[OOC] The Character Creation Workshop

We can work on our characters here, discuss concepts, ask rules questions, roll dice, etc...

Here's my character idea so far:
Name: The Great Ivario
High Concept: Gypsy fortune-teller
Trouble: Condemned by the church (possibly hunted?) (If we don't want there to be a church in our game, it could be replaced by something else)
Aspect: Knows many secrets (This could be either from clients or magically. What do you think is best?)
Aspect: Can set up shop to gather information from locals

Careful: +1, Clever: +2, Flashy: +3, Forceful: +1, Quick: +0, Sneaky: +2
Question; Is 'Forceful' meant as purely physical, or can it be used as for example 'Forcefully manipulating someone into doing something for you'

I thought about a few Stunt ideas. Let me know which you think is good to use.
- Because I am an experienced persuader, I get a +2 when I Cleverly create advantages when telling someone their fortune.

- Because I have a crystal ball, I get a +2 when I sneakily attack when I have them distracted with the ball.

- Because I have the powers of precognition, once per game session I can negate one source of damage.


Edit: added another aspect.

Ok, so following TheGenerator's formula above, here is my concept so far:

Name: Vincent of the Woods
Description: TBD, but human.

ASPECTS
>High Concept: Skilled ranger and hunter of the woods.
>Trouble: Irrationally fears enclosed spaces; claustrophobic.
>Aspect 1: Forager of the wilds.
>Aspect 2: Uses deceased father's wooden longbow.

APPROACHES
Careful +3
Clever +1
Flashy 0
Forceful +1
Quick +2
Sneaky +2

STUNTS
>Experienced Woodsman: Because I am an experienced woodsman, I get a +2 when I sneakily track a target through any wilderness.

I'm 100% open to suggestions here. Thanks!

Here is my first draft idea.

Name : Beartrand Barebear

Aspects
- High Concept : Creature Zipper (transforms in creatures)
- Trouble : Is afraid of Bears (he tries everything to avoid looking at his hides)
- Aspect 1 : Knows his ways around any town
- Aspect 2 : Drinks a lot to forget he transforms in bears

Approaches
- +1 Careful
- +2 Clever
- +0 Flashy
- +3 Forceful
- +2 Quick
- +1 Sneak

Stunts
- He is capable of using magic zippers, the zipper must be sew to a vestment once he de-zips the zip he takes the appearance of the animal. Once he wants to stop he de-zip himself from the inside and must carry the hide until he has half an hour to put it again in its zip.
- Brown Bear zipper: Transform him in a Powerful Brown Bear.
- Teddy Bear zipper : Transform him in a small teddy bear of 33cm high (1foot), unable to attack and nearly unable to handle anything with his hands, but is a good climber and has a great resistance.

I love that character name, YullyBear! 😂

Aspect: specializes in hunting bears 😝😏

Welcome everyone!

@TheGenerator Looks pretty good. I think you're just about ready.
Seems fine for now, unless anybody objects.
From the FAE rules:
"Forceful: A Forceful action isn’t subtle—it’s brute strength. Wrestling a bear. Staring down a thug. Casting a big, powerful magic spell."

The way I see it, Fate is generic, so for genres with little to no combat, or for mystery games, Forceful could even be related to talking or intimidation ("Star down", like above.)
I think this wording is fine, though we may revise it as we learn more about how stress and recovery is supposed to work. I read it as "distract the monster and block the stress/damage." It's these so-called "Rules-changing stunts" that get a little intimidating for a beginner Fate GM such as myself :-) But I suspect it's fine for now.

Alternatively, if you wish, you could also rewrite it as a "bonus style stunt" instead, like +2 when Defending... Although the once-per-session to negate could be a fun life-saving epic moment.

Otherwise, looks good.

@sifu_g Looks fun. And it looks like you're just about ready! My only comment is maybe you can leave another aspect slot free for yourself (maybe having both an aspect and a stunt about the same longbow is unnecessary/redundant... (?) Since I'm still new to Fate, I'm actually not sure about that myself, but I'm welcome to be corrected.)

@All Aspects can be tricky to write, but I think it's whatever the player wants (what makes the player happy.) Nevertheless, Fate Accelerated Rules do give some advice on how to write good aspects, here... https://fate-srd.com/fate-accelerated/aspects-fate-points#composing-good-aspects

That's a funny twist :-)

@YullyBear: The Magic Zipper is a creative and fun idea. It reminds me of Selkie's skin from Celtic or Norse mythology. It'd be fun to see a picture or illustration if you have one. So, Fate Accelerated has some specific rules for stunts; we'll need to translate this a bit to FAE language...
My thought is perhaps this part (above) would go under character description or be described in role play, rather than under stunt section.
For stunts, the rules are
Because I [describe some way that you are exceptional, have a cool bit of gear, or are otherwise awesome], once per game session I can [describe something cool you can do].
Or
Because I [describe some way that you are exceptional, have a cool bit of gear, or are otherwise awesome], I get a +2 when I [pick one: Carefully, Cleverly, Flashily, Forcefully, Quickly, Sneakily] [pick one: attack, defend, create advantages, overcome] when [describe a circumstance]

So each specific Zipper could be something like...
- Because of my Brown Bear zipper, once per session, I can transform into Powerful Brown Bear [let's me have bear-like strength, for the duration of the scene.]

Or, it could be broken into separate "Bonus" stunts... Unfortunately, each of these would use up one of your 3 free stunt slots.

- Because I can wear my Brown Bear zipper, I get a +2 when I Forcefully Attack when in close combat.
- Because I can wear my Brown Bear zipper, I get a +2 when I Forcefully Overcome Obstacles when faced with a situation that requires great strength.

For the Teddy Bear Zipper, it could be...
- Because I can wear a Teddy Bear zipper, once per session, I can transform into a small teddy bear of 33cm high (1foot) [that lets me climb with ease or go into small spaces for the duration for the scene].
Or
- Because I can wear a Teddy Bear zipper, I get a +2 when I Quickly Overcome Obstacles when there's a need to climb with ease or get into a small space.

What do you think?

And a bear who's afraid of bears at that :-)

That makes sense. I think I get it.

How many stunts do we start with? I think the book says 1 stunt.
I thought so too. But if we start with only 1 stunt, I will probably take one of the other ones, though :)

Hi @TheGenerator : I suspect you're right. I thought it was 3 free stunts, but I guess that's in Fate Core. Fate Accelerated, it looks like just 1 free to start, but I'll confirm that...

EDIT: Here is the answer: https://fate-srd.com/fate-accelerated/who-do-you-want-be#how-many-stunts
If I'm reading it right, we can start with 3 if we're all comfortable with that and don't mind slightly more powerful characters -- which is fine by me, since we're starting as a one-shot. However, you don't have to pick all 3 before we start: a player can add them as they play.

EDIT: Fate Accelerated says:
"By default, your refresh starts at three and is reduced by one for each stunt after the first three you choose— essentially, your first three stunts are free!"

Name: Esther the Uncareful
High Concept: An Eager and Most Uncareful Wizard's 'Prentice
Trouble: Her Reach Often Exceeds Her Grasp
Aspect: Never Without a Book
Aspect: Could Pass for a Boy, and Hates It
Aspect: Vincent Sometimes Ties Her Tongue and Flushes Her Cheeks

Approaches
Careful: +0, Clever: +3, Flashy: +2, Forceful: +1, Quick: +2, Sneaky: +1

Stunts
1 - When I can gesture wildly and chant loudly, I get +2 to Flashily Create an Advantage when casting spells.
2 - When I read directly from my master's stolen spell book, I get +2 when I Cleverly Attack with his powerful magics.
3 - Because I am a slip of a thing, I get +2 to Quickly Defend if there's cover (including other people and bears) to be had.

Any of that fit the bill?

Also, I see a bunch of pondering and questions about Fate above. Anything still unanswered I can help with?

Name : Beartrand Barebear
- He is capable of using magic zippers, the zipper must be sew to a vestment once he de-zips the zip he takes the appearance of the animal. Once he wants to stop he de-zip himself from the inside and must carry the hide until he has half an hour to put it again in its zip.

Aspects
- High Concept : Creature Zipper (transforms in creatures)
- Trouble : Is afraid of Bears (he tries everything to avoid looking at his hides)
- Aspect 1 : Knows his ways around any town
- Aspect 2 : Drinks a lot to forget he transforms in bears

Approaches
- +1 Careful
- +2 Clever
- +0 Flashy
- +3 Forceful
- +2 Quick
- +1 Sneak

Stunts
- Because I can wear a Brown Bear zipper, once per session, I can transform into Powerful Brown Bear [let's me have bear-like strength, for the duration of the scene.]
- Because I can wear a Teddy Bear zipper, once per session, I can transform into a small teddy bear of 33cm high (1foot) [that lets me climb with ease or go into small spaces for the duration for the scene].
- Because I can wear the legendary Aquarius Zodiac Bear zipper, once per session, I can transform into a Zodiak Bear wearing a conch sending a strong water jet capable of ejecting enemies or flooding an area.

Thanks @Harrigan ! Look's like we have a wizard's apprentice.

Just a heads up (and I sense you factored this in already), in this setting so far, I'll be treating spells as somewhat wild (potentially unpredictable or even dangerous), so common/safer spells might be of the illusion, cantrip, or smaller scale variety. Really big spells like raising the dead, summoning lightening, inflicting a curse on someone, moving a castle, etc, would be limited to high level witches or at least require a lot of ritualistic preparation (or a high difficulty/target on the ladder.) (e.g. raising the dead might require an ancient cauldron.) As a general rule, I'll compare how difficult it would be to do something physically (without magic) to set the ladder for how hard it could be to do magically. In any case, I think Fate works well for this, because "stunt" spells require a roll; so, naturally they could have some unexpected results. Sounds fun :-)
Thanks! I hope I managed to stumble my way through the questions so far, but anyone is welcome to ask additional questions :-)

Thanks @YullyBear. Looks good. For that last stunt, I'm thinking it could flood at least 1 of what Fate calls a "zone." Also, curious about the "conch", do you perhaps mean like wearing a shell?

I think we're making good progress. Any further questions are welcome. Also welcome to jump into the in-character page (or ask questions about the hook or village in the OOC thread.)

https://gamersplane.com/forums/thread/25256/

Thanks @YullyBear. Looks good. For that last stunt, I'm thinking it could flood at least 1 of what Fate calls a "zone." Also, curious about the "conch", do you perhaps mean like wearing a shell?[/quote]

Yes a special kind of shell, rather big reminding of the Cornucopia.

Alright.
I'm gonna stick with the ones I have made. But for the one about damage reduction, I'm going to wait to define it until I have a better grasp of how damage works in this game. So I'll only use the first 2 for a while.

Is money important in the game? My "set up shop" aspect could also be my source of money.

I'm going to add a 3rd aspect that's a bit quirky and might cause some fun complications. Still thinking about what exactly

How about "sometimes accidentally spills embarrassing secrets about his companions"

I could say stuff like "Esther got stuck in the toilet a few weeks ago". I'll always try to relate it to the current situation.

Oh nooo! haha. I couldn't. :)

Thanks for the suggestions! Aspects and Stunts are nifty, but tricky for sure. Here is my edit, I changed the Stunt.

Name: Vincent of the Woods
Description: TBD, but human.

ASPECTS
>High Concept: Skilled ranger and hunter of the woods.
>Trouble: Irrationally fears enclosed spaces; claustrophobic.
>Aspect 1: Forager of the wilds.
>Aspect 2: Arrows shot by my longbow are guided by my father's spirit.

APPROACHES
Careful +3
Clever +1
Flashy 0
Forceful +1
Quick +2
Sneaky +2

STUNTS
>Experienced Woodsman: Because I am an experienced woodsman, I get a +2 when I sneakily track a target through any wilderness.

sifu_g, what do you mean with this aspect? Is that the only weapon you will ever use?

From the book: "An aspect is a word or phrase that describes something special about a person, place, thing, situation, or group".
What makes your father's longbow special, or how does it make you special?

Maybe something like "My longbow can shoot cannonballs". Obviously a pretty crazy example, but think about making it unique :)

What if it was something like, "Arrows shot by the longbow are guided by my father's spirit."

That sounds pretty awesome, actually :D

Hah! That's kind of how I envisioned it. :) I made the change.

@TheGenerator There could be story elements of shops, bartering, or the mention of money exchange in our story... But I certainty won't be tracking "gp" or any little details like that, if that's what you mean -- it will be more abstract. I should have mentioned it in the original description, but I don't intend to track mundane things like money, food; so, no, not of particular importance in this game. I envision it running more like a TV Show Cartoon or a Movie (in the more Fate/PbtA style), as opposed to the more simulation resource management style of, say, D&D.

I think you can leave the stunt as "work in progress" status; you can always add it during play if the time is right.

Also, sounds like a fun aspect.

@Harrigan Let us know if you have any suggestions for our aspects.

Thanks

That works for me :)

Yep! One who kind of dropped out, though. And maybe took her (former) master's book with her...
We are absolutely on the same page already. Esther the Uncarefulis no competent mage! I'm seeing her High Concept given her permission to cast spells, btw. I'll keep it real, and you'll be in full control of her not getting too big for her britches by setting difficulties... and terrorizing all of us with my decisions to succeed at a cost. :]

Submitted Esther, and I see she's already been accepted -- cool. Sorry to be lagging, busy week at work. Lots of travel.

The thing that jumps out right now is Vincent's Arrows shot by my longbow are guided by my father's spirit.
This seems more like a Stunt to me, than an aspect. How would this be compelled or invoked against you? What makes it two-way? Something like "Guided by my Father's Spirit" might be a little easier to manage, flexible, and two-way. Or I can sometimes still see and hear my father or the like. All good if you leave as-is, just offering an opinion.

Good point. "Guided by my Father's Spirit" seems like a better fit for an Aspect. Am I good to make that change @GM?

I'm going to change this from 'secrets' to 'rumors'. Cause it seems a bit weird that Ivario would know actual secrets of people he doesn't know all too well (or at all). And that way it can always be contested by the other player if they don't agree with the rumor.

Sure.

I started reading the rulebook because I'm not sure what kind of weapon I want to be using and saw this:Since it says "or yelling a blistering insult with the intent to hurt your target", does that mean it's possible to do battle without ever touching the opponent? Cause if that's an option, I think it would fit my character.

I'm imagining something like this:
Ivario looks into his crystal ball while using his free hand to conjure the knowledge of the spirits, and sees that a branch will fall onto the ratman's head.
--> roll for an attack

Is that possible?

Interesting question.

Would you have a particular fairy tale fantasy character in mind, say from a movie or a TV show that we could compare this to? Also would there be any reason to predict that a branch is about to fall in this situation (like was it made loose somehow?) -- if not, then I'd say we're asking for more of a telekinesis power, then just fortune telling. In the case of fortune telling, I'm tempted to rule that it would not really be an Attack because the actual branch falling is just a matter of circumstance or being influenced by other spirits, but not by you directly. Notice...

"Use an attack when you try to hurt someone"

Perhaps what might make more sense is using the crystal ball to fore tell exactly when the loose branch is about to fall and then pushing the ratman under the branch at just the right time. This may be more of a Create an Advantage type situation than a "normal attack... but I'm still wrapping my head around that myself. In any case, describing that it hits the ratman's head would presume that you rolled high enough and that the ratman didn't jump out of the way.

Fate is a "narrative" system, and so it's true the mechanics don't really change from one "weapon" to another -- it's more about the narrative ('fluff' in a way); it just depends on the genre/setting. In theory, with a game that doesn't really have hand to hand combat, there could be "mental stress", such as feeling exhausted from insult 'attacks.' What does matter, however, is scale. A character that can use telekinesis to uproot a tree, probably wouldn't make sense in this particular fairytale world (unless we get to really high levels), but would make more sense in an Avatar Air Bender or Stranger Things like setting.

I might need to think about this more though.

@Harrigan is welcome to comment on this one.

Totally in line to "attack" any way that makes sense -- within the scope of the fiction, the genre, and the character and their concept -- often as defined by their aspects. In Esther's case, she literally can cast spells because of her high concept. So if the group is all on the same page that Ivario can see the future and attack with that knowledge in the context of a scene, cool. I personally agree that more often than not, it might make more sense for that to be a Create An Advantage or Defend roll.

The trump card here is in the hand of the GM -- who sets the difficulties for the actions. If it's stretching the limits, expect a tall difficulty at a minimum.

Thanks @Harrigan If you put it that way, and after giving it a little more thought, I could see @TheGenerator's example reworded in the form of an Attack, perhaps like so...

"Ivario looks into his crystal ball while using his free hand to conjure the knowledge of the spirits, sees that an already loose branch is about to fall, attacks by misdirecting the ratman to stand right under the branch -- which then falls [roll attack]"

Perhaps would work just fine. Though mechanically speaking, doing Create Advances or actually using a "Stunt" slot for this type of attack could provide more bonuses to the roll depending on the situation.

EDIT: In this way, I could imagine Ivario with his Crystal Ball being a be a bit like The Flash in "slow motion bullet time", where he can foresee amongst battle chaos all the scenery that is about to fall, then take a step forward or a back to get an enemy to stand in just the right spot -- only he's gotta do it real time while dodging enemy attacks himself.

I can't really think of any fairy tale examples of this.
I agree with that as well.
I was mostly looking for a way to attack that isn't the standard "I hit with stick/sword/bow". Just to bring some variation.
I'm fine with using it in that sense :)

I think it could also lead to fun failed rolls. Like "The branch falls exactly when predicted, but the bad guy just got struck by Esther and is not in the same place anymore. Then you see why the branch fell... a mountain lion in the tree has been disturbed during its nap. It looks angry".
I wouldn't take it that far, as that seems a bit too overpowered to me. The limiting factor for Ivario is that he has to take an 'action' to see the future. It's not something he is constantly aware of. Just like a swordfighter has to see an opportunity to strike, Ivario would have to actively look for a favorable situation.

In game mechanics terms, I wouldn't be doing anything that would not be possible to do with for instance a bow. A branch falling on a bad guy, would be just as easy/hard as a ranger shooting an arrow at this bad guy. (I would also keep line-of-sight requirements)
In my eyes, it's just a ranged/magic attack with the fluff of fortune telling.

@sean_don4, if you think it would be too much of a hassle in the game, feel free to say so. I could understand that it might bring too much chaos and confusion. I'm not trying to make your job difficult. Hehe :)

I think it's a fun idea. And I suspect it's fine in one of the forms suggested above.