At last, a good answer to my opinion on FATE

My reaction to the Dresden Files RPG and the FATE system produced a fair amount of nearly unintelligible nerd rage as the comments for those posts show. Which I always find amusing, mostly because so many of the comments are just plain stupid. And I think stupid people are at fault for many of the world's problems, so it gives the world an good excuse for being so screwed up. There is a 'correctness' to it all in a sad way.

And I'll be honest, part of the reason I post some of my opinions is in order to see if there is anyone out there with any sense holding a opposing opinion. Most of the time the answer is a resounding no. Typically all I get is hateful bile and ad hominem attacks, which was certainly the case this time around.

Well almost the case this time around. Someone did surprise me. Rainswept at Romance Monsoon had this reply to my charge of "Why people blow their hard earned money on works that a monkey could do in his spare time is beyond me."

And it's a good reply. It still indicates a approach to RPGs that I don't agree with, but it indicates a person that at least begins to understand theirs and is willing to present it without going bonkers and acting like a fool.

So well done Rainswept. I must give you your point, and since you're likely not interested in a dust up- I'll spare you my answering one.

Judging FATE

This is an answer to Wyatt in a comment from my previous post about the Dresden Files RPG. He asked what I didn't like about FATE.


FATE is at its core FUDGE. And FUDGE at its core is just a resolution system.

By that, I mean a method of rolling dice to see if an attempt at something is successful or not. The difference between that and an true RPG system in my mind is the difference between playing a game of chess, and rolling a couple of dice to see if you're declared the winner of a game of chess.

FATE adds some not uncommon chrome to the core FUDGE Mechanic. Fate points that when expended add to the roll (hence the system name I imagine). Also some other small details like Aspects which strikes me as a bit of concept theft (not a bad thing) from RISUS, those can be called upon to generate Fate points and/or provide other modifiers in various ways.

The result is a very bare bones systems. Characters sheets that wouldn't fill and index card and very little to actually do from a game play point of view. Sure you can decide to shoot someone, but the game is too course to handle the tactical details of that except as non-rule connected descriptive fluff. Sure you have a character, but one with a very limited number of mechanically defined handles for the player to hold.

Which is why the authors claim that FATE (to quote their website):

"focuses on telling stories and balancing characters based on story significance, rather than points and cool powers. It's the system of choice for GMs who are looking for rules that get out of the way of the story, but still provide enough structure to get the job done."

I'd phrase that differently: FATE is a terrible game system, only useful to add a degree of randomness to whatever story you or or players happen to be railroading.

Now to be fair, if actually playing a game isn't the goal- FATE is a rather fine simple resolution system with enough chrome to almost invoke the favor of the setting. It's better than most that attempt the same thing.

But it's FUDGE, its simple. You don't need to spend money on the game books to use it. I wouldn't send Evil Hat Productions a dime even if I liked the ideas behind their designs. Do it yourself because to a large degree that's what the (free to anyone) FUDGE system demands anyway.

Why people blow their hard earned money on works that a monkey could do in his spare time is beyond me. Unless it's their parents money and they need to fill the bookshelves in the basement...