A generic game engine combining described character traits with numeric skills, and using metagame currency to provide players expanded agency.
9
votes
2answers
573 views
How would healing magic work in Dresden Files?
So, I have a player in a Dresden Files game I'm setting up who loves playing healing and support characters. Good aligned clerics in D&D, medicine excellencies in Exalted, you get the picture. ...
8
votes
5answers
204 views
Is making someone afraid a social or mental attack?
I'm reading the Night Fears adventure, in which a group of teenagers dare each other to spend a night in a haunted house. The ghosts in the house attack the teens' mental stress tracks, and the result ...
8
votes
3answers
561 views
Skill Point vs. Refresh Progression/Ratio in Dresden Files RPG?
We started our characters at 6 refresh and 20 skill points. The suggested progression is 1 skill point at the end of every scenario (a significant milestone) and 1 refresh + 1 skill point "when a few ...
8
votes
2answers
228 views
How does stress for magical effects work outside of a conflict in the Dresden Files?
In The Dresden Files RPG, mental stress is accrued for casting spells. As you cast spells, you become more mentally fatigued. The mental stress track is cleared at the end of the conflict- so if you ...
8
votes
2answers
195 views
Can there be mechanical disadvantages in Compels?
In FATE, compels of aspects are primarily a narrative tool, and as such don't usually have mechanical trappings in the consequences. But is this a hard and fast rule? I saw someone ask this ...
8
votes
1answer
120 views
Margin of Success on skill checks in The Dresden Files
Another week, another episode of our Dresden Files game. In this particular situation, the PCs were in a completely alien setting, and trying to get information.
They were in the mind of a hedge ...
8
votes
2answers
325 views
Creating encounters for a DFRPG party
I've got a 2-person party and i'm having some difficulty with balancing encounters for them. It seems that what i'm making is either way too easy, or harder than i really want it to be (ie, they're ...
8
votes
5answers
352 views
In FATE, can action descriptions be revised after die rolls to apply aspects?
In FATE, you can utilize aspects to improve your die rolls, granting bonuses or re-rolls. However, you can choose to apply aspects after the die has already rolled. Does one revise the description of ...
8
votes
3answers
210 views
How much does the Sponsor help someone using Sponsored Magic in Dresden?
So, the party is in a fight with one of the Knights of the Faerie Courts (Winter, in this case) and a couple of wildfae mercenaries. During the fight, the Knight
started casting some unseelie ...
8
votes
1answer
388 views
Legends of Anglerre, and FATE, skill questions
In a follow up to my last question, I'm trying to now decipher some inner working of skills in general.
First and foremost, I saw the skill system in Dresden Files RPG, which has a skill stack rather ...
8
votes
1answer
170 views
How can I estimate difficulty in a FATE based game?
In a recent game of Diaspora, I pitted three of my "5 cap" player characters against four "3 cap" and one "4 cap" character in physical combat, and was surprised to see that the characters came away ...
8
votes
2answers
255 views
How does the Catch affect your Stress Track in relation to Supernatural Toughness?
Last night, my players were battling a hob, who had 4 stress boxes, plus 4 more from his inhuman toughness. One of the characters hit the Hob before they knew it was fae and did 5 stress. The ...
8
votes
1answer
352 views
Where can I find a foldable character sheet for The Dresden Files
I saw a question on Area 51 for the proposed questions for this site about "What's the point of the foldable character sheet that is available for Diaspora?", and it was flagged as a good question, ...
8
votes
1answer
149 views
How does Grapple interact with Attacks?
I grapple a guy and am able to hold him down. The rule in the book says a grappled enemy can't do anything unless he beats the grapple. Does this mean that if members of my party attack him he doesn't ...
8
votes
1answer
151 views
Creating (Aspect) Advantages in Conflicts
I'm somewhat familiar with Fate v2, and I recently backed the Fate Core Kickstarter to get an early PDF of the rules.
I have a couple questions concerning "Creating an Advantage" in a Conflict, ...
8
votes
2answers
524 views
Are there any examples of modeling “Competence Porn” in FATE?
I was reading Leverage, and listening to a podcast on it, and came up with the idea of modeling this in FATE, or perhaps even in the non-critical parts (non-magical and non-combat) of my Dresden Files ...
8
votes
2answers
415 views
Are faeries better than wizards?
I have a changeling goblin in the group, and for one of his abilities, he chose Glamours YS166. It seems like with the phrase
…use your Discipline or Deceit to oppose efforts to discover the ...
7
votes
4answers
154 views
Adjusting aspects based on attendance
A crucial part of most FATE play is having aspects that relate to the other PCs at the table. What happens when your group's attendance fluctuates wildly? If Bob has aspects relating to Mary and Joan, ...
7
votes
2answers
191 views
What skills would a DFRPG PC roll when playing a video game?
In an upcoming session, one of the PCs will be babysitting a pre-teen video gamer. I expect that we'll be modeling a PvP scenario and want to roll some dice; whether as a conflict or a contest I don't ...
7
votes
2answers
201 views
Modeling poison in FATE (Dresden Files)
How does poison work in FATE?
Secret, previously administered poison (say, in a drinking class) is an aspect that, like most investigation aspects, doesn't expire 'next turn' but will sit and wait.
...
7
votes
2answers
158 views
What does Mythic Speed do?
I don't have the book in front of me at the moment, but a part of the power Mythic Speed states something along the lines of "Opponents don't get to make checks against you." What does this mean? Do ...
7
votes
1answer
186 views
What happens when an undead character is “Taken Out”
I tried finding this in the books, but I couldn't figure anything out. If you have an undead character, what happens when their physical stress track is filled and they don't take a consequence? Are ...
7
votes
3answers
128 views
Does the Poisoned aspect stack?
The "Venomous" effect (a [-2] optional addon for the Claw power) lets the character maneuver to place the "Poisoned" aspect on a target.
In each subsequent exchange, the target
must roll ...
7
votes
1answer
62 views
Diaspora two handed melee weapon
In Diaspora the two handed stunt for melee says "Weapon is designed for two-handed use and is awkward in the hands of those not sufficiently strong. The wielder may amplify his Skill check with his ...
7
votes
1answer
143 views
How do environmental conditions and scene aspects stack in FATE?
How do aspects and environmental conditions stack?
An example probably is useful for discussion. In the, Spirit of the Century rulebook (FATE), it gives the Darkness aspect as an example of a scene ...
7
votes
3answers
371 views
“Sharing” enchanted items in Dresden Files RPG
One of my players brought up the example of the Warden's Sword as an enchanted item. For those not so familiar with the source books, these are powerful enchanted swords made by Captain Luccio, the ...
7
votes
2answers
112 views
How do vampires work exactly?
Do they have to be feeding to use their abilities? Or do they only feed to recover from Hunger stress after using their abilities and failing the stress attack at the end of the scene?
7
votes
2answers
183 views
How does a skill modify another skill?
In a couple of instances we’ve seen in the rules that state that you can use a skill to modify another skill. I think the main one that we’ve seen so far is inhuman strength. It says something about ...
6
votes
4answers
434 views
Looking for a nice magic system to convert to FATE
I'm playing around a lot with the FATE system at the moment (particularly with Diaspora) and I'm now looking at how I might apply it to a fantasy setting. What I'm looking for is a nice magic system ...
6
votes
4answers
254 views
How long does True Shapeshifting take in Dresden Files?
There are a bunch of powers labeled "Shapeshifting" in dresden files, and in general they are pretty easy to understand and use. It even mentions that, unless otherwise mentioned, shapeshifting is a ...
6
votes
6answers
182 views
In a Neverwhere style game how do I keep players connected to the surface world?
In a Neverwhere style setting, how do I keep the players interested in staying connected to the surface world? How can I make their connections to the mundane world matter to the players and ...
6
votes
2answers
140 views
What is the physical stress cap for a Diminutive Size creature with Claws?
Consider the lowly garden gnome. He's got the Diminutive Size [-1] power, which means he is
Wee. [...] When your size is a factor in combat, you can only inflict 1 physical stress per attack (but ...
6
votes
1answer
157 views
The mechanics of Aspects on weapons/armor?
Fate Core suggests one way to differentiate weapons and armor is by giving each one an Aspect. Daggers could be Quick, for instance, and maces could be Armor Piercing. I really like this idea. My ...
6
votes
1answer
251 views
What kind of goals are valid in Social Combat in the Dresden Files?
I've been attempting unsuccessfully, or at the very least unsatisfactorily, to integrate social conflict into my Dresden Files campaign. It came to a head last night, when one of my players initiated ...
6
votes
2answers
195 views
Legends of Anglerre chargen questions
I looked over Legends of Anglerre's explanation of quick character generation and it doesn't seem to exactly explain what power scope is covers. What characters does it allow?
Additionally, I am not ...
6
votes
2answers
109 views
Transplanting Fortitude Trappings to Other Skills
Presence, Conviction, and Endurance all have a Fortitude trapping that indicates how many stress boxes the character has on the appropriate track, i.e. Conviction has Mental Fortitude that affects the ...
6
votes
1answer
250 views
Using FMA Alchemy as the basis of magic in a fate system
What rules would need to change/be added to use the concept of alchemy from full metal alchemist in an urban magic game using the FATE system.
Are there any synthesized gaming discussions for how ...
6
votes
1answer
159 views
How can I turn invisible?
I'm learning DFRPG, having no prior experience with the FATE system. One thing I really like is the idea that we can --and should-- create our own stunts and powers... but I'm not sure I've really got ...
5
votes
2answers
133 views
Who wins ties in FATE?
CRoss and I were playing a FATE game (Diaspora) recently and we rolled a tied number for attacking and defending with beam weapons.
What happens when attacker and defender tie?
5
votes
3answers
118 views
When should I put an NPC card on the table?
I'm running a game of Diaspora, which is my first FATE based game. The manual talks about playing with everything in the open and I'm all for that, but when should I actually make up a card for an ...
5
votes
2answers
349 views
What happens when a character's feeding stress track is maxed out?
I've got a player playing as a White court Vampire, and with the template they have a feeding dependency. Let's assume that he ends up going for a while and not feeding and his stress track goes over ...
5
votes
0answers
85 views
Is hunger stress tracked like other stress tracks? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What happens when a character's feeding stress track is maxed out?
I've looked at this question, and it assumes that the Hunger Stress track is tracked like the ...
4
votes
1answer
75 views
In Fate Can you Generate Multiple Spin from One Roll?
The Diaspora SRD says
If you exceed your opponent when you make a defensive roll that does not have any effect other than being a successful defense, you don't get shifts. Instead, for every ...
4
votes
1answer
190 views
Are innocuous actions valid attacks in social combat in The Dresden Files?
I've been attempting unsuccessfully, or at the very least unsatisfactorily, to integrate social conflict into my Dresden Files campaign. It came to a head last night, when one of my players initiated ...
3
votes
2answers
110 views
Can the GM pass an NPC's tag to a PC?
Mike (a PC) takes the mild consequence Jittery from a ghost's mental attack, granting the ghost a tag on that aspect. Soon after, Andy (another PC) rolls Intimidate (as a social attack) to tease Mike ...
3
votes
1answer
58 views
Converting Command skill from Rogue Trader to Fate Core
My group worked hard to get through the first two ranks in our Rogue Trader campaign, but we keep finding new flaws in the d100 system used by FFG. Finally we've decided to try out more likeable (and ...
2
votes
2answers
265 views
Expand the numeric scale of Strands of Fate
I haven't played any of these narrative focused games like Fate but would like to. My players are very used to other more hands-on type of game where the numbers are plainly what your character is.
...
1
vote
1answer
75 views
Do aspects caused by fallout grant tags?
A powerful but unskilled sorcerer throws a fireball at Harry, but draws in more power than he can hope to control. Being a selfish, cowardly (ie, typical) villain he lets the power loose as fallout ...
