Jun 30, 2015 Fate Core Thought of the Day Fate Doe...
Fate Core Thought of the Day: Fate Doesn't Model Characters
It reflects them.
One of the things that comes up with Fate frequently is that it's less of a set of Lego blocks and more of a 3d printer. But, um, what does that mean?
Well, it means that the process and intent of building a character in Fate is a very different thing than it is in a great many games.
So, let's use Zatoichi, the blind swordsman, as an example. If I were playing something like GURPS, I'd start by picking his attributes. Then I'd probably give him the Blind Disadvantage. But he'd need the Blind Fighting advantage, otherwise he wouldn't be able to fight. Then I'd have to buy some skills.
In other words, I'd have to figure out all of the little component parts that make him work, and how they compensate for each other. I then take all those blocks and put them together into something more-or-less Zatoichi shaped.
Fate's different. In Fate, I think about "Zatoichi". I go "huh, he's pretty good at fighting." So I give him a +4 Fight skill. And I think "well, he's blind, and a swordsman. That's kind of exactly who he is." So I give him the High Concept of "Blind Swordsman."
And, that's it. I don't have to worry about him having special techniques that allow him to fight blind. It's not necessary. I don't have to worry about how these things fit together. I don't have to justify my choices to Fate.
I simply imagine the character, and then write down on my character sheet what the character is.
This is reflected in character creation! In many games, you start with figuring out your attributes, and then you figure out your skills, your advantages, your disadvantages, your feats, your classes, whatever. And at the end of the day, you have a character that you can put together into some kind of whole.
Not Fate.
In Fate, you started with the phases - which tell you who your character is. So by the time you pick skills (much less stunts), you've already got a good idea of who this person is, and what they're all about.
So what you're writing down doesn't define the character - you've already done that. And it doesn't model the character. But what it does do is reflect the character that you've already got in mind.
And I think that's pretty awesome.
Some people like "modeling" though, and they might think it's less awesome. Certainly D&D 3.x kind of selected for people that like that kind of modeling. And that's probably why so many people are fans of modes and two-column stuff and whatnot.
I also think it's something of a stumbling block for many people new to Fate, who assume that everything must be on the character sheet. It doesn't need to be. It's perfectly real just imagining it. Just write down the end result. "Zatoichi - great fighter". That's all that's required.
But, really, I think that allowing this type of 'reflective' character creation is pretty awesome, and a huge strength of the system.
It reflects them.
One of the things that comes up with Fate frequently is that it's less of a set of Lego blocks and more of a 3d printer. But, um, what does that mean?
Well, it means that the process and intent of building a character in Fate is a very different thing than it is in a great many games.
So, let's use Zatoichi, the blind swordsman, as an example. If I were playing something like GURPS, I'd start by picking his attributes. Then I'd probably give him the Blind Disadvantage. But he'd need the Blind Fighting advantage, otherwise he wouldn't be able to fight. Then I'd have to buy some skills.
In other words, I'd have to figure out all of the little component parts that make him work, and how they compensate for each other. I then take all those blocks and put them together into something more-or-less Zatoichi shaped.
Fate's different. In Fate, I think about "Zatoichi". I go "huh, he's pretty good at fighting." So I give him a +4 Fight skill. And I think "well, he's blind, and a swordsman. That's kind of exactly who he is." So I give him the High Concept of "Blind Swordsman."
And, that's it. I don't have to worry about him having special techniques that allow him to fight blind. It's not necessary. I don't have to worry about how these things fit together. I don't have to justify my choices to Fate.
I simply imagine the character, and then write down on my character sheet what the character is.
This is reflected in character creation! In many games, you start with figuring out your attributes, and then you figure out your skills, your advantages, your disadvantages, your feats, your classes, whatever. And at the end of the day, you have a character that you can put together into some kind of whole.
Not Fate.
In Fate, you started with the phases - which tell you who your character is. So by the time you pick skills (much less stunts), you've already got a good idea of who this person is, and what they're all about.
So what you're writing down doesn't define the character - you've already done that. And it doesn't model the character. But what it does do is reflect the character that you've already got in mind.
And I think that's pretty awesome.
Some people like "modeling" though, and they might think it's less awesome. Certainly D&D 3.x kind of selected for people that like that kind of modeling. And that's probably why so many people are fans of modes and two-column stuff and whatnot.
I also think it's something of a stumbling block for many people new to Fate, who assume that everything must be on the character sheet. It doesn't need to be. It's perfectly real just imagining it. Just write down the end result. "Zatoichi - great fighter". That's all that's required.
But, really, I think that allowing this type of 'reflective' character creation is pretty awesome, and a huge strength of the system.
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+Robin Duncan
"I might say that fate doesn't model characters because it simply accepts characters."
That's beautiful.
The point is that the facts established by aspects are true, regardless of invokes. The main fact from this aspect is blindness, but if he also has a high notice skill, for instance, or an aspect touching on extraordinary non-visual perception, that might mean he can make checks to notice things that others have no chance of noticing yet, like an assassin sneaking around rooms away, without needing an invoke.
Can you give a good example of a power-type aspect and what it allows in some situation that other characters couldn't do w/out a fate point/
One of the easiest examples, I think, would be the difference between an elven archer and a battle wizard. Both would have Shoot at +4, they are good at killing people from far away. However, the skill means different things for each character. The elven archer is a master of bows. He can shoot them like no other. The wizard wouldn't even know which way to point it. However, the elven archer can not throw fireballs or lighting at people, something the wizard is very well versed in. Their aspects allow them to do something the other can't, even though they use the exact same skill.
Though when it comes to this, it's not really a fate point thing. The elven archer can't just spend a Fate point to be able to throw fireballs. It's just not something he does.
Another example could be that of a dwarf warrior and a human thief. The dwarf has a "dwarven nose", while the thief has "incredible luck". Now when it comes to the dwarf, he can easily identify the smallest irregularities when it comes to stone, minerals or metals. If there's a hidden door in the rocks, he knows it's there, period. The thief doesn't, but he might stumble and due to his "incredible luck", he crashes into the lever that opens the door.
Now it highly depends on how you set up this kind of thing. The dwarven nose in your setting might just allow a dwarf to make a roll where others can't, or it could be something like the above. It's highly dependent on group consensus, as are a lot of things in Fate.
Another character is "Heir to a Powerful Porte Bloodline" Porte is a kind of teleportation magic in the setting. That means a lot of things. That player can make checks to have magical access to objects that they are not carrying. They can offer concessions that involve them leaving the scene through a portal they open. They have some stunts to back up the aspects, but there's a lot they can do without needing a stunt or a fate point.
So, this means he can do his normal stuff in the dark, no matter how dark it is. I mean, he's blind, so it's always dark, right? He can't be blinded by flashes of light, either. Visual distractions will have no effect on him.
On the other hand, it means that if you give him a set of pictures, he absolutely can't pick out the suspect by himself. Because he can't see the pictures. If you give him a non-braille book, he can't read it.
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