1.1   The Adjectives

The most important thing to understand about Fudge is how it describes things. Rather than assigning numerical values to elements like skills it uses adjectives, which are ranked as follows: Abysmal, Terrible, Poor, Mediocre, Average, Fair, Good, Great, Superb, Epic, and Legendary. Consider: a bodyguard might be a Good swordsman but have Mediocre social skills. He'll probably win a fight with an artist who's a Superb painter but a Poor swordsman. Almost anything can be described using this ladder: an empire may field a Superb army or a spaceship may be limping by with a Poor engine.

1.2   Rolling the Dice

To roll dice for Fate, pick your starting level (say, Good) and roll four six-sided dice. For each 1 or 2, move down one step, and for each 5 or 6 move up one. Let's say we rolled 2,3,5 and 5. Go down a step because of the 2, from Good to Fair, but then go up a step thanks to the first 5 (from Fair to Good) and again from the second 5 (from Good to Great) for a final outcome of Great.

Another way to look at the dice is as if they rolled either +1, 0 or -1. From that perspective, rolling 2,3,5,5 is the same as rolling -1,0,+1,+1, which is easier to deal with, since that just becomes Good + 1, which is Great.

Visualize it like this:

There are special dice available for Fudge that have plus ⊞, minus ⊟ and blank □ faces to make rolling easier, and we use them to clarify examples. These dice can be purchased at many game stores, or online through Grey Ghost Press.

1.3   Success and Failure

When the dice are rolled, there is usually a target difficulty described according to the ladder. For instance, it might take a Good climbing effort to ascend a steep wall. To face this challenge, the player consults the appropriate skill, rolls the dice, and compares the outcome to the difficulty. If the outcome is equal to or higher than the difficulty, it's a success; if not, it's a failure. The difference between the difficulty and the outcome is called the margin of success (or failure), MoS or MoF respectively. It is often used to determine how well the character succeeded or how badly they failed.

When two characters are competing in a task, they both roll; the difference between the outcomes is the MoS for the winner and the MoF for the loser. A check made against a static target is a Test, while one made against another character is a Challenge. There are a couple of rules (see Tests and Challenges) for handling more complicated circumstances, but most of the time, this is really all there is to it.

2.1   GM Overview

Character generation should begin with the GM talking to the players about the game, in order to set appropriate expectations. The GM should address any rules considerations, such as how many phases there will be (see below). More importantly, she should make sure that everyone gets a clear idea of the theme and tone of the game. If all of the players want a game of courtly intrigue and the GM is planning to run a hack and slash adventure, this is a good time to find that out. Finally, the GM should give the players whatever background information they need to know.

2.2   Consider Characters

It's often helpful for players to get a sense of the sort of character they'd like to play. A lot of things can happen during the phases, so it's easiest to start with a simple idea, and build on it over the course of character generation. Once everyone has a concept, players should feel free to discuss them, unless the GM says otherwise. No player is obliged to participate in the discussion. In fact, no player is even obliged to have an idea at this point. However, doing so allows players to get a sense of what direction their fellow players want to take things, and it gives the GM a sense of what the group dynamic might look like.

2.3   Phases

Creation will have a number of phases set by the GM. Most games will use between five and eight, but it can really be any number. A phase is defined as a period of time wherein some events of note took place, but the specifics vary from game to game. A game of high school monster hunters might consider each school year a phase, while a game of immortal swordsmen might have a phase for every 50 years. Whatever the duration, the GM gives the players a sense of what was going on at the time, and the players figure out what their character was doing at the time.

2.4   Select Aspects

Players pick one or more aspects to represent important elements of the character that can tie into the events of the phase.

Aspects are used to describe any element of the character. Aspects include things like attributes (Strong, Weak, Agile, Charismatic, Tough, Fast, Slow), descriptors (Dutiful Charming, Alert, Dramatic), careers (Knight, Mercenary, Musketeer, Cutthroat) or even ties to the setting (Merry Man of Sherwood, Initiate of the Blue Wind, Fiodario Fencing Academy). Aspects may be good, bad or both but they should always reflect some important element of the character.

When an aspect is chosen the character gains one level of that aspect, noted as follows:

❏ Knight (Fair)

An aspect may be chosen again on a subsequent phase, in which case it goes up a level and is noted as:

❏ ❏ Knight (Good)

And then

❏ ❏ ❏ Knight (Great)

The GM sets the maximum number of levels that can be chosen in a given aspect, but a good rule of thumb is a third to a half of the total number of phases.

2.5   Skill Ranks

Skill ranks, as the name suggests, are spent primarily to purchase skills, but they can also be invested in resources.

2.6   Assign Fate Points

Fate points are points which may be spent by a player to grant a bonus to an action or to influence the game in some way. The GM gives each player a certain number of them at the game's start, usually equal to half the number of phases. See Fate Points for more details.

2.7   Select Character Goal

Finally, the player should pick what direction they want the character to go in next. This is expressed as a goal, which should be the next aspect the player would like for the character. It's possible that the player will not have an idea, and that's fine, but the goals help tell the GM the sorts of things the players are interested in. See Advancement for more information.

2.8   Sample Creation

3.1   Tests and Challenges

In Fate, when a character must overcome a particular obstacle, the dice start rolling. The GM needs to make a number of decisions regarding how this contest is going to be resolved and then make a check of some sort. The simplest and most common sort of check is the static test.

3.2   Dynamic Checks

While Static checks are appropriate when the character has no direct opposition, many conflicts will be directly with another character. In those situations, both sides roll dice and compare outcomes.

3.3   In Summary

Any given check is going to be one of four types: static tests, static challenges, dynamic tests or dynamic challenges. Static checks involve only the player rolling, while both the player and GM roll for dynamic checks. Tests are resolved in a single check, while challenges are resolved over the course of several rolls.

	Static	Dynamic
Test	Only player rolls, only one roll.	Player and GM roll, only one roll
Challenge	Only Player rolls, multiple rolls	Player and GM roll, multiple rolls.

3.4   Setting Difficulties

The following guidelines can be used for GMs looking to set difficulties for tasks. It's important to note that for many tasks, the difficulty is just the beginning. Most significant tasks will be challenges rather than tests, and will require multiple successes to accomplish their goal.

4.1   Using Aspects

Aspects have a number of uses, most commonly to gain a reroll. After the character makes a roll that is germane to the aspect (such as a joust with the Knight aspect, or a sword fight with the Strong aspect), the player describes how the aspect helps their character out, checks off a box of the aspect and either:

• Picks up all four dice and rerolls them all or
• Chooses a single die and change its value to a ⊞.

As such, it only takes a single reroll to try to undo a terrible roll, but it may take many rerolls to try to get a really good roll. And that's fine - if the player's been explaining each element, this is probably a pretty dramatic roll.

When you reroll, you are stuck with the outcome of the new roll, unless you want to use another reroll.

Checking off and using an aspect in this way is referred to as a positive invocation.

4.2   Other Uses of Aspects

Aspects also provide a passive bonus that the GM needs to keep in mind. A Strong character is by definition stronger than one who lacks this aspect, and a Slow character just doesn't get around that quickly. In rare circumstances, it may be necessary to roll the aspect. Mechanically, this is no different than rolling a skill.

It is also possible to invoke an aspect for effect. In this case, the player uses the aspect for a related advantage that is not related to a test or challenge, such as checking off a box of "Rich" to get luxurious accommodations, or checking off a box for an organization for them to have a chapter in town. This is subject to the same sort of restrictions as spending Fate points for coincidental effects (How Much Power Should Players Have?).

The other common use of aspects is involuntary invocation. This is done by the GM when she thinks the character's aspects would be detrimental or at odds with the action he has taken. In those situations, the GM declares that she's invoking the aspect (it's not checked off) and the player has two options: act in accordance with the aspect and gain a number of Fate points equal to the aspect level or pay a number of Fate points equal to the aspect level to overcome the aspect.

4.3   Refreshing Aspects

Since aspects are a narrative convenience, they operate on a narrative timeline. As such, they become unchecked at appropriate breaks in the narrative, most commonly between game sessions. Unless the GM determines otherwise, aspects are unchecked at the beginning of every session.

4.4   Tuning Aspects

Aspects are designed to allow a character to operate at their best when it matters. The more aspects a character has, the more often he will perform well. Naturally, this means that as the number, utility and frequency of use of aspects is altered, the characters will perform at his best more or less often.

There are a number of elements that change when one customizes aspects. There are three main indexes:

1. How many aspects a character has.
2. How potent aspects are.
3. How frequently aspects refresh.

How these elements are set has a lot of impact on the game. There's no "correct" balance of these factors, so the rules presented should really be considered a default rather than canonical.

4.5   Fate Points

In addition to their role in deferring negative invocation of aspects, players may use Fate points in a number of other ways.

They may spend a Fate point to receive +1 on any roll. This may be spent before or after the roll, or even after any aspects have been invoked. Only one point may be spent in this fashion, unless it's countered (see below). This is the only possible way to increase the outcome of a roll to +5.

They may also spend a Fate point for minor narrative control of a situation. Common uses for this include finding a convenient item, knowing someone in a particular town, or showing up at just the right moment in another scene. Effectively, this expenditure allows the player to take the role of GM for a moment. The GM has full veto rights on any such expenditures, in which case the point is not spent.

More often than not, this sort of expenditure of Fate points is an attempt by the players to keep things moving. It's more fun to just assume you have the tool you need in your trunk than to have to drive back from the haunted house, hit a hardware store, and then drive back. As a GM, if the expenditure lets people continue to have fun without breaking anything, it should generally be allowed.

It's also important to consider how reasonable the player's request is. If it's really no stretch at all, spending a Fate point shouldn't even be necessary. Fate points are really for use in that narrow spectrum between completely logical and GM ruling.

Fate points may also be spent to cancel someone else's expenditure of a Fate point. If this happens, both Fate points are spent, but the person who spent the original point may spend another point to try again. This process can repeat as many times as people are willing to spend the points.

4.6   Advancement

Each advancement period, the player may gain one skill rank, which can be spent or saved in accordance with the normal rules (i.e. the pyramid must be maintained). Four periods compose an arc and along with the fourth skill, the character gets a new aspect that reflects their experience and the skills they purchased.

Fate points may also be granted as non-advancement rewards. For a much more detailed treatment of advancement, see In-Game Advancement.

4.7   Aspect Options

Almost anything can be an aspect as long as it's an important part of the character's story.

5.1   Gaining Extras

Extras are purchased with skill ranks. Each phase, a character receives a number of ranks, usually four, but it can vary from game to game. These ranks are often referred to as "skill ranks" because their primary use is to purchase skills. In addition to skills, ranks may be spent on extras.

The sheer variety of potential extras makes it difficult to cover every single possibility, but the majority of extras fall into three main categories - Intrinsic, Personal and Shared. Intrinsic extras are permanent parts of the character, like nightvision. Personal extras are those things within the character's control, like equipment or servants. Shared extras are elements of the game environment, like resources and contacts.

5.2   Intrinsic Extras

This is the broadest, and hardest to quantify, type of extra. Often, characters may have certain "always on" effects. For example, in many settings, elves have supernaturally keen eyesight. When creating a character with abilities like this, it is, first and foremost, important to make sure that the GM and the player have the same understanding of what the ability is and how it will work. It's also very important to look at any such ability and decide if it would be better represented by an aspect.

The line between aspects and passive abilities is a fuzzy one - both strength and low-light vision are always on, so it may seem odd that one is an aspect and the other is not. The line is a fine one, and the logical distinction stems from the thinking behind aspects - the boxes do not represent how many times the ability can be used, rather, they represent how many times they will matter to the story. While Strength is useful when the player decides it is, something like low-light vision is important when the GM decides it is, specifically through the creation of scenarios where is it may come into play.

As such, passive effects should be considered to add the capacity to do something normally, i.e. at default skill level, which would not otherwise be possible. This may entail the addition of one or more new skills, depending on the nature of the new ability. If the extra allows a new way to do a normal activity, then no new skill may be required. On the other hand, if the extra allows an entirely new ability, a skill will usually be required to represent it.

Special skills may or may not interact with the pyramid like other skills will. In some cases, they may be tracked outside of the pyramid, or be their own pyramid. This will generally be decided on a case by case basis.

5.3   Special Skills and the Pyramid

This may seem like a trivial detail, but it has a great deal of impact on how powers interact with the rest of the game. Remember, each skill rank used for something outside the pyramid hurts the player's ability to raise skills; this is one of the implicit checks and balances in the system.

If there is a large suite of skills used to represent magical or similar capacity, they should be their own skill pyramid.

If the skills are independent, and there are not many of them, they should be part of the regular pyramid.

For lesser effects, if the extra allows something entirely inappropriate for a skill or aspect, the GM can decide it simply works, and that's that. However, anything this peculiar should definitely be the subject of serious GM scrutiny.

5.4   Personal Extras

Personal and shared extras are mechanically similar - one skill rank translates into one aspect in the target. The main distinction is simple. If something is within the character's domain (and thus, personal), the aspects the PC gives that thing are the only aspect it has. Things outside of the character's domain (shared) may have any number of aspects; the player is merely establishing what some of them are.

Most personal extras come in one of two flavors: equipment or servants.

Equipment is easily dealt with. Assign the item one or more aspects, and it will grant rerolls and occasional passive bonuses when the aspect is appropriate.

Servants is a catch-all phrase that includes things like bodyguards, familiars, friendly ghosts or any other NPC whose first priority is the character. Servants are constructed as characters who are generated using the number of phases equal to the number of skill ranks invested. This grants that number of aspects as well as appropriate skills (see Pyramid Shorthand). Some campaigns may grant more aspects; use the rules for giving aspects to PCs as a guideline.

It's important to note that the player cannot directly use any of the NPC's aspects - those only help the NPC. However, if the player has also bought the NPC as an aspect, the NPC's aspects provide a good guideline for the sort of benefits proved by the invocation of the NPC itself.

The stats of any such NPC must be approved by the GM, who should question any NPC with more than half the phases that the character has, and enthusiastically reject any NPCs with more phases than their patron character. The GM also has the option of statting up the NPC. If this happens, the player should get only a general sense of their capabilities, but the GM may construct the NPC as if every phase were a plot phase (Plot, Genre and Fate Points.)

5.5   Shared Extras

Player-controlled shared extras usually come in two forms: contacts and resources.

Shared NPCs are defined a little differently than personal NPCs. Each skill rank spent translates into one aspect of the NPC in question. The first such aspect usually establishes the connection between the PC and the NPC. Subsequent ranks may be spent to strengthen that connection - busy and important NPCs may be favorably inclined towards the characters, but it may require extra ranks to be able to regularly make it onto their calendar - or to define some element about the NPC. The latter is potentially very powerful - it allows a player to decide during character creation that the current pope is corrupt or establish some other element of that NPC's story. The GM is free to limit the extent to which players may do this, but it's always wise to give these ideas due consideration.

One interesting way to spend these skill ranks is on enemies. If the PC has a particular enemy, it is entirely reasonable to spend a skill rank to give him a weakness, in the form of a negative aspect.

The relationship between a PC and NPC can be established simply by describing that NPC. But unless the PC purchases the NPC as an aspect, that relationship is potentially changeable. This is why the first rank should usually be spent on a connection.

Resources are somewhat simpler; the player simply selects an existing organization or location and gives it an aspect to represent a particular data point, like a connection to the character, a safehouse or some manner of debt. GMs may even offer up a stable of existing NPCs as "investment opportunities."

5.6   Handling Powerful Extras

It's possible to allow for items and abilities which are more powerful, but these should generally require the expenditure of more ranks. The GM should be most careful when dealing with powers which trump existing skills. An item that allows its user to fly can now outperform someone who has invested any number of ranks into things like climbing or jumping. Other abilities to watch out for include invisibility, telepathy, or the ability to render a foe completely helpless casually, such as sleep or paralysis. This is not to say the GM should disallow these capabilities altogether. Instead, the GM is encouraged to find ways to make the power cool, yet playable. As an example of GM options, look at a classic, the Cloak of Invisibility:

5.7   Extras and Aspects

Players who invest in extras that are central to their character are encouraged to consider purchasing the extra as an aspect. There's no obligation to do so, but the benefits are pronounced. Because aspects are tied to the character, they're harder to lose and when they're not available they pay out Fate points. In general, the more skill ranks invested in an extra, the better an idea it is to make it an aspect.

5.8   Extras and the Pyramid

The impact that extras have on the skill pyramid is potentially very strong. Each skill rank used on an extra is not simply one less skill level: it makes the construction of a pyramid that much more difficult. If extras are not considered part of the pyramid, characters who invest in extras are going to find themselves falling short of their companions with regard to skills. In theory, the additional flexibility and utility of extras offsets this. In practice, the balance between extras and the pyramid is a little more fine.

By default, non-skill extras, like props, allies and the like are not taken into account when building the Pyramid.

6.1   Aspects as Plot Hooks

Sometimes, the GM has certain goals during character generation. The GM may declare certain phases to have "plot" aspects. These phases will generally have events that the GM wants the PCs involved in, or which serve the campaign in some way. Common plot aspects include having everyone grow up in the same village, or having everyone end character creation in the same place.

Plot aspects may also be more general; for instance, the GM might want some or all of the PCs to have ties to a particular organization. They may even be used to enforce a theme; the GM might feel that all PCs need to buy certain aspects that reflect the tone of the setting.

The GM is entitled to declare plot aspects to be mandatory and leave it at that. However, if the GM takes too heavy a hand with that, the players are entitled to give her a wedgie and go play something they'd actually enjoy.

It's suggested that he GM take a more carrot than stick approach, and offer a reward for choosing a plot aspect. In general, plot aspects reward one more skill point than normal, but the GM is entitled to make the reward anything that she sees fit. This bonus skill rank is referred to as a plot bonus.

6.2   Free Aspects

While it is strongly suggested that characters gain no more than one aspect per phase, GMs may wish to allow extra aspects at the beginning and end of character generation. These aspects could be used to represent nationality, family, interests, or almost anything else. It's probably not a good idea to give more free aspects than there are phases, but up to that is perfectly reasonable.

6.3   Potential

In a game where the character creation phases are based on a strict timeline, it is possible that one character may be younger than the others, and thus have fewer phases. In that situation, the PC accumulates a point of potential during each phase they aren't around.

Potential may be spent during any phase that the player buys an aspect, effectively granting them another phase. This is treated like a normal phase - an aspect and skills are bought and the pyramid is balanced. The only limitation is that the new aspect should be tied to the first aspect bought during that phase in some way. Any amount of potential can be spent on any phase.

In some games, it may be appropriate to grant all characters a number of rounds of potential to be spent in some specific way, such as on plot aspects, or on intrinsic aspects, like attributes. GMs who consider statistics and intrinsics to be very important may wish to consider allowing all players to take a few levels of potential, with the understanding that it will be spent on attributes and attribute-like aspects, such as Strong, Nimble or Magical Talent. See Talented Novices for more on this idea.

6.4   Structured Creation

The default assumption behind character creation is that things are pretty much wide open. Players are free to pick any aspects that they want and make any kind of story they want. The GM may provide a guiding hand in the form of plot hooks and the like, but overall, anything goes.

While this can work very well, it's not something that's going to work for every type of game. Sometimes, a little more structure is desired, whether to simulate career paths, environment or some particular development mechanic. The key to any of these is having well structured aspect and skill lists.

Most structured approaches are based around the simple idea of a limited list of aspects or skills, which expands as aspects are taken.

It's assumed in these models that characters are still free to choose aspects like Strong or Cowardly, since intrinsics are easy to justify in almost any context. The GM is the ultimate authority on what aspects are available, and would be well served to provide a list to players in advance, if only to give them a starting point.

6.5   Talented Novices

The phased creation system is designed to create characters with well-developed histories. For some games, that's not the goal - many games begin with characters who are effectively nobodies, with their story waiting to be told. For a game like that, the best solution is to make 1 phase characters, but grant them as much potential as one considers appropriate. It's not unreasonable for the GM to require that a certain amount of the potential be spent on intrinsic elements of the character, such as Strong or Stoic.

The GM may even grant a number of "freebie" aspects, which do not grant the character any skills, if she wishes to grant the characters a certain amount of advantage while still keeping them reasonably inexperienced.

6.6   Windows of Opportunity

The one drawback to all of these structured systems is that they are a little predictable. They do not allow for the possibility of the drunken swordmaster having retired to the isolated village, or the corrupt clerk more interested in his criminal profits than his legitimate bureaucratic pursuits. To simulate the odd turns of fate that seem to follow heroes of fiction around, the GM may allow players to include one or more "windows of opportunity" in structured creation. They can use this opportunity to take an aspect that they should not otherwise be able to, provided they can come up with a good explanation. The exact number of windows of opportunity available is the GM's decision, based on how strongly tied to structure she wishes creation to be. If the GM wishes, every phase could be a potential window of opportunity, provided the player has an interesting enough story.

7.1   Aspects and NPCs

Aspects allow a GM to represent NPCs in a sort of shorthand. A GM may (and should, for most minor characters) simply assign aspects, and use those for all rolls. Thus, a caravan guard might be represented simply as:

• Mercenary 2 (Good)
• Perceptive 1 (Fair)
• Horseman 1 (Fair)

In general, these aspects do not allow rerolls. It is suggested that the GM construct the aspects in a pyramid, much like what is done with skills, but that is more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule, especially for NPCs with few aspects. The GM should also be aware that NPCs designed this way will probably have more effective skill levels than a character constructed from a similar number of aspects. This is somewhat offset by the absence of aspect invocations, but the discrepancy can become noticeable in high aspect (ten or more) characters, so it's best to limit this tactic to less important NPCs.

7.2   Difficult Skills

While it is assumed that most skills default to Mediocre, that is not necessarily the case. Certain rare or esoteric skills may begin with a lower default, such as Poor, Terrible or even Abysmal (which is practically the same as "none"). These skills are bought up like any other skill, except that it may take several ranks to get them up to Average. The good news is, until those skills reach Average, they are not counted for purposes of balancing the pyramid.

7.3   In-Game Advancement

The key element to advancement is the character's goal. This is the aspect the character is looking to pursue next, such as Master Thief or Officer.

When it comes to the point in the story where it is appropriate to distribute advancement, the character gains a single skill rank. This skill rank should be spent on a skill appropriate to the goal.

These skill ranks should be distributed over the course of a game arc, with the goal of awarding the fourth skill rank when the arc concludes. When that fourth rank is achieved, the character achieves their goal, and may add the aspect to their character sheet. The player now selects the character's next goal.

It is important that the GM work the goals into the story arc so that the conclusion is satisfactory for everyone involved. If that is not feasible, the player and GM should sit down and discuss how to make the goal work, and if it's not workable the player should be allowed to pick a different goal. The player should not be penalized in situations like that.

Exactly how long an arc should be and how few and far between advancement sessions should be is a matter of taste, and should be suited to the specifics of the game in question. In general, err on the side of caution - characters may move from fighting killer midgets to demon princes over the course of some games, but it's a phenomenon rarely seen in literature.

The pyramid needs only to be balanced when the character chooses a new goal - it may get unbalanced by the single skill point advancements. The GM should help the player keep track of this. Players should be spending skill levels in such a way that balancing the pyramid will be possible by the time a new goal is chosen. That said, if the character reaches their goal and the pyramid is unbalanced, the situation needs to be rectified. Ideally the GM and player can come to some agreement, either modifying some skill levels or laying out exactly what the next few skill purchases will be. The first time this happens, it is very important to try to work with the player, and not penalize them.

Of course, if the pattern repeats to the point of abuse, penalties become more appropriate - specifically, the GM is now responsible for spending the player's advancement skill ranks on whatever she sees fit, until the pyramid is rebalanced.

7.4   Off Screen Advancement

Advancement can also occur during downtime. If the GM determines that an extended period of time should occur between story arcs, it may be appropriate to allow an advancement phase to occur. This is treated just like a normal phase in character generation. The character may choose to buy their goal aspect during this phase - if so they should pick a new goal. There is nothing that mandates this during downtime - it's just a nice option.

7.5   Fate Points as Rewards

If advancement is slower than players are comfortable with, a good compromise is to award Fate points in lieu of more traditional advancement. The exact pace they are awarded at is up to the GM, but even a single Fate point per session (beyond those gained with aspects) can be a significant award.

7.6   Alternate Advancement

If the players are not comfortable with coming up with character goals, the GM may choose to simply award skill advancement, and let players choose the aspect when they have accumulated enough skills to earn it.

7.7   Changing Aspects

Over the course of play, a character's aspect may become inapplicable. The villain they've sworn vengeance against is dead, or the quest they set themselves to is completed. During an advancement event, the character may change that aspect to something different, which reflects the experience the character went through in resolving the previous aspect. For example: If that character's father is an aspect, and his father is killed, "Vengeful" might be an appropriate replacement. Replacement aspects should be discussed with and agreed upon by the GM.

7.8   Lost Extras

If an extra is lost or destroyed, it does not have the kind of plot protection that aspects have. If the player can restore it in play, then all is well, but if a character reaches a goal and are still missing an extra, they may re-spend those skill ranks on other extras, or recover lost extras through whatever explanation the GM can think of.

7.9   Skill Column

The pyramid structure results in more low level skills, with Greats and Superbs being areas where the character truly excels. However, the model does not work for every genre - some games call for more highly skilled characters.

Games like that are better served following a columnar pattern, where you must have as many skills in the rank below to support the skill you like. As such, to have one Superb skill, the character needs only have one Great skill, one Good skill, one Fair skill and one Average skill. Obviously this results in fewer total skills, but with more high level skills. This is not as egregious as it initially appears: since the column must be checked each phase, it's impossible to build directly up to too high a spike without widening the base.

7.10   Aspect Caps

It is generally assumed that there is no hard cap on the number of ranks a character may have in any particular aspect. However, the GM is entitled to place caps on how high an aspect can be bought, either in a general sense (e.g. no aspects over 3) or on case-by-case basis (if you buy one more aspect in the Church, they'll make you pope, which is great for you, but not so much for the game). As with all things, common sense and good judgment are the watchwords. For those desperate for a hard and fast rule, try this: no more than half of a character's aspect ranks may be in a single aspect or no aspect may be higher than the character's highest skill.

8.1   Scene Based Fights

Scene based fights are, mechanically, the easiest fights to run. However, they can be very challenging to make interesting. As such, the two situations when it is best to use a scene-level pace are:

• When players want to play out fights in a primarily narrative manner, and just want to get the mechanics out of the way.
• The fight is tangential to the game, and is best resolved quickly, such as fights involving only one player which leave everyone else twiddling their thumbs.

At the beginning of the scene, everyone involved states their goals and how they're going to go about them, and the GM states the opposition's goals and methods in general terms. Then everyone rolls and rerolls as normal. Ideally, the GM should be able to eyeball the results and work with the narratives to figure out how things went.

That sort of improvisation, while useful, is not always an option, and for those looking for guidelines, there are a couple of possibilities. The simplest is to look at the total numerical difference between the outcomes of each side, and determine the overall outcome based on the difference between those figures - the Combat Outcomes table provides useful guidelines in that regard.

For a slightly more complicated resolution, consider pairing off the sides, either by player choice or based on the narrative, and resolve the larger fight as multiple sub-fights, using the same guidelines above.

However it's resolved, the fight should end in a way that allows things to move onto the next scene. It was assumed that if there was a safe way to retry the effort, it's done as part of the scene. As such, continually re-attacking a fortified position in hopes of getting lucky is not an option.

8.2   Exchange Based Fights

The exchange pace is considered the default for Fate. It's well suited to striking a balance between drama and tactics, and allows tension to grow over the course of an extended fight. While it has many of the earmarks of traditional combat systems, it still falls strongly on the narrative end of the spectrum.

An exchange begins with all involved parties declaring their intended actions. These actions should only be things that take a few moments to perform, such as attacking someone, or jumping onto a rope and swinging to safety. Those involved roll their dice and compare them against whoever they are acting in opposition to (or against a GM-determined difficulty, if there are no opponent). Those individual exchanges are resolved against the Combat Outcomes table. If the fight is still going on, a new exchange begins.

GMs are encouraged to play a little fast and loose with things; the above is only a guideline. There's nothing wrong with handling individual exchanges one at a time; the important thing is to keep the overall flow of things moving and not let anyone get bored.

8.3   Turn Based Fights

Turn based fights work similarly, except they require a lot more die rolling. Initiative is determined by rolling alertness, with ties broken by tactics skill, then the combat skill being used. Characters act in the order of initiative, each taking an action. The actor rolls dice to attack, and if they beat the defender's roll to defense, damage is dealt according to the combat outcome table. The only real difference is that clipped results affect the next attack roll, and have no effect on defense rolls. Obviously, since it has the most rolls, this method can burn through aspects very quickly.

This is generally not the recommended combat system for Fate, but there are many players who swear by it, so it's included for completeness.

8.4   Combat Options

The exact rules for weapons and armor tend to be a matter of taste, so we have included a number of possible options. While we have broken these down into three categories (dramatic, simple and advanced), mixing and matching is encouraged. There's no reason one could not use dramatic weapons with advanced armor, for example.

9.1   Level Based Magic

The Great Library

In the world of Ald, magic is a structured, academic affair, and there is no greater center of magical learning than the Great Library. It is said that every spell ever written is somewhere in its miles and miles of bookshelves.

Characters looking to be mages must purchase a Magical Talent aspect. After that aspect is bought, the player may purchase a Cast Cantrips skill, as well as the aspect Magical Initiation. A character may potentially purchase up to 9 circles of Magical Initiation, and with each level a new Circle spellcasting skill (such as "First Circle Spellcasting") is available.

Mages must prepare their spells at the beginning of the day by studying them from spellbooks. The number of spells in a given Circle which the mage can have prepared is equal to the number of skill ranks invested in the skill (equal to the skill value +1). Once cast, spells are no longer available until prepared again.

By default, spells do not require a skill roll to cast. However, the skill roll may be called for to target a spell, or to cast it under particularly trying circumstances.

9.2   Combinative Magic

The Brass Compass

The world is balanced perfectly between the four points: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Hedge witches may claim some power over one element or another, but true mages know that power comes from the balance of the four, and the danger that comes of imbalance.

There are 4 magical aspects and 4 magical skills in this system. The Aspects are Initiate of Fire, Initiate of Earth, Initiate of Air and Initiate of Water, each representing a tie to the respective elemental force. To be a mage requires only one level of one of these aspects, but such a mage will have access to a far more limited range of power than a more well-rounded practitioner of magic would.

The four magical skills (and their uses) are:

Evocation

Evocation is the preferred skill for combat, and is used for quick, usually forceful, expressions of power. For more sustained effects, summoning and mastery are usually more appropriate, but what it lacks in duration and finesse, it makes up in speed and power. Evocation is the favored skill of Fire Mages.

Summoning

The skill for bringing amounts of an element into existence and roughly shaping it (mastery is more useful for that, and the two skills are highly complementary). It is also useful for summoning creatures of the elements, but mastery is required to bind them. Summoning is favored by Earth Mages.

Mastery

Mastery is the ability to shape and control existing elements. It is arguably the most potent of the skills of magic, but it is also entirely dependant on the presence of material with which to work. Mastery is favored by Air Mages, who are rarely without a source of their element.

Dispelling

Beyond removing elemental matter, this is also the skill best suited to protection. While Mastery may allow a mage who takes his time to protect himself, only dispelling is fast enough to be usable in combat, and against evocations. Water mages favor this skill and its propensity to wear away any resistance with time.

Spellcasting is started by determining what element and skill is involved. Usually this is obvious, but in some cases more than one element may apply. In those situations, the GM may either allow a partial effect (such as destroying just the water in mud) or may rule that the mage must use their weakest aspect or skill. It is worth noting, living beings are considered to be a perfectly balanced combination of elements (Earth for form, Water for blood, Air for breath and Fire for life), so are very hard to target directly with any magics.

The next issue to determine is one of scope - how much of an element is summoned, shaped or dispelled, or how much force is deployed in an attack. The maximum scope is determined by the aspect level of the appropriate element. Scope is best judged roughly by the amount of material worked with, which breaks down according to the table below.

After element and scope have been determined, the character rolls the appropriate skill against the difficulty listed in the table. If appropriate, that difficulty is also the number a target must roll against to resist an effect.

The character may not generate an effect with a scope greater than their appropriate aspect level.

It is also possible for a mage to summon elementals. These are simple creatures defined by a single aspect - Elemental (of the appropriate type). The level of that aspect is equal to the rank required to summon one and sets its difficulty. Thus, a tiny fire elemental (Fire Elemental 1) is a difficulty of Fair.

To bind an elemental, the character must first summon it (roll summoning skill vs. difficulty) then bind it (mastery vs. difficulty). A Mage may only have one elemental bound at a time. It's worth noting that elementals are fairly obvious and have no real means to hide themselves. An elemental may be dispelled with a successful Dispel against their difficulty, using either their element or the opposed one (Fire v. Water, Earth v. Air).

9.3   Improvisational Magic

The Door to Shadow

The gates have opened, and evil walks upon the earth in ways it has not for centuries. Around the corner and just out of the corner of your eye, it lurks, growing in power. Our only hope are those unlikely few, the mad, the destined and the unlucky, who have seen this threat for what it is and are fighting to stop it.

This is a simple, narrative system for playing a somewhat fast and loose game where magic is important, but it is not necessarily central. Mage characters need to purchase a Magical Talent aspect and a spellcasting skill. It is possible that those go under other names, such as Wicca or Thaumaturge with their Old Magick and Thaumaturgy skills. Generally speaking, this is just for color, but it may have some game effect (see below). The spellcasting skill (in whatever form it takes) can be bought without an appropriate aspect, but trying to use it to cast spells is exceptionally dangerous (see Feedback, below).

To cast a spell, simply determine its difficulty and make a spellcasting roll to meet or exceed the difficulty level, then mark off a level of the aspect. As such, yes, the aspect limits the number of spells that can be cast per day, and as such, it's dangerous to burn it for a reroll - as such, having another aspect to represent magical education, like Occult Studies or Ancient Lore can be quite useful, and what often allows a more experienced mage defeat a more powerful one.

Difficulty defaults to Average (0), and is increased or decreased by the effects of the spell as follows.

Also, optionally for those with a more dramatic bent:

And lastly, one unique modifier:

Inconvenient Timing

-1 Difficulty or more. Inconvenient timing is mostly just useful for villains, as it represents spells that can only occur under certain circumstances ("when the stars are right"). This generally gives a plot reason why a villain can be casting a world-destroying spell, but still be at a level that the PCs can manage.

9.4   Stunt Based Magic

The Great Lighthouse

In the city of Ald, the Great Lighthouse has held off attackers of every stripe for generations. At its peak rests and unquenchable flame, which adepts can direct to strike anything out to the horizon. Great as that power is, it only touches the surface of the potential of this mystical flame. Initiates who immerse themselves in it and survive become adepts, carrying a small amount of fire within them, and may use it to fuel their sorceries.

This fire magic is represented by two things: a spellcasting skill, called "Pyromancy", and a number of "stunts". By using the skill, the mage may start fires without kindling or tools, and even produce small fires (Fair=matchlight, Superb=a large torch) from their body without fuel, though this requires too much concentration to be useful in combat (without a stunt). They may control fires (Fair=Torch, Superb = Bonfire) in showy ways, changing colors and sculpting shapes. They may passively use their skill as a defense against fire and heat. More powerful effects require using a stunt.

9.5   Interpretive Magic

Sorcery on a Budget

Sometimes magic just isn't easy. Whether because of the overwhelming disbelief of the vast swell of humanity, or some natural protection that keeps the world from accepting the supernatural. Whatever the case, necessity has made magic both subtle and rare.

The single most important component of any spell is how blatant it is. Blatancy is mostly a measure of how flashy or obvious the working of power is - it's a measure of how wrong whatever is being done appears to any bystanders. This puts very practical limits on anything done with magic - more often than not, if a task can be done mundanely, it's much easier to do so. This is why most wizards carry guns.

When using magic, players are encouraged to describe effects in terms of how they would appear in the movie version of their story. Now, this method depends on the player wanting to describe things interestingly - if players are more interested in describing things as flatly as possible in an attempt to drive down difficulties, the GM should do two things - raise the difficulties to an appropriate level, and consider using a different magic system.

Magic using characters should have some sort of aspect to describe their type of magic. This can be as general as "Wizard" or as specific as "Mystical Master of Cheese". These give a general guideline as to the types of magic the character can perform, and the GM is perfectly entitled to grant bonuses when she feels a magical effect is particularly in keeping with the aspect, or nix one that seems to have nothing to do with it (unless, of course, there's a really good explanation). The level of this aspect represents the character's "special effects budget" for magic (to wit, the most powerful spell effect they can manage). The character also has a spellcasting skill, which they roll when casting and attempt to meet or exceed the difficulty level for the "budget."

Some budgetary notes:

• The more area or targets a spell affects, the more camera angles required, and in turn, the more budget.
• Remember, the target is part of the audience. As such, spells that quietly and invisibly choke someone or stop their heart won't work, because they won't notice them. You need to invest some in making them feel it. As such, the very least directly damaging spells require a minimum of a cable TV budget. Indirect damage (like burning someone by catching their house on fire) is a different beast entirely.

A character can temporarily boost their budget by checking off aspects. Each aspect checked off in this fashion raises the maximum budget for the next magical effect by one.

9.6   Minor Powers

Skin Dance

When the Weasel first talked to me I was so drunk that I just took it all at face value. Apparently, I agreed to some serious mojo-binding stuff, and in return I would get the Weasel's power. I guess I must have agreed, because I woke up that morning up inside my left pants leg.

In preparation for a threat only hinted at, the lords of the beasts have approached worthy humans and offered them the gift of skinchanging - the ability to turn into their patron creature. Despite the questionable value of some of these blessings, these skinchangers are prepared to use the little power at their disposal to defend mankind...as soon as they figure out what they're defending it against.

Skinchangers buy an aspect in the appropriate animal, and gain the ability to transform into that animal. It's difficult for a human to adapt to the workings of the animal physiology, so it is necessary for them to buy ranks in a skill called (animal) mobility (weasel mobility or what have you). This is a difficult skill to master, so it defaults to Poor (see Difficult Skills). This skill is the general baseline for activity in the creature's form. If the creature can fly, things are doubly difficult, and default to terrible.

Many creatures have special abilities. Some are intrinsic- a weasel is small and a fish breathes underwater, and there's no need to reflect those with skills or aspects. Others have abilities better reflected with aspects - a bloodhound's keen senses or a ferret's speed. These aren't mandatory, but if the player wishes to take advantage of the animal's abilities, buying the appropriate aspects is a good idea. Some abilities are very specific to the creature, such as a skunk's spray. In those cases, the character should buy a skill to reflect that ability. That skill defaults to the same level as the mobility skill did, and can never be higher than the mobility skill.

Some animals are also better suited to combat than others. Any skinchanger can use their mobility skill to dodge, but those gifted with natural weapons should buy a combat skill to use them. This skill has the same starting default as mobility, and can never be bought higher than the current mobility score.

Lastly, any form capable of fine manipulation should buy a manipulation skill to represent it. As with other skills, it defaults to the same level mobility does and cannot be bought any higher than the current mobility skill level. This skill is appropriate for simians, but may also be appropriate for some small mammals and birds.

Characters should not have more than one animal form. If they do, the skills for one form do not translate to the other form, unless the forms are very similar, like a squirrel and a chipmunk.

10.1   Sample Aspects

Anger

The character's rage simmers just below the surface, awaiting opportunity to burst.

A player might invoke this aspect to:

Vent his frustration, usually through explosive action towards whatever he's mad at.

The GM might invoke this to:

Cause the character to lose his temper at an inappropriate moment. Interfere with any action that requires calm.

Bookworm

The character is an academic, well versed in all manner of obscure lore. His knowledge, unfortunately, is almost entirely from books, and theory is not always the same as practice.

A player might invoke this aspect to:

Dig up an obscure fact or other bit of knowledge at the right. Research like a fiend.

The GM might invoke this to:

Cause problems when the character is faced with the need to apply his knowledge under the stress of "Real World" conditions.

Cowardly

The character is a firm believer in the better part of valor, either out of meekness, deep self interest, or some other motivator.

A player might invoke this aspect to:

Run, hide, or otherwise get away from something dangerous.

The GM might invoke this to:

Inspire the character to flee when he really needs to stand his ground.

Curse of Toads

When the character tells a lie, a live toad pops out of his mouth.

A player might invoke this aspect to:

Gross someone out, or convince someone who knows of the curse that he is honest.

The GM might invoke this to:

Complicate things when lies would be more convenient.

Duty

The character owes a duty to some one or thing which should come out of creation. Alternately, the character may simply take all of his responsibilities very seriously.

A player might invoke this aspect to:

Perform an action which directly upholds the duty.

The GM might invoke this to:

Present a player a choice between upholding his duty or doing something more practical. Raise an issue of responsibility at an inconvenient moment.

Intelligent

The character is smart, simple as that.

A player might invoke this aspect to:

Know useful things, or find them out if they aren't known.

The GM might invoke this to:

Unless there are monsters that specifically like eating big brains, there's not much the GM can do with this.

Meticulous

The character is very thorough in his approach to almost everything.

A player might invoke this aspect to:

Get a bonus to any task where he has the time and resources to do a thorough job, "discover" that he packed just the right tool.

The GM might invoke this to:

Interfere with the character being spontaneous.

Onianos

A curved blade carved from the purest Moonstone, this sword has been passed down through generations of heroes. In the hands of the unworthy, its edge is dull and its balance shoddy, but in the hands of a true (or potential) hero, it strikes sharp and true.

A player might invoke this aspect to:

Swordfight, or have the sword conveniently available.

The GM might invoke this to:

Steal the sword. Require some ritual to renew the sword's magic.

Panasta Dados

Panasta Dados is the Master of Thieves of the city of Alverado, and at some point he took the character under his wing and taught him some of what he knows.

A player might invoke this aspect to:

Perform a thiefly task, "Here's a trick Old Pan taught me." Get some information about Alverado, get information directly from Panasta.

The GM might invoke this to:

Have Pan call in a favor. Have Pan's enemies try to strike at him through the character.

Priest

The character is a member of the priesthood, and is expected to support the appropriate dogma, as well as accept whatever duties, responsibilities and powers come with the position.

A player might invoke this aspect to:

Give a stirring sermon. Resist the powers antithetical to his faith. Attempt to use the resources of his church.

The GM might invoke this to:

Deliver inconvenient orders from a superior. Present temptations that contradict the Priest's Dogma. Raise the ire of opposed religions.

Self Destructive

For whatever reason, the character seeks his own destruction, though he is unwilling to take direct action to do something about it. Instead, he throws himself wholeheartedly into dangerous situations in the hopes that this time will be his last.

A player might invoke this aspect to:

Do something stupid and dangerous.

The GM might invoke this to:

Keep a character from doing the safe, reasonable thing.

Raello

The character's family estate, it is a place of rest and refuge from the troubles of the world.

A player might invoke this aspect to:

Draw upon the resources of the house.

The GM might invoke this to:

Threaten the house.

Treacherous

The character has a knack for betrayal. He's the one who shows up on the movie screen and everyone watching knows that he's the one who's going to whisper lies in the king's ear and try to seduce the naive princess. Betrayal comes easily to the character, and while he may be steadfast and true in the end, it would be so easy not to be.

A player might invoke this aspect to:

Lie, spy or generally connive.

The GM might invoke this to:

Incite suspicious reactions from NPCs, especially when the character is telling the truth. Offer opportunities to stab comrades in the back.

Veteran

The character is the survivor of many battles, and the experience has shaped him. This is appropriate for a seasoned campaigner who has seen many battles (in contrast to Veteran of Gishal Falls, below).

A player might invoke this aspect to:

Keep his wits about him in a fight. Assess a tactical situation. Pitch camp in unfriendly country.

The GM might invoke this to:

Invoke flashbacks. Introduce old rivals from the other side of the battlefield.

Veteran of Gishal Falls

The Battle of Gishal Falls was fought over the course of 4 months in the swampy, disease-infested valley below the falls. Both the Nadulians and the Asts consider the battle a defeat, and the casualty rates on both sides were obscene.

A player might invoke this aspect to:

As Veteran, but also to resist disease or carry on activities in a swamp.

The GM might invoke this to:

As Veteran, but the GM now knows who the opposing side was, and what people think of the battle. Some may consider the character a reminder of the Army's embarrassment, or resent them for surviving while a loved one did not.

10.2   More Aspects

10.3   Skill Lists

There is no one skill list that can apply to all games. The nature of the game should shape the skill list to reflect what sorts of activities are important in the game. Skills are measures of how characters distinguish themselves. The idea of "party balance" hinges on the idea that each member of the group contributes something unique to the whole. The idea was originally couched in purely tactical terms, but it's more broadly applicable. If each character in a given group has a particular area in which they excel, everyone is given an opportunity to take the spotlight from time to time. Naturally, there is also the question of genre - a computer programming skill will be out of place in a game of sword and sorcery.

When creating a skill list, it's important to keep two key elements in mind: there must be enough skills to allow each character an arena to excel in, and skills must be more finely defined in areas that will be important to the game. In the absence of a defined skill list, it's often useful to look at skills in terms of a few broad categories, and whether you want the skills in those categories defined in a broad, general or specific fashion.

10.4   Pyramid Shorthand

Sometimes you need a detailed character on the fly and don't want to mess with the headache of tracking the pyramid. In those situations, the following guidelines may come in handy. These examples represent pyramids optimized to get high skill levels as quickly as possible.

11.1   Fate D6

Six-sided dice(d6) have a lot of advantages for gaming. They're easy to read, easy to count, stackable and, most importantly, when there's a need, they can be rummaged from a couple of old board games. They also can be used very easily - there's no need to explain what these funny plastic shapes are, or what them mean. Most people are already pretty comfortable with the idea of rolling a few dice and adding them together.

When playing Fate with D6 rules, a lot of elements remain the same. The ladder is still in place, but it now has new values assigned to it. Rather than rolling four Fudge dice and adding the value of the adjective, just roll the number of six-sided dice associated with the adjective.

12.1   Organization Aspects

As with characters, aspects reflect the nature of the organization. It should be possible for someone to read the list of aspects and get a sense of the nature of the organization. As such, organization's aspects should usually encompass the scope and nature of the organization.

The scope of the organization can encompass a number of elements, like the size of the membership or how far-reaching the organization may be. Scope is not synonymous with influence, that's covered by skills, but it is complementary. Scope is rarely measured precisely, but as a rule of thumb it correlates with how many areas of influence (see the influence skill, below) the organization extends to on a roughly 1/1 basis. Scope also sets the default difficulty for many internal activities, especially of an administrative nature. If cope is not clearly implicit in the aspect, assume it to be equal to the highest ranking aspect.

Other aspects should give insight into the nature of the organization, and are things like Sub-Genius, Criminal or Mercantile. These aspects should give a sense of the sort of activities the organization pursues, or what manner of philosophy it follows.

These are not the only aspects an organization may have, but they are the most common. Other aspect may reinforce skills ("Conspiracy" or "Rich") or may be something else entirely.

12.2   Organization Skills

Skills measure those things the organization can do, such as exercising influence or drawing upon resources. While there are only a few skill types that an organization may take, they are much like knowledge skills in that they may be taken multiple times to specify the area of use (So an organization might have Influence: England and Influence: France).

Organization skills have very specific uses, and as such cannot be freely substituted for each other. As such, if an organization has a great deal of influence, and wants to use that influence to secure resources, that should be represented by a resources skill (or can default to mediocre).

In general, organizations are bound to the same rules regarding the skill pyramid that characters are, though the GM may grant exceptions for special cases.

The usual skills for organizations are as follows:

Control (Region)

This represents how much overt control the organization holds over a given area, usually in the form of institutionalized rule.

Sway (Region)

Sway represents non-institutional power over a given area, be it due to respect, fear or any other appropriate motivator. Like control, sway is obvious, and it does much which control does. However, it is less effective than true control, and as such it is at a -1 to all actions.

Influence (Region)

This represents how much secret sway the organization has. Practically speaking, this works in the same way sway does (albeit at -2 from control), but unlike sway (which is obvious) there is no obvious tie back to the organization.

Information (Region)

This skill represents knowledge of current events in appropriate areas, and is most appropriate for organizations with decent intelligence and espionage arms.

Arms (type)

Many organizations have access to a number of rough and ready individuals willing to do (or prevent) harm on command. Because these rules are for organizations (rather than nations), the main differentiation is one of quality. A given arms score represents one military aspect of an organization, so if an organization has more than one military arm, more than one skill is appropriate.

Resources (type)

The type is usually money, but sometimes an organization has a great deal of some other sort of resource, like a trade commodity or a particular type of service.

Unity

This measures how unified the organization is with higher unity meaning less internal strife. High Unity organizations tend to be more stable.

Administration

The larger an organization is, the more of its resources it needs to commit to keeping itself in order, and this skill measures how effectively that's done.

Communication

The other side of the coin is communication, which is a measure of how effectively a message may be communicated within the organization. For a small organization, this skill may be entirely irrelevant, but for a large organization, it can be critical. This skill is also highly complementary to high information skills.

12.3   Holdings

It is also possible for an organization to spend skill points on holdings, such as safe houses or strongholds. The rules for these are similar to the rules for items, with each skill ranks translating into some sort of quality for the holding. Possible qualities include:

Fortified

The holding is protected in some way.

Hidden

The holding is difficult to find.

Isolated

The holding is far from civilization.

Ornate

The holding is impressive to behold

Big

The holding is extensive

Magical

The holding is magical in some way. This may be useful (it's a node of power) or decorative (it floats over a volcano's caldera). In general, if the magic provides some additional benefit (like defensibility), other qualities should be purchased

12.4   Using Organizations

Once play has begun, there are several benefits to having stats for organizations. It provides a good baseline for what various organizations may know and what their interests are. It also provides an excellent shorthand for dealing with NPCs from that organization. If the Knights of Anton have Arms (Knights) at Good, then Joe Nameless Knight can probably be considered to have a "Good" in appropriate military skills.

Additionally, it provides a nicely abstracted way for organizations to come into conflict with one another and to resolve it with a minimum of headache. How likely are Walsingham's spies (Information (France): Good) to find out about John Ballard's Jesuit Conspiracy (Secrecy: Fair) to assassinate the queen? Easily determined!

For games which use an "off season", organization statistics can also be used to represent and resolve longer term conflicts. Organizations may even have their own wound track for GMs wishing to concentrate on this element.

12.5   The Conspiracy Game

One interesting option for using this system is as a preamble to another game. Allow each player to construct an organization in a phased fashion, and allow the interactions of the organizations and the choices of the players establish some of the backdrop of the setting. The play of this is simple enough, but a few complications can spice it up:

1. Disallow player from making subsequent characters with membership in the organization they created.
2. At the end of each phase, have each player secretly write the name of the organizations closest ally or greatest enemy among the group. The GM looks at these secretly, and whenever there is a match up (including enemy to ally!) add an aspect to each organization called "Connection to <name>". This means the two groups compliment each other well, but are also vulnerable to each other. After all, in a conspiracy game, what is an ally except an enemy who has not yet shown his stripes?

12.6   Sample Organizations