Which is now often used to refer to the British, when it was actually a term given to Aussies many many years ago, standing for Prisoner of Mother England
I work now with a pretty multicultural group in England. What amazes me the most is the fact that Brits consider a trip to New Zealand a no big deal, whereas a journey to, say, Eastern Europe or Turkey is a trek of lifetime. Dear god, it annoys me to no end. It's only the other side of the globe.
@Tashio Actually now I think about it, I think I actually have one in my current game... She's a "Changeling" and is pretending to be my "Girlfriend"...
@Ben They don't have to have a class either, could be a normal civilian, they usually have classes because a civ not going to survive a high level dungeon
@eimyr I feel slightly ashamed it took me so long to get this. I decided "ok... It's been starred now... What's he on about?" [Google "minions ban-"] oooohhhhh... duh.
Whether it's setting adaptation to better represent something (from zombie apocalypse type horror to mecha to lesbian noir to transhumanism/robot human rights), suggestions (inclusivity and comfort, cooking up one-shots, two-hour games and first sessions, magic), entire new systems that feel GOOD for things (as I said, magic, heists which have a planning phase that feels a lot like the initial worldbuilding, stealth reworks, momentum dice)
It's just so pleasant to read and fantastic
And the various stunt examples peppered in almost every article are so fun-sounding, on a side-note
I particularly like the Heist play, it's meant to be modelled after Thief and Assassin's Creed or Dishonored in terms of playstyle (one detection doesn't end the mission, but it does endanger it badly, combat is a last resort, predicting movement and planning things out is a focus)
And naturally, treating the heist location as a character in itself, with a Security skill and whatnot
Ship designs and scaling... you can take a bit of everything from these settings and cobble up your own mechanics in such a pleasant way... my larger games, in my mind, would involve both ships AND stealth, some magic but maybe base-building too
since that world could be a huge melting pot, the Codex's Cultures could work so well
I don't mean to impose or bite off more than I can chew, but I REALLY recommend the Fate Codex to everyone that cares about Fate even remotely
Magical hunger-games-meets-quidditch sports!
The latter runs on FAE approaches for magic, and each approach is described as: [Approach] magic is [this and this and that.] [it does this]. It runs the risk of [complicating things even if it succeeds in this way].
@BESW Is it? That's what my next few games are going to be: Me, Z(very close, roomie, etc) and some other person we're very much into with little RPG experience, but also little concept of restriction of action in gaming
@AlexMitan Yes, two players is very fine, especially for a close, comfortable play. The players have to get close and if they don't it's even more exciting.
@AlexMitan The game started with the setting creation. I aimed for (as you might remember) a high middle ages, no or very low magic, medieval technology and culture, British/French based.
The key to one-shot games, for me, is to keep the goal simple and obvious. Don't keep changing the goalposts or complicating the resolution state; just add complications and drama to getting there.
@eimyr I'd be very happy with a first session composed like that.
The long-form campaign we're currently in started that way, actually. We spent a lot of the session on the world and the characters, and then we had time for a single "mission briefing" scene.
We have, however, a merchant, a warlock, an ambassador/spy from a magocracy nation (scroll magic no less) and a bloodthirsty barbarian (who is indeed the most negotiable and socially apt of his tribe, but still an uncivilised brute)
@BESW we managed two scenes - skirmish on the road (to showcase game mechanics, all four actions were there and all four outcomes, invoking/compelling, active and passive opposition, everything) and arrival at the crowded city gates.
@BESW @AlexMitan I actually described a "travel tired monk" begging for charity on the side of the road while putting a "Disguised Robber" character card with "Monk attire" and "Handy knapsack" aspects on the table. To my surprise, the players understood immediately how that works.
@AlexMitan your hexagon charts also show one unexpected thing. Characters with polygons with a large surface area show dedicated characters that play to their strengths. Small area signifies a versatile character.
@eimyr Yeah, I've found that if anything it's easier to embrace the privileged position of players over characters than to try and act like players and characters can have the same set of knowledge.
@Aaron The TV series did a slightly better job, but yeah. The film did a good job with Gabriel and the Devil and some of the visuals, but Constantine? less so.
@Aaron My favourite character for modern settings is a film Constantine expy. I somehow find him more bearable and identifiable.
I told them that it's a monk begging and placed a card that said it's a robber. Everyone rolled Notice, but no one got a success, so I kept "Hidden Bowmen" and "Ambusher" away until they revealed themselves.
They said that OK, they get it and that they are not going to metagame, but asked if it's really how the game is played. And so it is.
The guy how got a tie I told that "the monk is looking shifty", but without saying he is a robber.
He was a bit reserved and one of the characters gave the guy a coin.
About the compel - just after the battle they chose to interrogate the survivors (most of the robbers didn't get a chance to concede before they were ripped apart by magic, decapitated by a barbarian or had their throat slit open while incapacitated). I compelled the barbarian's "Hot blooded" aspect to just off the lone survivor in fury.
Later on I got to compel a (positive) Globetrotter aspect to "Oh, but you've been there and the guardsmen remember you as a nuisance"
Point of order that I have a hard time remembering myself: decision compels are done best when the GM doesn't suggest a specific decision, just says "I think that in this situation, [aspect] could easily lead you to make a decision that makes things more complicated or dramatic," and lets the player suggest what that might be.
Usually the GM's got something specific in mind if needed, but the player --given half the chance-- will often come up with something much more awesome.
It's a compel for a complication (the guards remember him being a nuisance) but it's triggered off an aspect that's intended to be mostly invoked by the player.
@AlexMitan If it were me, the guards would give the PC and his friends the extra-special frisking and maybe even put a tail on 'em.
The guardsmen recognised the guy and exclaimed that he can't enter the city, because the last time he shagged every whore in town. Another character (a merchant) had to make it worth the guardsman's while.
@eimyr "Another character (a merchant) had to make it worth the guardsman's while." He's asking for more detail about the narrative and mechanics of how that went down.
What did the merchant do, and what mechanics did you use to represent it?
First of all, the whole fornication business is left with the player. The guardsmen believe it was him, but that's not necessarily true. Vicious rumors? Misunderstanding? That's up to the player.
I feel like I'm not sure where compels lay between "this'll haunt your PC for the rest of their life"and "this is a momentary, fun, dramatic but rather ephemeral setback"
I mean I'd appreciate both, but I don't know how a compel that takes up half a session to resolve would work, I mean wouldn't that just make the PCs NEVER get to their goal?
I should probably balance it with flat invokes, right?
Compels introduce complication or drama in a way that demands response or changes the situation. It's often impossible to really predict just how big or small a response or change they'll cause.
Then, the noble managed to get leave to enter the city, showing that he is an ambassador from another state. The guardsmen were unappreciative to the company as a whole - a warlock, a flamboyantly dressed foreigner, a barbarian and a known troublemaker... The merchant, however, said that for all his troubles he will be welcome tonight at his cousin's winery, to drink away the sorrows of the service. He succeeded a Rapport roll and spent a Fate point to narrate a cousin into existence.
@AlexMitan My intention with the compel was however a bit different. Because they were occupied trying to convince the guards of their legitimacy and a crowd formed around them, the difficulty of them Noticing cutpurses filching their cash were a bit higher and they ended up with Strapped for Cash aspects, that will be around until they get some more coin one way or another.
That way the merchant can show off that he is business savvy with a Resources roll, but the Barbarian might need to get a job...
Since everyone else got a chance to shine - the warlock and barbarian during the fight, ambassador just after that. Merchant needed some limelight and hence my ruse.
@AlexMitan I suggest the dichotomy you're drawing between careful and forceful, and quick and clever, do not really exist and may hamper your understanding of approaches by seeking an opposite patterns.
We discussed characters overall, but let's look at actions: - A stage magician's card tricks are both flashy and sneaky. You're directing their attention somewhere, while doing something sneaky elsewhere. If someone wants to pull this off, they might take sneaky and flashy actions in conjunction. - A weight lifter is careful and forceful. An earthbender is careful and forceful. A jiu jitsu wrestler is careful and forceful. All three types of people exert _great_ amounts of force, in a precise and careful manner. Same again as the magician: you might use these approaches together to perform …
If you go trying to conclude there's opopsites, you might obstruct learning something pretty simple: these are just approaches to things and that's it, they can coexist or oppose each other freely. a variety of actions may use any of them together in any combination. sometimes any combination of things won't help. there are some natural inclinations, but i don't think adding structure to it is going to do you many favours in being able to freely associate these approaches to each other.
I know, I know, I wasn't necessarily imposing opposites
or even -claiming- that they work like that
I just did a little experiment because I felt like it and because I'm a huge nerd
Oh, by the way... when characters have stunts such as "Once per session, I can Forcefully attack two characters at once in the same zone"... is it shift splitting or the same attack applied to two enemies?
If someone rolls a total of 5 shifts of stress and wants to "attack two people", is it two attacks worth 5 each, or a 1 and a 4/2 and a 3?
ah, hm, i thought your purpose was to draw opposites and companions or something
never mind then! :D
so it's just to graph people out or something?
@AlexMitan For a once per session stunt i'd go with two separate attacks so they can feel cool. Shift splitting would be a once per scene stunt, or a hardware-oriented stunt (fleshed out as a proper ARRPG hardware stunt just after).
From these comments, I want to ask "What is a dungeon crawl?", but does it feel worthy enough?:
I would add the concept of the dungeon crawl where a band of diverse adventurers (wizard, fighter, elf, etc.) battle monsters in an underground setting, including a final boss monster, is straigh...
From these comments, I want to ask "What is a dungeon crawl?", but does it feel worthy enough?:
I would add the concept of the dungeon crawl where a band of diverse adventurers (wizard, fighter, elf, etc.) battle monsters in an underground setting, including a final boss monster, is straigh...
