Post by mortambo on Jun 18, 2016 18:42:27 GMT -6
First off, GMs should read all of the chapter on Game Creation from the SRD.
However, a general overview will be provided here.
Setting:
On this board we will have a lot of pre-made settings that are either official setting books for Fate, or crafted by someone who plays here. You are more than welcome to create your own setting and define the world however you wish. Just let an admin or moderator know that you would like a new category created, and write out a small description of the setting. You will then have to post, much like I have here, a lot of the specific setting rules and things that you are changing from the core system. The Fate System Toolkit has a lot of great ideas and options for tweaking the system to do what you want. That said, anyone is free to use any setting rules that have already been defined here on the boards to write their own stories. Be sure, if you are not going to make your own setting, that you are familiar with the specific rules of the setting you choose.
Scale:
In a small-scale game, characters deal with problems in a city or region, they don’t travel a great deal, and the problems are local. A large-scale game involves dealing with problems that affect a world, a civilization, or even a galaxy if the genre you’re playing in can handle that kind of thing. (Sometimes, a small-scale game will turn into a large-scale one over time, as you’ve probably seen in long-running novel series or television shows.)
Issues:
The issues should reflect the scale of your game and what the characters will face. They’re broad ideas; they don’t just affect your characters, but many people in the world. Issues take two forms:
The default number of issues in a Fate game is two: Either two current issues (for a story solely about trying to make the world a better place), two impending issues (for a story about striving to save people from threats), or one of each. The latter option is common in fiction: think about the stalwart heroes who work against some impending doom while already discontent with the world around them.
These then become Aspects that anyone can invoke or compel.
Drilling Down:
You can also use issues to flesh out smaller, but nonetheless important pieces of your setting. An important location (a major city or nation, or even a memorable local restaurant) or organization (a knightly order, a king’s court, or a corporation) can have impending and/or current issues as well.
It is recommended that you start by giving only one issue to each setting element, just to keep things from getting too bogged down, but you can always add more as the campaign progresses. Likewise, you don’t have to do this right now—if you find a setting element becoming more important later in the game, you can give it issues then.
Faces and Places:
At this point, you’ve probably got your issues figured out, and you may have thought of some organizations or groups that feature prominently in your game.
Now you have to put some faces on those issues and those groups, so that your PCs have people to interact with when they’re dealing with those elements. Do they have any particular people who represent them, or stand out as exemplars of what the issue’s referring to? If you have any ideas at this point, write them down on an index card: a name, a relationship to the organization or issue, and an aspect detailing their significance to the story.
Do the same for any notable places in your setting. Are there any important places where things happen, either important to the world, important to an issue, or important to the protagonists? If there’s a place where you envision multiple scenes taking place, then talk about that. Unlike NPCs, they don’t require aspects.
The GM may flesh these characters and places out later, depending on their role in the story. Or one of these ideas might be a great inspiration for a protagonist! And, of course, new ones will unfold as the story progresses.
If there’s a piece of your setting that’s meant to be a mystery which the protagonists uncover, define it only in loose terms. The specifics can be detailed as they are revealed in play.
One of the truly unique and fun things about the FATE system is the flexibility and the leeway that the players have to help build the world. Encourage and foster this and let them help you build an amazing story!
However, a general overview will be provided here.
Setting:
On this board we will have a lot of pre-made settings that are either official setting books for Fate, or crafted by someone who plays here. You are more than welcome to create your own setting and define the world however you wish. Just let an admin or moderator know that you would like a new category created, and write out a small description of the setting. You will then have to post, much like I have here, a lot of the specific setting rules and things that you are changing from the core system. The Fate System Toolkit has a lot of great ideas and options for tweaking the system to do what you want. That said, anyone is free to use any setting rules that have already been defined here on the boards to write their own stories. Be sure, if you are not going to make your own setting, that you are familiar with the specific rules of the setting you choose.
Scale:
In a small-scale game, characters deal with problems in a city or region, they don’t travel a great deal, and the problems are local. A large-scale game involves dealing with problems that affect a world, a civilization, or even a galaxy if the genre you’re playing in can handle that kind of thing. (Sometimes, a small-scale game will turn into a large-scale one over time, as you’ve probably seen in long-running novel series or television shows.)
Issues:
The issues should reflect the scale of your game and what the characters will face. They’re broad ideas; they don’t just affect your characters, but many people in the world. Issues take two forms:
- Current Issues: These are problems or threats that exist in the world already, possibly for a long time. Protagonists tackling these issues are trying to change the world, to make it a better place. Examples: a corrupt regime, organized crime, rampant poverty and disease, a generations-long war.
- Impending Issues: These are things that have begun to rear their ugly heads, and threaten to make the world worse if they come to pass or achieve a goal. Protagonists tackling these issues are trying to keep the world from slipping into chaos or destruction. Examples: an invasion from a neighboring country, the sudden rising of a zombie horde, the imposition of martial law.
The default number of issues in a Fate game is two: Either two current issues (for a story solely about trying to make the world a better place), two impending issues (for a story about striving to save people from threats), or one of each. The latter option is common in fiction: think about the stalwart heroes who work against some impending doom while already discontent with the world around them.
These then become Aspects that anyone can invoke or compel.
Drilling Down:
You can also use issues to flesh out smaller, but nonetheless important pieces of your setting. An important location (a major city or nation, or even a memorable local restaurant) or organization (a knightly order, a king’s court, or a corporation) can have impending and/or current issues as well.
It is recommended that you start by giving only one issue to each setting element, just to keep things from getting too bogged down, but you can always add more as the campaign progresses. Likewise, you don’t have to do this right now—if you find a setting element becoming more important later in the game, you can give it issues then.
Faces and Places:
At this point, you’ve probably got your issues figured out, and you may have thought of some organizations or groups that feature prominently in your game.
Now you have to put some faces on those issues and those groups, so that your PCs have people to interact with when they’re dealing with those elements. Do they have any particular people who represent them, or stand out as exemplars of what the issue’s referring to? If you have any ideas at this point, write them down on an index card: a name, a relationship to the organization or issue, and an aspect detailing their significance to the story.
Do the same for any notable places in your setting. Are there any important places where things happen, either important to the world, important to an issue, or important to the protagonists? If there’s a place where you envision multiple scenes taking place, then talk about that. Unlike NPCs, they don’t require aspects.
The GM may flesh these characters and places out later, depending on their role in the story. Or one of these ideas might be a great inspiration for a protagonist! And, of course, new ones will unfold as the story progresses.
If there’s a piece of your setting that’s meant to be a mystery which the protagonists uncover, define it only in loose terms. The specifics can be detailed as they are revealed in play.
One of the truly unique and fun things about the FATE system is the flexibility and the leeway that the players have to help build the world. Encourage and foster this and let them help you build an amazing story!