Operation Spread the Word:  After-Action Report

So, I've evangelized Fate Core pretty heavily in a group I'm playing with, and a few of the members asked me to run a quick Fate session last night since they were missing one of their regular group members that their normal game depended on.  So, I got to run a game with < 24 hours prep :)

After discussing with them, I decided to give Brütal Fäte a try.  They felt it would be a good fit for the group, since they generally like lighter fare.

Well.... that didn't end up being an awesome fit, because almost nobody there knew either heavy metal or the Brütal Legend setting, so there was a lot of disconnect.  Still, the game went well.  Collaborative setting design and character creation helped a lot, I think - several of hte players talked about how much they really loved the Fate character creation system, and how they'll likely adopt that even in non-Fate games.

Had awesome thematic Fate Point tokens - guitar picks!

The basic scenario I gave them was centered around the after-party for a Razor Girl initiation that was taking place.  Their job was simple - get the beer from the beer house, and take it to the party area and set it up.

But - THERE WAS NO BEER.

Had some fun things - talking the guy in charge of the beer through the five stages of grief to get enough information out of him to figure out where to go get more beer.  An encounter with some Hair Metal Militia remnants on the way to Beerhenge.  At Beerhenge, a slacker grunge guy that didn't want to be a corporate tool, though he didn't know what a "corporate" was.

Overall, the game went well.  Energy level seemed very high from what I could tell, with a lot of engagement from the players.  Talked with two of the players a bit afterwards, and they definitely liked the system, though they could see how it was a pretty different game from PF/3.x.  The GM for their usual game is looking at incorporating aspects, and definitely using the Fate character creation process as a model for even non-Fate games.

Players got aspects pretty well, and the overall flow of the game.  I used a custom skill list, where everything was reflavored for that Brütal Legend flavor - you don't Fight, you Mosh.  You don't Deceive, you Scam.  I think that added a bit, as people started using Theatrics to dodge incoming attacks and started powersliding under their opponents rather than just dodging out of the way.

They got Compels pretty quickly too, with a number of self-compels.

Other feedback was that they got a much better feel of place and what was happening than they did in most games - that the combat 'told a story'.  And I was happy to see how use of Aspects in a Conflict actively helped bring that out of the players.  The Glitterfist (enemy) just soaking up a punch with his giant fist and treating it like a fistbump, only to be distracted by a PC's beauty and underestimating the attacking PC's drive because of his insecurity over said PC, giving that PC an opportunity to headbutt him as he was distracted.  Awesome stuff, and how the mechanics work together to provide fuel for this kind of thing is one of the things I love showing off about the system.

Overall, it was a great game, and I think I've added a few new soldiers to the Fate Army!  They've definitely expressed interest in playing a regular Fate game.