May 20, 2016 Fate Core Thought of the Day Fate and...
Fate Core Thought of the Day - Fate and Amber Diceless
It's fairly well-known that Fred is a big Amber fan. And I think it's safe to say that Amber Diceless is a huge influence on Fate.
Every Fate GM should pick up a copy and at least read through it. No, really, go buy the pdf here and read it: I'll wait.
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/1447/Amber?it=1
So, great. Amber's a nifty system, and is really interesting for Fate GMs since it's not really fiction-first. It's more accurately fiction-only. There are rules, sure, but the rules basically boil down to this:
"In any given conflict, all other things being equal, the character with the higher relevant stat will eventually win."
Yup, that's it. No, really, that's pretty much the game. And in that simple elegance lies a world of complexity. While not immediately apparent, that complexity lies in the phrases "the higher relevant stat" and "_all other things being equal_"
So, gameplay in Amber revolves, really, around a few things.
1) Setting up the scenario to benefit you, win or lose.
2) Setting up the situation so that the stat that's being used is the one you're superior in
3) Making all other things decidedly UNequal
Here's what Erick Wujick says you should do if playing a grandmaster at chess, with the world on the line:
What do you think, should you play fair?
We'll call your opponent Kumenkov, one of the Russian's top chess guns. Flat out, the best there is.
Here's what you might do.
First, you make a few arrangements. Like learning the game, but also getting a team of the finest chess coaches money can buy, and a little microphone so you can hear their advice.
Then, you set up the room where the game is going to take place. Figure out everything Kurmenkov hates, heat, loud colors, rock music, whatever. Give him the works, but only at critical moments, on and off.
And if that isn't enough?
Then you go for some real equalizers. Have his wife call, mid-game, threatening divorce, madness, and/or suicide. Then a high-ranking Russian officer, informing Kurmenkov that if he has been accused of anti-state activities, and his victory in the game will be sufficient proof to warrant his arrest and/or execution.
Still not enough?
When his back is turned, steal pieces from the board. Drug him, and move twice for every move he makes. At least once, during some critical move, just as Kurmenkov reached for a piece, have someone put a gun to his head and offer to blow his brains out if he makes that particular move.
Now could you win?
Sound familiar? Does each one of those things sound like something in a Fate game? Like... Create Advantage?
Of course it does! And that's one of the basics of Fate conflicts - if your opponent outmatches you, even the odds. Don't play fair!
Here's another example. In this case, the PC played by Peggy has a terrible Warfare rating, but is quite Strong.
GM: There's a big thump, and it sounds like it came from behind you.
PEGGY I whirl around, what do I see?
GM: There's something moving right at you, something hard to see.
PEGGY I back away quickly!
GM Yes, it seems to be some kind of ape, it's fur is a mottled brown and green, making it hard to see against the backdrop of jungle. It's on it's hind legs and attacking with swinging arms.
PEGGY: I'll go on the defensive.
GM: With swinging arms it's better than you.
PEGGY: I'll go for Strength. I want to grab it.
GM: You move in, getting scratched by it's claws, but you grab it. You seem stronger. What are you doing?
PEGGY: I want to break its neck!
GM Okay, it dies.
(Note that this is for a low-detail version of combat, more like an Overcome than a Conflict)
So, what's going on here? Peggy knows that her character will flat-out lose in a fighting contest, because her fighting rank is terrible. So she narrates her character doing things that turn it into a strength contest instead, where she wins. And then in what is basically a by-the-book Fate move, she dictates what Taken Out means in this case.
The entire book is filled with examples like this. While some of the things (descriptions of particular Amberite powers and magic) may not be useful, every single bit of GM advice is Fate GOLD.
I really don't think that it's inaccurate to say that Fate is, in many ways, Amber but only with some randomization added to the result, and a bit more codified way of handling the various advantages and maneuvers that characters might try to pull off.
If you're having trouble grokking Fate, read Amber Diceless. It can only make you a better Fate GM.
It's fairly well-known that Fred is a big Amber fan. And I think it's safe to say that Amber Diceless is a huge influence on Fate.
Every Fate GM should pick up a copy and at least read through it. No, really, go buy the pdf here and read it: I'll wait.
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/1447/Amber?it=1
So, great. Amber's a nifty system, and is really interesting for Fate GMs since it's not really fiction-first. It's more accurately fiction-only. There are rules, sure, but the rules basically boil down to this:
"In any given conflict, all other things being equal, the character with the higher relevant stat will eventually win."
Yup, that's it. No, really, that's pretty much the game. And in that simple elegance lies a world of complexity. While not immediately apparent, that complexity lies in the phrases "the higher relevant stat" and "_all other things being equal_"
So, gameplay in Amber revolves, really, around a few things.
1) Setting up the scenario to benefit you, win or lose.
2) Setting up the situation so that the stat that's being used is the one you're superior in
3) Making all other things decidedly UNequal
Here's what Erick Wujick says you should do if playing a grandmaster at chess, with the world on the line:
What do you think, should you play fair?
We'll call your opponent Kumenkov, one of the Russian's top chess guns. Flat out, the best there is.
Here's what you might do.
First, you make a few arrangements. Like learning the game, but also getting a team of the finest chess coaches money can buy, and a little microphone so you can hear their advice.
Then, you set up the room where the game is going to take place. Figure out everything Kurmenkov hates, heat, loud colors, rock music, whatever. Give him the works, but only at critical moments, on and off.
And if that isn't enough?
Then you go for some real equalizers. Have his wife call, mid-game, threatening divorce, madness, and/or suicide. Then a high-ranking Russian officer, informing Kurmenkov that if he has been accused of anti-state activities, and his victory in the game will be sufficient proof to warrant his arrest and/or execution.
Still not enough?
When his back is turned, steal pieces from the board. Drug him, and move twice for every move he makes. At least once, during some critical move, just as Kurmenkov reached for a piece, have someone put a gun to his head and offer to blow his brains out if he makes that particular move.
Now could you win?
Sound familiar? Does each one of those things sound like something in a Fate game? Like... Create Advantage?
Of course it does! And that's one of the basics of Fate conflicts - if your opponent outmatches you, even the odds. Don't play fair!
Here's another example. In this case, the PC played by Peggy has a terrible Warfare rating, but is quite Strong.
GM: There's a big thump, and it sounds like it came from behind you.
PEGGY I whirl around, what do I see?
GM: There's something moving right at you, something hard to see.
PEGGY I back away quickly!
GM Yes, it seems to be some kind of ape, it's fur is a mottled brown and green, making it hard to see against the backdrop of jungle. It's on it's hind legs and attacking with swinging arms.
PEGGY: I'll go on the defensive.
GM: With swinging arms it's better than you.
PEGGY: I'll go for Strength. I want to grab it.
GM: You move in, getting scratched by it's claws, but you grab it. You seem stronger. What are you doing?
PEGGY: I want to break its neck!
GM Okay, it dies.
(Note that this is for a low-detail version of combat, more like an Overcome than a Conflict)
So, what's going on here? Peggy knows that her character will flat-out lose in a fighting contest, because her fighting rank is terrible. So she narrates her character doing things that turn it into a strength contest instead, where she wins. And then in what is basically a by-the-book Fate move, she dictates what Taken Out means in this case.
The entire book is filled with examples like this. While some of the things (descriptions of particular Amberite powers and magic) may not be useful, every single bit of GM advice is Fate GOLD.
I really don't think that it's inaccurate to say that Fate is, in many ways, Amber but only with some randomization added to the result, and a bit more codified way of handling the various advantages and maneuvers that characters might try to pull off.
If you're having trouble grokking Fate, read Amber Diceless. It can only make you a better Fate GM.
Shared to the community Fate Core - Public
What it said was to take the time an action would take to complete. Then, for each fact supporting you, cut the time by a factor and for each fact opposing, increase it by the same step.
Yep. The Fate Time Scale. And it does a great job with changing the size of things players try to do. For example, if the player wants to make guns that work in Amber (a big deal, considered impossible until Corwin does it). They could take a VERY long time (i.e., you may as well leave because the GM isn't getting back to you this session while you work off-screen). Or they could go off and do sub-steps that get them closer so the final action becomes bite-sized (i.e., do what Corwin did in the books). This encourages setting big goals, dividing them itterratively into back until they are reasonable individual actions, then piling them atop one another until you have the goal achieved.
That is good advice for Fate games as well, if you plan on being as sandboxy as Amber typically is.
Essentially, you have to recall that ADRP's advice was written from an adversarial GM role PoV. Whenever you see stuff like the extreme Benedict competence or outrageous explanations based on Psyche, I just remember that Erick really liked to present players with a challenge he didn't expect them to succeed and be proven right (I played a few games with him, one of which ended with him explicitly disappointed that we found a non-fatal, if totally non-victorious, solution to).
Filter out the adversarial stuff and the rest of the advice you can find is golden, IMO.
I mean, if I want adversarial style GM advice, Urban Shadows is the way to do it, because it also emphasizes "Be a fan of the players".
TBH, these examples don't do much better, but I can see what you mean about how it influenced Fate. It's cool to see the underlying genealogy.