FATE (role-playing game)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the tabletop game. For the computer game sometimes called "FATE", see Fate (computer game).
| FATE | |
|---|---|
 FATE v2.0 cover page |
|
| Designer(s) | Fred Hicks, Rob Donoghue |
| Publisher(s) | Evil Hat Productions |
| Publication date | 2003 |
| Genre(s) | Universal |
| System | Custom |
FATE, Fantastic Adventures in Tabletop Entertainment, is a generic role-playing game. Fate is currently based on the FUDGE gaming system. It has no fixed setting, traits, or genre and is almost entirely customizable. However, it is designed to offer the least possible obstruction to role-playing by assuming that players do not want to make large amounts of dice rolls.
Fate was written by Fred Hicks and Rob Donoghue. FATE gained a large number of adherents both for its high level of support, which is unusual for a free game, and for the numerous innovative gaming mechanics. In the 2003 Indie RPG Awards, Fate won a number of awards:
- First Place - Best Free Game of the Year
- First Place - Best Support
- Third Place - Indie RPG of the Year
- Recipient - Andy's Choice Award
[edit] Differences between FUDGE and FATE
While FATE uses FUDGE's verbal scale and four three-sided dice, it breaks from practically every other role-playing game by doing away with mandatory traits such as Strength and Intelligence, and substantially reworking the "experience point" mechanic. It instead assumes that every character is "average" and allows exceptionalism to be defined through an Aspect system. A player may choose, for example, to take an Aspect in Brawny (or Muscle Man or Wiry Strength) and choose to spend Aspects to gain a temporary bonus in a relevant situation. Aspects may also be taken in possessions, e.g. the character Indiana Jones might have the Aspect "Whip and Fedora". The fact that Aspects can be anything integral to the character allows for a degree of melding of mechanics and role-playing difficult in most other gaming systems.
An important and original concept in FATE is, Aspects are not intrinsically good or bad: they are simply descriptive, up to the level of detail the player requires. In addition to the obvious direct character help in most cases, the FATE system also provides a mechanism to reward the characters when one of their Aspects has restricted their choices or landed them in some trouble.
[edit] FATE OGL resources
While there has been concern that FUDGE would restrict its "open" license and thus force FATE to change to a different underlying mechanic, such fears have subsided once FUDGE itself was released under the Open Gaming License. FATE has an associated Yahoo! Group to discuss the gaming system and share settings and conversions of other role-playing games.
