Sell me on FATE

[LoA]

Just as the title says.

I've been on this forum for a few months now, and i keep hearing about this FATE. Even have people recommending it to me for various aspects. I admit that my curiosity is peeked. But, it took me a long time to get 3rd ed. down,  and it's one of the various reasons i refuse to switch to 4e. Not meaning to sound condescending, but please tell me about this system, and why i would like or dislike about this game, and why i should devote time and energy to learning it. Talk to me like you were trying to drag a friend into playing with  you.

Please don't let any apparent rudeness in this upset. I am genuinely curious and want to learn more.

[LordVreeg]

You have called the mighty Incandescent Children's Art Utensil.  Fear the coming.

[Ninja D!]

I think Vreeg said what needs to be said right there. There is someone here that will do what everything in their power to sell you on FATE.

For my part, I probably don't know more than you. I have never played FATE but it sounds like a pretty cool system with a focus on roleplaying. I'd say it's worth giving a shot.

[Lmns Crn]

You have called the mighty Incandescent Children's Art Utensil.  Fear the coming.

DID SOMEBODY SAY MY NAME?!

freely available online[/url] if you're curious. And of course, I could probably continue in this vein for quite some time.

[LordVreeg]

How did you know I was working on utensil combat in GS?

[Lmns Crn]

Because no one can resist a runcible spoon forever.

[Magnus Pym]

You would NOT like FATE if...
...you like rules-heavy games with bigass charts about the difference between attack bonuses between a grapefruit spoon and a runcible spoon
...you like games the GM rules with an iron fist
...you prefer your combats boring and your characters one-dimensional
...you hate joy

Win

[Weave]

You would NOT like FATE if...
...you like rules-heavy games with bigass charts about the difference between attack bonuses between a grapefruit spoon and a runcible spoon
...you like games the GM rules with an iron fist
...you prefer your combats boring and your characters one-dimensional
...you hate joy

Graaaaaahhh I wanna play in a FATE IRC so badly. I LOVE JOY.

[LoA]

You have called the mighty Incandescent Children's Art Utensil.  Fear the coming.

DID SOMEBODY SAY MY NAME?!

freely available online[/url] if you're curious. And of course, I could probably continue in this vein for quite some time.

I have two words to say to all this! More please...

The more i read this the more i drool on myself!... Why couldn't i have been smart and started looking at this when i was designing Dynama???
 :hammer:

[Lmns Crn]

here[/url]. A little rough around the edges, but might give you a useful look at what someone else (i.e., me) is doing with FATE.

While we're jawing away, let's talk about character creation. It's best (and funnest!) to do this in a group.

Regardless of whatever incarnation of FATE you're looking at (Spirit of the Century, Dresden Files RPG, Jade FATE, etc.), the character generation process (like everything else) is mostly the same, except for a few details. You start by writing a character background organized into a few phases, and this background informs your game stats-- it's where your aspects come from. Better yet, there's generally a phase or three where you're encouraged (or outright required) to write one or more of the other characters into your background, in a "pass your sheet to the left" kind of way. This sort of thing ensures that starting characters 1.) have already had one or two adventures before the start of the first game session, and 2.) have some history with each other.

So, let's say I'm making a character for a Jade Stage game, using Jade FATE. I might end up with something like this:
[spoiler]There are three phases, here: a background phase about your childhood, upbringing, "normal life", etc.; a "rite of passage" phase about how you got started on the road to adventure and glory; and a first adventure phase, which describes your first meeting with another character (during which you both presumably did something exciting). So I might get something like this:

Phase 1 - Origin: Brought up on the shores of the Circle Sea, Yoenal started work as a fisherman and repairer-of-sails when he was just a child. Like all the goblins of his tribe, he learned to respect the power and mystery of the sea, to value thinking and hard work, and to talk little, for speech reveals ones own weaknesses. (Possible aspects from this phase: "Worked My Whole Life", "Still Waters Run Deep", "Sea Legs".)

Phase 2 - Rite of Passage: Yoenal never knew much of his father, a taciturn man with a wily smile, who was always traveling on some far-ranging errand or another. Even so, it was a terrible blow when a letter of condolence arrived from an anonymous hand among the Guild of Locksmiths, regretfully informing family members that Yoenal's father had died a hero's death in service of a noble cause: the freeing of goblin slaves. Taking up his family's heirloom sword, Yoenal set out from his village, driven by forces he did not understand. (Possible aspects from this phase: "My Father's Sword", "Oath of Vengeance", "The Locksmiths Owe Me".)

Phase 3 - Adventure: This phase will depend a lot about what character gets handed to me-- I can't write it with just Yoenal alone; he needs someone to interact with. Aspects from this phase might be more characteristics about Yoenal, like from the previous phases, but it might be more interesting to turn Yoenal's relationship with another character into an aspect. (Or even to make an aspect out of a powerful enemy, who might be hunting Yoenal, or out of some other significant NPC.)

I need five aspects: a Concept (answers the "who are you?" question), a Trouble (names the thing that most complicates your character's life), and three "regular" aspects, one from each phase. Looks like this:

Quick Exit[/url], Precision Strike, and maybe [urlhttp://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/Deceit_(Jade_FATE)#The_Honest_Lie]The Honest Lie[/url]-- those seem interesting.
[/spoiler]Some of my funnest "game sessions" were just sitting around with friends writing down batches of Spirit of the Century characters, when we didn't have enough people present to play our normal game. Spirit of the Century has you pass character sheets around the circle multiple times, adding on to stories again and again, and it leads to general hilarity. (SotC is also pretty over-the-top in general; not all FATE incarnations have to be quite so silly.)

[Magnus Pym]

I have two words to say to all this! More please...

The more i read this the more i drool on myself!... Why couldn't i have been smart and started looking at this when i was designing Dynama???
 :hammer:

Something to say here; it's never too late.

I find myself changing my things (Primeval and the newer Plaguelands) alot and constantly have new ideas for other settings and whatnot. You can easily "reshape" (or maybe not even so hardcore) your fluff around different rules. Anyways, you know how it works. :wink:

[LoA]

So would tv tropes be a good resource for homebrewing aspects?

[Weave]

So would tv tropes be a good resource for homebrewing aspects?

I'm sure TV Tropes could work fine. I like to use song titles, personally. Sometimes, when I'm bored, I sit around and put my iPod on shuffle, trying to make a character, plot, campaign, whatever, based on the first 5-10 songs that come up. Make some interesting NPCs that way ;).

[Ninja D!]

How adaptable, you ask? Check this out: there is one game mechanic, and that gets used to cover pretty much all confrontations. Once you can run a "conflict" (the generic term), you can do goddamn anything with this system. Bar fight? Physical conflict using skills like Fists and Weapons. Shouting match? Social conflict using Intimidation. Getting your law passed by the Galactic Senate? Social conflict using Rapport, Bureaucracy, and/or Deceit (you dastard!) Hostile corporate takeover? Social (economic?) conflict using skills like Brokerage and Assets. Wizards' duel? Mental (or physical, or magical, or all three) conflict using Sorcery and Enlightenment and shit. All these examples use the same basic mechanic, and you can very easily add (or remove) Skills until you have a list appropriate to your genre and setting. We are very, very rules-light up in here.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding something but that sounds pretty close to how most systems are.

[Lmns Crn]

So would tv tropes be a good resource for homebrewing aspects?

I'm not a personal fan of TVTropes (I think it tends toward way too silly and hypernarcissistically wrapped up in itself), but use whatever you like for inspiration.

Then again, "homebrewing" aspects is not really a thing, since there's not any master list of "core" aspects (just a handful of suggestions to get you started). It's assumed that each player will make up their own aspects, from scratch. That's the normal way to do it.

A fight scene is run as a physical conflict. A warrior might make attacks using Weapons, Fists, or Guns, enemies would avoid those attacks with Weapons, Fists, or Athletics. Successful attacks would cause physical stress, and perhaps lead to physical consequences like Exhausted, Bleeding Wounds, or Run Through. Characters defeated in this kind of conflict might face Taken Out results like these: being forced to surrender, being killed, being mortally wounded, being knocked unconscious, being taken prisoner, being humiliated in defeat.

Now watch me copy/paste and change words, mad-libs style.

A con job is run as a social conflict. A trickster might make attacks using Deceit, Rapport, or Empathy, enemies would avoid those attacks with Empathy, Rapport, or Resolve. Successful attacks would cause social stress, and perhaps lead to social consequences like Bamboozled, Too Trusting, or In Too Deep. Characters defeated in this kind of conflict might face Taken Out results like these: agreeing to a bad deal, being bullied into actions they'd rather avoid, or truly believing a great big lie.

A sorcerer's summoning ritual is run as a mental conflict. A wizzard might make attacks using Scholarship, Sorcery, or Intimidation, the creature in the summoning circle would avoid those attacks with Resolve, Might, Sorcery, or a special "demons only" skill of some sort. Successful attacks would cause mental stress, and perhaps lead to mental consequences like Dazed, Depleted Magic, or Bound by Arcane Shackles. Characters defeated in this kind of conflict might face Taken Out results like these: if the wizard wins, he might subdue and command the summoned entity; if the demon wins, it might escape the circle, eat the arrogant mage for breakfast, or levy a terrible curse.

All these scenarios use the same mechanics: making attacks, causing stress, causing consequences, with the goal of eventually forcing a Taken Out result. The only difference is what skills/powers you're using.[/spoiler]