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FATE > FATE > Flashcards

FATE Flashcards

Remember the core mechanics of the FATE RPG system.

1
Q

What can you spend a fate point on?

A

Invoking an aspect, declaring a story detail, or resisting a compel.

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2
Q

What does invoking an aspect do?

A

For a skill roll: you invoke aspects after a skill roll, and can either reroll or get +2 on it.
For teamwork: +2 to another character’s roll against passive opposition.
For obstructing other characters: +2 to the passive opposition.

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3
Q

What is a compel?

A

When the GM (or another player) creates drama using the aspects of a player (usually because either the character would decide to do some unfortunate thing, or because it’s natural for some unfortunate thing to happen to the character). The compelled player gets a fate point from the compelling player.

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4
Q

How many fate points do players start off with?

A

Each session, a player starts off with max(refresh, last session) fate points.

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5
Q

How does a player get more fate points?

A

By accepting a compel.
When someone invokes one of their aspects against them (once the scene is over).
By conceding a conflict (1 point + 1 per consequence).
When a new session starts, a player sets their fate points to max(old fate points, refresh).

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6
Q

How many fate points does the GM have?

A

NPCs share a fate pool, which starts at ${number of players in the scene}. GMs have infinite points for compelling players or rewarding concessions.

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7
Q

If players compel an NPC and the scene ends, or an NPC concedes, what happens?

A

The NPC pool keeps the bonus points at the start of the next scene with NPCs.

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8
Q

What are the actions a character can take with skills?

A

Overcome, Create an advantage, Attack, or Defend. Don’t forget that players should describe how they’re using the skill to achieve the action.

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9
Q

What happens when you fail at an Overcome action?

A

You fail to achieve your goal, or it succeeds at a serious cost.

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10
Q

What happens when you tie on an Overcome action?

A

You achieve your goal, but at a minor cost.

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11
Q

What happens when you succeed on an Overcome action?

A

You achieve your goal at no extra cost.

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12
Q

What happens when you succeed with style on an Overcome action?

A

You achieve your goal, and get a Boost.

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13
Q

What is a Boost?

A

An aspect with one free invocation on it, but which disappears after that one use. Can be used by other characters if that makes sense in context.

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14
Q

How do you “succeed with style”?

A

By exceeding your opposition by 3 or more shifts (for example, rolling a 6 against opposition of 3).

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15
Q

What is a serious cost?

A

Something that makes the current situation worse, either by creating a new problem or exacerbating an existing one (like bringing in additional opposing NPCs or obstacles in this scene or the next one, or taking a consequence on your lowest free level, or giving an opposing character an advantage with a free invocation.).

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16
Q

What is a minor cost?

A

A new story detail that’s problematic for the players, but doesn’t necessarily endanger progress (like taking stress, or giving an opposing character a Boost, or simply adding a narrative detail which shows you barely succeeded).

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17
Q

If you want a task to be hard but possible for a player, emphasising dire or unusual circumstances, what difficulty should you choose?

A

Something two or more levels higher than their skill level (for example, a Fair (+2) skill against Great (+4) opposition).

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18
Q

If you want a task to induce tension but not overwhelm a player, what difficulty should you choose?

A

Something between {two levels lower than their skill level} and {two levels higher than their skill level}.

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19
Q

If you want a task to be easy enough for a player to “show off” (and probably succeed with style), what difficulty should you choose?

A

Something two or more levels lower than their skill level (for example, a Fair (+2) skill against Mediocre (+0) opposition).

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20
Q

What are some good rules of thumb when choosing difficulties?

A

If the opposition is average, make it Average (+1).

If the opposition sticks out, but you can’t really figure out the difficulty beyond that, make it Fair (+2).

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21
Q

What are some tricks for justifying your choice of difficulty?

A

It’s fine to make up the reasons on the fly, but you should aim to always justify the level for the players.
Try using situation aspects (for example, if a cave is Pitch Black and Cramped as Hell, it’s easy to justify anything up to +4 opposition for something like Stealth).
In rare cases, you can use an abnormal difficulty as part of the narrative (why is this lock at +7? Why is this entrance exam at +2?).

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22
Q

What happens when you fail at creating an aspect by Creating an Advantage?

A

Either you don’t create the aspect, or you do but someone else gets the free invocation (either an opponent, or someone who would benefit to your detriment). You might need to reword the aspect to show how it benefits the opposing character benefits instead.

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23
Q

What happens when you tie at creating an aspect by Creating an Advantage?

A

You get a Boost instead of the situational aspect you were aiming for. You might need to reword the aspect to reflect its temporary nature.

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24
Q

What happens when you succeed at creating an aspect by Creating an Advantage?

A

You create the intended situational aspect, and get one free invocation of it.

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25
Q

What happens when you succeed with style at creating an aspect by Creating an Advantage?

A

You create the intended situational aspect, and get two free invocations of it.

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26
Q

What happens when you fail at Creating an Advantage by using an aspect?

A

You give a free invocation of that aspect to someone else (either an opponent, or someone who would benefit to your detriment).

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27
Q

What happens when you tie at Creating an Advantage by using an aspect?

A

You gain a free invocation of that aspect.

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28
Q

What happens when you succeed at Creating an Advantage by using an aspect?

A

You gain a free invocation of that aspect.

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29
Q

What happens when you succeed with style at Creating an Advantage by using an aspect?

A

You gain two free invocations of that aspect.

30
Q

What happens when you fail at an Attack?

A

You don’t cause any harm to your target (and they’ve succeeded at defending, which could get you saddled with other effects).

31
Q

What happens when you tie at an Attack?

A

You don’t cause any harm to your, but you gain a Boost (this is the same Boost that’s mentioned when you tie at Defending).

32
Q

What happens when you succeed at an Attack?

A

You inflict a hit on your target equal to the number of shifts you got.

33
Q

What happens when you succeed with style at an Attack?

A

You inflict a hit on your target equal to the number of shifts, but you have the option of reducing the hit by one shift to get a Boost.

34
Q

What happens when a target takes a hit?

A

The hit has a value equal to the shifts of the attack that caused it. The target needs to “buy off” the hit by taking stress or consequences; if they can’t, they get taken out of the conflict.

35
Q

What happens when you fail at Defending?

A

You suffer the consequences of the attack, or an advantage is created on you.

36
Q

What happens when you tie at Defending?

A

Your opponent gains a Boost (this is the same Boost that’s mentioned when you tie at an Attack).

37
Q

What happens when you succeed at Defending?

A

You successfully avoid the attack or the attempt to create an advantage on you.

38
Q

What happens when you succeed with style at Defending?

A

You successfully avoid the attack or the attempt to create an advantage on you. You also gain a Boost.

39
Q

When can you Defend?

A

You always get a chance to Defend whenever someone Attacks you, or when they try and Create an Advantage on you (this isn’t just for physical attacks; you can also defend against damage to your mind or resolve).

40
Q

How do I “defend” against Overcome actions?

A

If you’re “in the way” of the overcome action, then you might become part of the opposition to the action.

41
Q

How do I take stress?

A

If you’ve taken a hit, you can “buy off” the hit by filling a stress box with at least as much shift value as the hit (for example, if you take a 3-shift hit and want to take it as stress, you need to fill a 3-point or 4-point box).

42
Q

When does stress go away?

A

After the conflict, if you have a minute to take a breather, all your stress boxes become free to use again.

43
Q

What does stress mean for storytelling?

A

Stress is when you avoid the result of an attack (physically: you twist away from the blow, or what looks like a serious injury is just a flesh wound, or you exhaust yourself diving out of the way. Mentally: you barely manage to ignore an insult).
Alternatively, taking stress is your luck running out: there are only so many last-second saves you can have before you have to face the music.

44
Q

How do I take consequences?

A

If you’ve taken a hit, you can “buy off” part or all of the hit by filling a consequence slot of suitable shift value. The slot reduces the shift value of the hit by the shift value of the slot; the remaining value still needs to be “bought off” by more consequences or a stress box.

45
Q

What are mild physical consequences like?

A

Inconveniences that don’t require immediate medical attention, like “Black Eye”, “Bruised Hand”, “Winded”, or “Temporarily Blinded”.

46
Q

What are mild mental consequences like?

A

Small social gaffes, or changes to your surface emotions, like “Flustered”, or “Cranky”.

47
Q

What are moderate physical consequences like?

A

Fairly serious impairments that require dedicated effort toward recovery (possibly including medical attention), like “Deep Cut”, or “First Degree Burn”.

48
Q

What are moderate mental consequences like?

A

Damage to your reputation, or emotional problems, that you can’t just shrug off with an apology or a good night’s sleep, like “Exhausted”, “Drunk”, or “Terrified”.

49
Q

What are severe physical consequences like?

A

These are emergency-room-level effects. They’re extremely nasty and prevent you from doing a lot of things, like “Second Degree Burn”, “Compound Fracture”, or “Guts Hanging Out”.

50
Q

What are severe mental consequences like?

A

Serious trauma or relationship-changing harm, like “Crippling Shame” or “Trauma-Induced Phobia”.

51
Q

What happens if you’re out of stress and consequences?

A

You get “taken out” of the conflict. The person who took you out gets to decide what your loss looks like and what happens to you after the conflict (within reason, subject to group acceptance, etc).

52
Q

How do I avoid getting taken out?

A

At any time before you roll for an action, you can say you’re conceding the conflict. You get some bonus fate points (1 plus 1 per consequence you took in the conflict), and you avoid the worst parts of your fate. You still lose, and your opponent still gets what they wanted out of the conflict.

53
Q

Whats the difference between getting taken out and conceding a conflict?

A

The degree of control you have over the story.

If you concede a conflict, maybe you’re left for dead. If you’re taken out, maybe you’re in the enemy’s hands, in shackles, without your stuff.

If you concede a conflict, maybe your attacker is distracted enough to not finish you off, but capable enough to take your sword as a trophy. If you’re taken out, maybe you’d get killed or captured.

54
Q

How do I remove a mild consequence?

A

First, take a recovery action, difficulty Fair (+2).
Second, rename the consequence to show it’s in recovery.
Third, wait one whole scene; after that, the consequence slot is free.

55
Q

How do I remove a moderate consequence?

A

First, take a recovery action, difficulty Great (+4).
Second, rename the consequence to show it’s in recovery.
Third, wait one whole session; after that, the consequence slot is free.

56
Q

How do I remove a severe consequence?

A

First, take a recovery action, difficulty Fantastic (+6).
Second, rename the consequence to show it’s in recovery.
Third, wait one whole scenario; after that, the consequence slot is free.

57
Q

When should I use a Challenge to describe a situation?

A

Does the situation require separate skills to deal with (like holding off zombies (Fight) while pushing down a barricade (Physique) and fixing your getaway wagon (Craft))?
Will the separate tasks individually create drama and tension? (If not, because they’re all part of one major goal, use the details to describe what happens when things go wrong).

58
Q

How do I set up a Challenge?

A

Identify the separate actions and skills that the player will need, then have the player Overcome passive opposition for each action, collecting all the individual results. Then order the outcomes in whatever way is the most entertaining or makes the most sense.

59
Q

How do Boosts work in a Challenge?

A

Despite the events happening out of order, if players can justify why one boost should help another action, it’s fine. This might force events to happen in a particular order. If it makes sense, the Boost can carry over to the next scene.

60
Q

How does Creating an Advantage work in a Challenge?

A

Successfully making an advantage doesn’t count towards completing one of the challenge goals, but otherwise it’s a fine choice. If it makes sense, the advantages can carry over to the next scene.

61
Q

When should I use a Contest to describe a situation?

A

When two or more characters have mutually exclusive goals, but aren’t actively trying to harm each other, like races or debates or arm wrestling matches.

62
Q

How do I set up a Contest?

A

Are there multiple characters on one side? They roll together, using Teamwork.
How are the sides opposing each other? Are they opposing each other directly (like a sprint race or poker match), or are they both facing off against an environment (like an obstacle course or a panel of judges)?
What skill or skills are likely to be relevant for each side?

63
Q

What happens in a Contest?

A

After setting it up, the conflict progresses in Exchanges that describe each leg of the challenge.
Each side makes one Overcome skill roll in their relevant skill to determine how well they do in that leg.
If they’re facing each other, compare their values. If they’re facing the environment, compare their shifts against the environment.
Once one side has three “victories”, they win the Contest.

64
Q

What happens if you get the highest result in an Exchange?

A

Your side scores a “victory”. Add it to a tally that’s tracking the Contest.

65
Q

What happens if you succeed with style in an Exchange, and no one else does?

A

Your side scores two “victories”. Add it to a tally that’s tracking the Contest.

66
Q

What happens if there’s a tie for highest in an Exchange?

A

No one gets a victory, and unexpected twist occurs.

67
Q

How does Creating an Advantage work in a Contest?

A

During any Exchange, you can try to create an advantage before making your Contest roll. However, if you fail to create an advantage, you forfeit your challenge roll.

68
Q

How do players help each other with actions? How do they do Teamwork?

A

Either combining skills (if they all have the same relevant skill) or stacking advantages (by having each player contribute in a different way to help one character).

69
Q

How do players combine skills?

A

Each helping character assists the helping character with the highest skill level in the relevant skill. Each helper with at least Average (+1) in the relevant skill adds +1 to the skill level of the highest-skill character (so a level 3 character with 2 helpers would roll with skill level 5).

70
Q

What happens when a player fails a combined skills roll?

A

All of the participants share in the potential costs (for instance, everyone has to take a consequence).

71
Q

How do players stack advantages?

A

The players create advantages as normal, but give the free invocations to the target character. Remember, free invocations stack.

72
Q

How many invocations can I do at once?

A

You can invoke multiple aspects for a single roll, but you can’t invoke the same aspect multiple times for a single roll.

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