RPG Style Comparison

[Darklost76]

I'm still trying to read through all the information on The Dresden Files RPG and all the alpha testing...

...but here's a question for y'all: The only RPG system I'm familiar with is White Wolf's World of Darkness (original version, not the new WoD stuff, for tabletop) and they're affiliated Mind's Eye Theatre (for LARP). Having never heard of Fate RPG before (sorry guys!)...how does Fate compare to White Wolf stylistically? How much of a mental shift would someone from a White Wolf world experience trying to understand the Fate system?

*goes back to reading more in the meantime*

[DDR]

I have never played World of Darkness.  So it’s hard for me to give you a specific answer.

 Most of my playing experience has been in the Hero System.  We have modified it to run superhero games, fantasy games, Cyber Punk, Star Trek, and most recently Firefly.  It could be adapted to Dresden I’m sure.  I’ve also played D&D, DC Heroes, Shadow Run, and a few other systems. 

So from my perspective, going over the rules in Spirit of the Century, it is a lot different from what I have played before.  I think I like it, but it will take a bit of mental work to get my head around some of the ideas.

I think there are a couple or reasons for this.  Fate uses much “softer” rules.  Things are always open to change by the players if they want to spend the points for it.  There are no real ranges for things.  They are distance “areas” that can be of any size.  You can use several different skills to get something done as long as you can explain it.  In Hero, you have to go back to the rules to see how something works.  In Fate, you ask the player “how do you think it works.” 

But I think the main thing is this.  Most rule systems are in place to keep the player character from being too powerful.  In Heroes, the point system means that the rules force you to conform to a power range.  The rules keep the player from making the uber-character that can deal with just anything thrown at him.  In Fate, you are counting on the player to understand that an uber-character is no fun to play.  It’s the limits and things he has trouble doing that make the character interesting to play.  If you are playing with a real rule lawyer player who just wants to make the most powerful character allowable under the rules or the “really big gun” player who just wants to blow everything up, then you have your work cut out for you.

In the Hero system, you have lists of skills with numbers that correspond to his skill level.  In Fate, you have a few lines like “I know a guy” and “I can fix that!”  The brief descriptions are meant to cover a wide range of abilities and actions.  A Hero system character with Electronics can fix a computer or a TV or something.  He (she) can’t fix a car or a jet or a broken mechanical trap.  But in Fate “I can fix that” kinda covers them all. 

In Hero System, you make your character and the GM goes over it, consults the rules, looks over the math for adding up the points and stuff and passes it or asks you to make changes.

In Fate, character creation is a group project that everyone has some input into it.

But if your playing with a group who are working together to make a cool story, then this is the system for you, I think. 

[Darklost76]

I have never played World of Darkness.  So it’s hard for me to give you a specific answer.

You're not the only one. I've had a couple people ask me privately what I mean by World of Darkness...as to which games I played. I mainly played Vampire: The Maquerade (or V:tM for short)...but also played Mage: The Ascension, Changeling: The Dreaming, Wraith: The Oblivion, Mummy: The Resurrection. and Demon: The Fallen. V:tM was the only one I played as LARP.

[finarvyn]

DDR has a pretty good explanation, but I thought I'd add my two cents worth.

World of Darkness has a lot of very specific rules which are fairly numbers specific, and part of this is due to the "dice pool" system which encourages handfulls of dice rolled. Most actions are resolved by dice rolls; it's the philosophy of the game system. The more dice you can roll, the better the chance of success.

FATE, and by extension SotC and soon DFRPG gives more guidelines and encourages the storyline more and dice rolls less. You typically roll the same number of dice each time, so your degree of success is more closely tied to your ability and the difficulty of the task being attempted.

While both are fine games, WoD tends to be more rules-heavy IMO and that gives me more of a constricted feeling about games run with their rules. FATE is looser and open to improvisation, which gives me a feeling of potentials and options. Not everyone wants this, however, as it tends to force the GM to be more creative on the fly.

Does that help?

[Darklost76]

Does that help?

Absolutely...especially consider I never used dice while playing any of the WoD games. *LOL* I was one of those odd ones that used other "tools" to determine outcomes: the tarot deck, the hat of slips of paper with YES or NO on 'em...even one game used the Bible. [[We had some weird games going on 'round my place...but they were always interesting, to say the least.]]

[VengeanceGOD]

First of all, imagine playing your game with all of the emo removed.

[Soulless Mystic5523]

First of all, imagine playing your game with all of the emo removed.

Wait... You can role play without the emo? Man, wait til I tell the rest of my clan!

Actually, playing the new WoD has helped to prep me for other types of RPG's. The new sysem is like a middle ground between the old system and some of the other games out there.

[finarvyn]

Absolutely...especially consider I never used dice while playing any of the WoD games. *LOL* I was one of those odd ones that used other "tools" to determine outcomes: the tarot deck, the hat of slips of paper with YES or NO on 'em...even one game used the Bible. [[We had some weird games going on 'round my place...but they were always interesting, to say the least.]]

Heck, if you've been playing with minimal dice (or none at all) you're ready for FATE/SotC/DFRPG. I'd suggest you go here and look at the FATE rules for free.

I think you'll find that the basic rules mechanic would port easily into your WoD setting without a lot of hard work. The biggest thing is the philosophy that you don't have to roll dice for everything, and you seem to have passed that test already... 

[VengeanceGOD]

Wait... You can role play without the emo? Man, wait til I tell the rest of my clan!

I did a Vampire LARP for a year. *shudder*

[R00kie]

I did a Vampire LARP for a year. *shudder*

I did too.. but I drew the line when somewhen suggested i try Hyborian LARP. Must be my dress sense.

[Soulless Mystic5523]

See my LARP group was laid back enough that we rarely worried about costumes. When we would go game with other groups in other cities we would, but at home we didn't bother.