Fate Core System

FATE Core is an awesome book. Really enjoyed reading it.You should know that you can read this entire book for free LEGALLY on fate-srd.com. I would highly suggest trying to read it in that format... and then just caving in and buying the physical copy.First thing to know, if you're familiar with Dungeons and Dragons, (which is basically the standard by which all other RPGs are measured, either positively or negatively) then it will please you to know that this book is basically the Dungeon Master book and the Player's Handbook all in one at a VERY AFFORDABLE price for a high-quality book/game system.For the physical copy the cover is nice and smooth. I'm not in the know as to what type of material it is, but it feels nice in my hands. The book seems to be well made and the pages are a good thickness. There are no color illustrations, but the art in the book is done in such a way that it actually lends itself to the black and white form very nicely. I would also add that when you crack the book open all the way it does not feel as if the pages are going to fall out or that the spine might break, but I would also advise against doing so, as over time both of those things would probably occur.If you are looking for something that is NOT Dungeons and Dragons then look no further. Tired of all the math and stats? Tired of having to "find" who your character is along the way? The one thing I didn't like about Dnd ( keep in mind I've only played 3.5 edition) was that sure I knew my character's profession and their skills, but I didn't know who they were. Some people might say, "that's the whole point of role playing." And while I agree that you need to find your character, the FATE way of creating characters already gives them a backstory and already gives them quirks and idiosyncrasies, in essence a platform that you can leap off of and dive right into your character, only to develop them even more as you play.The system they present for character creation enables you to create a pretty well formed character in a relatively short amount of time. Because you are forced to think of your character in terms of Aspects, it pretty much guarantees that you will have a pretty clear idea of your character in your head and on the paper and it won't be just a bunch of +'s and -'s staring you in the face. And because everyone is making characters this way it will make for more enjoyable game and encourage actual role playing. Now I'm not trying to bash Dnd, (I've heard they fixed a lot of the character creation qualms I had with the whole Flaws concept in 5th edition) but I was just kind of getting tired of making a character that is stats first and personality second. I would not say that the FATE character guarantee's great character creation, but I would say that it is way more helpful at getting the idea of who your character is and what kind of choices they would make right from the get go.As for other parts of the system I really like the "FATE ladder" or FATE scale (just Google it). This system of your dice rolls falling somewhere in this scale/ladder makes it very easily visually to understand your skill relation to other character's skills. And because Fate only uses 4 dice your rolls are usually only between -2 and +2, (mostly 0 I've found), which makes for really easy math so as to not impede the game play. Example: my Fight skill is a +3. I roll a -2 so my Fight skill in this instance has moved down to a +1.Which brings me to my final point... which is FATE points. In my above example I rolled a -2 which brought my Fight skill down to a 1. Well I don't like that so I could spend a FATE point to either re-roll the dice completely, or I could just add a +2 to my original crap roll of -2, which would bring my Fight skill back to where it was in the first place.But the Game Master could also spend FATE points. They are encouraged by the book/system to use FATE points to put the players in bad situations, or to make bad situations worse. The player does not have to accept the terms but they are tempted because they can only use a limited number of FATE points during a session of play. By agreeing to let bad stuff happen to their character, they not only gain a FATE point which they can spend later when they need it, but they also progress the story forward in ways their character would not want, but in ways that makes the game more enjoyable for them as players. This makes the game overall very interesting and different than your math-crunchy, stat boosting, combat driven Dnd game. And I'm not bashing combat. What I'm saying is that when you get to a combat scene in a FATE game you're that much more invested because the game has more character and role playing focus than being ONLY combat driven.So if that sounds like your kind of thing give this book a try.

If you want a narrative system that lends itself to pulpy action or other types of Story play driven by rapidly introducing conflicts and tension, Fate is wonderful. It requires a bit more work than other systems, but that work is inherently fun and makes for a game that feels like *your's*.My group has done three sessions with this so far. A World-Building Session 0, and two adventure sessions. I am still getting my head around everything as a GM, so this is an early review. I will compare it to Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) systems.Fate is a universal system. It lends itself very well to cinematic and narrative gameplay. If you think of the mechanics and systems like elements from an adventure movie/show/book, they make a lot of sense. The mood/style of game we are playing is very Sci-Fi Pulp Action(!). I can not speak to how well this system would work for a horror themed or similar style game.It's universal nature is both a boon and potentially a hindrance. Character and world creation are involved and require the group meet to cover everything. You will need to custom tweak some elements of the system to fit the world you plan to use, especially if you plan to incorporate any sort of magic, super power, or high tech. You would not have players go off and make characters on their own like D&D or be able to plop down a simple playbook like a PbtA game, and have players pick up and start playing in 5-10 minutes.However, character and world creation ARE play. The process IS fun, rather than a chore that must be completed to get to the game. It also puts a LOT of the power in the players' hands. The whole group creates the setting and defines what major troubles will be. Obviously the GM can put tighter ropes around this, but I think it will work best giving the players a lot of freedom. It takes work off the GM's plate and gets the players more engaged. (I only told my players that the game would be pulpy action, it would not be D&D style fantasy, we would keep the scope relatively small and contained).Players will likely start play taking some time to wrap their heads around some of the mechanics ("How do Stunts work?"), but it works well enough to get started and figure out in play as you go along.It also has a mechanic of "Compelling Aspects" that is quickly becoming my favorite mechanic I have ever seen. Compelling Aspects is intrinsically fun and part of the narrative. Normally mechanics just support or adjudicate uncertainty in conflict. Compelling an aspect actually *is* the uncertainty and conflict. Offering the players a choice of whether or not to accept that something will complicate their lives, with a boon if they accept and cost if the decline, is immediately a fun choice that creates drama for the players, story, and table as a whole. When I hold up that Fate Point, my players all get an, "Ohhhh... Crap..." look on their face.With all of this, I think this is a perfect system for my group while we are playing online during quarantine. The rules are very simple and take a lot of work off the GM's plate. It encourages narrative and cinematic action play, rather than heavy rules. This means our group is able to easily play via video chat and all remain engaged and keep the game moving quickly. As a GM I need minimal notes or references to juggle and keep track of (mostly just keeping track of names), and so can devote all of my mental energy to the players and the story.

FATE core is an entirely different animal. I have played Pathfinder for 7 years and all of my frustrations relating to that game system were answered and solved by FATE core. Where most gaming systems attempt to behave as a simulation of a fantasy world, FATE core instead acts as a vehicle for the players to enter a fictional world.FATE core is about fiction, not physics. So don't expect full books outlining the minutia of dual wielding, feat trees, daggers vs. broadswords and so forth. FATE core imposes almost nothing on you. It is YOUR game and you get to play whatever you like.I've played both DnD and Pathfinder and neither even come close to as much fun as FATE. Other systems straight up get in the way of player creativity. FATE core supports it. It also supports any game setting you can possibly imagine. It supports any length of campaign you like. No other system facilitates collaboration among players like FATE does. No other system lighters the GM workload like FATE. In literally every respect I can think of FATE is superior. And best of all, it's just one book. That's it. After buying this book you won't need anything else to play FATE core.The only issue someone might have is that FATE has too few rules. Some people like to have tons of rules for every situation imaginable. To me that results in gaming sessions mostly spent looking up rules and arguing about them. It's boring and unimaginative and annoying.For me, there's no going back to other systems. FATE beats them all hands down.