Drinking & Dragons

RPM:Rules/Introduction and Worldbuilding

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About Fate

The Fate RPG is a dynamic and flexible roleplaying game built around proactive characters. Fate does not have a default setting to encourage all styles of play. We'll be building our own setting based on an agreed upon idea.

How Fate differs from Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, etc.

In d20 games, character creation and advancement are based on lists of premade items, such as classes, feats, and skills. You choose a race, then you choose a class, then you choose feats, and so on. Fate starts with your concept first. You'll figure out what you want to play from your imagination and then we'll work, collectively as a group, on creating what is needed to play that. That's right, we're creating, not choosing from lists, what you'll need for your character. This can be freeing or intimidating (or both!) for newcomers. Embrace your creativity and we'll have fun.

Another way that Fate differs is that it is expected that each group will modify how the game plays by changing dials, such as skill lists, number or power of stunts, etc, to fit the story or group's play style. The core engine of the game is solid but small, and learning to play it once allows you to play in any other Fate game after an introduction of where the group has the dials set.

Links

What you should know

Worldbuilding (1st session)

To start the campaign we'll be doing some world-building by playing the game Microscope. What is Microscope? A fractal role-playing game of epic histories. We will explore/build an epic history of our own creation all in a single session.

Overview

  1. We will start with everyone listing something they want in the world or something they do not want in the world. This will repeat until someone abstains twice.
  2. We will then take turns creating Periods, Events, and Scenes
  3. We'll play for 2-2.5 hours or when things lose steam

Terms

Periods
These are historical periods, such as "The Ten Years War" or "The Year Long Siege of Waterfallow"
Events
These are things that take place during a Period. "The Long Night the Orcs Attacked" or "The Queen's Twin Sons were born identical twins, save their eyes"
Scenes
These are moments that will get acted out amongst the group. Roles in the scene will be assigned and played out.

Questions to Seed the Game

  • Are there other playable races besides human? If so, let's invent them.
  • How big is the world we'll be concerning ourselves with? One kingdom, many kingdoms?
  • How much magic is in the world?
  • How much science/enlightenment?
  • Is/are there religion(s)?
  • What is the class system like?
  • What factions are active?
  • Are there any magical artifacts or items that influence the setting?

Character Creation (2nd session)

Using what we know of the world we will collectively build characters together.

Aspects

Each character will have five aspects. We will be creating more than five and trimming that list down.

High Concept
This aspect is the main concept of the character, e.g. Playboy Paladin, Punk Rock Ninja, Self-made Alchemist Wizard Apprentice.
Trouble
This aspect is something that causes you problems. It can be internal or external, e.g. Lovesick Alcoholic or Disregarded and Ignored
Three more
These three aspects will be picked from the list of other aspects we'll be writing. This list of other aspects will include relationship aspects with some of the other characters as well as rolls on some random tables that have quirks, secrets, professions, etc.

More to come

I'll post more about character creation as we get closer to it. For the curious, we will be using skills (not approaches).

Character Creation Bonus Round

If we have time at the end of character creation, I'd like to have everyone also come up with an NPC (or two) and a location (or two).

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