FATE RPG: Impressions, analysis, merits and flaws thereof etc.

[vicky_molokh]

Note:
By DouglasCole'ss request, the FATE Core discussion has been moved out of the Gaming Ballistic thread.

By my own initiative, it's been merged into the this thread.

[dbm]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

By 'adds a dramatic complication' I did mean a compel (aka 'invoke for effect').
Invoking for a ±2 only gives the victim the point at the end of the scene, IIRC. Right?

Originally Posted by Anthony

Invoking against someone is mostly super-boring, and also irrelevant because they can just spend the fate point you just gave them. You really only get anything resembling interesting game play when you look into compels.

This was true in Fate 3, but having just looked at the relevant section in Fate Core (p68-70) nowhere does it say that the Fate Point gets passed to the owner of an aspect of it is simply invoked. This seems to have been dropped in the latest version of the rules.

Compelling does cause an FP to be gained, but the effects of the compel are agreed and unavoidable, so you can't use the new FP to neutralise the compel in any way. (Fate Core p71)

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by dbm

This was true in Fate 3, but having just looked at the relevant section in Fate Core (p68-70) nowhere does it say that the Fate Point gets passed to the owner of an aspect of it is simply invoked. This seems to have been dropped in the latest version of the rules.

As of FATE Core:

Originally Posted by Core p. 81

earning Fate points
You earn fate points in any of the following ways:
• Accept a Compel: You get a fate point when you agree to the complica-
tion associated with a compel. As we said above, this may sometimes
happen retroactively if the circumstances warrant.
• Have Your Aspects Invoked Against You: If someone pays a fate point
to invoke an aspect attached to your character, you gain their fate point
at the end of the scene. This includes advantages created on your char-
acter, as well as consequences.
• Concede in a Conflict: You receive one fate point for conceding in a
conflict, as well as an additional fate point for each consequence that
you’ve received in that conflict. (This isn’t the same as being taken out
in a conflict, by the way, but we’ll get into that later.)

Originally Posted by dbm

Compelling does cause an FP to be gained, but the effects of the compel are agreed and unavoidable, so you can't use the new FP to neutralise the compel in any way. (Fate Core p71)

This is a wording that I've always found too fuzzy.
E.g. let's say my Betrayed the Assassin Guild aspect is invoked, so they ambush me and begin combat. Does using my Master Swordsman aspect in this combat in order to get +2 count as using Fate Points to 'neutralise' the compel? Does using the Friends In The Underworld aspect to Compel a dramatic complication (summoning allies) count as netralisation? I would hope to think not. I'd say that those are cases of [i]dealing with the new situation[i], as per p. 71.

[dbm]

Cool re the transfer of Fate Points.

Re neutralising the Compel, my reading is that your 'Head in the Clouds' aspect could be compelled to make you be ambushed, but once the ambush starts you are free to react and fight off the ambushers.

The way I would implement this is to put 'you' into a disadvantaged location for the fight to happen. You might have an 'in the open' starting aspect which the enemy can take advantage of. The ambushers might have 'in deep cover' aspects to make use of, too. They would probably get a free invocation of these, as well, because of the ambush.

But nothing more restrictive than that, unless the compel was 'you are ambushed and knocked out... You wake up in chains...' I would be very reluctant to use a compel that is that extreme, however. If I did, I would only use it as the kick-off for an adventure.