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If I want to change one aspect into another (for example, throwing a bucket of water on an NPC's head to change "My hair's on fire!" to Drenched), what kind of action is that? Do I use Overcome to remove the Fire aspect, Create an Advantage to add the Drenched aspect, or both?

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It's situationally dependent, really.

Keep in mind the golden rule of Fate:

Decide what you’re trying to accomplish first, then consult the rules to help you do it.

The Golden Rule

If you're only trying to remove the aspect, it's an overcome roll. If you want to "overwrite" the aspect, then by all means roll to create an advantage. But I would advise against the create an advantage action unless you have a specific need for the aspect.

Use the create an advantage action to make a situation aspect that gives you a benefit…

Create an Advantage

Unless there is an additional benefit to having the aspect, it's best to stick with the overcome action. Too many aspects on a scene is a bad thing, since they tend to overlap, get in each others way, and can confuse players with too many choices.

TL; DR
If the lack of aspect is what you're going for, it's an overcome action. If the Drenched aspect can give you some benefits, then it's a create an advantage action.

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    \$\begingroup\$ or disadvantages, since you get fate points for those. \$\endgroup\$ Aug 19, 2015 at 21:48
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You can, in fact, do either. Per the Fate SRD:

If you want to get rid of a situation aspect, you can do it in one of two ways: roll an overcome action specifically for the purpose of getting rid of the aspect, or roll some other kind of action that would make the aspect make no sense if you succeed. (For example, if you’re Grappled, you could try to sprint away. If you succeed, it wouldn’t make sense for you to be Grappled anymore, so you’d also get rid of that aspect.)

If a character can interfere with your action, they get to roll active opposition against you as per normal. Otherwise, GMs, it’s your job to set passive opposition or just allow the player to get rid of the aspect without a roll, if there’s nothing risky or interesting in the way.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Well, now I feel silly - finally found the correct cite, and someone else found it first. Bother. \$\endgroup\$ Aug 19, 2015 at 20:03
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The SRD only deals in directly removing aspects, rule wise.

Removing a situational Aspect requires an Overcome roll, most of the time.

From the Fate SRD:

If you want to get rid of a situation aspect, you can do it in one of two ways: roll an overcome action specifically for the purpose of getting rid of the aspect, or roll some other kind of action that would make the aspect make no sense if you succeed. (For example, if you’re Grappled, you could try to sprint away. If you succeed, it wouldn’t make sense for you to be Grappled anymore, so you’d also get rid of that aspect.)

If a character can interfere with your action, they get to roll active opposition against you as per normal. Otherwise, GMs, it’s your job to set passive opposition or just allow the player to get rid of the aspect without a roll, if there’s nothing risky or interesting in the way.

Finally, if at any point it simply makes no sense for a situation aspect to be in play, get rid of it.

However, it stands to reason that changing an aspect would follow the same rules as removing them, as one is really just a variant of the other. Ultimately, as with everything else in Fate, it's up to the Gamemaster as to what to roll to change the aspect, if anything.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ The question's about changing aspects or swapping them out, not just straightforward removing them. The non-quote portion of your answer could do with being retargeted to what the question's about. \$\endgroup\$ Aug 20, 2015 at 6:10
  • \$\begingroup\$ Good point. I'll edit. \$\endgroup\$
    – Sandalfoot
    Aug 20, 2015 at 18:47

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