Fate Core: The Sharn Codex pt 1

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. 

Dark Lanterns: The Sharn Codex

I went for a while before I was involved in another game that was recorded over Hangouts. But this one, I'm excited about. It's a hack of Eberron (a D&D setting I've always wanted to play) as run in the new FATE Core. As of right now, we're using the pre-release PDF that you can grab for a meager $1 over at the Kickstarter pre-order page (At least, for the time being).

I've been interested in FATE for a while now, but it's one of those games I didn't understand until I started playing.  It's a narrative driven game that can be very crunchy. I don't do well with crunch unless I can actually get to play the system. This session was really informative, helping me grasp what's going on mechanically. The other players are also really awesome, coaching me through the sample combat.

One of the coolest parts of the game was I was able to create a character that was exactly up my alley. In D&D terms, my Changeling would probably be a rogue. But in my mind, he's a fantasy version of the main character on the TV show White Collar. It was really easy to build the character, and he really feels like a fleshed out character.

This is an ongoing campaign, so I'll be posting about this more in the future, as the games progress.