Showing posts with label fate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fate. Show all posts

Friday, September 21, 2012

An Early Look At Nova Praxis

I was able to get an early look at the playtest documents for the upcoming Nova Praxis game from Void Star Games. They have a Kickstarter in the works (and if you are reading this blog post from the future it could be already happening or finished).

Nova Praxis is a transhumanistic science fiction game that uses Void Games Stands of Fate variant of the Fate rules as its underlying game engine. Transhumanism is a burgeoning genre in tabletop role-playing. Steve Jackson Games tilled the soil years ago with their Transhuman Space game, a game that featured collaboration between game designers and futurists to make a transhuman setting that seemed a probable extrapolation of the current world into a future one. Eclipse Phase by Posthuman Studios also goes over this ground, but adds an element of horror to the transhumanist SF. Both of these are strong games, with strong followings, that would be difficult for a new game to surpass and set its own ground.

Some would say: Do we really need another transhumanist role-playing game? I think that's a dumb question because, at it's heart, transhumanism should be an extrapolation of today into a probably and plausible tomorrow. As today changes, so should the tomorrows keep pace.

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Double Agents and Moles: Options For Agents of SWING

Ever since George Smiley, the espionage genre and its fans have been interested in moles and double agents. These operatives were a cornerstone of Cold War espionage. The question is, how do you do this with your Agents of SWING games?

With NPCs, this is easy enough to do...in fact the upcoming Nefarious supplement will no doubt have some villainous double agents and defectors to plague your SWINGers. So, how do you add the drama of double agents to your play group?

Ever Agent of SWING character has a cover. This is even more important for a double agent that it is for a "straight" operative. Your character, the double agent, is walking a tightrop of truth and deception every day of their personal and professional lives. The Deceit skill is a job requirement, a survival skill, for your character. Important stunts from the core rules for a mole could be: Disguise of the Mind, Eye For Detail, Five Minute Friends, Hide In Plain Sight, and Honest Lie. Aspects that you might use to create a character who is a mole: More Than Meets The Eyes, Deceptive, Keeping It Bottled Up, and Strangely Sympathetic. You should have a double meaning to aspects that directly deal with your character's nature as a double agent, after all they shouldn't give things away to easily and you want to be able to activate them during play without getting your character into trouble.

The important thing to remember, particularly if you are planning on keeping your character's status as a mole secret from the other players, is to not lay it on too thick with methods of deception, or overly obvious hints about your character's true nature. For example, the "Keeping It Bottled Up" aspect mentioned above could have to do with the pressures your character faces in hiding their double life, or it could be that they close up and bottle all of their stresses in their life. On the surface, both of these choices could be justified by the same behavior.Keep in mind that your character will still have to do their day to day cover job within SWING and the group, so the bulk of their aspects, skills and stunts will need to reflect that. Their secret bosses won't like it if your character's cover is blow too easily, after all.

You also need to inform Control of your desire to create a character that is a mole. They may wish to approve any character concepts like this, to make sure that it fits in with the concept of the game and the campaign they wish to run for you and the other players. Remember that role-playing is a group activity and your idea for a fun character shouldn't ruin the fun for the other players.

There is a consequence to being a mole. Yes, that was intentional. Whenever you take any Mental or Social Consequences for your double agent character, it is a good idea to take consequences that flirt with or jeopardize your character's standing within SWING and/or the group of characters. This is particularly true of when you take a Severe or Extreme consequence for your character. You do not have to reveal you are a mole, even with an Extreme consequence, that would be too easy, but you can give broad hints. Being a double agent means straddling a razor's edge, and sooner or later your character will slip up.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Alternate Character Creation For Legends of Anglerre: Sword & Sorcery

I know that it is an artifact of the character creation rules in Spirit of the Century, but I'm not a fan of how the Phases of character creation are handled in it or in either of Cubicle 7's Fate offshoots: Starblazer Adventures or Legends of Anglerre. Luckily for me, Fate is an easily hackable game system. I like the idea of Phases in character creation, just not the implementation of it in these games.

This post assumes that you own a copy of Legends of Angelerre (that is, by the way an affiliate link that helps support my gaming habit, if you are interested in purchasing a PDF copy of the game) and is not intended to be self-contained. If you don't know about Fate, or the system that these games are derived from, check out this SRD (system reference document) for the base system.

I am a fan of Sword & Sorcery fantasy, much more than I am of the epic, high, traditional, or whatever we are calling it today school of fantasy. Blame Michael Moorcock for that, and for introducing me to the works of Robert E. Howard and others in this genre of fantasy fiction. With this alternate character creation system I am going to gear the Phases towards the creation of a Sword & Sorcery character, as I see it of course.

Each Phase still assumes that the player picks two (2) Aspects that are tied to the events of that Phase. Characters also still start with a number of Stunts equal to half the number of starting Aspects. This should give a starting character eight (8) Aspects and four (4) stunts, equivalent to a Great character (LoA 17).

Phase One: The Idylls of the Past
All Sword & Sorcery characters have a Before that tells us who they were before the blood and magic and savagery changed their life and their world. For many S&S characters, who they once were is what they are fighting to return to...or to avenge its loss. Sword & Sorcery characters can come from any sort of background within the world, ranging from the simplest commoner to the most important noble.

This Phase should be a peaceful one, providing a contrast to the horrors of the world to come, or perhaps demonstrating that there really is no safe place in a world of Sword & Sorcery and sooner or later the darkness and horror reaches everyone. Aspects tied to this phase should represent that peacefulness, or at least show the sense of longing or loss that the character may have for that time of their life. Much of the moody introspection of Sword & Sorcery characters can be tied into this Phase of their lives.

Phase Two: By The Prickling Of My Thumbs...
Sooner or later the horror, magic and blood of the greater world (or multiverse!) creeps into the world the character. It may just be harbingers of the greater darkness, enough to introduce the weird into the character's world and give them a hint at what is to come. Often at this point the character dismisses the coming darkness, or thinks that it is not powerful enough for them to trifle with. Often, for the S&S character, this is a Phase marked by arrogance on their own part, a Phase that brings the first whispers of evil and darkness into their lives and opens the door for the next Phase...

Aspects tied to this Phase should deal with the creeping darkness and blood into the previously idyllic life of the character. The scars from this Phase typically were not physical, but they last long and serve to remind the character of how what they did lead from the Idyll to the Doom.

Phase Three: The Doom
All Sword & Sorcery characters have their moment of downfall that leads to their entry into the greater world of horrors and darkness, and their upcoming life of adventure and savagery in that world of darkness. The character's Doom changes their world, and their life, forever. The Doom varies with the character, but it is always a personal thing...from the destruction of their homeland by the forces of darkness in the world, or the loss of their most loved at the hands of those same forces (or even their own hands). Pride comes before the fall, and this Phase represents that downfall in the character's life.

Aspects tied to this phase should represent that loss and destruction in the life of the character, due to their actions or inaction in the world. Where the Aspects of the previous Phases are often emotional and psychological, the Aspects of this Phase are mostly physical: the loss of their home, of their love, and of the scars and physical damage done to them during this loss. Now is when the character in a Sword & Sorcery story truly learns that they have to fight for what is important to them in this world.

Phase Four: Into The World of Blood and Darkness
The previous Phases of the character's life has informed who they were, what they have lost, and why they have ventured out into the greater world. Now, they set out upon a restless and rootless path, either trying to keep the blood and horror at bay for themselves and for others, or they are seeking a vengeance upon those who took everything from them.

Aspects from this Phase should be tied to the transition to becoming a warrior in a world of blood and savagery. Their old lives are over, but can never be forgotten, and now they seek a peace, or revenge, to quiet the voices and the ghosts of their past that still echo within them.

You now have created the life of your Sword & Sorcery character for Legends of Anglerre. I would suggest taking one of the Fighter or Rogue Occupations from Chapter Five, as they have more of a Sword & Sorcery flair to them. Some of the Magic User Occupations (except perhaps Wizard) can be used for more magic-oriented characters (Elementalist characters in particular fit well in a Sword & Sorcery world where the heroes use magic).

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Spirit of the Four Colors Update

Just a note to those who followed my start on the "Spirit of the Four Colors" FATE build. I want you to know that they project hasn't died. I've just got paying jobs in the queue before it. Look for a big update in the new year. I already have some changes I want to make to the part I've posted and I've been thinking a lot about character creation. This is definitely not a dead project.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Spirit of the Four Colors: Introduction

This post is going to be a bit of a text dump because I am going to start playing with the SotC SRD and molding it into Spirit of the Four Colors. Sometime these changes may seem minimal, while others will see more more extensive. One of the big changes you are going to see in this post deals with gaining Fate points, making them more "super-heroic" in my opinion. This is one of the places where I am looking at Eddy Webb's Marvelous Superheroes rules, not to mention my many years of super-heroic gaming. Assume these specific Spirit of the Four Colors posts are being released under the OGL (and only them). I will make a post with the specific section 15 designations once I know what I will, and will not, be drawing open content from. Spirit of the Four Colors is very much a work in progress, so keep that in mind when using material from these posts. Only Spirit of the Four Colors posts are considered to be open content.

One thing to keep in mind, that I won't be getting to just yet, is that I want to break actions down in more "comic book" way. That means a move to panels, pages, books as units of time measurement. If you've ever played the great super-hero game Golden Heroes (currently back in print as Squadron UK) you'll know the direction that I want to take.

Comments are appreciated, and I do moderate my comments because of heavy spamming. Don't fear, I get to approving comments pretty quickly.

All right, here's part one of Spirit of the Four Colors:


The Basics

Things You Should Have

You’ll need a few supplies along with these rules to play the game. Here’s a list of mandatory items, as well as some recommended ones.

You’ll need:
  • Four Fudge Dice for each player and the GM. If you don’t have Fudge dice, see Grey Ghost Games (www .fudgerpg .com) or your local RPG dice supplier for a pack, or just substitute regular six sided dice.
  • Some copies of character sheets or at least blank paper to record characters.
  • Writing implements.
  • Friends. (For running a game, the sweet spot’s somewhere between two and six. For creating characters, the more the better – the more folks you have with characters, the easier it will be to put together a game whenever you feel like it.)
You’ll find useful:
  • A set of poker chips or glass beads (to use as fate points).
  • Index cards to pass notes and to make notes on things that come up in play.
  • Snacks.

The Ladder

Most things in the system are rated according to the ladder below (when we say “the ladder” throughout the text, this is what we mean). Usually, the adjectives are used to describe things – someone might be a Good Pilot or Poor at Academics. The adjectives and numbers are interchangeable, so if a player or GM is more comfortable with numbers, it is equally valid to say Pilot: +3 or Academics: -1. The best compromise is often to use both, as in a Pilot: Good (+3) or a Academics: Poor (-1). On this scale, Average represents the level of capability that someone who does something regularly and possibly professionally, but not exceptionally.

(Right now the ladder isn't set in stone. I need to get some playtesting to see if and expanded ladder is needed for this, or if we can work around with the standard SotC ladder. I really want to keep this as close to SotC as I possibly can. Either tomorrow or later today I plan on posting my thoughts on an expanded ladder.)

+8:Legendary
+7:Epic
+6:Fantastic
+5:Superb
+4:Great
+3:Good
+2:Fair
+1:Average
0:Mediocre
-1:Poor
-2:Terrible

Most people are Average at the things they do for a living, like Science for a scientist, and are Mediocre or Poor at most other things. It is only when they are driven to excel that they surpass those limits.
Pulp heroes push the very boundaries of what “normal” people are capable of, and as such, they tend to be Superb at whatever their central passion is. This means that pulp heroes are genuinely exceptional individuals, and are frequently recognized as such.

Rolling the Dice

Whenever a player rolls dice, he rolls four Fudge dice (abbreviated as 4dF) to generate a result between -4 and 4. When reading the dice, a + equals +1, a - equals -1 and a 0 equals 0. Some example dice totals are shown to the right.
The total of the dice is then added to an appropriate skill to get a result. This result can be referred to as the effort made, but sometimes, it’s just "the result."

If you find yourself without Fudge dice, then roll 4 six-sided dice. Any die showing a 1 or 2 is treated as -, and any die showing a 5 or 6 is treated as +.

Difficulty

When a character rolls for a result, he is trying to meet or exceed a target value, which is the difficulty for the roll. The difficulty indicates how hard it is to do something. Difficulties are measured on the same ladder as everything else. For instance, it might be a Mediocre (+0) difficulty to jumpstart a car, but a Good (+3) difficulty to repair that same car after a serious breakdown. Guidelines for setting difficulties are found in the GM’s section of these rules.

The difference between the difficulty and the result of the roll (the effort) is the magnitude of the effect, which is measured in shifts. Shifts are used, primarily by the GM, to determine the potency of a character’s efforts and to govern the resolution of complex actions. We’ll talk about shifts more in upcoming posts.

Skills

Characters have skills, like Drive and Guns, which are rated on the ladder (see above). Considered on the most basic level, skills represent what your character can do. When a character rolls the dice, he usually is rolling based on his skill.

Nearly every action that the character might undertake is covered by his skills. If he doesn’t have a skill on his sheet, either because he didn’t take it or the skill itself doesn’t exist, it is assumed to default to Mediocre.
Skills are covered in greater detail in their own post.

Aspects

Characters also have a set of attributes called aspects. Aspects cover a wide range of elements and should collectively paint a picture of who the character is, what he’s connected to, and what’s important to him (in contrast to the "what can he do" of skills). For super-heroes, this part of the rules is going to be the real meat and potatoes of things. Modern super-heroes, whether in the modern world of Marvel mutants or in the post-Watchman realms as the super-hero story as psycho-drama, are "built" as much off of who they are and what motivates and drives them as they are their super-powers. One of the things that we are going to try to do in Spirit of the Four Colors is integrate these two things into one super-hero game. Being a long time super-hero gamer, I can say that any game can be turned into a super-hero game, but what I want to do with Spirit of the Four Colors is make an integrated super-heroes game, not just a game with super powers that can be used as a super-heroes game. Will I succeed? I don't know, but I hope so.

Aspects can be relationships, beliefs, catchphrases, descriptors, items or pretty much anything else that paints a picture of the character. Some possible aspects are shown here.

For many, many more examples see the aspects post. An aspect can be used to give you a bonus when it applies to a situation. Doing this requires spending a fate point (see below). In this capacity, called invoking an aspect, it makes the character better at whatever it is he’s doing, because the aspect in some way applies to the situation (such as “Dapper” when trying to charm a lady).

An aspect can also allow you to gain more fate points, by bringing complications and troubling circumstances into the character’s life. Whenever you end up in a situation where your aspect could cause you trouble (such as “Stubborn” when trying to be diplomatic), you can mention it to the GM in the same way you mention an aspect that might help you. Alternately, the GM may initiate this event if one of your aspects seems particularly apt. In either of these two cases, this is called compelling an aspect, and its effect is that your character’s choices are limited in some way. If the GM initiates or agrees to compel the aspect, you may get one or more fate points, depending on how it plays out.
We’ll talk more about fate points shortly.

Stunts

Stunts are those things that a character can do which stretch or break the rules. They are the special tricks the character has up his sleeves. Stunts have very specific uses and rules, and are detailed extensively in their own post. Starting characters will have ten stunts. (Yes, right now the number of stunts for starting characters is arbitrary. I think that a starting super-hero could have twice as many stunts as a starting pulp hero. Eventually I am going to write up a table with a sliding scale....the number of starting stunts and aspects per phase according to rough super-heroic power levels for characters.)

Fate Points

Every player begins the first session of the game with a number of fate points (FP) equal to how many aspects he has, usually ten. Fate points give players the ability to take a little bit of control over the game, either by giving their character bonuses when they feel they need them, or by taking over a small part of the story. Fate points are best represented by some non-edible token, such as glass beads or poker chips. (Previous experiments with small edible candies have left players strapped for points!)
Characters may, at any point, spend a fate point to gain a bonus, invoke an aspect, tag an aspect, make a declaration, or fuel a stunt.
Gain a Bonus
 
A fate point can be spent to add 1 to any roll of the dice, or improve any effort (such as an attack or defense) by 1. In practice, this is the least potent way to use a fate point – you’re usually much better off using one of the other applications, below. (Most games get rid of this rule once their players get comfortable using aspects; you can, too .)
Invoke an Aspect
 
Aspects (see above) are those things that really describe a character and his place in the story. When you have an aspect that’s applicable to a situation, it can be invoked to grant a bonus. After you have rolled the dice, you may pick one of your aspects and describe how it applies to this situation. If the GM agrees that it’s appropriate, you may spend a fate point and do one of the following:
  1. Reroll all the dice, using the new result, or
  2. Add two to the final die roll (after any rerolls have been done).
You may do this multiple times for a single situation as long as you have multiple aspects that are applicable. You cannot use the same aspect more than once on the same skill use, though you may use the same aspect on several different rolls throughout a scene, at the cost of one fate point per use.

Tag an Aspect
Scenes, other characters, locations, and other things of dramatic importance can have aspects. Sometimes they’re obvious, and sometimes they’re less so. Players can spend a fate point to invoke an aspect which is not on their own character sheet, if they know what the aspect is. This is referred to as tagging an aspect, and is covered in greater detail in the Aspects chapter, on page XX.
As a rule of thumb, tagging someone or something else’s aspects requires a little more justification than invoking one of your own aspects. For scene aspects, it should be some way to really bring in the visual or theme that the aspect suggests. For aspects on opponents, the player needs to know about the aspect in the first place, and then play to it.

Power a Stunt
Some stunts have particularly potent effects, and require spending a fate point when used. This is a sort of "meta-game" activation fee for your character's abilities. In a system like FATE, it is important to think of how you use Stunts and abilities as a story element rather than just "turning it on," as it works in a lot of other games. Using a Fate point to Power a Stunt is as much adding the impact of that ability to the story as it is anything else. If a stunt requires a fate point to be spent, it will be made clear in the description. See the section on stunts for more.
Make a Declaration
You may simply lay down a fate point and declare something. If the GM accepts it, it will be true. This gives the player the ability to do small things in a story that would usually be something only the GM could do.
Usually, these things can’t be used to drastically change the plot or win a scene. Declaring “Doctor Herborn drops dead of a heart attack” is not only likely to be rejected by the GM, it wouldn’t even be that much fun to begin with. What this can be very useful for is convenient coincidences. Does your character need a lighter (but doesn’t smoke)? Spend a fate point and you’ve got one! Is there an interesting scene happening over there that your character might miss? Spend a fate point to declare you arrive at a dramatically appropriate moment! Your GM has veto power over this use, but it has one dirty little secret. If you use it to do something to make the game cooler for everyone, the GM will usually grant far more leeway than she will for something boring or, worse, selfish.
As a general rule, you’ll get a lot more leniency from the GM if you make a declaration that is in keeping with one or more of your aspects. For example, the GM will usually balk at letting a character spend a fate point to have a weapon after he’s been searched. However, if you can point to your “Always Armed” aspect, or describe how your “Distracting Beauty” aspect kept the guard’s attention on inappropriate areas, the GM is likely to give you more leeway. In a way, this is much like invoking an aspect, but without a die roll.

Refreshing Fate Points

Players usually regain fate points between sessions when a refresh occurs. If the GM left things at a cliffhanger, she is entitled to say that no refresh has occurred between sessions. By the same token, if the GM feels that a substantial (i.e., dramatically appropriate) amount of downtime and rest occurs in play, the GM may allow a refresh to occur mid-session.

The amount of fate points a player gets at a refresh is called his refresh rate and it is usually equal to the number of aspects the player has. When a refresh occurs, players bring their number of fate points up to their refresh rate. If they have more, their total does not change.

Earning New Fate Points

Players earn fate points when their aspects create problems for them. When this occurs, it’s said that the aspect compels the character. When the player ends up in a situation where his compelled aspect suggests a problematic course of action, the GM should offer the player a choice: He can spend a fate point to ignore the aspect, or he can act in accordance with the aspect and earn a fate point. Sometimes, the GM may also simply award a fate point to a player without explanation, indicating that an aspect is going to complicate an upcoming situation. Players can refuse that point and spend one of their own to avoid the complication, but it’s not a good idea, as that probably means the GM will use things that aren’t tied to you.

This isn’t just the GM’s show; players can trigger compels as well either by explicitly indicating that an aspect may be complicating things, or by playing to their aspects from the get-go and reminding the GM after the fact that they already behaved as if compelled. The GM isn’t always obligated to agree that a compel is appropriate, but it’s important that players participate here. See the upcoming Aspects post for a more detailed treatment of compels.

Another, important, way to gain addition Fate points during play is for your character to act like a super-hero.
As the story unfolds, the hero may earn more Fate points during the course of the issue:
  • If the GM uses one of the hero's subplots to further the story. For example, the Flame's weakness is water. If the Octopus tricks the Flame into submerging himself in water, the Flame's player gets a point of Fortune if the plan is successful. If the Magician from Mars rushes across town after fighting Hood to make a lunch date with her boyfriend or visit her a sick relative in the hospital, she gets a Fate point. Subplots are a way of dealing with Aspects that we are going to talk about in another post.
  • If a player goes along with the GM to further the plot. For example, if the Great Question mesmerizes Amazing Man and the player allows Amazing Man to have his mind controlled instead of trying to resist, then Amazing Man gets a Fate point.
  • If the hero is defeated in some way. This includes being knocked unconscious, being captured, or allowing a villain to escape. The GM may choose to automatically capture or knock out a hero through an ambush or inescapable trap – in such cases, the hero at least gets a Fate point out of the deal.
You'll notice that some of these look (and are!) similar to compels. Is that intentional? Well, yes. One thing that I have found in running and playing many, many years of super-hero games is that many players want to continue their behavior from other games (i.e. kill them and take their stuff) into their super-hero games. That might be fun for some, but to me really, that isn't role-playing a super-hero. So, because of that we have to reward players for having their characters act like heroes. This isn't a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination, and the Fate point system in these rules already encourages that sort of meta-game player rewards.

All Fate points earned during a game session are temporary, and disappear at the end of an issue (game session).

Edit: Cleaned up a couple of copy references, changing things from old system to new.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Spirit of the Four Colors

For a little experiment I'm going to start hacking the Spirit  of the Century rules into something suitable for big screen, four color, super-heroic games. I'm looking probably hacking in the power skills from Legends of Angelerre along with some material from Icons and Eddy Webb's Marvelous Super-Heroes Fudge hack.

Watch this space for more.

Edit: I forgot to mention throwing Phil Reed's 4C rules into that blender too. :)

Edit 2: