Unraveling Fate

Now that we've broken down a nice “crunchy” system like D&D 4th Edition, I thought we could take a look at a system that is more free-form.  Fate Core is an RPG system from Evil Hat and has a relatively small number of rules focusing on more narrative play. Players get to take an active part in creating the story and environment, which is not generally seen in more traditional RPGs.  That doesn't mean, though, that it lacks elements that can be useful in any game you play.  As we did with 4th Edition, I want to look at 3 pieces of Fate to use in other systems.  We'll take an in depth look at the first one today and handle the other two in two weeks.  The 3 pieces are:

• Character/Scene Aspects
• Group Character and City Creation
• Narrative Based Timing

Aspects is the obvious place to start when discussing Fate. Aspects are an element as front and center in Fate as the d20 is in Dungeons and Dragons.  In their simplest form Aspects are phrases which describe something interesting and unique about what they are applied to.  On a character they can be a simple as Mighty Barbarian or as specific as The Only Wizard Detective in the Phone Book.  Scenes similarly may be Dark and Stormy or in A Rat Infested Warehouse.  

When Aspects are Invoked they can provide a bonus to a die roll or a penalty to an action against a character.  When Compelled, they will limit a character’s choices or prevent the character from succeeding in the action which triggered the Aspect. Whenever an Invoke or Compel occurs Fate Chips are exchanged, keeping a dynamic economy of narrative control shifting between the players and the game master.

Aspects as a rules module are beautiful in their simplicity and the effect they can have on play is dramatic.  Any game that uses dice can incorporate them to give players a chance to further distinguish their characters from the flock.  As an example, I wanted to look at a newer game by Monte Cook.  Numenera, as a game, focuses on exploration and oddity making it a perfect fit for open-ended descriptions.  

In Numenara, I would recommend keeping the number of Aspects low. Too many will begin to bog down players with options.  Three Aspects gives the player options, without getting in the way of creativity.  A character's first two Aspects are easy - simply use the adjective and verb taken during character creation.  For example, a Graceful Glaive who Fights with Panache would treat Graceful and Fights with Panache as Aspects.  The final should be chosen by the character and should describe something truly unique to them.  This could be the description of a unique item they favor, their homeland, or the goal that drives them through the 9th World.  

To use the Aspects, Numenera already has a guide through the rule of GM Intrusions.  GM Intrusions are opportunities to make the story more difficult or exciting for the players.  The reward the players receive is experience, so they work very similarly to Aspects already.  Aspects, in this case, primarily provide the GM with more information about how the player wants their character to be challenged.  If your character Fights with Panache then the GM knows that it may be in their nature to toy with an opponent rather than go in for the kill.  Using this information, the GM can Compel that Aspect to force the character to fail an attack, choosing instead to embarrass their opponent.

There are a few options for Invoking Aspects in Numenera, but I personally prefer the simple ones.  Allowing a character to spend an XP to treat an Aspect as an asset in Numenera will keep the option in their mind when they have a difficult task.  While this effect is similar to the option players already have (re-rolling a dice for 1 XP), this option can allow a character to in difficulty 4+ tasks to truly shine. It gives them some certainty when their other abilities bring a difficulty to 1. 

Next week I'll share with you a recipe for some Asian lettuce wraps my wife and I love, and that I will be serving at my next game.  Talk to you then.

TN: 0 Tomato Soup

Last week my Shadowrun group met again. While I generally try to make a good thematic lunch for everyone, I just didn’t want to work that hard.  The run involved the characters stealing some genetic samples from a cyber animal research facility, which doesn’t really suggest an obvious meal.  Since most of my prep time involved stating out assault rhinos and cyber dogs I decided to pull out an old faithful recipe from the file: quick and easy tomato soup.  This recipe is adapted from Giada De Laurentis’ Quick and Spicy Tomato Soup, with some modifications for better texture.

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large carrots peeled and chopped (about ½ pound
• 1 small (baseball sized) yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic (about the size of a finger segment) minced
• 1 26oz jar marinara sauce (I like Newman's Own Carbernet Marinara here) 
• 28oz chicken broth (two cans or just measure it out from a box)
• 1 15oz can cannellini beans (aka white beans), drained and rinsed 
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ¾ cup spiral pasta

Heat the olive oil in a large pot, or Dutch oven, over medium high heat until water flicked into it pops and sizzles. Add the carrot, onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent.  This shouldn’t take more than 4 minutes.

Next, put everything else in the pot.  That’s pretty much it.  Give it a good stir, let it simmer for at least 10 minutes, and you have a delicious tomato soup.  

You can add more red pepper flakes if you like it spicy, but remember that a little goes a long way and there’s no going back.  Add ¼ teaspoon at a time, give it about 5 minutes of cooking to work its way in and then give it a taste, repeat as necessary.  

A note about the pasta:  you can use just about any non-string pasta (like spaghetti or linguini) here.  I’ve personally found that hollow pastas (like macaroni) tend to slip around too much when in soup, and the tiny pastas (like the pastina recommended in the original recipe) just don’t really bring much texture to the soup.

This soup goes great with a grilled cheese sandwich or cheddar cheese bread, but that’s a recipe for another time.

Nose to Tail Gaming

Two weeks ago we talked about how to use the timer based powers in 4th Ed in a game of Pathfinder.  Today we'll tackle the other two pieces of 4e that I think are particularly interesting: role protection and skill challenges.

Role Protection

Role protection is the division of characters between Striker, Leader, Defender, and Controller.  D&D 4e doesn't just talk about the rules, but includes rules to help solidify them.  Almost all Strikers have the ability to add extra dice of damage to their attacks. Nearly every defender uses the Marking mechanic which makes them more 'sticky' (able to draw attacks to themselves).

I would caution you in bringing this rule module into another game because it's going to have a lot of effects on how characters are created and how the story is told.  Once these roles (or whatever roles you feel are appropriate for your game) are laid out, they will make your combat much more tactical. This will make some of your players feel they have to fill certain holes that exist in the party’s abilities.

Generally role protection is best for games which emulate the heroic fantasy, superhero, or heist genres, as those genres tend to include this idea anyway.  The roles won't always be the same; the four D&D covers are common in fantasy, while in superheroes you will often see the tank, the blaster, the psychic, the tactician, and the brawler.  Heist stories similarly will often see the fighter, the con, the thief, and the tech (see Leverage for a very clear example).

In Fate Core there are no rules for role protection, but the genres it emulates often fit well with the sort of crafted team that defined roles encourage.  If you want to introduce role protection into Fate Core you can try adding it to the aspect system.

Aspects are phrases and ideas that describe your character and affect how they spend resources.  Simply inform your players of the traditional roles in a superhero team.  Tell them that one of their aspects has to include reference to the role they've chosen.  During the game allow the players one free Invoke of that aspect each session.  Your players will quickly tailor their strategy to their place in the team.

Another more complicated, but more flavorful, option would be to create a special Invoke for each of the roles you define.  Each Invoke providing an extra action but one that has to fulfill their role in the team.  Allowing your blaster to perform an attack, your bruiser to block for an ally, and your psychic to read an opponent's mind at the cost of a fate chip will add a more dynamic exchange to your fights.  This will encourage your players to pay attention even when it's not their turn.  This does come with a cost though.  You'll have to put in a little more work to balance the encounters but it will add a more super heroic feel.

Skill Challenges

In 4e, skill challenges represent a way of playing non-combat encounters while still providing a real mechanical challenge to the characters.  There are a lot of situations these can be used to represent, from a debate with nobility to tracking across an open desert.  Where I've found the most success in the skill challenge is in emulating the film montage.  When your players have some task to complete and you don't want to just roll the dice, a skill challenge is a good way to keep it tense.  The basic idea of a skill challenge is creating a variety of tasks the players must complete.  They can choose how to complete their tasks with the skills they have available.  If they get a set number of success before they get a certain number of fails, they succeed.

This is an especially easy piece to use in other games, as it will work with anything that already has a skill system.  Let's look at an example situation in Shadowrun.  In your game a group of runners need to infiltrate a swank shindig at Mitsuhama.  You've decided that you don't want to make this a simple request from a contact.  Instead you can make getting access to the party a section of the game itself.

The first thing to do is decide what needs to be done to complete the task.   They need to find out where and when the party is.  To get in, they need their names on the guest list or for the bouncer to let them pass.  Finally because it's Shadowrun, they need to stash their weapons somewhere they can access at the party.  For this situation we're going to say that the runners need to get 6 successes on these tasks, with at least one each, before they get 3 total failures.  Dependent on how challenging you want this to be you can play around with the numbers. 

Each attempt will be a simple skill check, and here I will generally adjust the threshold based on how interesting or creative the character's attempt is.  A good level for a group of runners that will make a check risky is threshold 4, so I would start there and then adjust as needed.  By using this method rather than the standard, you can get your players more involved in the process.   It will take longer but will  make even the generally boring parts of the game more interesting.

Ye Olde Turkey Leg

Totally Anachronistic Turkey Leg

Last Sunday I ran my bi-weekly Shadowrun game. in this particular session the characters were made to write and perform a stage show at the 6^th World’s equivalent of Medieval Times, a Horizon owned restaurant chain called Crossed Swords™.  Despite the lack of Turkeys in medieval Europe, I decided to go for the “renfair” classic: the roasted turkey leg.  This particular take on the classic was inspired by the +5 Book of Cooking by Tiffany Simmons. This was a Kickstarter project that was funded but did not ultimately produce what was promised.  However, they did provide its backers with a lovely PDF cookbook.

This recipe uses a couple of different techniques to infuse the turkey with flavor.  You’ll have to plan the night before the game, but the results are worth it. 

One of the tricky bits with this recipe is the turkey legs themselves. Depending on where you buy them, the size can vary widely from a little bigger than a chicken leg to the size of an adult’s forearm.  The amounts I’m giving you here are good for 10 of the smaller legs or 5 of the larger, luckily for the brine and rub all you need is enough to cover whatever you have.  If you need more brine, make up for the difference with ice before putting it in the fridge. For more rub, just keep the proportions equal and you’ll be fine.

Turkey legs (5 – 10)

Brine

• 4 quarts water
• 2 oranges
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons seasoning salt
• 1 whole bay leaf 

 Dry Rub

• 2 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons onion salt 

Start the night before with the brine.  First, wash the oranges and pat them dry.  Then, if you have a microplane, zest them.  If you don’t have a microplane, you’ll want to carefully cut the rind away from the orange peel, taking as little of the pith (white part under the rind) as possible, and then cut it into small pieces about an inch to a side.  You won’t use the rest of the orange in this recipe so just put them back in the fridge.

Now take all of the brine ingredients including the zest you’ve collected and place it in a large pot.  Just bring it to a boil and then remove it from the heat.  Let it cool, you can add ice to it here to speed up the process, but no more than two quarts of ice to avoid diluting it too much.  When it’s cold, submerge the turkey legs in the liquid. If you can’t fit all the legs in the pot you used to boil it, you can find turkey bags at the grocery story made just for this.  Place the whole thing into the refrigerator and keep it there for at least 6 hours and no more than 24.

The timing of the next step is going to again depend on the size of the turkey legs you purchased.  If you have smaller legs you’ll only need to start about an hour before you’re ready to serve, with larger legs it’s going to be closer to two hours.  I recommend starting a couple of hours before serving time. If they are done early all you need to do is put them in the oven at 300˚ for 10 minutes and they’ll be fine.

Preheat your oven to 400˚.  While it heats up whisk the dry rub ingredients together.  Take out your turkey legs and rinse them under cold water.  Pat them dry with a paper towel and place them onto a concave plate (this will make it easier to apply the dry rub).  Rub each of the legs down thoroughly with the dry rub mixture, rubbing it under the skin at the top of the leg where you can without tearing.  

Now transfer them to a baking sheet and pop them in the oven on a middle rack for 20 minutes.  While they are still in the oven, reduce the heat to 325˚.  With smaller legs you’ll want to keep them in for 15 – 25 minutes, with the larger legs then this could take up to an hour and a half.  The important thing here is that you want to keep them in the oven until the internal temperature is 165˚.  Test this by sticking your thermometer into the thickest part of the meat about half way to the bone.  I recommend that you check them every 15 minutes until they’re ready, but make sure you don’t leave the oven door open while you check or you’ll lose heat.

Once the turkey legs are cooked through, they should be a beautiful golden brown with a spice crust.  Sorry that there are no pictures today, just didn’t think to get some before I served.  To add a little plating flair and make them easier to eat you can wrap the bottom of the legs in aluminum foil.  This will have the added benefit of reducing the number of grease stains on your player’s character sheets.

Next week we’ll finish exploring the pieces of D&D 4^th Edition we were discussing last time and how they can work, even in more rules light games like Numenara and Fate.  Talk to you then.

Like the Native Americans, you should use every piece of the game

Hacking D&D4e Part I

In my years as a gamer and GM, it seems that games I’ve been in almost always end up having house rules.  Most that I've seen are slapped together to solved a problem mid-game and ended up sticking.  If you're looking for how to solve a problem in your game though, I would suggest you listen to the experts.  Guys like Monte Cook, Kenneth Hite and Rob Heinsoo know game design inside and out and have playtesters to back them up.What I mean is, if you find some hole in your game, patch it with a piece of a different game.  If there's a rule that improves your experience, bring it with you and see where it fits in other games you play.  Today I want to talk about Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition.  I chose this first because I suspect that most of you have played it, and whether you like it or not there are some great pieces to work with.

When looking at games I tend to see them in component modules, each part of the game a separate system that can be modified, moved or discarded as necessary.  Here are a few of the more interesting pieces that make up the current edition of D&D (although 5th Edition is now just over the horizon).

• At-Will/Encounter/Daily Powers
• Strong Role Protection
• Skill Challenges

Obviously the game is made up of more components than this.  Some, like the Yes/No skill system don't move between games well.  Others, such as Action Points or Feats are already used to one extent or another in games you'll come across.  However, these three components can find a place in pretty much any game you play.  This week let's talk about the At-Will/Encounter/Daily Power, or timer based powers, and we'll cover the other two next week.

The timer based powers in D&D often draw a lot of hate from the game's detractors. Their argument is that that it makes the game feel like World of Warcraft or similar games.  I'm not interested in addressing that argument and would prefer to point out the places where it can be a benefit instead.  The first is that this system allows for an additional balancing mechanic when creating abilities.  You can safely make a Daily Power several times more powerful than an At-Will without worrying about it unbalancing your game.  Second, it promotes variety on the encounter level by ensuring that no one spends the whole fight only saying “I attack" until it's done.  Lastly, it adds a tactical element of resource management, forcing the players to consider if they should use their big guns right away, or hold them until a more challenging fight.

There are, of course, drawbacks.  Players thinking tactically may not be thinking narratively and it is more details to keep track of which can get cumbersome.  That being said, if you're looking to play a game where the fights play out more like action movies, then this type of set up will help you on your way.

This ability is one of the tougher ones to move to other games, because doing so always requires building new rules around it, specifically creating powers that take advantage of its opportunities.  An example of this is Pathfinder, currently the best selling RPG in the US.  In Pathfinder this structure works best when slotted into the Feats system.   By designating a feat as Encounter or Daily you can improve their power substantially while maintaining game balance.  Another option would be to apply it to existing feats thereby reducing their level and prerequisite requirements (the Whirlwind Attack feat, for example- see below).  There are a lot of requirements to the Feat. Some of them may not make sense to every character, so you can use the timed powers system to balance it instead.  

Here is the original Whirlwind Attack feat.

Whirlwind Attack (Combat

You can strike out at every for within reach.

Prerequisites: Dex 13+, Int 13+, Combat Expertise, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Base attack bonus +4

Benefits: When you use the full-attack action, you can give up your regular attacks and instead make one melee attack at your highest base attack bonus against each opponent within reach. You must make a separate attack roll against each opponent.

 

When you use the Whirlwind Attack feat, you also forfeit any bonus or extra attacks granted by other feats, spells, or abilities.

With attribute, bab and feat requirements this is one of the more difficult feats to take in the game, and its prerequisites point to a specific fighting style.  Someone who takes this feat is a mobile, agile fighter focused on defense and who fights with wit rather than brawn.  It seems to me though, that the barbarian spinning with his axe would fit well with the effects of this feat.  By putting the balance onto timing you can allow it to be a character's central tactic at the out set.  Here is my proposed alternate version.

 

Whirlwind Attack (Combat)

You can strike out at every foe within reach.

 Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +1

Benefits: Once a day, when you use the full-attack action, you can give up your regular attacks and instead make one melee attack at your highest base attack bonus against each opponent within reach.  You must make a separate attack roll against each opponent.  These attacks cannot receive bonuses from other feats, spells or abilities and you may not take any additional attacks grated by feats, spells or special abilities this round.

Special: You may take this feat multiple times, no more than once a level.  If you take this feat twice, you may use it once per Encounter.  If you take this feat three times you may use it at-will.

This version of the feat allows a fighter, or similar class, to use Whirlwind attack straight from the beginning of the game. This gives them full access to the feat one level sooner than they would have otherwise, but it also denies them the benefits of two of their feats.  In this way it balances itself out.  This design also has a narrative advantage, allowing warriors who aren't interested in defensive fighting styles (like the classic raging barbarian) access at a cost.

This will continue two weeks from now when we'll go over how to use D&D4e's rules for role protection and skill challenges in other games.  Next week though I’ll share with you my experience running a Shadowrun game set at a medieval themed restaurant and my recipe for delicious if anachronistic turkey legs.