I really like the FATE's idea of Aspects.

Player desides his aspects, not game rules or GM.

They can be anything.

But what happens when you read FATE rules a bit farther? what is this broad skill? General Skill? Specific skill?

FATE GM must deside a skill list for his game.

What if player would deside the skills also?

When my friend explained Marvel Universe RPG skills for me, I understood that the skills were very broad but specialities were loose, they were the real "Skills".

If you chose a speciality of Swords, you would bet a bonus on combat when using a sword, but if your opponent had speciality of katana, and using one, HE would get the bonus, not you, as his speciality was narrower.

After reading the rule, it does not seem to work like that, but I feel that it should, it's way cooler.

So Fugding the FATE a little more. What if players deside their skills, and give them ingame benefit for specific skills.

Like, +1 if fighting enemy that has wider combat skill than you. A fate point if your surgery skill is too narrow to help a patient with a fever.

This is just an idea that mainly works fine with MURPG. There you get free stones on using a speciality.

I like making rpg systems, and my style is that quantity compensates quality, meaning, I never finish old systems.

That's why I hate making skill lists. Are they ever complete? are they fitting or balanced. New trend on prg design is to not to put a price tag on advantages and disadvantages, but give a benefit on challenges when they appear on game.

If your Nobilis character gets a miracle point when he cannot cross a river, he might never get that point in Sahara. On traditional game he would have gotten his character points anyway, if GM thougth that someday he will go to a place were there are rivers.

Narrativist approach, it's more mature and fun, at least on my opinion.

How to make this work, that is the problem. FATE did not appear after a good days worth of gamedesign but it was an inspiration that needed time an genius. (and lots of polishing afterwards.)

Art of Magic, the master mage.

I'm a tad confused about what you're trying to say. Are you saying that FATE should use an open skill selection system like HeroQuest or Story Engine does? If so, I'm totally on board, and have made that suggestion more than once to the authors on their mailing list.

Or are you trying to get at something else?

Mike

Mike Holmes wrote: I'm a tad confused about what you're trying to say. Are you saying that FATE should use an open skill selection system like HeroQuest or Story Engine does? If so, I'm totally on board, and have made that suggestion more than once to the authors on their mailing list.

Or are you trying to get at something else?

Mike

I've no idea about FATE. But one way to make it work is:

1. The player declares a skill
2. The GM declares how broad that skill is. The broader an area it covers, the less of a bonus it'll give (it's easy to set up a table or formular...the GM just tells the formula how broad it is and you can calculate the bonus from that).

In play, when the player tries to use the skill, the GM determines whether it applies, keeping in mind how broad it has been set as.

Of course, this back sources alot, which bugs the hell out of me, but others probably wont see through the veil.

Last night I got this idea:

+1 Exactly the right skill/speciality needed.
+0 a skill needed
-1 loosely related.

What is exactly needed?

Let's see.

Healing person with bleeding wound.

+1, having first aid.
+0 having medicine.
-1 biology.

Healing person with bullet in the stomage.
+1 surgery
+0 medicine
-2 first aid, too limited (-1)

fighting with rapier
+1 using rapier skill
+0 having melee skill
-1 having combat skill.

...quite poor examples but I am getting there.