importing aspects from Spirit of The Century to a 3.5 fantasy campaign

[Kol Korran]

hi there.

upon reading Spirit of the Century i really really liked the aspects part of it. i'm making a few adjustments to implement it in my 3.5 pirating, witches, voodoo, opposing a colonial power campaign...

but my players don't know Spirit of The Century or fate that well, and i want to give them examples of aspects they can create. the idea is for aspects that are short (few words) and can be interpreted to their benefit (to gain the benefit) or their hindrance (for gaining more fate points)

i'd appreciate any and all of your suggestions. help make my game better?

Some so far:
"Never hit a woman"

"one with the blade"

"Thorn of the Empire!"

"Damn i hate orcs!" (orcs are a playable race and one of the major cultures)

"stubborn like a mule"

"married to my ship"

"a devil in disguise"

"slippery as a fish"

"cursed by birth" (will have to explain the curse)

"there for those in need"

"always a bargain, always a price"

mine are... not that good, can you help?

(search word: piratewitch )

[Delwugor]

First let me "Heft my dwarven battle axe in salute" to bring Aspects into D&D.

A good source for defining and using Aspects comes from FATERPG.COM.
The Evilhat wiki site has some good examples also.
What helped me get the feel of Fate games is StufferSack's Fate pages. There are several write-ups on Aspects which are geared towards Strands of Fate but work in general.
You could also buy Bulldogs! ($10 - no I'm not affiliated) as it has IMO the best examples of Aspects in any Fate game.
But no matter what coming up with "good" Aspects takes some experience.

My approach is to ask questions about the different "aspects" of a character.
What is his/her approach to solving problems?
Why is he/she adventuring?
What goals does he/she have?
What are his convictions?
What beliefs does he have? Are the religious or just personal?
What is the most influential part of his background/history?
What race and how does it impact him?
Notice that I concentrate on the character not abilities. Abilities are handled with Skills in Fate (or attributes and advantages for SoF).

Then ask how they can be made specific to the character? For example on of my players is a female dwarven warrior, now "Female Dwarven Warrior" is an aspect but not really exciting. She ended up personalizing it to "Dwarven Women DO Exist!" which reflects the stereotyping she faces and her attitude about it. The battle axe she brandishes already tells everyone she is a warrior.

Finally allow some time for your players to get adjusted and possibly modify their Aspects if they don't initially work out well. Believe me that will happen.

[TheThan]

What you can do, since this is a dnd game, is let all your players have a single aspect, every level. they gain one new aspect. This should work out to be a natural process, as players should start choosing aspects based upon their characters' personality and point of view. Since aspects represent what your character is and skills represent what your characters can do, you need to really emphasis that they shouldn't be measured on "power".

Now if your just looking for a list of aspects for a pirate game. here's a few:

Girl in every port
bring on the wenches
swashbuckler
do you, Voodoo?
Pistoleer
"that's captain [name]"
Power corrupts
Zombies!
death defying
marauder

[Kol Korran]

thanks! the aspects will be an entirely new kind of game element for these folks (for me as well. i only PbPed a Fate game once) so i'm a bit concerned, but i think after a few teething problems it will work out fine.

i currently plan to let them have 4-5 aspects to begin with, and gain 1 at 4th level and every 2 levels afterwards. gaining "fate points" (we'll call them a bit differently) is only through compelling an aspect or when i think they've done something impressive.

the idea so far is to test the waters- the aspects will be a mechanic that will help give an edge, but won't dominate the game. hopefully it will encourage more creativity and roleplaying (though i can't complain about that with my group)

i'm a bit worried about the "make a declaration" option of the fate points, but i think it will prove highly entertaining.

thanks!

[Knaight]

I'd probably dial that down, and start with 3 aspects. Keeping the number small makes it easier for people new to FATE or other games which borrow Aspects, then more can be added in later. You could even connect it to feat gain, so extra aspects are gained at 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18, coming to a solid 9 aspects at the end of the game (which mirrors the 9 levels used in spells, maneuvers, etc.)

[Raum]

i'd appreciate any and all of your suggestions. help make my game better?

I agree with Knaight on the number of aspects - keep them few at first. You might even introduce one at a time...helps everyone remember them.

As for the aspects themselves, the best aspects say several things about the character, his personality, and his goals. Take "Honorable" as an example. It says several things about the character by itself. Make it "My Family's Honor" and you add a sense of history, possibly even dynasty. Now adjust it to either "My Family's Honor Betrayed" to suggest some dishonorable act in the family history or to "Restore My Family's Honor" to give the character a goal. Either way, you've taken "Honorable" and made it both personal and interesting.

You can work through other aspects similarly. Take the core concept and add to it.

[Kol Korran]

As for the aspects themselves, the best aspects say several things about the character, his personality, and his goals. Take "Honorable" as an example. It says several things about the character by itself. Make it "My Family's Honor" and you add a sense of history, possibly even dynasty. Now adjust it to either "My Family's Honor Betrayed" to suggest some dishonorable act in the family history or to "Restore My Family's Honor" to give the character a goal. Either way, you've taken "Honorable" and made it both personal and interesting.

that's a good explanations. i incorporated it into the explanation for my group. i also went for the 3 aspects at start and one more every 3 levels.

this is the explanation page for my group, what do you think?