Neo Shinobi Vendetta: Fate Pre-Gens

I ran two sessions of my anime-ninja-sci fi mash up Neo Shinobi Vendetta online last month. That’s the game I talk about on this week’s Gauntlet Roundup podcast episode. We had a great conversation and I recommend listening to it. I discuss the purpose of the setting, shifting tone in play, and the challenges of action in a story environment. Plus sweet ninjas chopping off heads.

I’ve posted NSV material before. I have entries covering the overall setting as well as a shorter version. I also wrote up the game’s shinobi powers. Originally I wrote NSV for Action Cards, our Fate-influenced homebrew. I’ve run it that way f2f and a half dozen times at Origins and Gen Con. Because I hadn’t yet worked out cards in Roll20, I went with Fate Core for our Gauntlet sessions. If you compare the AC and Fate versions, you’ll see how easy conversion is. You can find the AP videos here and here. 

Our characters have sixteen skills, some powers, and a few stunts. It’s a larger pool of options than standard Fate, so it’s probably closer to Atomic Robo in power level. Each character has a "corruption"-- some of these trigger if they roll ++++ or ----. Others give a cost. I decoupled the stunt/refresh connection in making these characters; they’re crafted particularly for one-shots+. I also opted to go with a stress pool rather than check boxes. That’s purely about keeping things simple and easy to teach online.

CONCEPT Master of Guile 

TROUBLE Don't Stop Deceiving 

REFRESH 1                        STRESS 13

SKILLS

AIM +3                                 PHYSIQUE ---

ATHLETICS +2                    SCIENCE ---

DECEPTION +4                   SOCIETY +3

DEXTERITY +5                    STEALTH +2

FIGHT +3                             TECHNOLOGY +1

INVESTIGATE +2                UNDERWORLD +4

KNOWLEDGE +1                WILL +1

STUNTS & POWERS

• Compensation (Memetic Base): You may use Deception for Fight tests.  
• Hijack (Ghost Set): You can see through the vision of others. Distance and barriers determine the difficulty of the test required.  
• Mirrors (Wizard Set): You can generate a host of duplicates by spending 2 stress. These can distract, help evasion, or other effects. They wear out quickly.  
• Spider (Wizard Set): You can cling to walls and other surfaces with perfect control as if walking normally on the ground. This includes ceilings, sides of moving cars, and even sword blades. This does not give perfect balance and you can be knocked down or off.  
• Always a Way Out: +2 on checks made to create an advantage whenever you’re trying to escape from a location.  
• Clever Disguise: You may assume disguises as an action. Your skill and technology allow you to resist scrutiny where it might otherwise fail.  
• Memetic Overlay Corruption: atavistic reactions, possession, reversion of other states, or disorientation.

CONCEPT Voice of the Nano-Kami 

TROUBLE Echoes in My Head 

REFRESH 2                        STRESS 12

SKILLS

AIM +4                                 PHYSIQUE ---

ATHLETICS +1                    SCIENCE +3

DECEPTION +3                   SOCIETY +1

DEXTERITY +2                    STEALTH +2

FIGHT +2                             TECHNOLOGY +4

INVESTIGATE +3                 UNDERWORLD +1

KNOWLEDGE +5                 WILL ---

STUNTS & POWERS

• Disintegration (Nanoswarm Base): You can deal stress to hardened structures: walls, structural supports, vehicles. This can be used for an attack or to set up other effects.  
• Flight (Nanoswarm Base): Spend 2 stress to become capable of flight for a scene. Pick two when you fly: Agile, Fast, Carry Others, Hi-Attitude, Long Distance, or Super Silent.  
• Rebuilder (Nanoswarm Base): You can reshape existing material into new forms, duplicate objects, or even create a new item. States and types of matter can be changed.  
• Subdual (Invoker Set): You can declare any attack nonlethal. Additionally as an action you can put to sleep any grouped noncombatants or bystanders.  
• Data Surveyor: You have an acute eye for accounts. You can easily pick out patterns and problems in a fraction of the normal time. You're also an expert at using bits and pieces to track people. You can test to locate someone at a particular time or guess behavior based on the past and get quick results.  
• Fast Friend: On entering a new social situation (party, meeting) you may spend a fate point to rapidly make a good friend or contact.  
• Nanoswarm Corruption: collateral stress, brief independence, misread commands, or even visible scarring and marks.  

CONCEPT Lumbering Mountain of Poison 

TROUBLE Painless

REFRESH 2                        STRESS 12

SKILLS

AIM ---                                 PHYSIQUE +4

ATHLETICS +2                   SCIENCE +5

DECEPTION +2                  SOCIETY +1

DEXTERITY ---                   STEALTH +2

FIGHT +3                            TECHNOLOGY +3

INVESTIGATE +4               UNDERWORLD +1

KNOWLEDGE +3               WILL +1

STUNTS & POWERS

• Armor of God (Demon Set): You add +2 physical stress for each condition taken.  
• Body Shaping (Genocolony Base): You can reshape your body. Extend limbs, grow bigger, shrink to half size, perform contortions, or slip into tight gaps or containers  
• Reweaver (Genocolony Base): You may also take an additional 4 point condition.  
• Bend Bars/Lift Gates: You may spend a fate point to perform an absurd lift, pull, or other feat of strength.  
• Mad Science: You may use Science tests to do a major attack or effect if you have access to materials. You mix chemicals, rewire systems, etc. quickly. Limit 1 crazy plan per scene.  
• Retag: When being individually hunted or pursued, you can spend a fate point to re-center the hunt on another target you come into contact with. This creates an additional obstacle for your pursuers.  
• Genocolony Corruption: DNA absorption, rampant consumption, bizarre growths, and uncontrolled tentacles and the like.  

CONCEPT Whispers of the Coiled Serpent 

TROUBLE Some Call it Cowardice 

REFRESH 2                        STRESS 13

SKILLS

AIM +5                                 PHYSIQUE ---

ATHLETICS +1                    SCIENCE +1

DECEPTION +3                  SOCIETY +2

DEXTERITY +1                   STEALTH +4

FIGHT +3                             TECHNOLOGY ---

INVESTIGATE +2                UNDERWORLD +2

KNOWLEDGE +3                WILL +4

STUNTS & POWERS

• Deathcloud (Sorcerer Set): You may perform an electrical attack hitting a tight group. This targets everyone close by. Add +1 stress per target and divided it evenly among the targets.  
• Id Insinuation (Psychic Base): You may slightly cloud the minds of targets in an area within sight for effect. You can also spend a fate point to edit short term memories on a target.  
• Savior (Saint Set): You may heal an ally in combat as an action. Roll against a difficulty of 0. By spending a fate point you may affect two targets.  
• Alarmist: You have an instinct for avoiding traps, sensors, and alarms. You gain +2 to checks to spot and circumvent them.  
• Precise: You can hit absurdly small and precise targets with ranged attack. If you need to roll, reduce the difficulties for size and environment,
• Wicked Edge: You do +2 stress using Fight.    
• Psychic Drawback: You do not suffer corruption, but using talents takes a toll on your body. Each use costs stress to activate. Pay for ongoing talents when first turning them on. This stress cannot be healed via other effect in combat, but does heal naturally with rest.  

CONCEPT Meticulous Planner

TROUBLE Mercy for the Innocent

REFRESH 2                        STRESS 12

SKILLS

AIM +2                                 PHYSIQUE +1

ATHLETICS +4                    SCIENCE ---

DECEPTION ---                   SOCIETY +2

DEXTERITY +4                    STEALTH +5

FIGHT +3                             TECHNOLOGY +3

INVESTIGATE +3                UNDERWORLD +2

KNOWLEDGE ---                WILL +1

STUNTS & POWERS  

• Hurdle (Dragon Set): Shinobi can ordinarily make high jumps and leaps, at least twice normal distance. When you use this power, you may make insane leaps and jumps.  
• Lull (Chimera Set): By concentrating you can create an area nearby that, when scanned, causes most devices to read most common & expected results.  
• Soul Sense (Chi Field Base): You sense lifeforms in a short radius, even through barriers. You may tag targets (up to 3). You know direction of tagged targets and do +2 stress to them.  
• Cleaner: You’re an expert at removing evidence from a scene. You gain a +2 to all tests for this. You can also clean a scene after the fact.  
• From the Darkness: You do +2 stress when attacking a surprised opponent.  
• Scoundrel’s Reflexes: You may make a stealth check to hide yourself even when surprised, without penalty.  
• Chi Field Drawback: You do not suffer corruption, but using talents takes a toll on your body. Each use costs stress to activate. Pay for ongoing talents when first turning them on. This stress cannot be healed via other effect in combat, but does heal naturally with rest.   

CONCEPT Body of Metal 

TROUBLE More Machine than Human 

REFRESH 2                        STRESS 12

SKILLS

AIM +1                                 PHYSIQUE +1

ATHLETICS +3                    SCIENCE +4

DECEPTION +3                  SOCIETY ---

DEXTERITY +2                   STEALTH +3

FIGHT +4                             TECHNOLOGY +5

INVESTIGATE +2                UNDERWORLD ---

KNOWLEDGE +2                WILL +1

STUNTS & POWERS  

• Instinct (Serpent Set): When struck in melee, you do 1 stress back to your attacker.  
• Sensory Array (Cybernetics base): You can see in absolute darkness, aware 360 degrees, perceive microscopically & telescopically, and are protected from blinding/deafening.  
• SubDermal Plating (Cybernetics Base): Reduce any physical stress done to you by 2.  
• Sinuous (Serpent Base): You do +2 stress in grapples. If you've grappled a target, they take the first 2  stress done to you outside of the grapple. 
• Grappler: +2 to tests made to create advantages on an enemy by wrestling or grappling with them.  
• Mastercrafted: Twice per session you can reroll a result if you explain how your personalized advanced equipment helped you out.  
• Cybernetics Drawback: The most obvious source of powers; can only be concealed with difficulty. While you do not suffer corruption, your implants render you vulnerable to humanity-based effects. Take +2 stress from mental or psychological attacks. 

If you have any questions, hit me up.  

Reign of Crows: A Fate Kingdom Hack (Part Two: Archetypes)

IN THE FAMILY

Last Thursday I posted material for Reign of Crows, my A Game of Thrones-inspired Fate hack. It’s one of three Fate games I’m running for the Gauntlet Hangouts. It’s the most experimental-- bringing together tools from other systems. We played our second session on Sunday, video here. This actually dug into scenes instead of world building. I’m puzzling out the game's rhythm amid the great play moments. We’ll discuss that at the start of next session, hunting ideas to tighten the play experience.

Reign of Crows: A Fate Kingdom Hack (Part One: Set-Up)

As I mentioned in the first post, the players all come from the same family. I had each of them pick an “archetype.” That comes with a unique resource, four boxes of that resource, and a set of unique stunts. These draw from _Core_, DFAE, and elsewhere. I went with 11 stunts for each archetype to ease my work. We’re only playing four sessions and they can start with up to seven stunts (if they give up Refresh).

FORCE & MILITARY

LOYAL TROOPS: This is your special resource. You start with four boxes. You restore one box between sessions. You may mark a box to add a bonus equal to your highest unmarked box to any larger-scale conflict you send your troops into.

DEATH TOUCHED: Once per session, you may designate as likely to die any character embroiled in violent conflict. During that conflict, any attacks against that character have +2 Weapon.

DUELIST: You are a warrior supreme. You can go toe-to-toe with forces of foes-- gangs and bands of enemies of one Tier higher. You operate +1 Tier personally against single enemies, allowing you to crush the unworthy.

FAMILY BLADE: Once per session when a member of your family would be involved in a physical conflict, you can arrive on scene to step in for them. This is a dramatic effect, ignoring logic.

HONORBOUND: Once per session, when you, your family, or an ally has been insulted you may challenge someone involved in the dishonor. If they are of your Tier or less, you kill them outright. Otherwise they must choose to accept or not. If they decline, you still attack and do damage to their faction. If they accept, make an attack against them. On a success, you wound or humiliate them. On a success with style you kill them.

MASTER TRAINING: Pick one of your approaches. When you attack using that approach roll +1.

RECRUITER: When you perform a Recruit action, your recruits are always one Tier higher. They come with an aspect with a free invoke as well.

SIEGE MASTER: When you campaign against a specific city, castle, or fortress, you gain +2 to your Overcome and Attack rolls.

TACTICAL TRAINING: You are a master strategist. When you use Wits to create an advantage related to formulating a battle plan, gain an extra invoke on the aspect.

UNRELENTING FURY: +2 to use Force to Overcome or Attack

WARDEN: You have the mandate and authority to track down and mete out lethal justice to those labeled an outlaw. Gain +1 to attacks of any kind against anyone so designated.

WOUNDED: Mark this condition to absorb four shifts from any attack. While this condition is marked, you have an additional aspect representing your injury. If you’re taken out while Wounded, death is on the list of potential outcomes, as with the Doomed condition. Begin recovery from this condition after you’ve received medical attention in a quiet environment (in other words, not in the field) and someone has succeeded at a recovery action against Great (+4) opposition on your behalf. You recover fully at the end of the next session.

COMMERCE & WEALTH

WEALTH: This is your special resource. You start with four boxes. You restore one box between sessions. In any situation where money can be a factor, you may mark a box to give yourself a bonus to a roll = to your unmarked boxes.

ADVENTURER: When you quest as a seasonal action, any treasure you uncover gains an extra free invoke and grants the bearer a +2 to a particular action against a chosen faction.

BRIBES: Choose a faction. You gain +2 to any actions against them.

COLLECTOR: Mark one or more boxes of Wealthy to declare ownership of something when its need arises. One box suffices for most goods. Two boxes permits ownership of a rare item, land, or a building.

CRAFTERS: You have access to skills craftpersons from across the Kingdom. When you Build something as a seasonal action, it happens absurdly fast.

ENTOURAGE: You have a personal staff member as a minor NPC with one aspect and +2 in one area of competence. At any time, you may mark a box of Wealth to declare their convenient arrival in a scene. They are completely loyal.

FAST AS GOLD: +2 to Defend and Discover with Speed

GOLDEN KEY: Mark a box of Wealth to declare that you have in some way eluded blame or the law: avoiding arrest, bailing yourself out of prison, et cetera. Mark two boxes if avoiding a Doomed-level consequence.

HOLDING: You have sway or a city, castle, or fortress. Name it and mark it on the map. Say what advantages it offers.

LENDER: When you create a "debt" advantage on someone, you always gain an additional free invoke.

PREPARATION: You have a +2 to "flashback" actions where you show how you set things up beforehand.

RIDE BY NIGHT: Your wealth enables rapid travel. Once per session, you may conveniently arrive in a scene in a manner and time of your choosing without consideration of time or distance.

MAGIC & SECRET KNOWLEDGE

POWER: This is your special resource. You start with four boxes. You restore one box between sessions. For each box you mark, you can increase the Tier of an effect by one. In a personal conflict, you can mark a box to do additional shifts of stress equal to your highest unmarked box.

AEGIS: You can protect a willing target from harm by hiding them away from the world. They cannot be tracked and tracked by offensive magic. In addition the enchantment makes it difficult for social manipulations to stick on them while they're in that state. They are apart from the world and cannot act. You may have a number of subjects in this state equal to your current Power.

ARCHMAGE: You have two additional boxes of Power.

BANE: By marking a box of power, you may add a Trouble Aspect to a Faction for a season. You may only target a faction with this once.

ILLUSIONIST: You may cast veils and seemings. With a moment of concentration, you may draw a veil over a person, group, or location hiding it from sight and other means of detection. Or you may cause a person or object to appear differently than it normally does. An observer may attempt to discern the illusion, but to do so, they must have some legitimate suspicion that they might be seeing a glamour. Use Caution to resist any disbelief attempt.

LOREMASTER: As a scholar of arcane lore and magical theory, once per session you may declare a new global fact about the world, magic, or The Threat.

ORACLE: Once per season you may roll to see three of the events for the next season. If you choose this at game start, we'll roll then. You may choose to reroll one of the events-- the description and/or the target.

PRACTITIONER: Describe your area of magical talent (Constructs, Fires, Portals). When you act using that kind of magic, you gain a bonus effect. Additionally, you may take the condition "Burned Out" to do a massive scale effect with your magic. While you're Burned Out you may not use other magics, including your Power talent. Burned Out clears at the end of the following session.

SECOND SIGHT: Understanding magic is what you do. Gain +2 when you use Create Advantage or Discover from studying a magical effect, spell, or creature of the supernatural.

SORCERER: +2 to Create Advantage and Attack with Wits

WARDINGS: Once per session, you may declare that you happen to have a countermeasure on hand that nullifies the effect of scale from a supernatural condition or stunt for the current scene. At the GM’s discretion, this stunt can also nullify other effects of supernatural powers.

WARMAGE: You specialize in fighting other wizards. Once per sene, when opposing another wizard, you may immediately inflict a 2-shift hit on any defense when your action succeeds with style.

FAITH & POPULISM

CENSURE: This is your special resource. You start with four boxes. You restore one box between sessions. By marking a box, you can hit a person or group with public hatred, accusations or heresy or whatever. If you target an individual they will have to undergo great hardships to restore themselves. If you target a group, they operate at -2 Strength for the Season until they do something about it. You can hit the same target multiple times.

BENEVOLENT: You have +2 to all seasonal actions dealing with relief from a negative seasonal event.

CRUSADE: Once per season, may make an Overcome action at +2 to send another faction against The Threat. This will eat of the action's attention, do damage to The Threat, and do damage to the faction.

FAITHFUL: Once per session, spend a Fate point to declare that a campaign NPC is a patron or ritually indebted to your faith. This NPC will grant one favor of significance, such as allowing access to something otherwise inaccessible or accomplishing an objective sans opposition. The GM is the final arbiter of whatever aid you receive.

FOLLOWERS: +2 to Use Charisma to Create Advantage or Defend

HEALER: Provided you are able to reach them, you may attempt to revive anyone taken out in a conflict due to physical injury. (If they conceded, you cannot use this stunt on them.) This stunt is a Challenge with the GM, who rolls (+2).

HIGH PRIEST: You have authority over a vast temple, beloved shrine, or major pilgrimage site. Name it and mark it on the map. Say what advantages it offers.

HOLY AURA: You have a +1 against any demons or forces of darkness. In a conflict with them you act as Weapon 2.

MARTYR: Once per session you may elect to suffer the outcome of any attack inflicted on any character in your immediate presence, preventing it from befalling them. This harm is taken at the same value as the original recipient and you may not roll a separate defense.

PUBLIC STATEMENT: Once per session, you may state that your community has publicly denounced or supported a certain character, gaining you an aspect with two free invokes related to the statement’s impact on the person’s reputation.

RIGHTEOUS BLADES: You have a force of loyal troops at your command-- paladins, fanatics, etc. You can invoke them for free once per session in a conflict situation. You can burn them out (requiring a seasonal action to recruit) for double effect if they have not already been invoked.

SANCTUARY: Once per session, you may declare that your followers have spirited you away to a secret location, away from any prying eyes. This allows you to immediately escape any pursuit or scrutiny without having to participate in a contest, and you get at least one scene before anyone can try to search for you. Some supernatural methods of detection may be immune to this at the GM’s discretion.

UNDERWORLD & SUBTERFUGE

SPIES: This is your special resource. You start with four boxes. You restore one box between sessions. By marking a box, you may ask a question about a faction. You may then ask a follow up, or Create Advantage based on that information with a +2. You can hit the same target multiple times.

ASSASSIN: +2 to Attack and Overcome with Subtlety

FRAME UP: Once per season, mark Spies to initiate flurry of scandal around a target of your choice. For the rest of the season, when asked, the GM must provide the location of the target unless they disappear into a supernaturally protected space. You also create an aspect for the frenzy, which you can invoke once for free in any scene in which you interact with people directly related to the frenzy.

INFORMANTS: When you gather information as a seasonal action, you always get an additional question on your Discover Action. If there's a cost involved, you always pay one less.

INSIDER: Mark a box of Spies or gain a Debt to gain access to a place or person otherwise inaccessible or to obtain secret/guarded information without having to roll. If you choose to roll and you fail, you may mark two boxes to ignore that result and succeed regardless. At the GM’s discretion, any information you acquire is an advantage with two free invokes.

LEGENDARY: You know and are known within criminal circles. Once per session, upon meeting an NPC involved in that world, you may mark a box of Spies to declare that you have met them before and create an aspect with one free invoke to represent your prior relationship.

MASTER OF DISGUISE. When you’re in a situation where you’re able to slip away unnoticed, you have the option to temporarily drop out of the game altogether. If you do, spend a fate point or mark a box of Spies to reappear disguised as a faceless NPC already in the scene

NETWORK: Add +2 boxes to your Spies Resource.

OF SHADOWS: You can see perfectly in the dark and are immune to any potential effect of normal or magical darkness. Additionally, once per session, you may declare that you automatically succeed at hiding from any non-magical attempt to spot you, provided you have a nearby shadow to hide in.

ON TIME: Once per session, you may announce your presence in the perfect place to "help" someone, ignoring usual limits of time, distance, or plausibility.

REPUTATION: People know your face and/or name and may even fear you, which can be used advantageously. Mark a box of Stress to take +2 to intimidate or coerce a non-criminal NPC into cooperating. The NPC will not, remain quiet about the coercion, unless additional steps are taken.

STREETWISE: You are in constant communication with informants. When you use Wits to create an advantage based on their reports, the aspect gains an extra invoke.

DIPLOMACY & SCHOLARSHIP

CONNECTIONS: This is your special resource. You start with four boxes. You restore one box between sessions. By marking a Box you can increase your family's Relation with a faction. If this moves your relation to +1 or to +4, you may create an Advantage with a free invoke.

CIRCLE OF FRIENDS: You have a collection of low-level talents and friends. Once per session, you may contact them to request assistance. The GM determines what aid they can provide- while they're individually minor, together they act at a larger scale of effect.

ENTRAPMENT: You have learned that that the best way to lure your foe is to pretend at vulnerability. You gain +2 to Create Advantage to lure your marked quarry into a false sense of security. If targeting a named individual, they will have an extremely difficult time resisting your gambit. Consider this a compel, usable against the GMC.

MASTERMIND: Your seasonal actions always have the Hidden bonus if you wish.

NEGOTIATOR: When you negotiate a surrender, of someone your family campaigned against or otherwise, you always extract an additional concession. In addition, if successful, you completely refresh your Connections.

NEMESIS: You share a mutual loathing with one faction. When you act against them, you ignore any Relation value and act as if they had a 0. If this faction's Relation ever becomes positive, you may choose to transfer your enmity elsewhere or continue your crusade.

PROFILER: You know how to study and learn about people. Once per session, you may ask the GM to tell you an aspect of any character you interact with in a scene without having to roll an action. If you choose to roll, you gain a +1.

RUMORMONGER: You are adept at planting rumors as well as ferreting them out. Once per session, you may plant an aspect with two free invokes on anyone you wish, representing something you want others to believe about them. The aspect lasts the rest of the session.

SCHOLARSHIP: You may mark Connections to leverage the information you have gathered on the workings of the world. Gain a +2 to Discover or Create Advantage for each box marked.

SHARP TONGUE: In social conflicts, you always do +2 shifts of damage on a successful attack.

TRAVELLER: Once per session you may add a permanent Aspect to a location (city, home, region) with a free invoke.

UTTER CALM: +2 to Use Caution to Overcome or Defend.

Reign of Crows: A Fate Kingdom Hack (Part One: Set-Up)

Reign of Crows: A Fate Kingdom Hack (Part One: Set-Up)

RULE OF ROOKS

Sunday we started the first of four sessions of Reign of Crows. That’s intended to be a “Game of Thrones” style Fate mini-campaign. Everyone plays members of a single noble family within a kingdom. Together they face threats and shifts in power. At the start of the game, the Queen has died, leaving behind a young heir and a regent. The players plot how to advance their agenda, enhance the family, and rise to the center of power.

I like many game systems, but in recent years Fate and PbtA have become my go to for hacking new settings (Hellboy/Atomic Robo, ChangelingPbtA). I’ve also been looking at retooling whatever you call the MYZ/TftL/Coriolis system. Fate and PbtA have different strengths in terms of what they do at the table. That’s a discussion I have had before (and will have again). But of the two, I find Fate easier and faster to hack. It doesn’t require as much time and I’ve learned the pieces to retool. PbtA’s a game with a more connected gears and moving parts. Fast hacks there often lose the essence and strengths of PbtA. 

So for my Fate month on the Gauntlet Hangouts I wanted to a least one game involving a deeper, or at least more extensive, hack. Hence this Reign of Crows game. We plan Gauntlet Hangouts sessions two months out. That means I can commit to doing or coming up with something and give myself a hard deadline rather than twiddling around. So thats how we got here.

While we’ve only played the first session, I want to post some of the material. I plan on coming back to look at all of this once we’ve done all four. If you like AP world-building, you can see the session video here. You can also see the spreadsheet we’re using for game notes here. I’ve split this post into two parts. Today I present the set-up information; next post I’ll present character archetypes and stunts. I borrow from Fate Core, Wrath of the Autarch, Dresden Files Accelerated, various Worlds of Adventure, Blood & Honor, and other sources. The material below what I presented to the players.

WELCOME TO THE REALM

On Sunday, we’ll be doing both character creation and some world building. For characters I will have archetypes for everyone to choose from. These represent your character’s focus and source of power.

• Force & Military
• Commerce & Wealth
• Magic & Secret Knowledge
• Faith & Populism
• Underworld & Subterfuge
• Diplomacy & Scholarship.

We will be using a modified version of Fate Accelerated. Characters will have Approaches, Aspects, and Stunts. To make things easy, I’ll have a set of stunts for each archetype. My plan to use FAE lightly, as a framework to resolve plots and moves. In a sense, the resolution may be closer to PbtA with you figuring out costs and complications to enact plans. Generally I keep my Fate light, so I wouldn’t worry about the rules too much. Basically I want to see what you’ll do with the tools provided.

If there’s any major mechanical difference, it will be that groups have Scale, called Tier here. Larger, more potent, and better organized groups are harder to affect. That’s pretty simple.

Play will (generally) follow this structure for a Season/Session—

1. Establish or Advance Threat(s).
2. Random Events in the Kingdom.
3. Individual Seasonal Actions for PCs.
4. The Plot—everyone works together to carry out a plot for the family, determined by the group. Usually this will be a military action, extended scheme, political campaign, maneuvers at a gathering, taking advantage of a moot, or something like that.
5. More individual scenes or Seasonal Actions if needed.

For Session One, we’ll also determine a few facts about your family as well as the Kingdom as a whole. To make sure we can get things done, I've set up some of the structures. I’ve broken things down into 20 major factions. You can see those on the spreadsheet below. Each of your will get a Row. You’ll assign two standard and one trouble aspect to each faction in that row. Each row also has a couple of factions with “???” in their description, meaning you’ll get to say what they’re like.

To make things easy, you’ll find a tab with example standard and trouble aspects. When we do this, you should feel free to use those. I’ve also added a tab with some random fantasy names as well as the random event list in case you want to look at that.

SEASONAL ACTIONS

What can you do as a seasonal action?

• Aggrandize yourself or someone else
• Broker a deal or marriage
• Build or enhance something like a town, castle, magical working
• Campaign for an office
• Contact strange new powers
• Deal with enemies
• Explore new or lost territories
• Face The Threat
• Find treasure
• Gather intelligence or uncover secrets
• Incite hostilities
• Lay claim to something
• Make an alliance
• Prosecute a war
• Quest for something ancient and awesome
• Recruit people, troops, agents
• Restore and recover lost strengths and resources
• Suppress rebellion
• Undermine confidence in another faction

…and anything else which sounds cool…

TESTS

If you’re doing a personal test—your character on a small scale, you’re just rolling your Approach (the first column). If you’re acting on or via a group or faction, you roll Approach + Influences.

You roll against a known difficulty (set or rolled). Know that targets of a higher tier are harder to affect; stronger targets have higher resistance; and the less a faction likes you, the harder it is to affect them negatively.

Anything that affects another faction has a cost. The GM will tell you that cost—one for something basic; two for something complex or longer lasting; three for something permanent. You can see the list of example costs below. If you succeed, you’ll pick your other cost. If you tie or fail, the GM picks your costs

BUT you never have to fail when you roll. The trick is how much you want to pay to succeed. Aspects most basic currency for this. Each aspect you invoke, by paying a fate point or using up a free one, gives you +2 to your result. But you can also pay with other resources:

• Altered Effect or Drawback
• Burning Debts
• Gain a Family Need
• Gaining a Negative Aspect
• Gaining Debts
• Gaining Ill-Will from a Faction
• Having it Take Extra Time
• Lose a Family Surplus
• Losing a Stunt
• Marking a Personal Condition
• Marking Personal Stress
• Public Censure
• Special Components or Circumstances
• Spending Special Resources
• Take Family Stress

Look at all those options! If you beat your difficulty—through good rolls, spending costs, or whatever—you succeed. You do what you want. If you do well, you can spend your extra shifts on things like…

ADDITIONAL EFFECTS

• Additional Aspects
• Fictional Change
• Greater Reach
• Hidden
• Higher Tier
• Longer Lasting
• More effective
• More invokes
• Secondary Effect

…and anything else you can sell me on

CREATION PROCESS

1. We first build our factions. Each of you will define one row. We’ll work column by column—but jump ahead if you want to. For your factions, you’ll define a Key and Trouble Aspect. If there’s a ??? on a faction, you’ll get to tell us who they are (name or summary).
2. Next, you set the “Relation” of the factions in your row--- that’s how much they like your family. The Royals are already set, so among the other four assign a -4, -2, 0, and +2.
3. Then we define your family, giving it a name. We’ll figure out how your Head of House leads, your Motto/Key Aspect, and your Trouble. We’ll also choose Surpluses and Wants.
4. Finally we'll create characters. You may have already discussed this, but now you make picks.
5. You have six Approaches. You always use these to roll. Assign +3, +2, +2, +1, +1, and 0 to these.
6. You have six Influences. You add these to your approaches when you’re using or acting against those groups (if split, you choose). Assign +2, +1, 0, 0, -1, -2 to these.
7. Define your Key Aspect-- the quick phrase that describes your character.
8. Define your Trouble Aspect. This should be something you want to play out.
9. You have room for three other aspects. You can define these on the fly. When you do define them, the GM will give you a Fate Point.
10. Choose your Archetype, your role in the family. Each gets a special ability & resource. They also have a list of Stunts. You may choose from another archetype’s lists, but only if a someone hasn’t already taken it.
11. You start with four Stunts. We assume in the fiction that you have the your archetype's abilities and resources—if military, you have troops; if magic, you can cast spells; if subterfuge, you have spies. That’s just baked into the fiction. Stunts enhance that.
12. Set your Refresh to four. That means at the start of each session your Fate Points go back up to 4. If you want more stunts, you can trade in Refresh for them on a 1 to 1 basis (to a minimum of 1 Refresh).

Next post, archetypes and stunts. 

Pam Alexander, DFAE, and Gauntlet Hangouts Fate August

PAM ALEXANDER

This week I interviewed Pam Alexander for The Gauntlet. Pam served as Lead Author for Dresden Files Accelerated. She worked with an amazing team of designers and authors including Morgan Ellis, Ed Turner, Leonard Balsera, Richard Bellingham, Clark Valentine and Brian Engard. I’ve already posted about how much I dig this new version of Fate Accelerated, despite not being a Dresdenverse aficionado. Other the other hand, Pam is an expert in all things Dresden, as you can hear in the podcast.

You can listen to the podcast here (or find it on iTunes). We’ve also been putting out parallel shows on YouTube, for those who use that as their listening service of choice. These are audio only, but they work for folks like me who listen to episodes via their PS4 on their TV.

DFAE IN THE WILD

I ran three sessions of Dresden Files Accelerated online for The Gauntlet. I’m also just starting a separate mini-campaign for the summer (shifting from Detroit to San Francisco). We posted the videos and got a good reaction, so I’m putting up those links. It’s a good way to see how DFAE operates, how I run Fate, and my mystery-building process.

SESSION ONE VIDEO

Session Two Video, Session Three Video

A couple of people asked me about my mysteries. How did I go about planning and managing the story in the three sessions? I’ve scanned my notes and put them in a single pdf. You can check that out here. Some notes on those notes:

Pages 1 & 2: These are all about establishing the structure and threats. I quickly wrote these after the first session. I’d ended on a cliffhanger that came to me in mid-game, so now I needed to figure out what that meant. I took the factions we’d established in character creation and fleshed them out just a little. I also added names to anchor the actors. I spent, at most, an hour on this right after the session.

Pages 3 & 4: The meat of the ideas. I did this prep just before session #2, and again tried to spend no more than an hour. I think about these things all week, but when I sit down to prep I keep myself to a maximum time. Usually it takes less.

I knew we had a Hell missing. I started by figuring out Hardesty Cho, the manager, and why there was a Hell there. I wracked my brain to remember every goofy detail about these things from readings of the Inspector Chen Series, The Girl with the Ghost Eyes, and the Dark Kingdom of Jade supplements from Wraith the Oblivion. I recalled the Hell Money I’d gotten as a kid from Archie McPhee. I connected that with the real world fact that a major casino sat where Detroit's old Chinatown had been.

I fleshed that out with incidents and actors. I don’t give much detail, but I do make possible connections. I figure the players look into these people/places, leading them to the end point (which I figured would likely be the Casino, but could be Hell or somewhere else). You can see some of the specific leads on those pages and even some stuff we never got to (like who counterfeited the Hell Money).

Pages 5: I wrote this between sessions 2&3. I had the luxury of knowing exactly where they’d start, with the questioning of Koemi August. So I fleshed out her story and connections. Then I drew lines and added details to what I’d already built. Again, despite the sparsity, you can see concepts I never used.

Anyway, that’s usually how I build mysteries. Sometimes I stat things out as well, but usually I do that on the fly at the table (unless we’re playing a crunchier game like 13th Age or Mutants & Masterminds).

AUGUST IS THE MOST FATE-FUL MONTH

I’m running three different online Fate games in August for The Gauntlet. They’re up. Two are filled right now, but I have a seat in the third. We have Waitlists if you’re interested, so consider trying it. The sign-up system emails people when their status changes, so that’s cool.

GAUNTLET TGIT: HELLBOY BPRD

Two sessions of Hellboy using Atomic Robo

It’s a rebuilding year for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. Accrued vacation time, maternity leave, and a brush with the apocalypse have left the team understaffed. That where you come in, a new team dedicated to stopping supernatural threats, beating some sense into the otherworldly, and generally keeping people from knowing too much. We’ll build characters based on submitted concepts. This game will use Atomic Robo, with the supernatural and tech as equally valid options.

S1 (8/3): http://bit.ly/2rJ1CV0

S2 (8/10): http://bit.ly/2rovfIs

GAUNTLET TGIT: BASE RAIDERS: SUPERPOWERED DUNGEON-CRAWLING

Two sessions of Base Raiders using Fate Core/FAE on the calendar for August

The world’s rich, multi-decade history of superheroics has ended. All of the potent and powerful vanished in the mysterious Ragnarok Incident. When those heroes, villains, and other weird beings vanished, they left behind bases- in some cases dozens of them. These marvels contain secrets, materials to scavenge, hi-tech toys, and the possibility of new powers. You play leftover supers- forgotten sidekicks, thrill seekers with .jury-rigged equipment, and minor-league mutants.

You’ve joined together to raid these bases for many reasons- finding lost loved ones, shutting down a dangers, discovering cures, locating new magics, or even finding vast quantities of filthy loot. You’ll have to fight past traps, failed experiments, and sentient guardians of all shapes and sizes. But you’ll have to act quietly or risk the attention of authorities or competitors.

S1 (8/24): http://bit.ly/2si2SvB

S2 (8/31): http://bit.ly/2rtVG1w

GAUNTLET SUNDAY: REIGN OF CROWS

Four sessions of a throne-war game using Fate Core/FAE

The Queen has passed, the throne lies vacant and the circling has begun. Your family is not the largest, the strongest, the most battle-hardened, nor the wealthiest, but you will seize this day using every weapon, resource, and stratagem at your disposal.

Players will collaboratively create a family hell-bent on taking control—for justice, honor, power, or something in-between. You will craft a member of that family, select a role and choose your skills and assets. We will do world building (places, faction, etc) and let you loose on the land. Between sets of scenes, we’ll resolve seasonal actions and see the fallout of events. Can you fight off noble houses, guilds, and secret orders all wishing for control? Or can you forge an alliance to serve your interests? And can you do this in the face of darker threats to the kingdom itself?

It is a cooperative game, but of course only one person can really sit upon the throne at the end...

S1 (8/6) http://bit.ly/2rtKqCg

S2 (8/13) http://bit.ly/2rtVZZV

S3 (8/20) http://bit.ly/2roEoAG

S4 (8/27) http://bit.ly/2qFqQDG