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'Neath the Moon
2014-09-07, 09:14 AM
Here's an idea I had last night for FATE (specifically Core and FAE, though it might work in the older versions as well.) I thought it seemed like an interesting or fun addition if nothing else, and I couldn't find an equivalent online (not to say I'm positive nobody's made one, just that I couldn't find any) so I decided to post it here. (GitP isn't the most FATE-savvy forum, but it's the only RPG forum I'm a part of. Might want to look into others as well...)

Aspect Cards
Players may trade Fate Points for Aspect Cards. These are pieces of paper, cardstock, or whatever, with premade aspects written on them. What these aspects are would vary from group to group (and maybe even game to game) but they should generally be specific enough that they cannot be used anywhere, and general enough that they can be used in different ways if reused. By and large, they should be the type of thing that can be added to a situation aspect (or scene dressing) to give an extra bonus.

Examples
"It's still warm...", "Is that supposed to be burning?", "Flaw in the design", "Paid extra for it", "Surprisingly roomy", "This isn't stable!", and so on.
The player who holds the Aspect Card may play it at any time, so long as they can justify its use and explain what it means in that situation. Their character gets a free invoke of the aspect, just as though they had Created an Advantage.

For most groups, 30-40 cards is probably plenty, with quality slightly less essential than quantity. They shouldn't be more than brief phrases. 1/4 of a 3x5in index card should be enough room.

Variations and Suggestions
I'd strongly recommend that GMs enlist their players to help, 1000 Blank White Cards-style. This allows the players to make cards that align somewhat with their characters, and also provides personal interest in the cards and incentive to use them over more reliable uses of Fate Points. The GM should look through player-made cards and pick out any that are clearly broken or overlap to heavily with another.

A way to increase the utility of the Aspect Card is to use them as Fate Point markers. This way, rather than trading them out, the players simply have them at their disposal, should they need them. With a fine-tipped permanent marker, they could even be written on poker chips, etc.

While I said "player" throughout this, strictly speaking there's no reason the GM couldn;t make use of these. Mostly, though, they won't need to, being the GM. The whole point of this is to give the players a bit of the GM's power, if only briefly.

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So... Thoughts? Suggestions? Questions?