FATE: House Rules

The Game System

We use the Fate Condensed rules, developed by Evil Hat Productions, LLC. The rules are free to use and available at https://fate-srd.com/fate-condensed. The focus of this game world and all the campaigns here are on cooperative storytelling over the traditional RPG elements.

Player Options

As we use Fate Condensed here there are very few restrictions on what you can play. In order to be successful you should choose something with as many of the following characteristics as possible.

1. Interested in investigating the supernatural. Most of the scenarios will be focused on learning the secrets of The Nether.
2. Cooperative and teamwork oriented. Lone wolf characters are interesting, but generally perform poorly in adventuring groups.
3. Useful expertise, make sure you can contribute to the group.
4. Ability to interact with the Sleepers. Most of the world is asleep and you will spend most of your time among them. A mischievous Imp might seem like a fun character, but you will likely be excluded from a large portion of the session because you can't show yourself in public.
5. Useful troubles to help drive your personal story. The best kinds of troubles allow your fellow players to assist you with them.

Character Creation

We use the standard character creation rules from Fate Core. With modifications from We are currently developing the world and the lore so at least for the moment, anything goes.

• Aspects: phrases describing who your hero is. Characters have 5 aspects, Concept, Trouble and 3 others.
• Skills: your hero’s areas of relative expertise.
• We use a +4 skill pyramid.
• We have an altered Skills List.
• Stunts: remarkable things your hero does.
• Begin with 5 to reflect the heroic nature of the game.
• In addition to the Fate SRD, we recommend you use https://fari.games/en/resources/fari-rpgs/fate-stunts to assist you in defining and building your stunts.
• Stress: your hero’s ability to keep calm and carry on
• Consequences: the wounds, physical and mental, your hero can endure
• Refresh: a measure of your hero’s narrative agency
• Finishing Touches: your hero’s personal details

We have decided to use the basics of the magic system in High Fantasy Magic, outlined here Magic.

Optional Rules

Corruption

Corruption embodies the Great Old Ones' inexorable taint on reality, body, and mind, twisting exposed individuals toward monstrosity through eldritch exposure like time travel or forbidden knowledge. It erodes humanity via a tracked progression, granting potent abilities while permanently altering aspects to reflect alien influence, with compels amplifying horror and inevitable doom. (Fate of Cthulhu page 58)

Cyberware

Cyberware in this setting can be both an Aspect and a Stunt, characters can have one or both types, or non at all. (See Fate Plus Cyberpunk - Cyberware Page 31)

Full Defense

Sometimes a player (or GM) may want their character to go all-in on using defend until their next turn, rather than taking an action on their turn. This is called full defense.

Scale

Due to the inclusion of Super technologies and supernatural forces we are using the rules for Scale

Ways to Handle Multiple Targets

As part of our SuperPunk feel, the heroes may take on whole mobs of thugs and normies. They will need to fight multiple opponents, here are some methods you can use.

Weapon & Armor Ratings

We use rules for FATE: Resources & Equipment these are based off of Weapons and Armor Ratings.

House Rules

Critical Success and Failure

Any roll where all the dice are positive or negative is always a success or a failure regardless of the total.

Critical Successes count as succeeding with style.

Critical Failures cannot be rerolled with Fate Points and may be overcome only by accepting a consequence.

Maximum Effort!

Inflict consequences on yourself to gain a bonus to the roll equal to the consequence taken.

Creativity Rewards

Players can earn additional Fate points by contributing to world building as below:

• One Fate for creating a journal entry related to this world.
• One Fate for creating a new location or NPC related to the current story.
• One Fate for adding a goal or troubling situation for The Crew to handle.
• Two Fate for completing a World Anvil writing prompt.