FATE Sword & Sorcery

[Yokiboy]

Hello,

I just wanted to drop in and let you know that I'm about to start a FATE Sword & Sorcery campaign, with the help of Ron Edward's fantastic Sorcery & Sword book.

I love the idea of aspects and extras, and as a long-time FUDGE fan, they returned my interest in the game!

We handled character generation last week, and will wrap it up next session. I was pleasantly surprised by how easily everyone got into the whole aspect thing, even picking aspects that are mostly negative. It was a good experience and I look forward to playing.

Statting up NPCs based on the PCs backgrounds was a blast too! Simply picking aspects and not worrying about skills made it so easy, and I feel I know the NPCs quite well already.

We're following the Sorcerer model for the actual play, i.e. using Kickers, Bangs, and a Relationship Map. The first kicker was awesome, if the other players try to top that we will have a great game!

I am also using Sorcerer's Bonuses & Penalties system, i.e. all bonuses are based on roleplaying, and I think this will work out great. (The only modification I did was to lower all bonuses and penalties to a +1/-1, as they're cumulative, and I don't want any +5 or +6 rolls.)

Oh, I also changed the FATE ladder. I didn't quite enjoy having Mediocre, Average, and Fair all on the same ladder, it's too hazy IMO as to which one is better than the others. I went with the original FUDGE ladder, and padded the top half with a few more choices, as I like sticking with adjectives and not use the associated numbers.

I really enjoyed the assistance with creating a skill list, and found myself quite happy with the choices we made. I also adopted a few ideas from the FATE Wiki, such as how to handle the Language skill, and equipment. We gave each PC a Wealth rating, on the regular FUDGE ladder, and will roll against this value when spending money or checking if a character already owns something.

Thanks for giving me back my FUDGE!  :)

TTFN,

Yokiboy

[Yokiboy]

Teder

Aspects:
Gang Member [ ]
Highwayman [ ] [ ]
Spy [ ]
Revenge [ ]

Goal: Undecided

Skills:
[Great]
Combat: Ranger

[Good]
Sneak
Observation

[Fair]
Bluff
Intimidate
Athletics

[Mediocre]
Run
Survival
Alertness
Ride

Background:
Gang Member
Teder was a member of the street gang the Bleeding Gash since the time of his first memories. The leader was called Hooknose.

Highwayman & Revenge
Joined up with the Steel Fist and became a highwayman. The leader of the pack was called the Blood-Sucker. He became a father figure for Teder, but was murdered during a coup, and the Grinning One took control of the gang.

Spy
The Grinning One tried to kill Teder, but he escaped and hid in the city. Back in the city he found that his skills as a scout were highly desired and found plenty of work spying on different high-ranking officials and business people within the city.

Relationships:
Geld & Solg
Two young ladies that Teder works and plays with! He has become romantically involved with both of his companions, but so far managed to keep it from interfering with his work.

Kicker:
Earlier today Teder spotted the Grinning One in the city, and immediately set about getting revenge. He tracked him to an inn called the Green Light, waited for nightfall, and then snuck through the window into the Grinning One's room. He stabs and slashes at the form under the sheets, but just then the door kicks open to reveal the Grinning One and two of his goons!

[Yokiboy]

Wenon Krazin

Aspects:
Stable Boy [ ]
Anger [ ]
Caravan Guard [ ] [ ]
Greed [ ]

Goal: Undecided

Skills:
[Great]
Combat: Infantry

[Good]
Ride
Intimidate

[Fair]
Combat: Brawler
Athletics
Survival

[Mediocre]
Perception
Alertness
Endurance
Run

Background:
Stable boy
After the death of his parents, Wenon was desperate for money. One of the things that he had knowledge of was horses, so he got a job as a Stable boy at an inn called The Green Light. The manager of the stables was an old angry man called Erwald Erkka. During this time period Wenon met his first real friend, another stable boy, called Torkild Torin. As often as they could Wenon and Torkild would "borrow" horses from the stable and get out of town to ride them.
Age: 12-17

Anger
Wenon had just turned 18 and had now worked 6 years as Stable boy. He had grown to be a really big guy. His friend Torkild was only a year younger, but when you looked at them it looked like they were many years apart because Torkild still looked like a little boy. One day Erwald caught them as they were "borrowing" some horses. Erwald started beating up Torkild real bad. This was the first time in Wenon's life that anger took control of him; he takes a shovel and hits Erwald over and over again. When he finally snaps out of the anger, he is not sure if Erwald is still alive. He tells Torkild that they have to get out of there as fast as possible, but Torkild is badly hurt from the beating and is also too scared to go. So Wenon steals the best horse in the stable and rides out of town as fast as possible.
Age: 18

Caravan Guard
Wenon spent some weeks in the woods, doing his best to find food (Not very easy thing to do for a town boy). A starving and worn Wenon noticed a Caravan that made camp just outside the woods. At night the caravan was attacked by some bandits, Wenon saw that the lone caravan guard was having a hard time defending it by himself. Wenon grabbed his axe and jumped into the fray to help out. The bandits had at that time unarmed the guard, when they saw Wenon they mocked and laughed at him and teased him for being just a silly little boy trying to be a hero. Once again anger came over Wenon and by the time he snapped out of it he looked around and saw that he killed most of the bandits. One had escaped into the woods and was heard screaming; "Portyn Zak will get his revenge no one mess with the Black Snakes." After the battle was over Wenon was employed a mercenary guard by the caravan owner, Mr. Boodla Ytin a fur trader. Boodla was a stingy fellow that always tried to save money, and after a while he fired the other guard and had just Wenon working guard duty. After 2 years of traveling with Boodla, Wenon understood that he was paid much less than other mercenaries, and he quit and set out for better opportunities.
Age: 18-20

Caravan Guard
He spent many years on the road working as a Mercenary. Many different employers hired him. He earned some money, but always spent it just as fast and was forced back on the road again. There were lots of angry outbursts, and plenty of killings. Wenon grew more and more tired of doing the hard work only to see others keep the gold. Three more times he ran into bandits from the Black Snake, one time they attacked a caravan he worked for, the other two times were assassination attempts at his life. He never saw Portyn Zak again, but the word on the streets was that he's now the leader of the Black Snakes. During this period he also returned to the town where the inn the Green Light is located. He stays away from the inn, but has heard that Erwald Erkka is still managing the stables. He has asked around for his old friend Torkild Torin, but nobody has heard of him, or at least not told Wenon about it.
Age: 20-35

Greed
Wenon meets a noble man called Orton Dolb; who hires Wenon to take his daughter and all her belongings to another town. Orton tells Wenon that she has lots of jewelry and gold and that if something happens to her, or the gold, he will make sure that Wenon is chased for the rest of his short life! The daughter, Murianda Dolb, turned out to be a snob, arrogant and cocky, and Wenon was tempted to use his big axe to make her shut up. One night after putting up camp, a strange man appeared, he wore a black cloak and Wenon couldn't see much of his face. He told Wenon that he wants Murianda, but would let Wenon keep all her belongings, and in addition give him a bag full of gold. Wenon had never seen so much money before, and of course found the offer very tempting. Wenon asked why the stranger wants Murianda, and what he would do to her, but the stranger stated that it was none of Wenon's business. Wenon had to decide if he wanted the deal or not, as he heard Murianda scream from her Wagon that Wenon heat up some bath water for her, and to make it snappy! That made up Wenon's mind, he couldn't take spending more time with that arrogant bitch and the reward was too much decline. Wenon agreed to the deal, and a few seconds later two men jumped out of the bushes, they walked up to Murianda's wagon, and abruptly took her with them. All of them disappear into the woods. Wenon slept for a few hours, then turned back around for the town that he started from. While he is sitting there trying to figure out how to explain this to Orton Dolb, he feels a pain in his arm as an arrow hits him. He started feeling strange, maybe the arrow was poisoned?
Age: 36

Kicker:
Wenon wakes up. Ugh, his head is pounding! There's no sign of the wagon, nor his horse, and with them all the goddamn money and jewelry! He finds that he doesn't even have his trusty axe or mail of armor. Man, does his head hurt! And where the hell is he? He staggers to his knees, thinks he recognizes the house in front of him ... isn't that Orton Dolb's estate?

[Yokiboy]

Ymer Haraldsson, Seventh Son of Harald the Brave

Aspects:
Savage Nomad Upbringing [ ]
Strong Brute [ ]
Personal Honor [ ]
Adrenaline Junkie [ ]
Naive to the Lures of Civilization [ ]

Goal: Lust [ ]

Skills:
[Great]
Combat: Zweihander

[Good]
Combat: Brawler
Endurance

[Fair]
Run
Awareness
Athletics

[Mediocre]
Sneak
Tumble
Observation
Intimidate

Background:
(Ymer has a very long background story written in Swedish, and I have only translated the basic premise of it.)

Savage Nomad
(Details Ymer's relationship with his six older brothers and their father, and how impossible Ymer found it to live up to their expectations.)
Age: 0-12

Strong Brute
(Ymer matured physically at an early age, and in his eagerness to please the shrewd Elena, daughter of the nomad tribe's chieftain, he ended up hurting another young man quite severly. This caused Ymer to leave his tribe in shame.)
Age: 12-16

Personal Honor
(Ymer travels all over Erehwon, and finds himself confused by what the westerners proudly call civilization. After ending up in the metroplol of la Città di Intrigo, Ymer gets in trouble with the city watch upon interrupting an arrest of a criminal. He isn't thanked by the young criminal, but is still pleased with himself for helping someone who was outnumbered and unarmed.)
Age: 16-17

Adrenaline Junkie
(Ymer starts showing some of his father's traits, as he comes to love challenges, fair maidens, and adventure. He becomes good friends with Lenard Steinssen, a tough-necked Mercenary, and the two of them get in a lot of trouble together. Ymer's longings for the rush associated with a massive dose of adrenaline, makes him consider that perhaps he has a death wish.)
Age: 17-18

Naive to the Lures of Civilization
(While making himself at home in la Città di Intrigo, Ymer is still readily taken advantage of. One person who's turned this into a lucrative business is Aldamer Toff, who uses Ymer to obtain dusty old arcana which Ymer just doesn't see any value in. Numerous are the occassions though, when a charming, acrobatic thief called Jessian nabs the object right out of Ymer's clutches.)
Age: 18-25

Kicker:
When Ymer decided to pleasure a young noble lady's curiousity regarding the question of how, if at all, savages differ from civilized men in bed, he had not counted on the fact that he'd be rudely interrupted only a few minutes later of a scream of rage, the rattling of mail, and the sound of a sword being drawn from its scabard!

"Are you married?" sputtered Ymer in a truly confused manner to the now slightly chocked lady. A moment later her apparent husband, from the look of it a high ranking officer in the city watch, violently kicks in the bedroom door. His chubby face is red from the exertion it took him to run home fully armored. He's howling of anger like a hell hound, and with a murderous look in his watery, sunk-in little eyes.

Just then Ymer recalls that his clothes and trusty sword are spread in the entrance hall, where the young lady with certain experienced finesse had removed them.

[ScottM]

You're right, that first kicker sounds great.  And if The Grinning One was smart enough to set an ambush, who knows what else he knows about Teder's current situation...

Looks like a great setup.
-- Scott

[iago]

I got nothing to add here -- you're doing a great job merging tricks from sorceror with Fate, the characters look how I think they should look, and I have an immediate sense of what your game is and where it's going.  Fantastic.

[Yokiboy]

Here's the fourth and final character. He had some trouble with his Kicker, but I think he came through big in the end.

First Mate Jock Leidraad

Aspects:
Drunken Sailor [ ]
Samson the Monkey [ ]
Bonk the Hunchback [ ]
Peg Leg [ ]
1st Mate [ ]

Goal: To afford his own ship, The Hawk perhaps, captain it, and run his own business.

Skills:
[Good]
Combat: Pirate
Craft: Sailor

[Fair]
Education
Gossip
Observation

[Mediocre]
Athletics
Barter
Husbandry
Languages

Samson the Monkey

Aspects:
Cleptomaniac [ ]
Comedian [ ]
Clever [ ] [ ]

Skills:
[Good]
Cool
Legerdemain

[Fair]
Alertness
B&E
Perception

[Mediocre]
Athletics
Run
Sneak
Tumble

Background:
Jock started his seafaring career as a cabin boy aboard the Hawk, part of the mean Inez de Faucon's fleet Orientus. The Hawk travelled to many exotic locations, carrying different shipments, and Jock became quite the world-traveller. As time passed he made it to first mate, but never stuck with one ship for too long. He has even worked for a few other shipping companies, and during a stint he was at the wheel of the infamous pirate Finkel Redbeard's motley crew.

Relationships:
Brothers Habib and Yefim
The brother operate a barbershop populated with gossipmongers. In secret, they operate a cock-fight circuit in the courtyard behind their shop, and a lot of money changes hands in the betting that accompanies the fights. Rumors say that the brothers are the collective force, and leaders of all Krimizados in Massimiera. Jock is a long-time customer and friend of the two hairy behemoths.

Bonk the Hunchback
Bonk sells fried rats, caught in the monstrous sewer system at night. Many are the echoes and fleeting words that make their way into the damp catacombs of Massimiera's sewers. Jock once taught Bonk how to make snares, and small traps to better catch rats, and out of this a deep friendship developed. Bonk is mute, but communicates with Jock through a sign language that has developed during the many hours Jock has spent at Bonk's primitive fried rat cart. Due to his grotesque looks, deformed body, and lack of a tongue, he is considered harmless and a retard by most. However, since there's nothing wrong with his hearing, vision, nor his mind, he knows of quite a few of Massimiera's secrets.

Hugo Poppa
Hugo runs the Seestar Inn. He's an old sailor, but unlike Jock, he's turned landlubber for good. The two of them have been on countless trips together, and love to remeniss over old adventures and a few mugs of frothing beer. Hugo has a personality trait that makes it impossible for him to lie, regardless of the situation he finds himself in. Since Jock loves to stretch the truth a bit, they've been in all kinds of embarrassing situations throughout the years, and are constantly whining about this fact.

Gitana Oracélo
The woman Jock left behind, when she wanted them to get married and settle down. The rejected diviner swore on everything holy that she would get revenge or win him back, and Gitana has a rare talent to show up to threaten or attempt to seduce him. She is said to posess powers beyond the simple art of divination.

Kicker:
Jock has become suspicious of the fact that very few of Orientus' ships have been attacked by pirates, while other shipping companies are suffering. Jock confronts Inéz de Faucon with his thoughts, and finds himself abducted by a couple of thugs. They chain him by the wrist to the bars where Massimiera's sewers make their deposit into the bay. Samson is nowhere to be seen, and the tidal water starts filling the sewer tunnel. What to do? What will happen? Will Jock survive to find proof of the "Iron Lady's" suspect business ethics, and what will he do in that case?

[Mike Holmes]

Have you considered how you might handle the time jumping concept with FATE? That is, with phased construction, I think there may be some interesting synergies.

Mike

[Yokiboy]

Hello Mike,

I'm not sure I get what you mean by "the time jumping concept"? We have gone through phased construction, but not according to a strict timeline. We defined the first phase as early adulthood, and took it from there, having decided that all characters should have five phases. I have a feeling that doesn't answer your question though.

Would you please clarify the question for me?

TTFN,

Yokiboy

[Mike Holmes]

Sorcerer And Sword talks about the idea of displaying the characters' history in other than the typical linear method, jumping back and forth. IIRC.

Mike

[Yokiboy]

Now I get you, but this is basically a one-shot. We will play this campaign every Wednesday night through December, so I am not too concerned with that aspect.

Plus I am definitely sure that my players aren't ready for something like that at this time. Have you tried it yourself?

TTFN,

Yokiboy

[Mike Holmes]

No, I haven't. But, again, it strikes me that the phase system used chronologically would fit this perfectly. That is, as you go back and forth, you'd merely refer to the character as they were at that point in their development.

To make it work, I think you'd need to have a lot of phases. See my stuff stuff on the FATE board for more ideas there. If you ever do try a longer playing version.

Mike

[Yokiboy]

To make it work, I think you'd need to have a lot of phases. See my stuff stuff on the FATE board for more ideas there. If you ever do try a longer playing version.

I've seen your FATE suggestions and find them interesting, but most of my group enjoy low-level play, so five Phases initially suits us fine. I have a feeling you meant to say Aspects though, and not Phases, but as we're only gaming for a few hours every Wednesday night, it is a lot less overhead only having five aspects.

TTFN,

Yokiboy

[Yokiboy]

Hello,

We kicked off our campaign last night, and it was very different from the SIM type of games we're used to. Here's a write-up from the Actual Play forum.

TTFN,

Yokiboy

[Mike Holmes]

To make it work, I think you'd need to have a lot of phases. See my stuff stuff on the FATE board for more ideas there. If you ever do try a longer playing version.

I've seen your FATE suggestions and find them interesting, but most of my group enjoy low-level play, so five Phases initially suits us fine. I have a feeling you meant to say Aspects though, and not Phases, but as we're only gaming for a few hours every Wednesday night, it is a lot less overhead only having five aspects.

I meant Phases and attendant Aspects. That is, I think that about 12 is good. Also, with the pyramid changes I propose, characters are no more powerful than with the normal method - just broader. Unless you count Aspects in terms of power, which I wouldn't as they're really very metagame. Basically my supposition is that you need more aspects to really flesh out a character completely. Which isn't all that neccessary, but which I think is fun.

In any case, the time jumps back and forth in Conan, the primary source here, are enough that I really think you would need at least 12 phases to do him justice. In fact, for him I'd go more like 24. The point is that with time jumping, if you want to look at the "inexperienced" Conan, you go back to the point where he only has a few aspects. King Conan of Aquilonia, however, must have loads of Aspects. So when you jump to that point, you need to have this calculated as well.

The point is that you don't only make the character to point X in his carreer, you make him all the way. Or, if you want, you can make him to point X, but when jumping to a later period, you're going to want to add aspects. The phase system seems perfectly suited to doing this.

Mike