FATE help needed

So this Saturday I'm going to play my first FATE game.

The only other tabletops I ever played before were GURPS, Cyberpunk 2020 and CoC 5.5. And despite playing for over a decade, I wouldn't call myself experienced player or even regular one.
The GM already more or less described us the basic premise of the scenario to make character ideas for it (we are a hired scouting party acting behind enemy lines in 1001 Nights-ish setting), I've send the idea to him (a bounty hunter) and...

... I have no clue what I'm up to. I never had any contact with FATE before, I don't even have the book for it and I don't know how to make characters for it. The GM said to be calm and he will have everything prepared, but I feel like I was 14 again and just learned there is such thing like TTRPG, so I'm going out of my mind of panic.

Any help, ideas and suggestions will be appriciated.

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1. Relax. Fate is super easy, and you should worry more about your character than the system. It's a rather narrative game, so you can focus on the story rather than the mechanics.

2. The SRD is online. Just google Fate SRD.

3. Make sure you pick some good flaws, flaws you feel comfortable using against your character. They're the easiest way to get Fate points, and a flaw is pointless if you choose one you don't earnestly plan on using.

The book should be in the PDF share thread. As for advice, try to make your aspects dual-sided--both you and the GM will be using them to move the game along, so make sure both sides have something to work with. I remember one reviewer of FATE writing about the difficulty new players have with that, and his example was his attempt to write up aspects for Marvel's Thor. I don't remember all the iterations it went through (there were several), but I remember him deciding on one aspect being "Mjolnr, The Source of My Power." That wording was useful to both sides; the player could compel it to get a power boost and the GM could compel it to represent the PC losing the hammer and thus his power--a common plot device in the comic and movies. Another example could be "Divine Heritage"; that has obvious usefulness for the player, but the GM can also use it to drag the PC into a cosmic clusterfuck, introduce social/familial obstacles, and similar things.

In FATE, you will have a better time if your aspects are VERY easy for everyone to understand and hang compels off of.
Don't try to cram deep internal conflicts and complexities into your aspects. Don't feel like you need to describe every aspect of your character via aspects. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that a flowery and intelligent aspect name is better than a 2 word cliche like 'Tough Guy' Don't think you have to create your character completely on first go. You can tweak aspect names every session as you get a feel for your character.

Do read the Fate book. Do read other players characters and talk to them about those characters to get an idea of them. Do suggest compels for your character and the GM- it's not cheezy, it's part of the game.

Well, the flaw is that there is a bounty on one on the party members, which I picked after the other guy declared to play as a wanted outlaw.
So I guess that should kinda-sort work (the GM said so and I trust him when it comes to running games)

Also, I have no real idea what you are talking about, since all I was told was "Get a character concept, a strong side of that character and some major flaw". Which I did.
Guess that's a big part of the system and not just a guidance for character making.

Also, PDF share thread? Those are even a thing?

It might be easiest just to start here, and then ask any questions if you are still confused.

fate-srd.com

Playing other RPGs will almost certainly fuck up your ability to learn how to play Fate Core.

You should read through the SRD's opening sections or watch a little footage of a group playing on YouTube to understand the exchange of Fate Points.
i.e. your High Concept and Trouble will be your spending and earning vectors for FP.

>all I was told was "Get a character concept, a strong side of that character and some major flaw". Which I did.
Then you're good, you'll do character creation first session with the GM. Reading the rules wouldn't hurt though.

Thanks!

You guys mind if I ask for help building my fate campaign? I'm running session 0 on the 6th (my players had all summer for us to do it but they I don't even think most of them read the book even).

We're not the people who will help you best...that's your players. I suppose you can give us the skeleton of your setting, though.

USE THE DRESDEN FILES CITY CREATION RULES

I don't care if you're playing a fantasy setting where players travel across the world. I don't care if you're playing a space opera campaign. Use the rules, but rename the mechanics to be fitting for whatever.

Instead of places at a city, call them regions or planets. Instead of a city, call it the domain or the system. Whatever, but just use the city creation rules from the Dresden Files book.

My players aren't helping me out, they've basically gone dark for almost the entire summer. I'm hoping that when the semester starts on the 5th they'll be more active. It's Dresden Files Fate set in Boston (slightly altering the world though).
I am, I'm mostly having issues with aspects for certain things. I also want to try to come up with more stuff to have in the background, so far I have three largely immutable themes based on some of the nicknames for Boston (city of champions, the hub of the universe, and the olde towne) and two have aspects.

I wasn't aware they made a tabletop version of Corruption of Champions. Nice!

>2017
>CoC now stands for Corruption of Champions
>And not Call of Cthulhu

>Stuff going on in the background
Make up factions that you may or may not want to use later on. Create them like characters - Concept and flaw.

Once per in game week, decide what they are going to try and achieve over the next week based on their concept. At the end of the week, decide what the result was based on their flaw. Note this down in your campaign document as you go, that way you'll have a lot of stuff to fall back on once your players make contact.

Goodnight, sweet prince.

I've been doing that sort of. All I really have on my players' characters is the idea that they plan on running with, some have given me a bit more but not much (the hexenwolf monster hunter was involved with a fae casino and bet away their kid intentionally, the FBI agent is a crazy conspiracy theorist with an "alien" gun, and the warden is a shinto monk who was trained under an apprentice of Ancient Mai). Luckily I do have an idea of what some of my players want so I've been building a bit off that as well as some of my own ideas. Right now I have a 42 page game doc for most of the campaign related shit.

it's not that difficult, OP. think of Fate points as the metacurrency you have in other games (in the games you have played Luck comes closest).

Aspects are like the advantages/disadvantages in GURPS, except they are not codified. You give it a fancy name and then the GM decides when it applies, always giving the same mechanic bonus (as opposed to Ads/Disads in GURPS who have varying mechanical effects). One thing to remember: you can deliberately use Aspects in a manner that harms you to boost your Luck (aka Fate points).

Other than that? The system has attributes and skills rolled into one.

If you understand all of that, you're good to go. You don't need the Fate SRD.

only played Fate : ACC so I cant remember the skills off the top of my head for core. But have this

Anons Bounty Hunter
High: At home amongst the sands
Trouble: Chase my target no matter the cost
A1: Survived a magical encounter
A2: Friendly with the 40 thieves

Skills
Magic can't beat me
+2 when dealing with magical targets (Will need narrowing down the scope)
Im going to find you
+2 when getting information about your target
So this would work as your PC if you want it. You will just need to choose your skills. Good luck

And here I was, dead-sure FATE is just a generic system to run cinematic games...

It is. OP sounds like the person who got an anxiety attack over New coke