Sell me on FATE

[Seraph]

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

I've thought for some time that D&D could be streamlined pretty easily if they stopped pretending that attacks and skills were different.  Just give everyone some more skill points, and make "Melee Weapon" a skill (or "Swords" or something)

[Superfluous Crow]

Recently found my old FATE SRD print. Still a cool game, only a pity that there is no real Core system out yet (although one can always adapt).
Out of curiousity, how does character creation work in Dresden Files?

[Lmns Crn]

Recently found my old FATE SRD print. Still a cool game, only a pity that there is no real Core system out yet (although one can always adapt).
Out of curiousity, how does character creation work in Dresden Files?

3.0 FATE Core is the next product Evil Hat has coming down the pipeline.

Differences between DFRPG and SotC character generation (that I can remember offhand):

DFRPG gives you fewer aspects overall (one per phase, not two), in addition to two extra-important, centrally defining aspects, your High Concept (aka: what you are, a la "Wizard Apprentice" or "Changeling on the Run" or "Superstitious Beat Cop" or whatever), and your Trouble (which defines the type of conflict [internal or external] that keeps plaguing you and pushing you forward).

DFRPG Skills don't necessarily use the pyramid-- instead, you have a certain number of points to spend on skills, and higher ranks of skills cost more. So you can shape them into a pyramid if you want to, but it's not required.

DFRPG Stunts are divided into Stunts (which are non-supernatural things that mortals can learn), plus Powers (which are supernatural things that, if a mortal takes one, they aren't a normal run-of-the-mill mortal anymore). Each of these abilities has a "refresh cost", and the more you take, the lower your refresh rate goes (and the fewer Fate Points you start each session with). The idea is that the more wrapped up in supernatural stuff you become, the more your free will is suppressed (and if your refresh rate drops to zero or below, you become an NPC, controlled by the massive mojo you're contending with).

If you are playing a wizard (or someone with similar powers), there's an extra step or two to character creation, because you have to design your personal magical tools and the rote spells you most commonly use.

So, a few changes from SotC, nothing too dramatic, and most made with very good reason that I like a great deal. (I stole High Concept and Trouble as aspect ideas, like, immediately.)

[Ninja D!]

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

I've thought for some time that D&D could be streamlined pretty easily if they stopped pretending that attacks and skills were different.  Just give everyone some more skill points, and make "Melee Weapon" a skill (or "Swords" or something)

I agree that would greatly improve the 3.0 / 3.5 / Pathfinder system. I had actually attempted to use a system like that with 3.5 once. Weapon attacks were still handled the same way but I added skills in for parrying, disarming, ect. Also, skills for various martial arts moves. A more elaborate combat system was the goal...but the game never really got off the ground.

[LoA]

So let me see if i get this. Basically, you have fudge dice with blanks, +'s, and -'s, and you roll them to see if you get + or -, and your characters don't have crunch, but instead have aspects that determine action.

[Superfluous Crow]

The fudge dice have the aforementioned faces and you add them together to generate a nicely distributed number between -4 and +4. The characters have crunch, but only in the form of "skills" and "feats" (using D&D lingo); there are no ability scores. This is where the aspects come in. They can be like ability scores sometimes; "Man of Iron" might double as a strength score on occasion. But they are much more flexible in that you get a bonus from them (+2 and reroll are two options, but there are more benefits) whenever you can find a reason for it to apply. Man of Iron could therefore also be used to take a beating, impress members of the fair gender, or force you into being stubborn or taking a challenge (which is a good thing in FATE; you want bad things to happen on occassion). The aspects are not about what is written in the rules but what the aspect implies!
This is a more flexible and narrative approach than many RPG players are used to (D&D is more rigid and rules heavy), and it will probably take some time to get used to, but I have played in narrative-heavy games before and it's loads of fun, so I can only recommend it!
I have a few minor issues with fate, but overall it's a lovely system.