Vat:Info

Schedule

Currently set for Fridays 6PM.

• May 25
• June 1, (OFF 8), 15, 22, 29
• July (OFF 6), 13, 20, (OFF 27)
• August 3, 10, (OFF 17)
• Beyond this will be determined according to semesterly schedule changes come August.

Players

• Daryl — 🎲 DM
• Randy — Joseph (remotely)
• Frank — Joe
• Remy — Pauline
• Mike — Unnamed
• Eric — Amiri
• Lindsay — Sophia
• JR — Steve

Character Generation

Character generation, aspect selection and general rules overview.

Campaign Themes

Theme: Tipping Point
Theme: Undiscovered Country
Threat: Armies of the Unknown

(Also suggested: Lingering Power, Powerful Folklore, Corruption, Mysteries of Technology)

Areas

Listed in descending number of votes: Pittsburgh, Southern California/LA, Eastern Europe/Moscow, NYC.

(Also mentioned: Detroit, Seattle, Space)

About VAT

The VAT (Vulnerability Analysis Team) is a non-governmental, private, for-profit organization that is independently subcontracted to solve "issues" or tackle projects, usually requiring specialties not possessed by the hiring agent, at a competitive rate. While it itself is relatively small and often agile, it generally has to work at the bureaucratic pace of its partners and suppliers.

Rules

Alterations

The following are alterations from Unisystem RAW (in addition to Aspects):

• Initiative will be D&D3 style -- rather than "declare, roll, then narrate" as written. (Subject to revisiting later.)
• There will be no called shots.
• Bullet types (armor piercing, etc) will not be used -- just normal ammunition. In fact (per suggestions in many books), bullet damage that exceeds armor will NOT deal extra-double damage. Shotguns are slugs only. This preserves many dramatic moments. Heroes take 4 shots instead of 1-2.
• Various extra combat actions are not open for use: stances, various automatic fire modes, in-depth martial arts and so on. These may be added back in later once the system is more familiar.
• "Drama points" will not be used. We will use Fate Points to fuel aspects, but they will be used ONLY to compel and invoke aspects.
• Multiple actions -- you'll get one free normal and defensive action per turn. If you take more than one of either, cumulative penalties apply until your next turn. The cumulative penalties will reduce at the rate of 2 per turn, not all at once. Additional actions will also consume additional endurance. Additional actions happen later in the turn.
• You'll get one action and one defense every round no matter what you're doing. RAW only gives you this in melee. (If reverting initiative, this may disappear.)
• The Gift does not automatically allow seeing of magic/essence, nor does lack of The Gift prevent it. It helps, but it's not binary.
• Income dollar values (for Resources) are 60% of ConX given ones.

Advancement

At least initially, XP will be awarded as follows:

• 1 XP per session for attendance
• 1 XP per session recapped on the wiki -- spendable on (normal) skills improvements only
• 1 Fate point given to a communal pool per relevant location or face filled out on the wiki

Desire to acquire new qualities or to pay off drawbacks must be discussed with the GM first. Qualities, if acquirable, can only be taken at training intervals. Attributes also may only be raised at specific times in-game. Skills and powers can be trained normally up to 4 without discussion; beyond that may require training arrangements. [This paragraph needs serious rephrasing to get the tone and meaning correct.]

Changing Aspects

You can freely adjust your aspects until (before) Session 4. After that, adjusting aspects will require a plot device. If you initiate the aspect change (ie, GM does not), it may empty or reduce your Fate point pool.

Aspects

Here. Full details on character generation page.

Concessions

Here. Why fight to the death? Concessions offer a take on surrendering or otherwise ending conflict without death. Keep this in mind during play.