Author Topic: Sample Game?  (Read 2534 times)

Offline Ren

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Sample Game?
« on: December 01, 2010, 04:02:33 PM »
Does anyone know if there is a Sample Adventure somewhere? I'm looking for a one-shot to run that will give me and my players an opportunity to learn how the system actually works and hopefully give us a better idea on how to create characters etc...
I am very confused on a lot of the Character Generation process...skills are simple enough but there is really no page I can find that has a a compressed and simplified version like some games I have seen. Something that combines all of the costs into one page. Seems like all of the necessary information is scattered across several pages and chapters. Unless I am missing something, if there is such a page then a page number would be very welcome!
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Offline Haru

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Re: Sample Game?
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2010, 06:56:40 PM »
There is a sample conflict that has just been added to the resources collection, that might help you:
http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,20530.0.html

Character creation is not that hard, I think. You only have 3 things on your sheet: Aspects, Skills and Stunts/Powers. Each is explained in their chapters. A list of powers can be found on pages 160/161, a list of skills is on page 120. Plus, there are a lot of samples in the book, just look at the Baltimore section.

The best way to do it is to think of it more as creating characters for a novel, not a game. Write up a short description of your ideas and then try to translate those into game terms.

for example:
"my character is a cop that is also a werewolf"
-> high concept: werewolf detective
-> template: were-form
-> powers: see template
-> Skills: as a detective, some of the important skills are investigation, weapons, athletics.
-> Some Stunts that fit a detective might be appropriate as well.

or:
"I have this idea of a wizard type that only uses plants for his spells"
-> high concept: plant-wizard (or as I prefer: chloromancer)
-> template: focused practitioner
-> powers: channeling(chloromancy) and/or ritual(chloromancy)
-> Skills: obviously the Wizard cornerstone skills (Conviction, Discipline, Lore), maybe something to represent his knowledge of plants, like scholarship or survival.


Once you have this very rough first draft you can start fleshing it out. Maybe the detective is part of a group of werewolf detectives, you would want an aspect to represent that and the "pack instincts" power for all of them. What made him become a werewolf and when was the first time he turned? The chloromancer could have learned his magic from a wildfae, which would explain why it only involves plants. How is his relationship to the fae now? Those are stories that should get you some of the missing aspects.
If you create the characters in your group, ideas can be tossed around, so if anyone gets stuck, you can help each other out.
You can often get to a first adventure right from the characters background. A power struggle in the werewolf pack can be a good start. Or a fae coming to collect for all the years of "free" tutoring. Maybe one of the players wants to play out a specific part of his background, that would get you a great story hook.

That might not exactly be what you wanted, but I hope it helps anyway. The character creation part of the rules book is pretty detailed though, you might want to read that again.
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Offline Ren

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Re: Sample Game?
« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2010, 07:41:45 PM »
Thanks for the Combat scenario, it should help once I look through it in more detail.
The basics of character creation I'm okay on but its figuring out the costs of powers and such that are a bit confusing, but I think I maybe figuring it out.
One of the part that bothers me is Refresh;
On pages 20-21 it says that you refresh FP at an amount equal to your Refresh Rate. One of the examples they give says the wizard who has a refresh rate of 1 doesn't refresh at all...I can only assume that this is a mistake or a bad example otherwise it would mean some people would NEVER refresh Fate points. I would think there would be a way to fully recover FP after a suitable period of rest, end of a story etc...or is it oh wait never mind I think I have it...maybe.

The other character example has an 8 Refresh, 4FP leftover so regains 4FP at refresh to the max of 8. Does that mean if they only had 1 FP left they would refresh 7 to 8? And the wizard with a refresh of 1 could never gain more than 1 FP except via Points earned during play? That would seem to mean that Wizards really work best under duress? Guess I'm still a tad confused on this...8P

After that I will have to dig into how to Craft Items. Can a vanilla Mortal take an Item of Power or maybe even a single spell-like power? Or do they have to be some kind of practitioner or other template?
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Offline admiralducksauce

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Re: Sample Game?
« Reply #3 on: December 01, 2010, 08:45:30 PM »
Quote
After that I will have to dig into how to Craft Items. Can a vanilla Mortal take an Item of Power or maybe even a single spell-like power? Or do they have to be some kind of practitioner or other template?

Any character with enough Refresh can spend it on Item of Power or anything else that the GM allows, but once they do they're not a vanilla mortal anymore and they lose that +2 refresh bonus.  Setting-wise, they're still probably a (mostly) normal person, but mechanically they've purchased a supernatural power and are no longer eligible for vanilla status.  They're more like cookies & cream.  :)

Offline TheMouse

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Re: Sample Game?
« Reply #4 on: December 02, 2010, 01:43:47 AM »
The other character example has an 8 Refresh, 4FP leftover so regains 4FP at refresh to the max of 8. Does that mean if they only had 1 FP left they would refresh 7 to 8? And the wizard with a refresh of 1 could never gain more than 1 FP except via Points earned during play? That would seem to mean that Wizards really work best under duress? Guess I'm still a tad confused on this...8P

Refresh is actually very easy.

If your total number of Fate Points is less than your Refresh, gain enough Fate Points to bring you up to your Refresh. If your total number of Fate Points is higher, keep them.

The reason that Wizards have such low FP totals is that FPs sort of stand for free will. They let you opt out of Compels and gain bonuses whenever you want. In the Dresden-verse, people gain supernatural power at the expense of their free will. Powerful supernatural beings to some degree have their power and their nature rather than free will. Wizards are powerful, so they have to trade away a lot of their free will to get that power.

Offline Jett

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Re: Sample Game?
« Reply #5 on: March 30, 2011, 08:31:16 PM »