Fate Accelerated Ehdrigohr

After running a test game and getting feedback from the players, I decided that converting Ehdrigohr to Fate Core was a bit too complex and confusing, so I took a look at the simpler and easier to teach Fate Accelerated.  That seems to have worked well, though I have yet to playtest it.  I modified the Fate Accelerated system somewhat to make it better fit with my vision of Ehdrigohr:

1. Increased base Refresh to 4
2. Added one “2” stress box to all characters
3. Developed a magic system to fit the setting

#3 was the most time consuming, and I confess that I didn’t make a comprehensive attempt, but only got some generalized ideas and worked out the mechanics for each character individually.  In Ehdrigohr magic is highly differentiated based on the Mysteries (Elements, Essences, Natures, Principles), each of which is subdivided into four “Ways”.  Finally there are traditions of magic that personalize the way a given character performs magic.  All in all it is a very colorful system with a great deal of variability even for casters within the same Mysterious Way.  But it did require a bit of modification to fit in with the streamlining design theory of Fate Accelerated.  Here’s what I came up with off the top of my head.

• The various Mysterious Ways are generally taught only to a relative few (though of course among PCs it’s pretty common).  It requires a Stunt dedicated to learning to do any sort of magic.  This is usually combined with membership in one of the many Societies of Ehdrigohr (like Crow, Dove, Jay, Owl, etc.) but doesn’t have to be.
• Each of the Ways is a specific form of magic, and is based on one of the character’s Approaches.  If I was going to expand on this I would list the Approach needed for each Way, but for this I just picked one that seemed appropriate for the character and their magic.
• The Mysteries determine which characters can Help others in casting magic.  Any character who knows one of the Ways of a given Mystery can Help another character in casting their spells.
• Characters who know magic get one use of their magic for free each episode.  Paying one Fate Point allows a character to use their magic for the remainder of the scene.  (I’m not sure about this one – it’s something I really want to playtest to make sure that the spellcasters have enough juice.)
• Failing a Magic roll costs Stress equal to the difference between the Difficulty number and what was rolled.
• The various traditions modify how an individual casts magic in some way (reducing stress, specifying who the character can and cannot Help with their magic, etc.)

Overall I think that despite being a lot simpler than the Fate Core version the Fate Accelerated version will work quite well.

RPG-a-Day: Day 15

Which RPG do you enjoy adapting the most?

Lately, with Sophie doing work for The Hat, this game has languished somewhat on the shelf.  But it’s still my go-to for a lot of settings when I want to convert.  It hits a sweet spot of simplicity, versatility, and creativity that I like, and the constraints imposed by the rules allow for the sort of heroes I prefer in most of my games – the sort of Chuck Norris level badasses that are a cut above normal, but not totally outrageous.  Admittedly, one way the system does this is to make normal people so pathetic and weak that about all they are good for is ablative armor against bullets, but that’s not a terrible flaw since the game is primarily about the PCs, not the NPCs.

I’ve done many conversions with Savage Worlds, but I think my best was a conversion of Dark Heresy.  I’ve also “mostly” done a conversion of Malifaux that I really like, complete with a bunch of pregen characters.  I keep meaning to complete it and put it in my hip pocket for conventions.

Then there’s this:

This is a great system for one-shots and miniseries.  It’s now one of my big go-to games for conventions and pick-up games.  You can teach the rules in five minutes, create really interesting characters, adapt the game in a wide variety of ways, and characters are readily understandable even to people who have never played Fate before.  Plus, the danged thing is only $5.00!  Wow!

Unlike Savage Worlds, this is a game you can even teach to kids easily, which makes it good for inter-generational family games.  You can still be awesomely creative with it (shameless plug #1 – check out the Fate System Toolkit and compendiums for lots and lots and lots of ideas about modding this system), and even without the added bells and whistles of the Fate Core rules you can simulate almost anything!

(Shameless plug #2:  Evil Hat is also a wonderful company.  Fred Hicks is the best boss Sophie has worked for in some time.  Everyone on staff was extremely supportive when Sophie had cancer and we were living our lives in daily terror.  Thank you Fred, thank you Sean, thank you everyone at Evil Hat!)