At least there is a pretty good glossary and index at the end of the book. Power Level This is basically equivalent to level in d20 based games or points total in point based games. There are four listed levels, and they determine your starting skill points, how many points you can have in a single skill, and what your starting refresh is. Refresh is used to buy stunts and powers during character creation and advancement; in play, it determines how many Fate Points you start with each session.
You can never go below 1 point of refresh - if you do, you become an NPC. Templates A template is a pre-packaged set of powers that are intended to cover humans and most of the partly-human types. You aren't required to take a template and if you aren't using the Dresden Files setting most of them won't fit that great anyway , but it's a good idea and you can fit most concepts into one of them. Each template has powers that you are required to take and thus a minimum refresh cost , and gives some that are optional.
Pure Mortal : You're just a regular joe without any supernatural abilities. You can't take any powers, but in exchange you get an additional 2 points of refresh. Pure mortals don't have to take any stunts and can't take powers , and so they don't have a minimum refresh cost. Champion of God : You've been called by the Almighty in one of many possible guises to defend against the dark.
You're more than just a person of faith, you're God's warrior. The option listed on top of that is to have a Sword of the Cross a powerful holy sword, only 3 of which exist for another 3 points of refresh. Changeling : One of your parents was some type of faerie.
At the moment, you are still living as a mortal. However, they always have the opportunity to make the Choice - either becoming a Pure Mortal and losing all their supernatural powers, or becoming a full fae and possibly become an NPC as the additional powers drag their refresh below 1. The powers list is highly variable, as you and the DM work it out beforehand based on what type of faerie your parent is. This template is also used for Scions - basically half human, half something else.
It's kind of a catch-all for ideas that don't fit perfectly into another category. Emissary of Power : You're a mortal who is important because of who you represent, rather than your own individual power. Again, this is another catch-all category.
You must take the Marked By Power power, for a minimum refresh cost of 1. Emissaries can conditionally take almost any power, and often have Items of Power or Sponsored Magic. Focused Practitioner : You aren't a wizard, you're a pyromancer, or a diviner, or an alchemist, whatever, either because that's the only thing you're trained in or because that's the only thing you can do.
You either take Channeling quick and dirty magic, useful in a fight or Ritual slower but can be more powerful and longer lasting for a single element or focus, either of which costs 2 refresh. You can take the Sight magic-vision or Refinement but only to give you additional magic item slots Knight of the Faerie Court :You're the champion for either Summer or Winter. Dresden Files canon-wise there's only one of each side, but the book suggests that you can increase that number as needed.
Lycanthrope : Not werewolves, despite the name. Lycanthropes are connected to a wolf- or other animal -like spirit. On and around the full moon, they get Inhuman Strength and Recovery, and all the time they have Pack Instincts and Echoes of the beast powers, for a total of 4 points of refresh cost the strength and recovery powers are discounted due to only in use around 5 days of the month. Minor Talent : You don't do magic, but there's something special that you can do. You take a single 1 or 2 point power, usually from the Minor Ability or Psychic Ability sections of the supernatural powers list.
Red Court Infected : You're a vampire - and not the cool kind either. Full Red Court vampires are giant batlike creatures hidden inside a human flesh mask, drool narcotic blood, and feed on blood. Luckily, you're not a full-fledged one yet. As long as you haven't killed and fed on someone yet, you're still mostly human - just with some extra powers. The downside? When you use those powers, it gets harder to control your lust for blood.
If you ever kill someone and drink their blood, you immediately "upgrade" into a full fledged Red Court vampire, usually turning you into an NPC. Options are Tattoos of St. Giles which help you control your bloodlust and Cloak of Shadows. There are several options available for cities that can be used in this game.
All of the options lay upon a continuum from using the city the group lives in, a city everyone is familiar with, a city that is familiar from television, or a premade setting. This book includes an example of the last option, using Baltimore as an example thorough the city creation process, and having it fully detailed in its own chapter towards the end of the book. After determining which city is to be used all of the players and GM should have an equal level of familiarity with the city in question.
If familiarity is an issue then a bit of research is in order and recommended to create something more than a caricature. Referencing Internet sites and trips to the local library are both quick and easy ways to get a sound foundation. If doing a little background reading is off-putting for the group there is another, and in my opinion less satisfying, method available, the Vancouver method.
This is based on the trick in the television trade of filming the majority of scenes in a less expensive city, e. Vancouver or Toronto, and only filming in the actual city when you have skyline shot or need to include a distinctive landmark.
After deciding on a location the group needs to determine which elements of the city they wish to interact with. These elements can range from specific locations, public figures, popular mis conceptions, subcultures, etc. The recommended goal is a dozen distinct ideas, that will see play at some point in the story. These elements are then used to drive the creation of themes and threats. These are problems facing the city and will be used to drive the story forward.
A theme is a recurring problem that is deeply entrenched in the city and will take a long while, in story time, to resolve. A threat is typically a single entity that actively wants to harm the mortal populace of the city in question. Once the overview of the city is worked out and recorded on the City Sheet provided, the group moves on to populating the city with various organizations.
This can simply consist of deciding which groups have an interest in the city and going from there, or as detailed as developing relationship maps.
The themes and threats to the city should drive which supernatural organizations are present. The second half of the City Sheet addresses some of these relationships with spaces to fill in the mortal and supernatural status quo and a graph to be filled in with various groups displaying their desire to maintain the status quo and how much they know about the supernatural. From here the focus narrows and specific locations within the city are created next.
Much like the high level planning there is a worksheet provided to keep note of the various locations created during this process and during play. Locations are broadly divided into neighborhoods and points of interest. Neighborhoods typically cover a larger physical area while points of interest are tightly focused.
Each location should address either a theme or threat identified in during city creation so as to keep it tied in. Each location then receives a face, an NPC that embodies the location, and at this point each person is given a high concept and motivation.
Ideally each face will be connected to another and potentially PCs through some kind of relationship. After the faces have been established each location is given an aspect reflecting the theme or threat and is recorded on the location worksheet. Faces have their own sheet recording their name, location, concept, motivation and relationships stats for faces are worked up in game.
Alternatives to single city play are addressed and suggestions are given as to how to use the same process on a larger scale. Examples include dealing with a traveling band of characters at a national and global level, and even into the realms of the Nevernever the mystical other world of the Dresdenverse. On the fly city setting design is addressed as well which places a heavier burden on the GM as all of the themes, threat, locations and faces are created during play.
The FATE system uses a dice pool and target number to determine the success of actions taken by characters. The dice are six sided and have two plus signs, two minus signs and two blank faces. To this result is added any bonuses from aspects, skills and stunts the character can apply. This total is then compared to the difficulty set by the GM. If the total exceeds the difficulty the character succeeds and for every point over the difficulty a greater degree of success is added.
All difficulties are measured on a single scale called the ladder. The ladder is also used by the GM to set difficulty numbers. They have been out of production for several years and a player should be prepared to spend a descent sum of money to acquire them. The primary way a player can influence the outcome of the die roll is through the use of aspects. These are descriptive qualities that are applied to characters, objects or locations.
Typically they describe some permanent or more rarely, temporary feature of a character, object, or location. It is through aspects that the character acquires and spends fate points. Fate points are used to apply the bonuses inherent in aspects or supernatural powers and avoid unwanted complications in the game.
In the chapter dedicated to aspects there is a short list of sample aspects mainly to provide inspiration for players and GMs. Also included is advice on how to create aspects that help shape the story the character is involved in, with several examples of good aspects and how to improve them to include advantages and disadvantages.
There are several ways aspects are used in the game: invocation, invocation for effect, compel and tag. Invoking an aspect is where a player uses an aspect to gain an advantage, and if ruled applicable by the GM then the player can spend a fate point and can either chose to add two to the die roll, or to completely re-roll. Invoking for effect allows a player to make a statement about the game that becomes true, with beneficial statements costing a fate point to invoke.
The exact terms of a compel, like an invocation, can and should be negotiated between the group so as to avoid blatant abuse. The character receives a fate point when an aspect is compelled, and can opt to avoid a compel by spending a fate point.
Compels are not entirely negative as they are used to drive the story and make it more interesting and since aspects are created by the players these should be problems they are interested in playing through. This mechanic is an excellent way of keeping characters involved in the story and making sure the story remains interesting to the players.
Aspects are predominantly a permanent part of whatever they are attached to, but temporary aspects can be created through events in game.
Roxysteve — I agree with that assessment of the game expecting a stable group, as well as feeling your pain about running it. Your email address will not be published. Calling all Writers! Come write for Gnome Stew!
We are always looking for new articles and gnomes to throw in the stew. Through our partner Engine Publishing, we've published six system-neutral books for GMs, with over 28, copies sold.
Available in print and PDF. Through our partnership in the G. Before I get to the the review, I need to tell you my feelings about ham. Trust me. There is a point to this. And speaking of Harry Dresden… I confess that I have only read three of the Harry Dresden books, but even with my limited knowledge of the Dresdenverse it is clear that this RPG is loyal to the source material.
But what about the game? Should you buy it? Final Thought: It is deserving of all of the hype. This post is brought to you by our wonderful patron Daniel Markwig , supporting us since December !
Thanks for helping us keep the stew fires going! About The Author. Patrick Benson Patrick was born in , and is more or less your typical American male for someone of his age. Check out our newest content! MAK on June 22, at am. Malty on June 22, at am.
Patrick Benson on June 22, at am. BryanB on June 22, at am. Kurt "Telas" Schneider on June 22, at pm. I pretty much agree with your assessment of the negatives, but that may also have to do with us both being busy parents… What negatives? Go read the other review! Patrick Benson on June 22, at pm. Roxysteve on June 23, at am. Roxysteve on June 23, at pm. Patrick Benson on June 23, at pm. Roxysteve on June 27, at pm.
Re: Chainmail. Patrick Benson on June 27, at pm. Leave a reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. What Are People Saying? What are people saying? One-on-One Campiagns. Follow Us Facebook Twitter. The idea is that the dice role provides you with a numeric and descriptive value of your results. It find that the descriptive result on the FATE ladder encourages better descriptions for character actions. Nothing brings a player more joy than describing how their character pulled off that legendary result they just rolled.
There are four actions that characters can perform create an advantage in the form of an aspect , overcome usually removing an aspect , attack and defend. These four actions cover almost all situations that come up in a typical role-playing session. I will admit that players who are used to crunchy systems with more mechanics will find this frustrating. Aspects have been part of the FATE rules set for some time. They are short descriptive phrases that cover things that are remarkable about a person, place, thing, situation, or group.
In some circumstances an aspect can be invoked for free. In other circumstances a FATE point part of the games action economy to invoke an aspect. Aspects can be created by the create an advantage action. I really enjoy the basic mechanics of the game. The mechanics allow for swift game play and encourage greater role-playing. I find that the FATE ladder and aspects lead to better descriptions of a characters actions. The character generation system starts with players selecting a mantle for their character.
In certain situations a player will choose two mantles such as Werecreature and One Percenter rich guy.
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