I spent most of my evening preparing the character for the convention game on Saturday, so I am posting something short today: a German version of the FATE Core character sheet.
FATE Core: German Character Sheet
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
White Picket Witches: Preparing a Convention Game
On Saturday, there will be the first ever Gratisrollenspieltag (the German version of the Free RPG Day). I've volunteered to run a game of White Picket Witches with FATE Core at the FLGS in Nuremberg. Now, all I need to do is prepare for a four hour gaming slot. Time will most likely be to short to explain FATE, build the setting and have an enjoyable adventure. Therefore I am thinking about preping something beforehand and let the players fill in the blanks. My ideas so far:
That should cover me? Maybe as a back-up I'll have Mr Scratch and/or May ready.
The premise will be: "You are scions of the five families (well at least of three of them). You spend your childhood on the island getting into all sorts of trouble, and then left for college. Four years later, you are back together on Moon Island. You all have changed, but the island hasn't."
The three families will be named as Gardner, Gifford and Grant. The others (not appearing) will be Hargrove, Haynes and Howard. But the Howards have vanished.
Do you think this will get me through a four hour convention game?
- Give the whole session a theme/premisse to work from.
- Strip the game down to three families and prepare the name, a starting aspect and assign the type of magic practiced by the family. At the convention, I'll let each player come up with one additional aspect, until each family has three of them.
- Have a list of possible places of power prepared and let the players pick about three and design them.
- The character sheets will be half prepared. I will assign a name, a type of magic and some of the aspects (childhood to tie them together, heritage to tie them to the family; leaving canon aspect, tragic flaw and casting to be decided by the player. Maybe I'll do part of the canon aspect.) Also, the magic spell and a stunt will have been chosen already.
- Let them create two antagonists.
- Create one metaplot beforehand that will be the focus of the session.
That should cover me? Maybe as a back-up I'll have Mr Scratch and/or May ready.
The premise will be: "You are scions of the five families (well at least of three of them). You spend your childhood on the island getting into all sorts of trouble, and then left for college. Four years later, you are back together on Moon Island. You all have changed, but the island hasn't."
The three families will be named as Gardner, Gifford and Grant. The others (not appearing) will be Hargrove, Haynes and Howard. But the Howards have vanished.
- The Gardners are practicing Muscle Work and are "As one with the earth and the island".
- The Giffords are practicing Bone Work and are "As a blight upon joy and happiness"
- The Grants are practicing Breath Work and are a "Pillar of the community and the church"
- Abandoned Howard Estate
- Black Rock Forest
- Boat House Diner
- Canary Beach
- Moon Island High School
- Morgan Creek Resort
- Some other place the players think about
Do you think this will get me through a four hour convention game?
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
White Picket Witches: Stunts for Brain Work
I've defined Brain Work as "the magic of magic. The power to alter leylines and Places of Power. The crystal clarity of thought. The way to read and control thoughts. Aligned with time." Now it's time to give the usual three spells as an example of what Brain Work can do.
Eye of the Storm: On a Great (+4) or better roll and spending a FATE point, the witch creates a temporary Place of Power around herself. The magic will dissipate at the end of the next scene, but until then, Face-Offs can happen here. The Place of Power is heavily tinged with the personality of the witch and yet not as powerful as a real Place of Power. There is no Leitmotiv, it has only one FATE point and the highest Asset of the witch becomes the only asset of the place at Fair (+2).
The Dragon's Path: On a Great (+4) or better roll, the witch may alter the Leitmotiv of a Place of Power for the rest of the scene without spending a FATE point. The witch accomplishes that by altering the flows of power around the place. A leyline was sometimes called a dragon's path. That's where the spell gets its name from.
Mood swing: When the witch succeeds with a Great (+4) or better roll, then she can lower an Asset of a character or Place of Power by 2 points and raise another Asset of the same character or place by 2 points for the rest of the scene.
Note: With Brain Work I am going a bit meta. But I think that's in keeping with the idea of this kind of magic.
Eye of the Storm: On a Great (+4) or better roll and spending a FATE point, the witch creates a temporary Place of Power around herself. The magic will dissipate at the end of the next scene, but until then, Face-Offs can happen here. The Place of Power is heavily tinged with the personality of the witch and yet not as powerful as a real Place of Power. There is no Leitmotiv, it has only one FATE point and the highest Asset of the witch becomes the only asset of the place at Fair (+2).
The Dragon's Path: On a Great (+4) or better roll, the witch may alter the Leitmotiv of a Place of Power for the rest of the scene without spending a FATE point. The witch accomplishes that by altering the flows of power around the place. A leyline was sometimes called a dragon's path. That's where the spell gets its name from.
Mood swing: When the witch succeeds with a Great (+4) or better roll, then she can lower an Asset of a character or Place of Power by 2 points and raise another Asset of the same character or place by 2 points for the rest of the scene.
Note: With Brain Work I am going a bit meta. But I think that's in keeping with the idea of this kind of magic.
White Picket Witches: Thoughts on Face-Offs
Initially, I had planned to publish a post about stunts to go along with Organ Work and/or Brain Work, but since I feel pretty powered out after gm'ing a skype Vampire: The Requiem game and agonizing about the right pledge level for the FATE Core Kickstarter, I am going to write about Face-Offs in White Picket Witches. Mostly random thoughts, but I want to get them out of my system.
What I like about Face-Offs is the fluidity they bring to conflicts. Usually, a conflict is either mental or physical, seldom switching in between (even though, these were the best conflicts I've seen). Face-Offs automatically put you into a state where you can alter between conflict types. There is only one stress track, and the long example in the preview does a pretty good job of showing how the conflict shifts from verbal, to physical, back to verbal.
What gives me pause, though, in FATE Core I get three nifty mechanics for emulating different kinds of opposition: challenges, contests and conflicts. All three basically fall by the wayside in favor of the Face-Off. That serves to give the setting a strong focus, but also strips away some of the new and cool rules. I wonder if that was really necessary.
Next thing, Face-Offs happen in a very narrow environment, basically only at or inside a Place of Power. At least in the rules as written that gives the impression of narrow focus and also seems to get rid off the anything but Overcome actions outside of a Face-Off. Not sure, if Create Advantage could still be useful, maybe yes. Still, it feels as if most of the action will be limited to the Places of Power, because they seem to be the only locations where it is possible to inflict stress and take someone out.
Also Face-Offs change the results of a concession and a taken-out result. Instead of simply determining what happens to the defeated party, the Face-Off grants an intent apect. Something the victor takes away from the Face-Off. An aspect that can be used until it is replaced by another intent aspect. Also, the victor gets one free invoke. A concession on the other hand, doesn't earn the loser any FATE points. Instead he is able to change one word of the intent aspect, thus subverting its meaning. Haven't played the game yet, I can see why it is desirable to get an intent aspect instead of determining what happens to the loser, because an aspect is a soft mechanic that can be used in subsequent scenes and Face-Offs, and doesn't force the loser out of the game. But somehow this feels a bit too soft. Both a taken-out result and a concession have to make sense in the context of the story, so this wouldn't be an issue with most groups. Also, conceding a conflict and getting FATE points for the consequences suffered can be a very nice and valid tactic in FATE Core. This is removed from the picture by the Face-Off mechanic.
There is also one other concern: with the intent aspect it seems initially rather difficult to permanently get rid of someone. Except maybe by gaining an intent aspect like "I shot the Sheriff, but didn't kill his deputy."
The other cool stuff in White Picket Witches are the determining of initiative (basically, the GM compels a player to start the Face-Off), that the Place of Power gets its own move and thus introduces a wild card into any conflict and the way Flashbacks are used (to hinder another player, but offering a FATE point as compensation). This is brilliant.
I see myself using the following tweaks to a Face-Off: base it more firmly on the conflict mechanics from Core, but keep the single stress track and the Places of Power as the only places that can have a Face-Off happen. The intent aspect is a nice idea, but I will probably grant the player who concedes a Face-Off a FATE point for each consequence suffered (but not the FATE point for conceding a conflict - that's replaced with the mechanic for changing the intent aspect). Also, I will keep challenges around. Contests and conflicts not so much, but the challenge mechanic could be useful.
Important Disclaimer: So far this is a theoretical discussion, not based on actually playing White Picket Witches. This will most likely change on the Saturday to come.
What I like about Face-Offs is the fluidity they bring to conflicts. Usually, a conflict is either mental or physical, seldom switching in between (even though, these were the best conflicts I've seen). Face-Offs automatically put you into a state where you can alter between conflict types. There is only one stress track, and the long example in the preview does a pretty good job of showing how the conflict shifts from verbal, to physical, back to verbal.
What gives me pause, though, in FATE Core I get three nifty mechanics for emulating different kinds of opposition: challenges, contests and conflicts. All three basically fall by the wayside in favor of the Face-Off. That serves to give the setting a strong focus, but also strips away some of the new and cool rules. I wonder if that was really necessary.
Next thing, Face-Offs happen in a very narrow environment, basically only at or inside a Place of Power. At least in the rules as written that gives the impression of narrow focus and also seems to get rid off the anything but Overcome actions outside of a Face-Off. Not sure, if Create Advantage could still be useful, maybe yes. Still, it feels as if most of the action will be limited to the Places of Power, because they seem to be the only locations where it is possible to inflict stress and take someone out.
Also Face-Offs change the results of a concession and a taken-out result. Instead of simply determining what happens to the defeated party, the Face-Off grants an intent apect. Something the victor takes away from the Face-Off. An aspect that can be used until it is replaced by another intent aspect. Also, the victor gets one free invoke. A concession on the other hand, doesn't earn the loser any FATE points. Instead he is able to change one word of the intent aspect, thus subverting its meaning. Haven't played the game yet, I can see why it is desirable to get an intent aspect instead of determining what happens to the loser, because an aspect is a soft mechanic that can be used in subsequent scenes and Face-Offs, and doesn't force the loser out of the game. But somehow this feels a bit too soft. Both a taken-out result and a concession have to make sense in the context of the story, so this wouldn't be an issue with most groups. Also, conceding a conflict and getting FATE points for the consequences suffered can be a very nice and valid tactic in FATE Core. This is removed from the picture by the Face-Off mechanic.
There is also one other concern: with the intent aspect it seems initially rather difficult to permanently get rid of someone. Except maybe by gaining an intent aspect like "I shot the Sheriff, but didn't kill his deputy."
The other cool stuff in White Picket Witches are the determining of initiative (basically, the GM compels a player to start the Face-Off), that the Place of Power gets its own move and thus introduces a wild card into any conflict and the way Flashbacks are used (to hinder another player, but offering a FATE point as compensation). This is brilliant.
I see myself using the following tweaks to a Face-Off: base it more firmly on the conflict mechanics from Core, but keep the single stress track and the Places of Power as the only places that can have a Face-Off happen. The intent aspect is a nice idea, but I will probably grant the player who concedes a Face-Off a FATE point for each consequence suffered (but not the FATE point for conceding a conflict - that's replaced with the mechanic for changing the intent aspect). Also, I will keep challenges around. Contests and conflicts not so much, but the challenge mechanic could be useful.
Important Disclaimer: So far this is a theoretical discussion, not based on actually playing White Picket Witches. This will most likely change on the Saturday to come.
Monday, January 28, 2013
White Picket Witches: The Sixth Family
Something the preview doesn't tell you about is the magic of the sixth family that left Salem. The preview offers five magic styles: Breath, Skin, Muscle, Blood and Bone. They each symbolize a certain kind of magic. But nothing hints at the magic of the sixth, forgotten (or lost or destroyed) family. That's got me thinking.
There is a pattern to the magic of the Five Families. Successively progressing deeper into the body. What comes beneath the bones? I came up with two answers: organs and the brain. Therefore, the sixth kind of magic could be either Organ Works or Brain Works. Organ Work doesn't sound that cool, so may be Entrail Work? Hm... Anyway, here is a short take on both works:
Organ Work: Messy things, hurtful things, knowledge and power from beyond space and time, to gaze too deeply is to invite madness. Things even witches were not meant to know. Aligned with deepest darkness and despair.
Brain Work: The magic of magic. The power to alter leylines and Places of Power. The crystal clarity of thought. The way to read and control thoughts. Aligned with time.
Interestingly, both types of magic would give the Five Families a reason to extinguish the sixth. Did they do it out of fear? Necessity? Envy? Or mixture of all three? Does the deed bind the Five Families together or will it rip them apart?
There is a pattern to the magic of the Five Families. Successively progressing deeper into the body. What comes beneath the bones? I came up with two answers: organs and the brain. Therefore, the sixth kind of magic could be either Organ Works or Brain Works. Organ Work doesn't sound that cool, so may be Entrail Work? Hm... Anyway, here is a short take on both works:
Organ Work: Messy things, hurtful things, knowledge and power from beyond space and time, to gaze too deeply is to invite madness. Things even witches were not meant to know. Aligned with deepest darkness and despair.
Brain Work: The magic of magic. The power to alter leylines and Places of Power. The crystal clarity of thought. The way to read and control thoughts. Aligned with time.
Interestingly, both types of magic would give the Five Families a reason to extinguish the sixth. Did they do it out of fear? Necessity? Envy? Or mixture of all three? Does the deed bind the Five Families together or will it rip them apart?