David hates FATE

[Luke]

It's not the swing, I guess. It's the zero average. There's something that tickles the pleasure centers of my brain when I'm rolling dice and looking for high numbers.  Having dice cancel each other out, every roll, doesn't give me that tickle.  It's purely a matter of taste.

And really, it's all about the tickle, isn't it?

[WillH]

That's why he suggested the d6-d6 method. I gives an even distribution rather than the 4dF zero centered distribution.

[Luke]

I get that. I think my brain must only like addition.  Maybe it's the subtracting a die that kills it for me.

[Yog Sothothery]

I get that. I think my brain must only like addition.  Maybe it's the subtracting a die that kills it for me.

oh, the old days of THAC0 how i don't miss you.

i did the d6-d6 for a one shot and i got nothing but negative numbers. i got a lot of -5's and i'm not normally a bad dice roller.

i am looking for fudge dice. i have been to 4 websites and they have all been out of stock. anyone got a good site to try?

[WarrenLocke]

Indie Press Revolution has one set of Fudge dice in a tube available:

http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/product.php?productid=17102&cat=0&page=1

[StingRay]

I get that. I think my brain must only like addition.  Maybe it's the subtracting a die that kills it for me.

So, do -d6 + d6. Problem solved!

[david]

3. Lame Character Creation

I started creating characters in D&D 3.x.  Since then, I've learned what I want out of character creation. 

I dig character creation that is a process, where choices I make define not only the tied statistical makeup of my character, but also point to elements of my character's past that really define who and what he is. 

Admittedly, at first glance, the Aspects of FATE do just that.  They tell a story of who and what you're character was while at the same time providing the mechanical impact of who your character is.  However, you can't change them; you can only replace them.  So, in order to define what you are, you have to sacrifice what you were. 

That's an entirely valid way to play - but it's not really one that I prefer. 

[paul.]

I think satisfying mechanical representation of a character arc is unfair to describe as advancement, but it's just as unfair to label it as character creation. In the end, the fact that you change instead of growing is just further enforced. Which, again, is typical of the games we played, rather than necessary using what makes Fate interesting: Aspects.

It's trivial to begin Diaspora with half as many aspects and gain them as you play. It's hard to play with that many fucking aspects, anyway.

[Yog Sothothery]

Indie Press Revolution has one set of Fudge dice in a tube available:

http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/product.php?productid=17102&cat=0&page=1

thanks.

3. Lame Character Creation

I started creating characters in D&D 3.x.  Since then, I've learned what I want out of character creation. 

I dig character creation that is a process, where choices I make define not only the tied statistical makeup of my character, but also point to elements of my character's past that really define who and what he is. 

Admittedly, at first glance, the Aspects of FATE do just that.  They tell a story of who and what you're character was while at the same time providing the mechanical impact of who your character is.  However, you can't change them; you can only replace them.  So, in order to define what you are, you have to sacrifice what you were. 

That's an entirely valid way to play - but it's not really one that I prefer. 

i never thought about that but i can see what you are talking about. i have only read spirit, diaspora, and Dresden but have yet to played. i don't want to comment too much as games play different then they read. poo bugery i forgot where i was going with this. from what i gather fate is a story arc game and once the small arc is done move on. while change is good i want to be able to grow in my games damnit. 

i would like to see how Dresden plays differently then fate, in the areas you mentioned on here David. 

[PedroSteckecilo]

So does this mean you guys are quitting your Dark Tower Game?

Does FATE have any redeeming value for you?

[paul.]

So does this mean you guys are quitting your Dark Tower Game?

Does FATE have any redeeming value for you?

Yea, DT is dead in the water. Luke wasn't feeling it and while I was having fun, I agree that it wasn't as good as it could or should have been. And part of that was definitely a system disconnect. The majority of the system interaction was, "shit, what Aspect do I have that would help me here?"

The subsystems are cool. I wanted more of an opportunity to explore social and platoon combat, but after just a few regular fights, I wasn't really looking forward to any more of those. Tying our characters' Aspects together during creation was probably the pinnacle moment for me. I'm certain Diaspora is better with its intended setting, and I'm looking forward to playing it again sometime.

Fate in general does appeal to me. I'm actually bringing compel-like events into my Burning Wheel game now. If a player is facing a scenario in which their character has a lot of inner turmoil that is not represented in the game, or if it's a situation in which they're steering clear of the conflict, I'll make a deal with them: "You have the Cruel Trait, I'll give you a persona point if you harm or kill someone innocent in this scene," or "You know that your best friend hates this NPC and wants to kill him, I'll give you a deeds if you kill him right now to save your friend from the terrible task."

I've also started giving players positive deals to spend their artha. I let a player spend a persona point to protect some documents he hadn't read, but were crucial to a belief. I likely wouldn't have picked up these maneuvers if I hadn't played Fate, so, even if I only play a Fate system proper sparingly from here on out, it definitely has value for me.

[StingRay]

From the game I played, the talk I've heard, and the stuff I've read, FATE strikes me as a fantastic one-shot/short run system.  I can't really see running a campaign with it.  I could see doing a pickup game or two in between campaigns, and using recurring characters in those games, but from my (admittedly limited) experience, I don't think I'd want to run a FATE-based game week after week.