Compact Fate

8/9/2019 Compact Fate

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Compact Fate

An introduction to the Fate role

playing game in just four pages

(plus the OGL).

Text and layout y !ichael !oceri

"eleased under Creati#e Commons

$on%Commercial License. Feel free to

copy and distriute this document& utplease retain attriution and don't sell

it for a profit.

arts of this document are copied from

Open Gaming Content (OGL) material

(the FAT ladder and time increments

tale) and are ound y that license.

SKILLS AND ROLLING

*+ills are ho, Fate measures a character's

aility to affect the narrati#e and the ,orld.*+ills are rated on the Fate ladder (see elo,).

-nrated *+ills are treated as /.

To use a *+ill& roll 0 Fudge dice (0dF) and add

your *+ill #ersus a difficulty. 1f the acting player

(the one ,hose turn it is) met or exceeded thetarget numer& the action is successful.

Other,ise the action has failed.

2hen an action is resisted y another character&the roll is contested. The difficulty of the action

is the defending character's *+ill as modified y

*tunts& Aspects& and e3uipment& if any.

*uccess is measured in 4shifts.4 *utract thetarget numer from the roll to generate the

numer of shifts. / is a marginal success& 5

normal success& and 6 ama7ing success.

*hifts are spent to increase 3uality or speed ofan action. 8uality represents duraility. "olls to

undo the success increase their difficulty y the

3uality. *peed ma+es things faster or longer%lasting9 each shift mo#es the duration up or

do,n the time increments tale (elo,).

*hould a tie e#er occur& it is typically ro+en y

declaring the character ,ith the higher *+ill the

,inner. 1f this is still a tie& the G! may declare

a secondary *+ill and:or a coin flip.

Option;"olling resistance. The player of the

resisting character may roll dice instead of just

ta+ing the #alue of their *+ill.

Option; "is+y rolls. *ometimes e#en attempting

a roll is dangerous. 1n these instances& characters

ris+ ta+ing Conse3uences y ta+ing those

actions. (*ee the Conflicts section.)

1f the character fails the roll& they ta+e the

lo,est #alue Conse3uence ,hose shift #alue is

e3ual to or lo,er than the amount y ,hich they

failed the roll. *o if they rolled < under the

difficulty& they ta+e a !inor Conse3uence& ,hilerolling = under ,ould result in none. For

competiti#e rolls& compare running totals to that

of the player ,ho rolled the highest. *hould that

Conse3uence not e a#ailale& ta+e the next

most se#ere one. 1f none are a#ailale& thecharacter is Ta+en Out.

Option; *pin; 1f a player rolls < or more shifts

on a successful roll ,here those shifts aren't

used for anything (for example& a defense roll)

the player has generated *pin. This can e usedto gi#e a = to that character's next action& if it

could possily enefit from doing particularly

,ell at the roll that generated *pin.

Extended rolls %% *ome actions re3uire the

accumulation of a numer of shifts o#er se#eral

rolls to succeed. This is called an extended roll.

ach roll represents an amount of timeappropriate for the tas+ at hand& and players

only get to ma+e a certain numer of rollsefore time runs out. 1f the player fails to roll

enough accumulated shifts efore the time limit&

the tas+ is a failure.

xtended rolls are 3ualified y < things. First isthe difficulty of the roll& ,hich is typically /.

The second is the numer of shifts the player

must accumulate. The third is the numer of

time increments allo,ed& typically < to 6.

2hen setting these numers& consider the *+ill

rating of the character and the difficulty of the

tas+. 1f there are < time increments& =6 re3uired

shifts means that generally only a master ,ill

succeed& ,hile > means that someone ,ith sometalent ,ill proaly do o+ay.

Skill Structures%% There are t,o general *+illstructures; Column and pyramid.

2hen *+ills are in a column structure& each

*+ill must e supported y one or more *+ills at

the le#el eneath it. *o in order to ha#e t,o*+ills rated at


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the acting character& the defending character& thescene& or an oject in#ol#ed in the action. ach

Aspect my only e 1n#o+ed once per action.

1n#ocations ha#e < options. The player may add

5 to their roll. They may roll the dice a secondtime and ta+e the higher roll. They may also use

one *+ill in place of another.

On unrolled actions& 1n#ocations simply add 5

to the *+ill's rating. This may e used toenhance mo#e actions (see elo,).

2hen 1n#o+ing an Aspect elonging to another

character& any Fs go to the player of that

character once the action resol#es.

Declarations%% The player spends a F to ma+e

some narrati#e detail related to the Aspect a fact.

@eclarations do not in#ol#e any sort of roll.

Comels%% The third thing aout Aspects is that

they can e disad#antageous. This is in the form

of a Compel. These dictate some constraint to

eha#iour. 2hen one is made& the G! offers a

F. 1f you accept it& you accept the constraints. 1fnot& you must turn do,n the offered F and

spend one of your o,n.

T!e G" and #ate oints %% The G! +eeps one

pool of Fs for all $Cs. Compels are not paidout of this pool.

The G! has a numer of points each scene

e3ual to the numer of players multiplied y a

numer. This numer is = for minor scenes& 5 fornormal scenes& and < for climactic scenes.

Option; Loc+ed Aspects; layers may choose to

4loc+4 one or more Aspects for the duration of a

story. These produce a particular effect at nocost. They can produce a specific 1n#ocation to a

particular *+ill or a specific @eclaration.

For example& someone might loc+ their 4*trong

as a ear4 Aspect to add 5 to all rolls to applystrength to one particular *+ill. Another

character might loc+ 4!aster of the mysterious4

Aspect to allo, them to see immaterial spirits.

2hen an Aspect is loc+ed the player losesaccess to non%loc+ed 1n#ocations or

@eclarations ,ith that Aspect. Compels and

1n#ocations y other players proceed as normal.

Option; Limited 1n#ocation stac+ing; There is alimitation to the numer of Aspects that can e

1n#o+ed on one roll.The free 1n#ocations from

!aneu#ers or Conse3uence infliction typically

don't count against this limit. xamples include;

? Any 5 Aspects.

? = Aspect from yourself or gear& = from the

en#ironment& = from your target.

? = Aspect on a character or gear& =Conse3uence& = en#ironmental Aspect& =

!aneu#er.

?= character Aspect& = gear Aspect& =

en#ironmental Aspect& = Conse3uence or

!aneu#er Aspect.

OPTION$ ST%NTS

*tunts allo, you to expand ,hat characters are

capale of doing. They either rea+ a rule or adda onus. This onus is usually 5 shifts& ut this

is reduced to = for many comat effects.

*tunts generally do one of the follo,ing;

? Add = to the use of = *+ill in a certain

circumstance. This can e a comat *+ill.

? Add 5 to a non%comat *+ill ,hen used in a

narro, circumstance.? Add = !oderate Conse3uence to one *tress

trac+

? Add = point of armour to one *tress trac+

? Add 5 points of stress to a successful attac+

made ,ith one *+ill in a particular situation& or= in any situation.

? "educe the time it ta+es to perform an action

y t,o steps on the time increments chart& or

ma+e an effect last t,o steps longer.

? "educe the penalty of an action ta+en ,ithone *+ill y 5 in a particular situation.

? Allo, one *+ill to e used in the place of

another in one particular circumstance.? Add 5 to the numer of 7ones a character can

mo#e ,ith an action. These shifts can e used too#ercome order ratings or to generate reflexi#e

mo#ement

? ro#ide a Gadget. The Gadget has 5 ad#ances

if it's small& or < if it's large enough that you

can't ta+e it e#ery,here (see elo,).

Characters may only ha#e the exact same *tunt

one time per *+ill or *tress trac+. For this

purpose& the ad#ances of Gadgets each count as

one *tunt.

Option; Limited *tunt stac+ing %% There is a

limitation to the onuses you can add to one roll

from *tunts. This is typically = or 5 *tunts&

although it can e more specific. For instance& =can reduce penalties& ,hile = can add to the roll.

CO"PETITION

*ometimes a simple roll isn't enough to resol#ea situation& ut a full Conflict isn't appropriate

(see elo,). 1n this case& the G! can declare

t,o or more characters to e in competition.

Competitions ,or+ as an extended roll& ,ith thesame < #alues used to rate them. The exception

is that each character +eeps their o,n running

tally. The first to reach the appropriate total

accumulated shifts ,ins. 1f multiple characters

reach the necessary total simultaneously& the one

,ith the highest total ,ins.

@epending on the situation& it is possile that a

competition ,ill occur side y side ,ith some

other series of rolls& or e#en a Conflict. 1f allpresent are in#ol#ed in the contest& alternate

rounds of rolling to ,in the contest ,ith rounds

of other tas+s. 1f all present are not directly

in#ol#ed& roll for the contest at the top of each

round and then other characters not in#ol#ed actin initiati#e order (see Conflicts). This last is to

simulate copilots na#igating& gun fights fromautomoiles& and similar shenanigans.

CON#LICTS

Conflicts are ,hen one character attempts to

control or change another character& including

#iolently.

First determine the scope of the conflict. This,ill determine the *+ills that you use and ,hich

*tress trac+ to use and ,hat appropriate

Conse3uences are (see elo,).

Once the scale of the conflict is determined& you

need to figure out ,ho goes ,hen. Choose one

*+ill to resol#e this. 2hen it is their turn&

players choose ,hat sort of action to ta+e.

Actions may e *imple& *upplemental& or

"eflexi#e. *imple actions are ,hat you do ,ith

your turn& and you get one. *upplemental

actions are secondary actions ,hich incur a

cumulati#e penalty to your *imple action&typically %= each. "eflexi#e actions are free& and

you can ta+e any numer per turn ,ithin reason.

Attack%% This action is an attempt to harm&

change& or control another character.

"oll attac+s using an appropriate *+ill.

@efenders contest. 1f the attac+ succeeds& the

defender ta+es *tress e3ual to the shifts.

Characters recei#ing *tress chec+ off that

numer of oxes of the appropriate *tress trac+.

hysical damage& illness& and ,eariness damage

the ealth trac+. motional trauma& psychic

shoc+& and mental strain damage Composure.*tress trac+s clear at the end of the conflict.

1f a *tress trac+ fills up& the character is 4ta+en

out.4 *uch characters are remo#ed from the

conflict in a ,ay that fits ,ith the conflict9 theplayer of the character inflicting *tress that

ta+es out a character get to narrate the fashion in

,hich the character is remo#ed from the

conflict. layers may pre#ent this y suffering

Conse3uences to reduce *tress.

Conse3uences are special Aspects (defined y

the player of the character recei#ing them) that

are used to reduce incoming *tress. They ha#e a

rating& a numer of points y ,hich they reduce*tress& and ho, long they ta+e to heal;

? !inor (5: scene)

? !oderate (0: session)

? *ignificant (>: story)

Characters ha#e one of each type of

Conse3uence for each *tress trac+.

The player of a character that inflicts aConse3uence gets to 1n#o+e it once for free.

2hene#er a character recei#es a Conse3uence&

the player of that character may offer a

Concession. This is similar to eing ta+en out&except the defending player narrates ho, it


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some resistance ased *+ill& a *tress trac+& andsome Conse3uences. 1f armour rules are used& it

may ,ell ha#e an armour rating as ,ell.

These rules can e used as a mass comat

system. @etermine an a#erage *+ill rating foroffense& defense& and mo#ement& and ,eapons

and armour (if used). The unit's *tress trac+s are

determined as a normal character plus its *cale9

Conse3uences are normal for a character in that

game. -nits typically ha#e t,o Aspects. $otethat units may e moo+s if those rules are used.

1n games ,here the leader matters& the unit

leader ,ill ha#e a leadership *+ill. For e#ery

fraction of 5 y ,hich this is lo,er than a unit's*+ill for an action (efore @rill or o,er

modification)& reduce the *+ill's le#el y =.

Option; O#ercoming *cale; 1f a *tunt reduces

the *cale penalty to %5 or lo,er (or %0 for heroicgames)& indi#iduals can interact eyond the

normal range of 5 steps.

Option; @rill and o,er; These are t,o optional

*+ills used to astract experience and troop3uality: e3uipment: supernatural po,er. They're

rated a little differently than normal. Both

ratings are added to the unit's *tress trac+s.

? Drill %% Training and group cohesion& theseapply to rolls to defend& mo#e& or perform

organi7ed troop maneu#ers.

%= -ntrained people.

/ Trained soldiers.= xceptional soldiers.

? Po3er%% This is typically supernatural po,er

or 3uality e3uipment& or oth. 1t acts as a

,eapon and armour rating& and it might add aonus to certain rolls depending on its nature.

/ %% $ormal fol+.= %% *light supernatural po,er& exceptional

e3uipment& or a genius leader.5 %% T,o or more from the = category& or one

ta+en to extremes.

< %% 2hy do you pic+ fights ,ith units of

po,erful supernatural eings

GADGETS

Gadgets are things that pro#ide characters ,ith a

onus. As they are deri#ed from *tunts& this

section is optional. Ad#ances include;

? Additional Capailities H 1t does somethingrelated to its primary capailities that it

normally could not. For example& a car that

dri#es in ,ater. *ome re3uire 5 ad#ances.

? Alternate -sage H Iou may use one particular

*+ill in place of another in a defined situation.? Armed H A normally non%comat thing can e

used for comat. 1f ,eapon damage rules are

used& this ma+es it ,eapon;5. A second purchase

may ring this up to ,eapon;0.

? Armoured H "educe incoming stress y one.? Conscious H "e3uires 1ndependent. 1t can

ma+e decisions and act on its o,n.? Craftsmanship H Gi#es = to one s+ill. !ay

e ta+en only once per s+ill.

? Futuri7ation H @oes something that JmodernK

things can't do yet.

? 1ndependent H 1t can act on its o,n& ut itdoes not ma+e decisions.

? !aximai7ation H 1t's really ig.

? !inaturi7ation H 1t's really small.

? "ugged H as 5 extra stress oxes o#er the

normal capacity (usually


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Compact Fate