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Old 01-04-2013, 05:00 AM   #11
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Default Re: First impressions on Fate Core

-Unfortu ately, my first exposure to Fate was in Spirit of th Century. I disliked the mechanics so much I couldn't finish the book. In particular, the excessive amount of Aspects a GM had to keep track of and how all weapons did the same damage doomed the system for me.
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Old 01-04-2013, 05:08 AM   #12
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Default Re: First impressions on Fate Core

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Originally Posted by copeab View Post
-Unfortu ately, my first exposure to Fate was in Spirit of th Century. I disliked the mechanics so much I couldn't finish the book. In particular, the excessive amount of Aspects a GM had to keep track of and how all weapons did the same damage doomed the system for me.
Well, again Core has cut down the number of aspects to remember by half (5 aspects per character). There are also rules to have different weapons do different amounts of damage, and to have armor reduce damage. It also makes it very clear that it's the player's job to bring aspects that the Game Master forgets about.
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Old 01-04-2013, 09:02 AM   #13
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Well, again Core has cut down the number of aspects to remember by half (5 aspects per character). There are also rules to have different weapons do different amounts of damage, and to have armor reduce damage. It also makes it very clear that it's the player's job to bring aspects that the Game Master forgets about.
I didn't like the use of aspects at all, as I recall. Cutting them down 50% isn't sufficient compensation for having them in the first place.

It also bothered me that the high and low levels of competence were no longer symmetrical; I felt that there was a meaningful level of distinction on the low side that had been lost (Nonexistent means you can't do it, Terrible means you're worse that the ordinary untrained person, Poor means you're untrained, Mediocre means you're a hobbyist or partially trained, Fair—the neutral point—means you have ordinary training; I can't see cutting out any of those levels) and that the extra level on the high side blurred all those levels into meaninglessness.

I like FUDGE a lot; I've used it twice and could well use it again. But I wasn't able to see FATE as an improvement. I first read it with positive expectations, but I couldn't see ever wanting to use it.

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Old 01-04-2013, 09:25 AM   #14
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I didn't like the use of aspects at all, as I recall. Cutting them down 50% isn't sufficient compensation for having them in the first place.

It also bothered me that the high and low levels of competence were no longer symmetrical; I felt that there was a meaningful level of distinction on the low side that had been lost (Nonexistent means you can't do it, Terrible means you're worse that the ordinary untrained person, Poor means you're untrained, Mediocre means you're a hobbyist or partially trained, Fair—the neutral point—means you have ordinary training; I can't see cutting out any of those levels) and that the extra level on the high side blurred all those levels into meaninglessness.

I like FUDGE a lot; I've used it twice and could well use it again. But I wasn't able to see FATE as an improvement. I first read it with positive expectations, but I couldn't see ever wanting to use it.

Bill Stoddard
Bill, again different tastes here. Nothing wrong with that. I personally find that Aspects are THE big thing in fate. As for skills, it's true that Fate focuses at people that are at least mediocre at everything, but then again, you could have a campaign where the +0 level is terrible, or one where all characters are godlike, and you call the +0 level good (mundanes are Terrible or less at default skills, while their best skills are maybe on par with your base/default skills)

Again, if you don't like the Aspect mechanic, then Fate is not for you.
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Old 01-04-2013, 12:20 PM   #15
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Have you read the materials available?
I'm reading the Fate Core preview (p.217 right now), and to me it's a very refreshing approach contrasting a lot with the literalism of the GURPS rules, which of course has its advantages in a number of fields but at the same time often leads to excessive rationalization.

As it happens with Fudge, Fate's more abstract perspective is welcome, but nonetheless I need to evaluate more what I'm seeing, especially because I don't use to be focused in more than a RPG system at once.
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Old 01-04-2013, 01:28 PM   #16
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Fate IS the Fate point economy. Trying to make things work outside of it runs contrary to the design goals.
Nothing says that I have to prefer FATE's design goals over my gaming goals. If the Fate Point economy doesn't work for X, and X is an important part of an RPG, then that just means that FATE's design goals are ill-chosen.

But anyway, FATE's stated design goal is to emulate fiction. Contriving that wounds and adverse environmental conditions have no effect except in opposed resolution (and not always then) does not achieve that.

After my playing Spirit of the Century, Diaspora, and FATE 3 hacks for other settings for more than a year, it's my opinion that FATE over-uses Aspects and the Fate Point economy. Whether or not it was a design goal to use them for everything, they don't work well for everything.
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Old 01-04-2013, 11:27 PM   #17
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Default Re: First impressions on Fate Core

Been thinking more and more on doing a Burn Notice game in Fate Core, and I've whipped up the following rules for skills/stunts and keeping the theme consistent via story aspects:

http://www.mygurps.com/burnnotice.shtml

I'll probably add to that if and when I actually run such a game, but I think that's enough to get me started if I find the time to run this.
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Old 01-07-2013, 05:15 PM   #18
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Default Re: First impressions on Fate Core

I've been discussing Fate quite a bit with Kuroshima over Google Talk (he convinced me to sign up for the Kickstarter) and I've come to the conclusion it works well for game concepts that GURPS does poorly. For example an urban fantasy concept I've had in limbo for years because of the complication of creating a GURPS version is trivial to do with Fate.

For example in GURPS I need to figure out a list of traits that defines a certain type of supernatural creature or ability, make sure it's balanced enough with the other characters to work in a group and hammer out mechanics for what are fairly simple concepts in narrative. In Fate I simply state certain Aspects give those abilities and the players define the rest.

It opens up the ability to do games like Neil Gaiman or Charles de Lint type modern-day fantasies without putting too much effort into the "build" side of it. I also think it would do well for Star Wars and Star Trek style settings where the needs of the plot outweigh established canon. One thing I am concerned about is being able to make things like equipment different enough to matter, but I think there's some sourace material being written with that in mind.
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Old 01-31-2013, 02:22 AM   #19
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Default Re: First impressions on Fate Core

Ran across the Kickstarter campaign around 18 or so hours short of when it ended. Spent 15 bucks. Very excited.

My take on it is that GURPS can detail things better, and has these excellent forums. Well, that, and it's a great system as well. But Fate looks better to me. Put in terms of Gamist Theory (or whatever it's called), I think Fate is the ultimate for narrativist gamers. I love GURPS for the detail it provides for the simulationist in me, but the narrativist wins out. I think it's fair to say that Fate is weaker than other games on the gamist side of the equation, but whatever, that's fine with me. As far as Fate goes, Fate Core looks great, so so so simple and well described and explained.
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Old 01-31-2013, 02:23 AM   #20
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Default Re: First impressions on Fate Core

It's simple but the simplicity is good, very good. It lets me do a lot of things I've wanted to do, and to do them easily. I've thought for a long time about how to best make dreaming a big and important part of a game, and to give it the right feel. The answer has never been so obvious to me; make it into an extra as a skill, the overcome, create an advantage, attack and defend (the 4 things that define skills) are all obvious to me.

Another thing I've wanted to do is to level the playing field on weapons, making the differences between them only differences in flavor, thereby encouraging people to use weapons they think are cool over weapons that are most effective. Why is it that a guy with a big sword can be both less skilled and more dangerous than a sneaky girl with a knife? Yeah, it's realistic. But it undermines character concepts and game balance. In Fate Core, weapons can still be bought as extras, aspects, skills, and stunts, differentiating effectiveness.

I get the sense that, if you have a good feel for the system, you'll be able to model most kewl powers you might want with a minimum of difficulty but without loosing on any flavor.
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