Fate ?

[Graysire]

I've heard plenty about the FATE system, but only in that it has been popular with some groups and it being fairly freeform and the basics of its mechanics. How does it tend to play?

[Aliquid]

I've heard plenty about the FATE system, but only in that it has been popular with some groups and it being fairly freeform and the basics of its mechanics. How does it tend to play?

I haven't played much, but from my experience it plays quite different form a standard RPG like D&D. You have to approach it with a different mindset, which can be hard if you are used to D&D... (i.e. you keep slipping back into old habits)

One thing I liked about it was that the combat scenes were more descriptive and exciting. You use the terrain and surroundings more. Throwing sand in your opponents eyes or lighting something on fire is pretty much encouraged with the rules. Wounds are more specific and interesting.

One thing that freaks most people out is that the players have more control over the game than in a typical RPG. They can make decisions about the environment and even about the behavior of NPCs (although within specific limits that the GM has control over).

[Knaight]

The extent to which it's different is often over stated. There's a few key mechanics that distinguish it (most notably Aspects), but most of the engine is a pretty straightforward skill and talent game. It's not a hard game to hop into, with a great deal of free material (the core rules and somewhere around 30 micro settings of 50 pages or so each), but it can take a while to get used to it.

Still, it's a pretty traditional game in most respects.

[Grod_The_Giant]

I'm with Knaight here-- in most of my experiences, it's played like a pretty standard (albeit very solid) skill-based system* with hero points-- you're mostly rolling [dice]+skill bonus to do things, against an opposed roll or GM-decreed DC. Sometimes you'll spend a hero point to get a bonus on a roll, a reroll, or to introduce some minor element to the scene; other times the GM will hand you a hero point when something arbitrarily bad happens.

The game's key feature, Aspects, generally enter into things one of two ways:

• In "roll-playing," they basically work out to a unified mechanic to replace any sort of situational modifier or special rule. Aspects represent some truth about the scene ("It's Dark Here," "Mud in Your Eye," etc), which can be used to allow/forbid some actions (at the GM's discretion; this part isn't explained well in the books), and can be used to justify spending hero points. Sometimes you can do so for free, depending on circumstance and edition.
• In "role-playing," they work... mostly the same, but here the synergy works somewhat better. Characters tend to have Aspects about their personality, meaning that your social actions are more effective if you can discover the other party's Aspects and bring them into play-- ie, if you find that the duke is "Corrupt as Sin," you can use that to boost an attempt to bribe them. Your character also has personality-type Aspects, and you'll usually get hero points for sticking to your characterization even when it's not to your advantage.

That said, most of the games I've been in haven't featured too many Compels (when the GM offers you a hero point to force you to act in accordance to some Aspect).


*That is, characters are represented pretty much entirely through skills, rather than abilities-plus-skills, classes, and/or long lists of special features

[Aliquid]

That said, most of the games I've been in haven't featured too many Compels (when the GM offers you a hero point to force you to act in accordance to some Aspect).

That’s what I meant with having to get into a different mindset. I find that both players and GMs who are used to other styles keep on forgetting to take advantage of that side of the game, and just play it like a regular RPG.

Reading the rules, it seems to imply you should be throwing fate points back and forth on a regular basis. I always forget, other than the obvious (I fudged that roll)

[Knaight]

That is, characters are represented pretty much entirely through skills, rather than abilities-plus-skills, classes, and/or long lists of special features

I mentioned talents as well to cover the stunts, but they're comparatively minor.