a hunch that the relatively few pages in this booklet can fuel many happy adventures.

     I am going to work up a few NPCs for fun. Who knows, perhaps I can give it a whirl with my game group after our BRP/Call of Cthulhu chronicle wraps up.

16 comments:

  1. Good! That way . . . you can tell me how it goes. LOL

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  2. Same here. Read it cover to cover and really looks like an interesting system. I had FUDGE before, but this is really another thing.

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    1. I missed FUDGE, but at least the dice live on in FATE, right?

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  3. I haven't gotten this one yet. I keep saying I will. I like the idea of a stripped down version a lot.

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    1. FATE is so different from every game we have ever played that I think a stripped down version is what it takes to figure out this new fangled thang. :)

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  4. I had a similar experience with Fate Core. I had read older editions of FATE, and wanted to like them, but just found myself being kind of annoyed at little things scattered through the system. Then I read Fate Core, and it felt like everything they were trying to convey just snapped into place. And then I read FAE, and it was like "oh, yeah, I get it!"

    Very happy with the way the system turned out.

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    1. It sounds like we have had a very similar experience. I look forward to testing it out. I imagine it will take a lot of practice to get good at using the Approaches, Stunts, Aspects and so on.

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  5. I am waiting on my Fate Kickstarter goodies to show up. I have created a character in Dresden RPG but never played. I have also created an adventure in Spirit of the Century but didn't play. Maybe it is my fate to not play Fate.

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    1. I hope that someday you get a chance to rock those FUDGE dice!

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    2. I'd have to agree with Tim that a stripped down version might move me faster along the learning curve. I was bummed our Dresden game never materialized. Our group was half parents and half college-age offspring, who left for school after our two character creation sessions. My wife had an awesome player character, a young Amish teen who could use magic via a book passed to her from her mother. However, her religion, her culture, and her own conscience was opposed to magic and its use.

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    3. For me, FATE is radically different from any game I have ever played. "Where are the skill lists?" "Where are the spells?" "What do you mean a player determines how they are affected by damage?"

      The FATE Accelerated presented all of the concepts in a nice, simple way that is still playable on its own, which is nice.

      You wife's Amish character sounds amazing. Her trouble, high concept and aspects must have been really cool.

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  6. I keep finding myself 'wanting' to explore these other games, but then I always find myself not satisfied with them and return to my old school roots. I think mentally I keep telling myself "This could be awesome!" but then I play and I am more "meh" than anything else. I always hear "This is a better way" or "You can do more!" but then after reading the rules and thinking of my OSR games go and I wonder why I need to try anything else.

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    1. I think it's definitely a right tool for the right job kind of thing. For lobbing arrows at orcs and cleaving skeletons I would definitely go with D&D. For fun, pulpy sci-fi it would have to be X-plorers or Edge of Space, of course. ;) For dramatic play, Fate Accelerated might work as it provides some mechanical tools for swaying the story into neat and unexpected directions.

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    2. I have used FAE for several sessions of sandbox dungeon crawling set on a ruined and rebuilding Earth in Babylon 5's far future. It works fine for wilderness and dungeon crawls. In February, I am planning to use it for Trey Causey's Weird Adventures at a Con, and possibly also for a Doctor Who game. It's versatile. Just picked up two extra copies at my FLGS today so I can really mark up and use my original KS copy.

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    3. I'm glad to hear you had some success. It does feel pretty versatile. Like you, I want to pick up a few extra copies. They are affordable, so perhaps I can gift them to my players as a kind of bribe. ;)

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