Author Topic: Help I have a Fate point hoarder?  (Read 10310 times)

Offline InFerrumVeritas

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Re: Help I have a Fate point hoarder?
« Reply #30 on: July 15, 2011, 01:49:08 AM »
So, here's the thing:

Fate points aren't a finite resource.  His hoarding doesn't matter.  It doesn't hurt the party or the rest of the table.  If he is trying to force players to assist his character, there's an easy way to stop that.  The player, if they have a problem with it, can say no.  Problem solved.  If you need it solved a different way, give him less time and thus less of an opportunity to set things up like that. 

Hoarding isn't a big deal.  You are limited by the number of aspects available to you, so you can't (normally) spend 20 fate points in one go. 

You don't have to be vicious with your compels, but treat the player like you would any other.  Compel as much as you want/need to for the story.  Complicate the character's life (as you should the others too), and throw challenges at them.  Eventually, the fate points will get spent.  If they don't, he's simply handicapping himself.  That's okay too. 

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Help I have a Fate point hoarder?
« Reply #31 on: July 15, 2011, 03:06:38 AM »
I can only speak for myself, but I'd feel as though the game was too easy if I was able to go around with a FP cushion all the time. I'd want to be pushed down to my last Fate Point.

Hence my advice.

If the player in question doesn't like to be challenged so heavily, then you should probably ignore me.

Offline noclue

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Re: Help I have a Fate point hoarder?
« Reply #32 on: July 15, 2011, 03:15:07 AM »
I think that trying to convince your player to not hoard fate points by making vicious compels is the completely wrong thing to do, since what that shows is that you always need some fate points in the bank to resist them.  I mean, if you are using fate points 'like you are supposed to' and don't have any more when, "Now, eat these kittens!" comes along, how are you going to feel about the GM?
You may be right. It brings to mind a question about what compels have been like so far, and if the player feels he has to protect himself from the GM. I much prefer compels where I'm torn between accepting them or buying them off because the compel represents a juicy new direction to take the character, but at the cost of whatever I was attempting at the time. I don't care for compels that are just ways to block me. I might hoard fate to protect myself from something like that (not saying this is the case here)

Offline TheMouse

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Re: Help I have a Fate point hoarder?
« Reply #33 on: July 15, 2011, 03:59:45 AM »
I can only speak for myself, but I'd feel as though the game was too easy if I was able to go around with a FP cushion all the time. I'd want to be pushed down to my last Fate Point.

Different people like different things. You like being down to your last FP. He obviously doesn't. Taking advice that would work for you and applying it to him could be disastrous.

Offline sinker

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Re: Help I have a Fate point hoarder?
« Reply #34 on: July 15, 2011, 04:12:13 AM »
Hoarding isn't a big deal.  You are limited by the number of aspects available to you, so you can't (normally) spend 20 fate points in one go. 

Actually you can, it's just less efficient. You can spend a fate point to simply give a +1, no aspect required.

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Help I have a Fate point hoarder?
« Reply #35 on: July 15, 2011, 04:27:52 AM »
I dunno about "obviously".

I could see myself acting like that guy. FP are precious when you're playing in challenge mode, and you try to avoid spending them until you need them. So I could end up hoarding despite my theoretical dislike for it.

Offline toturi

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Re: Help I have a Fate point hoarder?
« Reply #36 on: July 15, 2011, 04:33:00 AM »
I could see myself acting like that guy. FP are precious when you're playing in challenge mode, and you try to avoid spending them until you need them. So I could end up hoarding despite my theoretical dislike for it.
Would you like your GM to use the advice you have given when you are playing in challenge mode and you are trying to avoid spending FPs until you need to? Would it be fun for you?
With your laws of magic, wizards would pretty much just be helpless carebears who can only do magic tricks. - BumblingBear

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Help I have a Fate point hoarder?
« Reply #37 on: July 15, 2011, 04:35:32 AM »
Yes.

Offline toturi

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Re: Help I have a Fate point hoarder?
« Reply #38 on: July 15, 2011, 04:40:42 AM »
Yes.
A few nasty compels that he might really want to refuse could help with that. As could throwing very damaging attacks at him.
Since you find this sort of thing fun, I hope your GM does so then.
With your laws of magic, wizards would pretty much just be helpless carebears who can only do magic tricks. - BumblingBear

Offline newtinmpls

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Re: Help I have a Fate point hoarder?
« Reply #39 on: August 24, 2011, 02:13:50 PM »
I've read through this thread a couple of times and I'm still not actually sure what the problem is. It looks to me like the person running the game is having some uncomfortable emotional reactions - but that in terms of what's going on in the game, things are okay. Maybe not great, but okay.

Offline mstorer3772

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Re: Help I have a Fate point hoarder?
« Reply #40 on: August 24, 2011, 05:36:27 PM »
I've read through this thread a couple of times and I'm still not actually sure what the problem is. It looks to me like the person running the game is having some uncomfortable emotional reactions - but that in terms of what's going on in the game, things are okay. Maybe not great, but okay.

It sounds like everyone else is working as a team, setting each other up, but this guy's just a Tag Sponge:

Quote
The group is great at making asspects available for others to tag for free and he will always use these, but he will not spend points to use his aspects.

He's a taker, not a giver.  THAT I can see being a problem.  If the other players are trying to set him up to through the big whammy, fine... but I suspect that isn't the case.
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Offline ARedthorn

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Re: Help I have a Fate point hoarder?
« Reply #41 on: August 24, 2011, 07:59:05 PM »
I'll say this- a player who doesn't use his aspects isn't really playing fate... the thing I fell in love with about fate was the fact that your actual character- your persona and not just your stats- make it onto your character sheet in a meaningful way... that story affects mechanics as much, in fact, more than the other way around.

That, and the statement about him spending time trying to talk other players into setting up aspects for him to tag... costs them their FP or turns to do, and benefits him. Sounds like he's trying to relegate them to support staff, and that's also not OK. If every combat works out to them feeding him tags, then it gets boring fast- all of the sudden, it's not a game your other players need to show up to- it's this guy's show.

So talk to your other players, and make sure they don't let him force them into support roles- make sure they know they don't have to do what he asks when they could just as easily shine on their own. Teamwork is great, but it needs to go both ways to really work. Let them know they don't have to play along with him if they don't want to, they can take the free tags if it benefits them, and they can handle your conflicts without resorting to his chosen strategy. IE... let him hang in the breeze a bit, without free tags, and see if he starts spending him. If he does, problem solved, move on.


4-5 FP isn't bad by any means, unless the only reason it's that few is because you haven't been compelling him as often as the other players (which means you aren't using his aspects, see point 1). Other things make him sound like a hoarder, the number doesn't. Compel him more or less as much as you do them, and see how bad it gets.

If he starts stacking up to double-digits... and he's still not spending, then you have a serious problem, and one easily fixed. Keep doing what you're doing, and simply put a cap on how many FP's can be carried over from one session to the next (say, 5 or your refresh, whichever is more), on the premise that during down-times, your character ends up using them off-screen for other stuff (remember- these stories aren't their whole lives- just the highlights... Dresden has plenty of work... we only get told about the interesting Side Jobs and big case files). He may complain and tell you his character doesn't, but just tell him to deal.
This isn't unreasonable IMO (I'd certainly have a problem with one of my characters carrying 20 refresh from the end of one campaign to the next, when they're separated by half a year or more), and as a house rule that affects everyone, isn't strictly imbalanced. Once he figures out that if he doesn't spend them, he wastes them... he'll start spending them.
« Last Edit: August 24, 2011, 08:01:12 PM by ARedthorn »

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Help I have a Fate point hoarder?
« Reply #42 on: August 24, 2011, 08:14:26 PM »
Not to be a downer, but I think that this discussion ended over a month ago.

So ARedthorn's (good) advice is probably wasted.
« Last Edit: August 24, 2011, 09:47:22 PM by Sanctaphrax »

Offline devonapple

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Re: Help I have a Fate point hoarder?
« Reply #43 on: August 24, 2011, 09:44:31 PM »
Thread Necromancy!
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That echoes on like it’s carpet-bombing feverish white jungles of thought
That I’m positive are not even mine"

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Offline JediDresden

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Re: Help I have a Fate point hoarder?
« Reply #44 on: August 24, 2011, 09:52:44 PM »
As the OP, I really was just wondering if I should be concerned with him having that many FP, and how I can encourage him to spend them.  I think he is just comfortable having that much as a 'cushion'.  Anyway I just decided to let the FP flow and when he gets enough he will spend them and if he does not then he is missing out on the fun of Fate, no one else seems worried about it - just something I noticed with the group dymamic.

Thanks for the ideas and views, I appreciate them.