This game is turning out to be a lot of fun. First off, I love that I'm finally getting to learn how to play FATE. I'm the kind of guy who will read the gaming books and just kind of sit there scratching my head. Rulebooks are abstract, nebulous things to me. I've got to actually see some kind of demonstration to understand the rules, and play is what really solidifies the system to me.
If you haven't looked into FATE Core, I'd highly recommend it at least throwing a dollar at it, just to read the book. It's actually pretty crazy to watch the crowdfunding happen for this project. The kickstarter is going gangbusters. Yesterday, Evil Hat announced that, if they hit $400,000 (!) dollars, they'll release a new, condensed version of their Dresden Files RPG. They're currently over the $314,000 mark with 6 days to go, so... I think they have a chance.
Another cool thing for me is getting to play a different kind of fantasy game. I've played Dungeons and Dragons for a long time. Like a lot of gamers, it's what I cut my teeth on. But I typically play in more science fiction games. So fantasy for me feels like D&D quintessentially It's ironic to say this, but this Eberron game feels more awesome than most D&D games that I've played.
First of all, my character, Sim Delvoor is a beast, absolutely killer when it comes to social situations. In both our introduction session and this one, I was able to use my "contacts" skill to rally a group of people to help the group win the combat sessions quite handily. He also wasn't useless when I decided to have him swing a sword, which is nice.
Of course, Sim's not the paragon of charismatic charm he thinks he is. Part of FATE's main aspect is the ability to compel the characters. Basically the aspects can both be positive and negative. The game master can compel the characters by offering them fate points (in-game currency) to have something happen to their character. The group failed to interrogate a character. He said "no" to Sim. My character got angry and went to extremes. He made it so that this non-player character could never say no again.
(This brings me to another thing I've learned recently about roleplaying -- making the Bad Choice can be more interesting from a story perspective than being the Bad Ass. I'll have to write something up about that at a later date.)
In the process of cutting out this poor goon's tongue, Sim developed in personality. He earned the aspect "Loose Cannon." Sure, he may be a smooth talker, but the guy has anger issues. I have to figure out which aspect I'll swap out with that. Which is hard, because I really like his character aspects. But mechanically, it's helpful because it will help me learn more about FATE's advancement process.
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