The Campaign Builder's Guild

The game will be on Thursday October 30th at 1pm Eastern.
I hope to see you there!  :yumm:

[ic=Mystery Island]
In 1975, an affable but quite eccentric businessman named Ronald Walters bought a large amount of central Florida swampland with the aim of turning it into a theme park and resort. Perhaps not the most original plan, but it worked for that other theme park... so why not? Two years later, in 1977, Mystery Island opened with much fanfare.

It boasted five unique "lands," each one with a different theme. Electro City was a glittering monument to progress designed to resemble a city of the future-- the late 1970s future, that is. Yamamoto was an exotic amalgam of East Asian cultures, with a particular emphasis on Japan. The Enchanted Forest was a magical merry olde England that never was, complete with a fairy tale castle. Topsy Turvy Town was a wild and crazy place of bright colors where nothing was quite as it seemed. Tying them all together was the Avenue of Progress, a central hub designed to resemble a 19th century World's Fair, full of turn-of-the-last-century charm and what would later be called steampunk imagery, complete with a reproduction steam train that also served as the park's mass transit system.

The park enjoyed initial success, and its first expansion in the early 80s saw the building of the Turbo Twister, a state-of-the-art steel roller coaster. It was heavily promoted, including a contest in which four winners got the chance to be the first members of the public to ride the Turbo Twister, along with Ronald Walters himself. And that's where it all went so very wrong.

Surrounded by members of the press and cheering fans, the ride began as normal, but, as the coaster rounded the first loop, the track buckled and suddenly the train flew from the track, crashing into a nearby structure. All five riders were killed. With the charismatic CEO dead, and drowning in scandal and lawsuits, Mystery Island went bankrupt and was shut down permanently.

For nearly 30 years, the park sat abandoned, rotting away, slowly being reclaimed by the swamp from which it had been carved. The park had been given a lot of room to expand, which now only increased its isolation, as the now-useless access roads decayed and disappeared. The only tourists Mystery Island attracted now were a brave few thrillseekers who wandered its desolate expanses, bringing back tales of a haunted place...
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[ic=Cast of Characters]
[ic=Johnny M (Xathan)]Jonathan McCoy, known to his fans as Johnny M, is the owner and operator of JohnnysWorld, a website showcasing gorgeous women in decaying industrial settings. Some call it art, some call it pornography, but he doesn't care as long as the publicity and the money keep coming in. He's been to Detroit, he's been to Chernobyl, and now he's going to Mystery Island to snap some pictures.

High Concept: Edgy Hipster Photographer
"Been there, seen that, took a picture of it."
In over his head
[spoiler=Crunch]
Clever +2, Quick +2, Flashy +1, Sneaky +1, Careful 0, Forceful 0

Under Pressure: When facing significant adversity, Johnny gets a +2 bonus to Cleverly overcome obstacles.

An App for That: Johnny can declare there is anything an smartphone app can realistically do already installed and ready to go on his phone.
[/spoiler]
[/ic]

[ic=Svetlana Petrova]Svetlana Petrova is Johnny's top model, a blonde beauty from somewhere in eastern Europe, whose main assets are quite evident in every single one of her many photoshoots; on the other hand, her main liabilities are her extremely tenuous grasp of the English language and her terribly spoiled and entitled attitude.

High Concept: Spoiled Bitchy Model
"Ew, I'm not going to do that!"
Johnny knows what he's doing... most of the time
[spoiler=Crunch]
Flashy +2, Sneaky +2, Forceful +1, Quick +1, Careful 0, Clever 0

Sex Appeal: Svetlana gets a +2 bonus to Flashily create an advantage, when dealing with people who might be attracted to her.

Hell Hath No Fury: Once per session, Svetlana can fly into a rage, getting a +1 bonus to all  Forceful actions for the rest of that scene.
[/spoiler]
[/ic]

[ic=Will Blake (Kindling)]Will Blake is Johnny's underpaid and underappreciated underling. Promised a glorious jump-start in the world of photography and the chance to cavort with all sorts of gorgeous models, reality for Will is more like lugging photographic equipment to all sorts of creepy and broken-down places and running numerous menial errands while uppity models give him attitude in broken English.

High Concept: Downtrodden Sidekick
"Meh, it's a job at least."
Just wants to get out of here
[spoiler=Crunch]
Careful +2, Quick +2, Clever +1, Sneaky +1, Flashy 0, Forceful 0

Coward at Heart: When escaping danger, Will gets a +2 bonus to Sneakily evade attacks or overcome obstacles in the way of his flight.

Low Priority Target: Once per session, Will may declare that an incoming enemy attack simply automatically misses. The player must declare this before rolling a defense, but it can be after the enemy rolls the attack.
[/spoiler]
[/ic]

[ic=Mike (Nomadic)]Mike is just Mike. He's big, he's strong, and he makes sure that Johnny and his entourage stay safe in whatever decaying environment they decide to enter. A gang of thugs that wants to steal some expensive photographic equipment (or one of the lovely models) usually thinks better of it when confronted with the business end of Mike's Glock 9mm, or, for that matter, one of his big fists to the face.

High Concept: Strong and Surly Bodyguard
"Don't mess with me and I won't feel the need to mess with you."
Good at his job... and not much else
[spoiler=Crunch]
Careful +2, Forceful +2, Clever +1, Sneaky +1, Flashy 0, Quick 0

Gunslinger: Mike can use Forceful to make ranged attacks with firearms, even when he might otherwise have to use Flashy or Quick.

Tough Guy: Mike gets an additional minor consequence.
[/spoiler]
[/ic]

[ooc=Original characters]You're welcome to build your own character rather than use a pregen, of course.[/ooc]
[/ic]

We'll be using the Fate Accelerated system, which you can download for free from Evil Hat, but this post will also contain a basic explanation of how to play, as well as a few changes and adaptations make the system a bit more suited to creating a suspenseful horror atmosphere.

Rather than use skills, Fate Accelerated is based around approaches, which are broader description of how the character accomplishes tasks.

Quote from: Approaches
Careful actions require close attention to detail and keeping a cool head. Careful covers keeping one's balance or one's wits about them, as well as many tasks where taking one's time adds a significant benefit. It is also is used to resist the effects of fear.

Clever actions require fast thinking and perceptiveness. Clever covers thinking on one's feet, spotting a small but important detail, or having a flash of insight about the situation. Clever is also useful as a social skill when no deception is taking place.

Flashy actions are full of style and are never subtle. Flashy covers delivering an inspiring speech, or making a heroic sacrifice for the good of the group. Flashy is also useful as a social skill when no deception is taking place.

Forceful actions take a blunt, physical approach, which is also rarely subtle. Forceful covers feats of strength, such as hand-to-hand combat, but can also be used for intimidation, endurance, and the like.

Quick actions require agility and dexterity. Quick covers acting fast, dodging attacks, and, of course, moving somewhere as fast as possible.

Sneaky actions place an emphasis on deceit or misdirection. Sneaky covers sleight of hand, disarming security devices, not being noticed, and other such actions. It also covers telling lies, or, for that matter, telling the truth in the best possible light.

Completely mundane people have a score of 0 in every approach. Fate Accelerated is designed more for heroic action; in order to create a more gritty atmosphere for this game, the standard starting array is reduced, so characters get two approaches at +2, two at +1, and two at 0. This results in a character that is still above average but prone to certain weaknesses as well.

Of course, since it's Fate, aspects will be central to the game. An aspect is a word or short phrase that describes a key feature of a person, place, or thing. Player characters have a "High Concept" that summarizes the character, as well as two or three other aspects, such as a merit and a flaw, or perhaps more double-edged descriptive terms. The "Trouble" aspect from Fate has been left out because everyone's main trouble is basically the same in a game like this. Situations and objects have aspects as well, which are often more temporary. How to use aspects in play will be explained below.

Characters get two stunts, which let them gain bonuses or break the rules in certain specific ways. Characters also start with three fate points, which grant them some control over their circumstances. Fate points are explained in more detail below.

When taking an action, it is usually obvious which approach is needed, but in cases where it is not clear, the GM makes the determination. However, the player's narration of how the action is carried out can carry significant weight, of course. Roll 4 Fate dice (4dF) and add it to the relevant approach, comparing it to the opponent's roll, whether that's an enemy or static opposition.

Less than the opponent's total is a failure, an equal value is a tie, and a greater value is a success. Succeeding by a margin of three or more is a success with style. What each of these terms means depends on the action.

The two ways to give aspects mechanical relevance are invoking (also commonly called tagging) or compelling. To invoke an aspect involves narrating how the aspect is relevant and helpful, and grants a +2 bonus to whatever roll is currently being made. Unless it's explicitly free (see below) an invoke costs a fate point. A compel, on the other hand, is usually made against a player by the GM, and is a situation where the aspect can create trouble for the player. The character either gains a fate point for giving into the compel, or must pay a fate point to temporary overcome the natural order of things and refuse the compel. Players can also compel NPCs using aspects they have created or discovered.

A character's fate points can go negative by refusing compels, but negative fate points represent a fate point that can be spent against the character by anyone for any reason, so they are a dangerous thing to have hanging over one's head.

Quote from: ActionsThe following actions are what is generally possible in Fate Accelerated. However, it's perfectly reasonable (and can help immersion) to describe what you want to do and let the GM suggest possible mechanics, rather than worrying too much about crunchy details.

Create Advantage actions are used to create or discover an aspect. On a success, the aspect now exists (or has been uncovered) and can be invoked once at no cost. On a success with style, the aspect can be invoked twice. On a tie, you get a boost instead, which is an extremely tenuous aspect with one free invocation; it must be used promptly, like by an ally acting soon, or it vanishes with no benefit.

Overcome actions involve using your skills to get past an obstacle or beat a challenge. They are the most frequent non-combat action. An overcome action can also be used to defeat an advantage created by an opponent. In general, a failure means you fail, a success means you succeed, and a tie usually brings success at a minor cost. A success with style also includes a boost.

Attack actions directly oppose an enemy, or attempt to destroy something. On a success, they deal damage equal to the degree of success. A tie does no damage, but does grant a boost. A success with style also includes a boost, in addition to damage dealt. (This is simplified from Fate Accelerated's rules as written)

Defense actions are generally passive, but a character can also, as an action, opt to do nothing but defend, which gives a +2 bonus to the approach used.

[note]The damage system has been redone significantly from Fate Accelerated. It is more like Fate Core or Asura, because I'm more familiar with those systems and I like having two stress tracks. The number of consequences has also been reduced to hopefully make the system more gritty.[/note]Characters suffering damage must either take stress or consequences.

Stress represents short-term problems that go away at the end of the current scene. Characters have two stress tracks: physical, representing injuries, and mental, representing fear and other adverse psychological effects. Each stress track has 3 stress on it. A character at 0 stress on either track is out of the current scene and is, generally speaking, in extreme danger.

Consequences are longer-lasting effects that show up as new aspects. Each character is allowed a minor consequence that can mitigate 2 damage, and a major consequence that can mitigate 4 damage. Consequences are aspects, and the opposing side gets a free tag on any new consequence, just like creating an advantage. Consequences are not tied to a stress track; you only get one of each. If a consequence is already marked off, you cannot take another of the same type. A minor consequence can be recovered by spending a whole scene doing little but resting and recuperating, while a major consequence is too severe to do anything about in play.

I'll call Johnny!

Looks great! I'll be Will Blake if no one objects.

No objections from me!

The descriptions of the characters are intentionally rather sparse, so feel free to make them your own, and come up with a physical description and a little more background. If you want to write a third aspect, that's good too-- but otherwise we can leave that blank and maybe it will suggest itself in play. If not, it's a one (or possibly two?) shot, so it's no big deal.

I am definitely going to try to make this, but I haven't settled on a character yet.  Thinkin' about it.

Quote from: sparkletwist
The descriptions of the characters are intentionally rather sparse, so feel free to make them your own, and come up with a physical description and a little more background. If you want to write a third aspect, that's good too

Just to be clear, what actually are the aspects so far for Will? Is "Just wants to get out of here" an aspect? Or are "Coward at heart" and "Low priority target" his aspects?

In terms of appearance I'm thinking a little below average height, slight build, narrow tired-looking face, shoulder length dirty blonde hair, a few days' growth of stubble, unfinished half-sleeve tattoo on one forearm, small scar on his forehead where an ex-girlfriend hit him with a wine glass years ago (they weren't fighting or anything, she was just super drunk), faithful pair of worn-out converse that he has had longer than the scar... and they show it.

Is it too late for me to join? If not I'll call Mike if that's ok.

The time has already been set but if you can make it you're welcome to join. :)

Let me know if I need to come up with another pregen. Ideas I've been bouncing around in my head (that might show up as NPCs regardless)
- A less spoiled, more airhead model
- An athletic parkour guy who helps Johnny get into places
- A crazy old hermit who offers to show them around

Oops, I missed Kindling's question.

Quote from: KindlingJust to be clear, what actually are the aspects so far for Will? Is "Just wants to get out of here" an aspect? Or are "Coward at heart" and "Low priority target" his aspects?

His aspects are Downtrodden Sidekick, "Meh, it's a job at least," and Just wants to get out of here.
The other two things are stunts, which grant special abilities in certain circumstances. That said, if you like the wording, I'd have no objection to you invoking them as aspects in the right situation. Asura works that way and I've never had any problems.