Playing with Fate – Page 2

Playing with Fate: Your “Defining Aspect”

Even though all aspects have the same base definition, and mechanically act in the same way, your Defining Aspect really encompasses the meat of your character.

Who is this?
What do they do?
What is their profession?
Where does he come from?
How is he different from others like him?
What is it about this character that will make me immediately aware of who I’m really playing?

Sum it up with a single phrase. Here’s an example:

Elven Fighter

Ok, that’s a start. Let’s expand upon that. Well, I know he’s been in over 100 battles in the 100 Years War, so let’s give him a reputation (he’s a great warrior after all). A soldier, legendary even.

Elven Fighter of Legend

This guy is legendary. He’s not a mere fighter or grunt soldier. He was a Warlord or General. Actually, his legendary status comes more from his personal accomplishments on the battlefield, not his leadership ability. A Warrior.

Elven Warrior of Legend

Wait a minute. He’s bred for war. Who’s bred for war…? The Valenar elves. Even after the war has ended, they’re still looking for ways to start it back up. That’s all they really care about. Yeah, Valenar. Besides, the Valenar all aim to become glorious warrious, legendary. Yeah that fits.

Valenar Warrior of Legend

And why is he legendary, exactly? …Because, in all those battles he took part in, just about all of his face-to-face opponents have died from their injuries. Even if they were able to surrender or retreat, most of them still died anyway. This gave him the nickname, “Desolation.” Nice. Perhaps this touch of death, or Death, has plans for him. However, I think that sounds like a different (separate) aspect, so I’ll save that for later.

Valenar Warrior of Legend

That’s cool. Seems about right. But how can I punch it up a little bit more? I know… he died and has been resurrected. Yeah, that’s perfect. The Valenar elves revere their dead ancestors, so when he died, that’s when his legacy became immortal. Many Valenar would go on to revere him in their stories and war-cries. However, he’s been resurrected, perhaps as a revenant. Yeah, those Valenar aren’t going to like that. Not dead or alive, but somewhere in between. They aren’t going to like that at all. Especially Desolation, because that’s stripping him of his “immortal” status (no more campfire songs and war-cries about him – he’s tainted). He had attained “immortality” through his reputation and deeds, now that he’s alive again (kind of), that distinction is gone. I think I’ll keep revenant for another aspect, though, and go with:

Resurrected Valenar Warrior of Legend

THAT, is my Defining Aspect. That is who I am playing. Not merely a simple “Elven Fighter,” but a Resurrected Valenar Warrior of Legend. When I need to be reminded of who he is and what he does, this is the phrase I’ll come back to. When someone asks what kind of character I’m playing, this Defining Aspect is what I’m going to say, and they’re going to know exactly what I mean.

Resurrected Valenar Warrior of Legend

So, how can I use this aspect in the game? I imagine, because it’s my defining aspect, that it’ll come into play often. As with all aspects, the best ones are those that can be used both for and against you.

How Can I Invoke My Defining Aspect?

In Strands of Fate (your version of Fate may differ slightly), I will spend one Fate Point (FP) to invoke my Defining Aspect. I’ll do this anytime I think that my Defining Aspect is relevant to the action, scene, or story, and I want to get a +2 bonus or effect.

In combat, it’s very easy for me to say, “I attacked the orc and got a 6. Since I’m a Resurrected Valenar Warrior of Legend, I easily have the training and experience to cut this mongrel to shreds.” I spend my FP and thus get a +2 bonus to my attack roll, making my total a mighty 8. Conversely, had I rolled poorly to begin with, I could have spent the FP to get a reroll instead. Of course, this works the same way when the tables are turned – I could invoke my Defining Aspect when being attacked by the orc, and I want a bonus to parry.

By spending the FP, I’m saying, “My character is a bad-ass, and at this moment, his skill, talent, and experience are really shining through.”

Social Conflicts are, of course, a viable time for me to invoke this aspect. “Hey GM, we need to get these soldiers to quit hassling us so we can continue along this road. I invoke my Defining Aspect, Resurrected Valenar Warrior of Legend, when I talk with them. I want them to understand that I’m used to giving orders to hundreds of soldiers, and they should think twice about trying to push us around.” For this, I would get a +2 bonus when trying to intimidate these soldiers, or get past them diplomatically (also spending that FP).

Also, I could invoke this aspect when talking with other Valenar warriors, to show a sort of camaraderie of old soldiers who fought on the same side of the war.

As a declaration, I could say to the GM that “because I’m a Resurrected Valenar Warrior of Legend, I actually fought a battle in this particular valley. There is, in fact, a stronghold around the bend where we can take refuge from the advancing pack of gnolls.” Of course, this is ultimately subject to the GM’s approval, but you get the idea.

One more example: The party is being attacked by four wraiths. I could spend the FP and say, “because I’m a Resurrected Valenar Warrior of Legend (resurrected being the key word), all of the wraiths will attack me in the first round. I have tasted death (and should, in fact, be dead). The wraiths simply don’t like the fact that I’ve cheated that fate.” Yeah, I’m the heroic bad-ass. This is all part of my plan to regain my glory. Now, I could spend the FP for this declaration (and the GM could certainly accept it), but if he was feeling especially generous, the GM might even give me this declaration for free, because ultimately, it’s my character who’s paying the price.

Turning the Tables, How can my Defining Aspect be Compelled?

At first you may think that it’s bad for the GM to compel your aspects. And really, how can he compel your Defining Aspect? That’s who you are. Easy (and for good reason). First of all, his compelling of your aspects provides you with Fate Points – points with which you power your aspects for your advantage, as well as using many of your other special abilities. Not only that (and more importantly, in my opinion), the GM compelling your aspects makes for greater conflict and thus, greater story. I mean, really, do great heroes spend their time overcoming sunny days and tea parties? No, they are great because they overcome conflict. And that is where “compelling your aspects” comes in. Remember, just because the GM is compelling one of your aspects (offering you a FP for it), you don’t have to accept the compel; you can choose not to take the FP and negate the compel.

In combat, it might be tricky for the GM to compel your Defining Aspect (I mean, I am a Resurrected Valenar Warrior of Legend, after all), so in this case the GM would have to get inventive. He could say, “You’re a Valenar Soldier, used to going after the killing blow. Honorable, friendly duels are not exactly your forte. So, in this friendly duel with the Baron (this round), I’m compelling your Defining Aspect to take a -2 penalty to your roll. If you take the penalty, you’ll get one Fate Point.”

You could take the penalty and gain the FP, or you could refuse them both, saying, “You’re right, I’ve never been in a duel, but a duel is much like sparring with a training partner, and I’ve done that many a time, so I’ll do just fine.”

The GM could also say, “As a Valenar Warrior, you’ve fought the Valenar way for over 50 years – direct, hard, and brutal. And, most of your opponents have been opposing soldiers. These swarms of rot beetles are not your typical foe, so they get a +2 bonus to attack you this round. Do you accept the FP and the compel?”

Remember the four wraiths that I wanted to attack me? That was me invoking my aspect so that I could save my friends. Let’s say that I wasn’t feeling especially so brave, and at that moment I felt that it was every man for himself. The GM could simply compel my Defining Aspect and have all of the wraiths attack me (those wraiths hate the resurrected). At least I got a FP for it, and the story got that much better.

Social conflicts are easy to handle with this particular Defining Aspect. The GM could compel the Valenar part of the aspect anytime the character is talking with someone who hates the Valenar (or elves, even). Or perhaps, as an ex-soldier, the PC is talking with someone who has been repeatedly harassed by soldiers.

Getting even more bang for your buck, “You would think that because you’re a Valenar Warrior of Legend, these other Valenar warriors would respect you. It’s just that you’ve been resurrected, and in their eyes, all that glory has been reversed. These Valenar actually pity you. You’re almost a disgrace.”

As a declaration, the GM can also pull this one: “Here’s a Fate Point. You can’t deny this declaration. The man standing before you is the soldier who killed you in your last battle of the 100 Years War. He’s hunted you down, and quite apparently aims to finish what he started. Roll Initiative.”

And my favorite: “I’m a warrior, bred for war. This Noble’s ball is not exactly my scene, and I’m totally out of my element. Sorry guys, but I stick out like a sore thumb here. Hey GM, I declare that too many people are taking notice of me, and I’ll take that Fate Point for it.” See that? The GM is not the only one who can compel an aspect; you can too (it makes a better story, and you get more Fate Points).

In Conclusion

In each of the above examples, the Defining Aspect of the character has affected the plot and story of the game, or at least shown clear motivations for certain actions (by both the player and GM). In each instance, the story became more rich, and the character more memorable. Everything was centered around who the character is, how he affects the game, and where the story goes.

That, is a Defining Aspect.

For more articles on Playing with Fate, go here.

Embrace Your FATE

Although the FATE system has been around for a few years now, 2010 really shaped up as the year of FATE. Last year we saw the release of The Dresden Files (urban fantasy), Diaspora (hard sci-fi), Legends of Anglerre (fantasy), and Strands of FATE (universal). All of these games have added to the critical acclaim of Spirit of the Century (pulp action) and Starblazer Adventures (space opera). These games have been very well-received by the ever-expanding FATE fan base, and I’m among the converts. We like FATE so much here at Stuffer Shack that we’ve even dedicated this new column to getting the most out of the system.

For me, my favorite version of FATE thus far is Strands of FATE (SoF). As a universal set of rules, it is among the very best I’ve ever seen. For the past few months, my gaming group and I have used these rules for fantasy adventures set in Eberron, pulp action set in the 30’s, and in a couple of days I’ll be starting a campaign based on the world presented in the Malifaux skirmish game (sort of a Rippers meets Deadlands meets Dark Matter). Long story short, it’s been a long time since a rule-set has inspired me this much.

Since embracing FATE, my gaming experience has improved greatly. It’s been years since I’ve felt this inspired and creative at the gaming table. Usually, the mechanics of a game are the thing that I just have to sort of deal with and work my campaign around, hoping that the rules assist the telling of a good story, instead of detracting from it. With SoF, rules and story-telling come together into one element – you can’t really do one without the other. The rules for FATE are very simple, some might even say “rules-light.” However, many rules-light games tend to feel “rules-incomplete.” I’ve found that you can’t really use terms like this with FATE. In essence, the rules are very light – a simple note card can cover most of the basics. In execution, however, the rules are extremely comprehensive and easily handle whatever you throw at it.

For those of you interested in what FATE has to offer, go for it. You won’t regret it. However, I do have to add a cautionary note to my praise. The game represents a significant paradigm shift over most of the main-stream and indie RPG’s out there. Additionally, the longer you’ve been gaming the more difficult this shift may be to overcome. My advice: forget the things you’ve grown comfortable with. Forget about tables, fixed modifiers, and move rates. Stop thinking in terms of min/maxing numeric scores, optimizing abilities, and choosing the best equipment. Forget about abstraction vs. realism.

FATE is a story-telling game engine, but it’s far from free-form. The power behind the system is the Aspect. In a nutshell, Aspects are descriptive phrases that speak to a quality of a thing. For example:

A person might have Aspects like:

Fastest gun in the west.
Initiate in the Order of Seven Dragons.
“You killed my father, prepare to die!”

Vehicles and equipment have Aspects:

Fastest ship in the galaxy.
Slowest ship in the galaxy.
Unsinkable

Locations can have Aspects too:

Haunted by echoes of the past.
Floor covered in debris.
Deep shadows.

An Aspect’s primary purpose is as a game mechanic. A player can Invoke one of his Aspects by spending a FATE point and gain a bonus, or have one of his Aspects Compelled against him for a penalty (but earning him a FATE point in the process). This “FATE Point Economy” and Aspects are the real motivating force behind the game and replace most of the conventions we gamers are used to seeing. Two things the aspiring FATE player must remember:

Anything potentially relevant is probably an Aspect.
If it is relevant right now, a FATE point is going to be involved.

Keeping these two things in mind allows you to know virtually all of the rules for the game. In FATE, you don’t need to know the bonus for being in cover. If cover is available it’s probably an Aspect (Crates and pallets everywhere.) If you spend a FATE point to Invoke the Aspect, you get a bonus – if not, you don’t. The FATE point is saying that this quality (the Aspect) is relevant right now. If you don’t spend the FATE point, the crates and pallets aren’t a factor (at least not now). Of course, next turn when you’re trying to spot someone in the room, the GM may Compel the very same Aspect – giving you a penalty (the crates and pallets make it difficult to see), and a FATE point for your trouble.

What makes FATE the story-telling powerhouse is that Invoking and Compelling take much more than simply tossing a FATE point and saying, “I’m invoking Crates and pallets everywhere.” In order to Invoke and Compel you must provide narrative context as to how the Aspect is relevant to the situation. “I dive over the rail and into the crates as he shoots at me!” Stating something along those lines and tossing out the FATE point not only answers the mechanical needs of the situation, but also gives great narrative roleplaying flavor.

Additionally, I love Aspects simply because they convey so much with so little. When I look at a character sheet I can instantly tell about the character’s personality, history, and motivation without having to read a separate background page. As a GM, this really saves me some time. A few Aspects on an NPC sheet and I know everything I need to know – same goes for an encounter area, village, or evil organization. In fact, the old bullet-point style notes I used to use have simply become Aspects without any additional work.

This is just a quick glimpse at the power of the Aspect. Expect to see more in the coming weeks and months. Stuffer Shack already has several articles ready and more on the way (as well as insight from Strands of Fate creator, Mike McConnell). In the mean time, feel free to comment and ask questions – we’ll do what we can to help you embrace your FATE…

One last thing: Even though we’ll be talking about the FATE system, many of its concepts will apply to any game you’re playing. So stick around!

For more articles on Playing with Fate, go here.

Playing with FATE, a New Project!

In our opinion, no other game brings out the role-player in you, like FATE can. No other game brings out the collaborative story-telling, like FATE can. And no other game can simply be as rewarding – as FATE can. However, with the many incarnations of FATE (and its radical approach to gaming), it can be a little intimidating to tackle. But fear not! We’re here to help you.

There are several games that utilize the FATE engine (Fantastic Adventures in Tabletop Entertainment):

Spirit of the Century
Starblazers Adventures
Dresden Files RPG
Diaspora
Awesome Adventures
and several others…

The newest version (Strands of FATE) pulls previous versions of the system together into a more streamlined, multi-genre utility. We believe that because of its potential, it’s going to become the system of choice for many, many new games coming out in the near future. 2011 – 2012 will simply be huge for FATE-based games. Because of this, and because we love the system so much, we’re starting a new project…

PLAYING WITH FATE

Basically, you’ll be seeing several articles that explore the system, putting it into use, and showing you how to get the most out of it. Concepts will be explained, examples will be given, and questions will be answered. It’s not that the FATE system is hard to use, it’s simply a different approach to RPG systems (truly collaborative story-telling between players and GM, as well as greater immersion into player characters). In short, if you want to learn how to play FATE – and get the most out of it – look no further.

Articles will primarily be written by some of us at the Shack, as well as Strands of Fate creator, Mike McConnell. If you have experience with Strands of Fate (or any FATE-based game), and would like to contribute, shoot us an email!

One last thing: Even though we’ll be talking about the FATE system, many of its concepts will apply to any game you’re playing. So stick around!

For more articles on Playing with Fate, go here.

FATE: My only real role-playing game.

A few years ago, I was sitting at work in the jail as a new-hire. I was talking with a couple of guys about gaming and they brought up that the next edition of game XYZ was coming out. The game was taking an entirely new direction, offering all these new, cool options, mechanics, and support.

“Radical! I can’t wait to try it out! Tell me more about it.” I said.

And they did.

And then I said, “Well, what does it do to encourage roleplaying?”

The response I got was, “It completely leaves the role-playing responsibility in the hands of the individual player. It’s up to the player to role-play as much or as little as he likes or is comfortable with.”

…Not really what I was looking for.

That was my moment. That was the moment I realized that I was looking for something different, something that simply fit me better. Sure, role-playing ultimately falls on my shoulders, but I was looking for a game that helped me with that.

I can make any character out there, play anything, and be anyone, but when I sit down to make my character, roll stats and assign build points, all I’m doing is building numbers, abilities, and powers. The rest – the history, values, quirks, aspirations, contacts, motivations, enemies, relatives, and so on, I have to fill in myself (as an option). I know, cry me a river. My point is that I could make my character and skip all that fluff stuff, and still have a PC to roll dice for (some cookie-cutter character that everyone has seen a million times over).

The problem with that, is that when I actually do take the time to write up my character, with all the idiosyncrasies that come with him, I lose much of those character hooks during play. No matter how much effort I put into my character, I’ll just end up playing

the elven warrior with a chip on his shoulder.

When I sit down to play a character, I want this character’s character to come alive. I want to take on the role of

the resurrected Valenar warrior of legend, upset that his resurrection has stripped him of his immortal achievements.
The warrior who loathes the direction of the Undying Court because they might hold the secrets to his destiny, and are stringing him along for their benefit.
The warrior who, when under pressure, even questions his loyalty to his own morals.

I want to see that character at the table. Sure, I could probably pull it off at times, but I’m not a strong role-player to begin with. I’d simply like a game that helps immerse me into my character, which in turn enhances the story.

Well, I found a way, and it’s called FATE. Specifically, Strands of Fate.

Were I to see this book on the shelf, I’d probably pass it by. It doesn’t have the crunch that I normally like. It doesn’t have the tactical combat that I normally like. And it doesn’t have the feel of the traditional RPG that I normally like.

But I like it.

Basically, all those character quirks, values, history hooks, personality traits, and so on, are called Aspects. In any other game they usually get pushed aside or mostly forgotten; in FATE, they are the driving force of your character. They ARE the mechanic. Aspects drive your PC’s actions, affect your dice rolls, and influence his decisions. Not only will you never forget who your character really is, but you’ll make a much more rich and full character to begin with.

So, after a few playtests and one-shots, I sneakily worked on my GM to get him to convert our 4E Eberron game to Strands of Fate. Never mind that in the beginning, it was I who pushed for us to use 4E for our game. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that I had found a game where I thought I could finally pull off the character that I wanted.

So, we made our characters last week, and it’s one of those things that you should do as a group. Sure, you come up with the general idea of him on your own, but you really get the most out of it when you’re bouncing ideas off of everyone at the table. I can’t tell you how many times one of us was thinking of some concept, some aspect, but couldn’t get all the way there. And then someone else offered up some ideas and you just… the light pops on, and it fits, you know?

One of our players has been playing Malik – kind of a sailor, bard, adventurer, fighter, arcane mix. In the first few levels of 4E, this character had gone through some mechanical changes simply because the player could never really pin him down. Well, to end the night of our characters being generated with FATE, this player sort of mused to himself that he was absolutely positive that he had finally “found” the Malik he wanted to play. He and I could have been the same player, because I felt the exact same way.

I realized then that if I ever rewrite my RPG (we all have one, right?), I’m going to steal shamelessly from FATE. Hell, I might use the entire damn system – I think it works that well. In terms of helping you make and play a character that comes alive in-game, there’s just no better RPG.

And that is why, for me, FATE is the only real role-playing game.