Welcome back to the weekly Tabletop Games thread! This thread is where we can talk about all kinds of RPGs, card games, board games, etc. Whether you gather around a physical table in the real world, or use a virtual space to play with friends who may live far away from you, this is where you can discuss your favorites, ask for and/or receive recommendations, recap your recent adventures, or even find some people to play games with!

This week’s prompt: Handsome Young Dewgong is here this week to talk about the FAE RPG system. Take it away, Dewgong!

Hey everybody, I wanted to share one of my favorite systems with you, Fate Accelerated Edition.  I should mention that there is a more in-depth version of Fate, Fate Core, that I haven’t spent a lot of time with, so I’ll be treating Fate Accelerated as an independent system.

What is it?

Fate Accelerated Edition (FAE) is what is often described as a “generic” or “setting agnostic” TTRPG.  It doesn’t have a default setting of its own, and can be applied to any setting or genre you choose.  This works well largely because the system doesn’t use traditional skills the player chooses off of a list, instead having the capabilities of the character being determined by narrative Aspects (perhaps better called a “detail,” but I didn’t write the game).  For instance, to depict Aang from Avatar as a character in FAE, he might be given a High Concept (the big, defining Aspect) of “Last of the Airbenders” and a Trouble (an Aspect serving as a drawback) of “Pacifist in a war-torn world.”  Fate Accelerated also has characters use Approaches, which give a numerical bonus to die rolls, and relate to how the character solves a problem or performs an action.  I like to think of them as a mechanical bonus for good roleplaying.

What are the mechanics?

(I got a little far into the weeds rephrasing the rulebook here, so I tried to dial it back.  I apologize if it’s a little too Spartan) Actions are performed by rolling four Fate dice, adding a relevant approach, and comparing to a target number set or rolled by the GM.  Players can get bonuses to rolls through pre-designated “stunts” –a type of signature move– or by spending Fate points.  Fate points are gained at the beginning of sessions or through “compels,” when a character does something in line with their aspects (usually their Trouble) that might not be the optimal move from a player perspective.  Combat is more qualitative than quantitative; when a character takes “damage” from an attack, they receive a descriptive consequence (like “shoulder wound” or “sprained ankle”) that limits what their character can do.

What does gameplay look like?

The playgroup is playing as Aang and the gaang as the GM describes their flight over the sea on a flying bison, which makes sense in context, I promise.  The GM points out a small island, which Aang knows to be an unaligned town that produces the world’s best saltwater taffy.  Sokka is initially suspicious, but Katara is concerned about their supplies for the journey, so the gaang approaches the town.  In sight of the gates, Sokka scruffs the others and pulls them into the nearby bushes, pointing out that Aang is still wanted by the Fire Nation.  He hastily puts together a disguise to pass the group off as circus performers, and the GM says that this will be a “create an advantage” roll with a target of +3.  Sokka rolls a +2, and since this was a clever action, adds an additional +3 for his Clever score.  The GM says this is a success with style, so the playgroup will have two bonuses relating to the surprisingly accurate circus costumes made out of leaves and twigs.  They sidle up to the guards at the gate and announce themselves as the greatest circus in the four nations, and demand to be let in.  The GM says this will be an “overcome”  roll, with a high target of +5 against the suspicious guard.  Aang decides to use his stunt “Spinning Air Marble” to get a +2 to overcome actions by impressing someone in a Flashy manner, and rolls.  He gets a +1 on the roll, adds +1 from his Flashy score, +2 from his stunt, and uses one of the bonuses from his costume to make the roll +6.  The gaang gleefully enters the city.

Niche

FAE is the ultimate backpack game.  Being compact, punchily written, and able to accommodate any setting or genre of game makes it a great choice to bring on road trips or keep in a drawer at work.  It’s relatively easy to pick up, but has a lot of depth if you so desire.  Here is my FAE setup, ready to toss in a bag at a moment’s notice:

• FAE
• Pencils
• Three sets of Fate dice
• Notebook
• Character sheets aplenty
• Some graphic organizers for creating characters and settings

All contained within a pencil case.

Pluses

• Written in a narrative format
• A lot of system in a little space
• A great way to adapt popular media into a TTRPG quickly
• Approaches are a really interesting way to reward players for good roleplay
• Cheap as free for the pdf, less than $10 for the print copy

Minuses

• Aspects and stunts can be difficult to write
• May take some adjustment for folks coming from D&D or other crunchy games
• GMs will have to write out a bunch of characters
• Few existing modules
• Uses weird dice

Dewgong’s advice

• If you want to hear Fate in action, try the Skyjacks: Courier’s Call podcast.  It uses FAE for its first season.  Neon Streets is a podcast that uses Fate Core, but will still give you a pretty good idea of how FAE works.  Neon Streets is also a great way to learn to use compels, because one of the players really commits to their character’s impulsivity.
• FAE requires a pretty good understanding of the genre and setting you’re applying it to; it can be a little awkward if the players have different power levels in mind when they make their characters.
• I believe that FAE works the best when you’ve got a “Three Amigos” group; that is, the characters are similar in their High Concept but differentiated with their Approaches and Aspects.

If you would like to suggest a prompt or contribute a write-up of your own, let me know in the comments!