The Tao of Fate: Creating Challenging Opponents

When Fate players are ready to throw down with the opposition, the question arises: how do you as the GM make such an encounter challenging? Here are the tools that I use to create and tune enemy NPCs to provide a suitable level of danger for the PCs.

Glossary

I have three classes of NPC: "mooks", "named opponents", and "bosses". +Michael Moceri calls the middle group "lieutenants", which works as well.

General Guidelines

I generally present my NPCs' sheets to my players for inspection. I will leave off aspects or stunts which would reveal plot twists, but in general I've found that players who are on board with your program will go a long way toward producing an enjoyable combat, because you've set expectations up front about what their opponents are supposed to be like.

Number of Enemies

I populate a typical encounter with a number of NPCs between 2x and 2.5x the number of PCs. These will be brought into the fight in stages, between 1x and 1.5x the number of PCs at any given moment.

Michael Moceri's formula for a really tough fight, for N player characters, is N/2 bosses, about N named characters (or "lieutenants"), and between N and 2N mook units. This is between 2.5 and 3.5 the number of PCs.

Typically, you can use a 3:2:1 or 4:2:1 ratio of mook units to named opponents to bosses.

Mooks will make an appearance first, and named opponents or bosses will enter after that. This level of opposition gives a reasonably challenging fight and let the PCs move on without stopping to lick their wounds for too long.

You can use the Fate ladder to pick a specific number. Read down the ladder for a description of how hard the fight should feel ("Superb", "Good"). Divide the bonus (+5, +3) you see there by 2, and multiply by number of PCs in combat, and that's how many total NPCs (individuals or groups) you should plan for.

For example, a Superb challenge (+5) gives you about 2.5x (5/2) times as many NPCs as there are PCs. With four PCs, you'll have a total of 10 NPC units to bring in. You might decide this means 5 units of mooks, 3 named characters, and 2 boss characters. You might bring in 3 mook units and 2 named characters to start with, then add the others as combat progresses.

Aspects

Well-designed opponents have aspects that mesh with the PC aspects, the scene aspects, and the story aspects. There should be a clear emotional investment in the conflict, and a clear payoff for winning.

Skills and Approaches

I typically run games using FAE, so my text will say "approach" here. You can substitute "highest combat skill" for Fate Core.

If the highest approach rating your PCs have is "N", I give tough bosses a peak approach of N+1, named opponents N+0 in their area of expertise, and mooks N-1. For starting PCs, this would be +4 for bosses, +3 for named characters, +2 for mooks.

I build bosses as fully realized Fate characters, with stunts, approaches, and so forth. Named opponents outside of focus will be at N-2, and mooks will be N-3.

Stunts

Fights with named characters and bosses can feel "spikier" with some types of stunts, especially stunts that affect how the character does damage. For a smoother feeling in an attrition-style fight, go easy on assigning stunts.

Stress Boxes

The number and size of each NPC's stress boxes depend on their role:

• Bosses and named characters get 3 stress boxes (1, 2, and 3) as a general rule.
• Units of mooks have several (usually five) 1-point stress boxes.
• Armored or tough mooks will get 2-point stress boxes, which helps them last longer against big attacks. They can still be knocked down with a bunch of 1-shift attacks.

Groups of mooks use the Hits and Overflow rules, allowing a single "unit" of NPCs to absorb incoming damage with multiple stress boxes in a single attack. Named and boss enemies use stress rules as normal.

Consequences

I assign a full suite of Consequence slots to bosses and other named characters, but usually not more slots than a typical PC will have.

Consequences are double-edged for an NPC to have, because inflicting one gives a free invocation to the attacker. This helps fill the gaps at the end of the fight when the PCs' free invokes (or players' creativity levels) are running dry.

"Monster" Opponents

There are ways to create "monster" opponents that are tougher than even a typical boss.

1. You can create a single creature with multiple body parts, each of which can take action, be damaged, and so on. A kraken and its left and right tentacles is a typical example. Do this if you want the players to make tactical choices about where to focus their fire. +Randy Oest does a great writeup of this approach here: Tiered Opponents in Fate.
2. The scale rules from the Fate System Toolkit can give flat bonuses to attack, defense, damage, and armor.
3. Such opponents can have stunts that break the rules in ways that PCs shouldn't, such as every attack being zone-wide.

NPC Actions: Create Advantage

One of the big values for mook units is their ability to create unopposed situation aspects for their higher-level allies. How often they do this will affect how competent, organized, and deadly the opposing force feels. Barbarian hordes, beastmen berserkers, or mindless bug swarms will do this less often, preferring to spam Attacks on the PCs. Organized military units, experienced fire-teams, or hive-mind creatures will support each other by creating situation aspects.

NPC Actions: Overcome

Whether your NPCs should be overcoming PC-created aspects is a matter of taste. In general, I will have an NPC roll Overcome if I can think of a logical reason, and a logical method, for them to do so.

NPC Actions: Attack

If you want a "war of attrition" feel from your enemy units, have them mostly use Attack - this will gradually chew through PC resources at first, but will make them less deadly to the party. Enemies that are using smart tactics will let the highest-level unit in play (a named character or boss) roll the Attack.

A good rule of thumb for reasonably smart enemies is to have half as many Attack actions from your NPCs as there are active NPCs. Other NPCs should be rolling Create Advantage or Overcome to support their allies.

NPC Actions: Defend

Typically, very high Defense rolls from your NPCs will be boring. Fate by its nature already encourages people to stack advantages and unleash big attacks. Forcing the players to do even more of this deprives them of a feeling of progress in the fight. Instead, letting them win a series of victories against lesser opponents gives them a sense of satisfaction.

Victory Conditions: Compels

Many interesting fights can end on a Compel - in either direction. For example, a boss who compels "Endless Waves of Mooks" to force a surrender from the PCs, or players who invoke "I Will Redeem My Brother" to make an evil brother NPC repent long enough to take him captive.

Victory Conditions: Concessions

Some genres, like four-color superhero games, make concessions the preferred way out of a combat.

I try to use concessions as character-establishing moments for new NPCs. For example, in my scifi game the PCs wanted to blow up an enemy power plant. The sub-commander assigned to take care of them showed up and started sniping. As a dedicated and loyal officer, she did a couple of almost-suicidal moves trying to take out the PCs.

They finally managed to knock her down far enough for her to be at risk. I offered a concession: "she bites down on a poison tooth, and manages to tell you that only her allies have the antidote". Since the person who had been fighting her had a moral code against unnecessary killing, they left her behind to be found and rescued, and left the scene with the generator destroyed. It conveyed the impression I wanted - someone who was doing her duty, and refused to be taken captive, but who didn't particularly want to die and felt a degree of trust in the PCs' motives.

Conclusion

Play with the four major slider bars you have: "number of actions", "peak skill", "damage capacity", and "tactical acumen". Customize your characters. Try new ways of building monsters. Go nuts. Don't be afraid to cheat.

Thanks for reading, and please leave feedback or opinions in the comments!

Campaign and adventure design using fronts and the 5x5 system

"Plans can break down. You cannot plan the future. Only presumptuous fools plan. The wise man steers." -- Making Money

I've tried different approaches to campaign and adventure design over the years, from fully improvised to meticulously plotted. Here's the style that I'm now using for a new Fate Accelerated game. It draws from three concepts:

1. Dungeon World fronts, described here.
2. The 5x5 adventure design method, described here.
3. The Five Room Dungeon model, described here.

Framing the campaign

Start with a set of "powers" - the big movers, shakers, and influences of the setting. I write these up using Dungeon World's fronts as a template.

----

The Star-Storm Attacks!

Power: The Star-Storm

Motive: Travel the star-ways, attacking, enslaving, and consuming to grow mighty

Progress:

1. Attacks on frontier worlds
2. Assimilation of provincial planets' populations
3. Conquest of a major star system
4. Assimilation of one Imperial Armada fleet's forces
5. Assimilation of a provincial capital planet

Endgame: The Star-Storm establishes a solid presence in Imperium space.

Power: Separatist Armada forces

Motive: Resist the Star-Storm for the glory of the Imperium - at any cost

Progress:

1. Militarization of a civilian shipyard
2. Seizure or impressment of Imperium resources & citizens
3. Loss of civil rights on a threatened world
4. Ruthless suppression of protesters on various worlds
5. Imposition of martial law across the province

Endgame: Armada forces establish a totalitarian, militaristic government through coup.

----

"The Star-Storm Attacks!" is a campaign plotline. Each power within it can be hostile, friendly, or neutral to the other powers within the plot. A given power can appear in multiple plots. What the powers should have in common is opposition to the PCs' goals in some way.

The point of writing these plots is to understand your campaign's opposition as a character. What do your big players want? What means are at their disposal? What's their final objective, and how will they get there? Once you know these things, you'll have a good sense of when and how the PCs learn of their activities.

Framing the adventure

For each adventure, I draw out a five-by-five grid, with row and column labels, like this:

	Gateway	Challenge	Tension	Climax	Twist
Adventure issue
First sign of progress
Second sign of progress
First minor issue
Second minor issue

On the left are the issues that the adventure will include. I pick one that's specific to the adventure itself, and then two more that indicate progress by different powers toward their respective endgames.

For example, an adventure issue could be "stolen government documents": the PCs are tasked with retrieving these, lest some calamity befall the planet. The Star-Storm and the Imperial Armada are both making their first moves here as well: "attacks on frontier worlds", and "militarization of a civilian shipyard". I'll pick two other minor issues: the "disappearance of a diplomat's daughter", and a "bounty hunter that's been hired to take care of one or more of the PCs".

The elements across the top are drawn from the "five dungeon rooms" concept. They represent progression of the story, going from left to right:

• The gateway is what keeps people out. It's why nobody else has solved the problem, or what the PCs must do to get in the door, so to speak. This can be a minor obstacle to overcome, or just a roleplaying challenge, but should really serve to set the tone for the rest of the plot.
• The challenge is the first major problem the PCs must overcome. It won't fully put the plot to rest, but it creates the circumstances for that to happen.
• The tension is where conditions change, become more difficult, and so on. This can be a red herring, but should provide some sort of payoff even if costs the group something. It can also redefine the conflict, or reveal the real plot.
• The climax is where events start to accelerate and spiral to a cool conclusion. It can be the big (real) fight, the true boss, or whatever the real nature of your plot turned out to be.
• The twist should be more than just the conclusion following the climax - it should serve to move the larger story forward.

This is somewhat similar to the five-act structure in Shakespeare's plays, as masterfully smashed into words by Film Crit Hulk here.

In addition, it's helpful if elements of these plots connect to each other. For example, I've got the Imperial armada taking over a shipyard on the planet. Why do the PCs care? Because their ship is docked there, so they have to somehow get it back. The bounty hunter may be lying in wait near the ship and attack as they come out. And as the Imperial armada is taking over, it may come to light that the missing diplomat's daughter ran off with one of its officers. And so on.

Filling in the blanks

With all this in mind, let's fill in the table with some specifics.

	Gateway	Challenge	Tension	Climax	Twist
Stolen government documents
Star-Storm attacks on frontier worlds	PCs intervene when some refugees are hassled by authorities
Militarization of planetary shipyard	PCs are evicted from their own ship!	By hook or by crook, get access to ship
Disappearance of diplomat's daughter					Diplomat's daughter took the documents
Bounty hunter		Survive the bounty hunter's ambush

"But the table isn't completely filled in," you say. That's right - you don't need to pre-plan everything. What is the purpose of the table then?

The point of the table is to structure your brainstorming and improvisation. Rather than staring at a blank piece of paper and starting with nothing, I've got about 25 boxes to fill in with specific moments. As ideas come to me, I can add them to the table.

How do you figure out what goes into each of these stages? The end of each stage should provide propulsion and finality. Propulsion means "the plot naturally moves forward". If there was a wrong, it must be avenged. If there was a MacGuffin stolen, it must be recovered. And so on. Finality means "the PCs can't return to the previous status quo". Someone important has died, or a revelation has occurred, or whatever.

Even if you reach the session with some of the table unfilled, this is fine - let your players' actions suggest the missing pieces. What you have is a set of ideas around which you can let the action flow.

Reviewing what you have

After you've got a list of plots in play, go back and think about them in light of your players and the PCs. Do any of them sound like things the PCs wouldn't care about? If not, see if you can revise the offending plots to be more interesting.

Since I'm using Fate Accelerated, I look at each box in my 5x5 grid and think about the resolution that each one calls for. Can I do it in a single die roll, or should I use a Challenge, Contest, or Conflict? Should I do something unique? And do I have a plan if the PCs fail? Not every individual plot needs to reach its conclusion - if one ends early, you have others that are still active.

Review the NPCs that each plot calls for. Do they need stats? If so, do you already have appropriate stats?

Conclusion

In short: design the major players and their overall plans, then plug each step of those plans into your adventure as a plot line, mixed with a small-scale plot specific to the adventure.

Not every adventure needs this much complexity. "Skyjack That Shuttle!" can be very straight-forward. But for those adventures where several competing forces are in play, or that should feel like significant turning points in the larger story, this model seems like it will work well for me. Hopefully you will find it useful as well.

Review: Jadetech - Green Jade (Jadepunk, Fate Core System)

Authors: Jacob Possin, with flash fiction by Benjamin Feehan
Cover Artist: Nicole Cardiff and Jesse Ferguson
Format: 16 page, bookmarked PDF (14.4 MB)
Site: http://www.rerollstore.com/collections/jadepunk/products/jadetech-green-jade-pdf 

***
Overview

Mike - Before talking about the first Jadepunk supplement, Jadetech: Green Jade, let's talk a bit about MERPS (Middle-Earth Roleplaying System by ICE, Circa 1984-1999).

Reagan - Wait, what?

Bear with me a moment: there is a point to all of this.

MERPS is a wonder of 1980's RPG design: although a 'rules light' version of the ultra-crunchy Rolemaster engine, it is still ultra-crunchy beyond all comprehension compared to most modern systems.

This crunchiness extends to all aspects of the game: where Tolkien provided only a few lines of flavorful text, MERPS provides pages upon pages of detailed information, maps, character traits, stats, and tables. It takes the broad brush-strokes provided by the original creator's hand and fills in the fine details: ample fodder for the detail-oriented GM to set the scene in any possible scenario of a Middle-Earth based game.

So what does this have to do with the Jadetech: Green Jade supplement?

Well, herein we find the opposite approach employed; as in the main book, this expansion paints with a broad brush. It is about showing, not telling; it provides stories and flavorful examples.

This is a key point to talk, not just about this supplement, but the Jadepunk line in general. The majority of RPG products seem to follow the model of presenting the game rules and interspersing narrative and setting details in the sidebars and example text. Crunch over Fluff, if you will. The Jadepunk setting is well-written, full of flavor, and its obvious that a lot of time has been spent imagining what the society around this jade technology looks like.

Green Jade is the same in this respect, and I think its the right approach for the setting. Much of the mechanics are relegated to sidebars, to accentuate the narrative text. What text is devoted to mechanics reads as much as a suggestion on how to use it in a broad sense as opposed to actual mechanics, and I like it! Not only does it provide more space to reveal why the Jadepunk universe is the Jadepunk universe, but it allows GMs the option to mechanically flavor how green jade is both used and influences the game world however that GM likes. Bob's your uncle!

It shows some fine examples of green-jade gear (using the Assets build system found in the main book), it tells stories of the use of green jade in the game-world. No maps. No tables. No stats, apart from a few sample Assets. Instead, it paints a picture, and presents these pictures as fresh inspiration for your own campaign.

And it doesn't provide much in the way of new mechanics: the only mechanical addendum is the replacement of the 'secret' aspect with the 'instinct' aspect for creature NPC's. This is more of a tweak than a truly new mechanic. In conjunction with this idea, the book presents the idea of 'chaermera': animals enhanced in toughness and/also size by exposure to green jade.

Chaermeras are great - yet another example of how jade influences the overall gameworld. Given that Jadepunk was conceptualized originally as 'What if we mashed up old we-st gunslingers with wuxia heroes?' - you can see just how much the authors explored jade's societal impact.

With it's small size (16 pages total, including the back/front cover & credits page) and low price-point ($2.99 USD for the PDF at DriveThru RPG), Jadetech: Green Jade reminds me of the Gadget Guide and Power Profile PDF's for Mutants and Masterminds 3e. 

Like these guides, it is available as a low-price point PDF; and also like these supplements, it presents little - if anything - in the way of new rules; instead, it shows you how to use these rules to build new and wonderful things for your own game. Considering publisher +Ryan M. Danks publicly confessed love of Mutants & Masterminds, I can only assume that these parallels are the result of inspiration/emulation rather than coincidence.

You get a lot for $2.99!

Buy or Don't Buy?

Like Jadepunk itself, this supplement provides a beautiful and easy-to-read presentation. Also like the main book, it gives all the flavor you need about the subject at hand while providing plenty of whitespace to make it all your own.

But is it worth your hard-earned gaming dollars?

Well.... at US$2.99 for the PDF, it's basically an impulse buy. So I would think that price-point is hardly an obstacle for most. On the other hand, most of the beauty that the book presents will live on your computer/tablet screen only, unless you have the option of making a HQ printout.

• Buy if: You love Jadepunk, and would like most examples of the setting and it's flavor for your table. Plus, it presents some great sample assets to use in play, or to inspire some of your own creations.
• Don't buy: If you are using Jadepunk rules to run a generic campaign, there isn't much here for you. The chaemera rules might be of use to you for building beast-type NPC's, but I basically already spoiled that already in this review. On the other hand.... it's $2.99. You might want to download it anyhow for the read alone.

Final Word

Although this is a wonderful supplement- kudos to +Jacob Possin & +Benjamin Feehan for your lovely work here - this really isn't the Jadepunk supplement that I truly want.

I want mountains, Gandalf- mountains! I wish to know more about the larger world sketched in broad detail in the main Jadepunk book. Tell me more about the Cairn Mountains of Aerum; inform me about the Funarino Channel of Kaiyu. I'd love more on the history and conflicts between the major mining companies. Tell me about the honored traditions of the Nottila ship-captains! Show me how to run a game set in the fronteir-era of Kausao City, when the different powers jockeyed to see who would control the black jade of the Xibu Bati mountains. The Aerum Empire has airships!

I know that there are adventures to be had in Far Harad: tell me what I might find there. I want to know all that you can tell me.

But I have every faith that all of this - and more- will be explored in further supplements. And I cannot wait to see what Reroll Productions has in store for me going forward.

****
Jadetech: Green Jade (Reroll Store)

The Essential Four-Color FAE

I've seen several posts on the Fate Core and FAE communities asking for a guide to running supers. +Mike Lindsey, +Reagan Taplin, +Gary Anastasio, and others have worked on writing, refining, and playtesting these rules. For my part, I want to collect those posts into a single list.

The Four-Color FAE series:

• Part 1 - Power facts, the basic idea behind supers in FAE. Includes a character sheet for Miss Martian as an FAE super.
• Part 2 - Character roles in the supers genre, or "who is playing the fighter?"
• Part 3 - Approaches vs. Skills in Fate. Why FAE does a better job at supers.
• Part 4 - Extras in FAE. "Where does he get those wonderful toys?"
• Part 5 - Aspects and immunities in Fate. A suggested house rule for how to handle characters who are simply immune to something.
• Part 6 - A list of inspirations for the New Troy supers game.
• Part 7 - Mercury Man, a PC created in FAE and based on the Flash.
• Part 8 - Concessions Before Consequences, or how to model the ebb and flow of comic-book conflict.
• Part 9 - Starseed, a PC created in FAE and based on the Green Lantern.
• Part 10 - Character creation for the New Troy game, including PC concepts. Uses A Spark in Fate Core, a tool for creating a campaign world.
• Part 11 - Issue 1 of the New Troy game, introducing the PCs.
• Part 12 - Muramasa, a sample villain created in FAE.
• Part 13 - Character sheets for Golden Age PCs in FAE.

Bonus characters:

• Dr. Pisces - a sample villain in FAE.
• Magik - the New Mutants character.

Batman:

You can see the evolution of an FAE super character, Batman.

Young Justice characters:

Amazo, Artemis, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, Robin, Superboy

Avengers Accelerated:

The Battle of New York from "The Avengers", if it had been played out as a conflict in FAE. An illustration of how to use the Fate fractal to stage large-scale fights.

1. Part 1 - The Invasion Begins
2. Part 2 - The War
3. Part 3 - Avengers Assembled
4. Part 4 - Hope is Lost
5. Part 5 - The Sacrifice Play

D. Willhite annotated these into a single document, with rolls and other mechanics highlighted. You can find it here.

Games using Four-Color FAE:

This list isn't complete, but if you are looking for ways that people are applying these rules, here's where to start.

• Super Powereds - University for Heroes (OOC) (IC)
• Justice League: Legacies
• An unnamed game on Monkeys Took My Jetpack (Announcement)

Character Highlight: Lotus-Blossom Mei (Tianxia)

Following my recent review of the wuxia RPG Tianxia, I thought it might be fun to post of some the builds made for our game here in Seattle.

First up: courtesan and Jinyiwei Imperial agent, Lotus Blossom Mei:


"Lotus Blossom" Mei

• Aspects

High Concept: Imperial Secret-Agent and Courtesan
Trouble: The heart must be held in secrecy
Other: Master Ling taught me everything; Beautiful viper; Trust no one

• Skills

+4 Deceive
+3 Fight, Rapport
+2 Athletics, Chi*, Empathy
+1 Burglary, Investigate, Notice, Will

• Jianghu Rank: 1* (Ghost Serpent Form)

Ghost Haunts the Shadow: You may use Chi instead of Stealth to create an advantage based on moving silently or remaining unseen.
Serpent Bites the Hand: If you gain shifts on a defense, you can sacrifice your action next turn to immediately inflict an attack on your opponent using the shift value of your defense as your attack result.
Serpent Strikes Twice: +2 bonus to Deceive rolls to create an advantage based on disorientation, distraction, or unbalancing against opponents you have already inflicted stress on this combat.

• Stunts

The Scent of Jasmine: +2 to Overcome with Deceive when dealing with those who might find you attractive.
Resplendent Flower: Sub Rapport for Lore when dealing with matters pertaining to fashion and beauty.
A Hundred Flowers: Once per session you can call upon a helpful ally in the area, provided you can recount a story of your previous meeting.

• Refresh: 2
• Physical Stress: OO
• Mental Stress: OOO

Consequences:

• Minor (2):
• Moderate (4):
• Severe (6):

Special Ability Bonuses:

• +1 Zone Movement, +1 Passive Opposition (Jianghu Rank 1)
• Chi Armor (Chi +2, see Tianxia pg. 60)

Background:

Orphaned at a young age, Mei was taken in by Captain Ling of the Jinyiwei (Brocade-Clad Guard). Although Master Ling was like a father to her, he did not take her off the streets out of sheer charity: instead he aimed to train her as a secret member of Jinyiwei, who served as the Emperor’s feared secret police force.

Under a series of tutors Mei learned to read and write, sing and dance, and various other arts appropriate for a charming lady of high-society during the day: while at night Master Ling himself taught her the techniques of the Ghost Serpent school of martial arts.

At age 18 she was told to report to Madame Qi: trainer of Courtesans and herself a secret member of the Jinyiwei. Under Madame Qi’s watchful eye she learned to manipulate the hearts of men and those prey to easy flattery, while never forgetting the most important lesson taught her by Master Ling:

“Your heart is your greatest treasure: keep it secret, and never let anyone steal it.”

As a member of the Jinyiwei, Mei travels the remotest corners of the Emperor’s dominion, seeking to gather intelligence and bring to justice both criminals and corrupt officials alike, all whilst under the guise of ‘Lotus Blossom’ Mei : famed and much sought-after courtesan.

***

Although the Emperor has many judges and magistrates in his service, members of the Jinyiwei typically make very little use of them, having been authorized by the Emperor himself to bring any in all to justice without due-process or trial as they see fit.

Mei enjoys the full authority of any Jinyiwei member: when dealing with highly placed or influential individuals who could feasibly escape prosecution it is not unusual for her to serve both as judge and executioner when other means are not available.

***
"Lotus Blossom" Mei (Google Docs)

Review: Tianxia (Fate Core)

Format: Hardbound Book/PDF: 192 Pages

Publisher: James Dawsey

Author: Jack Norris

Art: Denise Jones

Map: Marco Morte

Editing: Nathan Kahler

Art Direction and Graphic Design: Daniel Solis, with Ruben Byrd

Site: http://www.vigilancepress.com/tianxia/

***

Launched via a successful Kickstarter campaign in October of last year (it seems like this is how you launch RPG's nowadays...), Tianxia is a wuxia setting and rules supplement for Fate Core.

Although I was instantly enticed by the style and presentation presented in the Kickstarter - the art especially, as the art is gorgeous..more on that below - I dawdled on contributing until November, and didn't really examine the PDF at length until about a month ago.

My thoughts in brief: if you already own Fate Core and you want to play a high-octane wuxia game, you owe it to yourself to at least check it out. If you are new to Fate and just want to play a wuxia game that supports all the tropes, then you should still check it out.

More details as to the why of this in my review below.

• Presentation & Layout

My thoughts on Tianxia very much parallel what I had to say about Jadepunk in my review of that game earlier this year: this is a beautiful and beautifully laid-out book where the design really sells the genre and flavor of the game on every page.

This is also one of the blessed few RPG books where the reader is rewarded by reading it cover-to-cover, like a storybook: and indeed, we are given the story and flavor of the world of Tianxia well before the author presents the hard mechanics that make things work in play. 

• Setting and Background

An except from the book sells the basic idea well:

"Tianxia (“under heaven”) is a series of rules and setting supplements for the Fate Core system. 

The title of the game comes from both the concept of all the lands and people in Imperial China existing under the purview of the gods and their celestial kingdom and the term used for the imperial unification of kingdoms and cultures to create a central “China” that had previously not existed. The films Hero (Jet Li, not Dustin Hoffman) and The Emperor and the Assassin present fictionalized but highly entertaining versions of how that unification began.  

Just as Tianxia the concept was supposed to include everything that existed “under heaven” in real world imperial China, Tianxia the game includes everything in our rules and setting materials heavily inspired by Chinese myth, legend, and modern media such as Kung Fu and wuxia literature and film."

What follows is a pastiche of what is the 'standard' setting for a traditional wuxia adventure: Jaingzhou, the wild west of this fictional version of China. The book explains that this is but one of the nine-provinces of Shenzhou (which itself is but another name for China), the other eight being promised in greater detail in later supplements.

Far from the grip of the capital, rule of law in Jaingzhou province is more of the 9/10th of the law variety: if you can hold it or steal it, it's yours. This is a place full of bandits, secret societies, corrupt officials, private security services: a land of corruption and injustice. A place badly in need of heroes.

In short: the perfect place to have adventures!

Everything you need to run a full campaign is here: loads of named NPC's, locations, and organizations to power your game: but enough white space to make it all your own.

Where the flavor text and character stats end, various sidebars inform the philosophy of the game designers, discussing matters like creating an inclusive gaming environment, possible adventure hooks and story ideas, and even the traditional role of eunuchs in Chinese culture and legend. All dandy here.

• Rules & The Deadly Arts of Kung Fu

Although Fate is often presented as a 'story game', Fate Core in particular has a lot of bits to define character competency via Skills and Stunts. Tianxia expands upon this by adding a new Skill, 'chi', and a new way to build martial arts abilities via the Forms system.

An important note here: although it does contain 192 pages of wuxia goodness, Tianxia is NOT a complete game system. You very much need Fate Core to play it and build complete characters: even the action resolution tables are missing from the book.

As stated in the intro, I participated in the Kickstarter and was already playing Fate Core when I picked this up, so this wasn't an issue for me. But this basic point is not mentioned in either the front or back covers, and appears for the first time under 'What Is This Book' at pg.16. I can easily see a new gamer overlooking this factor, even upon relatively close inspection.

So if I picked up this book after flipping through it at the FLGS and discovered this when I got back home and not already in possession of Fate Core..I could imagine being a tad upset. Maybe a niggling point since Fate Core is currently a 'pay-what-you-like' (including nothing) PDF download, but it's my one complaint about the physical book.

But let's talk about the good stuff!

In addition to the 18 Skills presented by Fate Core, Tianxia presents a new one: Chi, the quasi-mystical force that represents the body's flow of energy. The actual concept of chi (or 'ki', or 'qi') is complex and tied to Chinese Daoist thought...but here it's a kind of super-power that gives characters greater physical/mental endurance and recovery abilities, as well as expanding what the character can do in conjunction with their Forms and Stunts.

Forms are really neat. For those already familiar with Fate but not Tianxia in particular, it's best to think of Forms as specialized (and discounted) Stunt packages.

For example: the character Smiling Ox (character sheet below), is trained in the Iron Tiger Form. Per the book:

"The dreaded Iron Tiger practitioner is thought to be one of the most aggressive, lethal fighters around. 

What Iron Tigers lack in maneuverability and flexibility they make up for in physical power, toughness, and aggression. This style eschews many of the tactics and principles of softer styles to focus purely on hard-hitting blows, disabling strikes, painful locks, and linear but effective defenses."

Each form is also an aspect that can be invoked/compelled like any other aspect in Fate. Taking a form has cost involved, in terms of Refresh (your starting Fate Points): one point of Refresh (or Stunt slot) gives you the form and one Technique (worded as pre-generated Stunt). Each additional point of Refresh spent on the Form grants two more techniques.

Like the Iron Tiger Form above, all Forms consistent of a element (Iron, Storm, Forest, etc.) and an animal (Tiger, Monkey, Dragon, etc) that flavors and informs your martial arts style.

There are additional rules that grant certain benefits when you master certain Forms, which I won't get into here. Bottom line is: although this is an optional system for character creation, I cannot imagine NOT taking a Form if you are playing game where physical conflicts are going to come into play. They are just too powerful to be ignored.

• Sample Characters and GM'ing

The GM'ing section starts out sprightly, with a handful of sample characters emulating certain tropes (I recognize Detective Dee and Princess Mononoke as templates- I'm sure more informed readers will spot others). This leads into a sample play session starring these characters, to demonstrate how Tianxia character builds work in play. 

This then leads into the standard GM advice section, some comments on legendary weapons (standard Fate rules: if gear is important to the story, model it. If not, it's just flavor), story advice and more plot seeds, and a 'bestiary' of standard and exceptional NPC's that can be encountered in play. 

All of this is followed by four simple - but well-plotted - two page adventures to run your new characters through.

Like the rest of book, these sections are presented in informative (but not authorial, in the bad sense of the word) way, and all the material is easy and fun to read to boot.

• Inspirations and Afterword

Much of the final 20 pages or so (about a tenth of the book!) are taken up by listing inspirations from films, books and video games. At first blush this might seem like an excessive use of limited space, but it's clear that the author (Jack Norris) wants to provide this because:

•  It's good to know where he is coming from in terms of game-design and play
• He wants you to have plenty of sources of inspiration for your game as well.

For my part, I've seen four of the eleven listed films, am familiar with (but have not read) two of the four listed books, and I've played two of four listed games. Personally I would have added the two Zu Warriors films to the mix, as well as Iron Monkey: but it's not my book.

Author Jack Norris' afterword is nice too, noting his personal journey to finally getting this game published after a decade plus. This has clearly been a labor of love for him, and this absolutely shows in the finished result.

• Final Thoughts

So the book looks nice, has great content, and an interesting system to build kung-fu powers: but does it work well in play?

Well, I've recently been GM'ing a game using the system recently and I can give the affirmative to that: abso-friggin-lutely yes it runs great in play! My players have been having a fantastic time exploring their various kung-fu powers, and as GM I've had a blast coming up with scenarios to challenge them.

Now, this is still Fate - the roleplaying aspects of portraying characters at the table are still important - but thats true of any good RPG, Fate included. What Tianxia brings to the table are the extra bits, and those extra bits are fun and don't bog down gameplay at all.

Is it worth your gaming dollars? Well....that depends. It's a nice coffee-table book - the art and presentation are great, as noted above - but at $44.95 (USD) it's pretty steep investment for a book that won't ever be played. And this is a game that wants to be played.

If you are already gaming with Fate Core and have been thinking about playing a wuxia game: then yes, it's worth the investment. If you prefer playing from PDF's (or just don't want to pony up for the hardback), then that's just $14.99 on DriveThruRPG. 

If you aren't familiar with Fate Core but think playing a high-octane (but still story-driven) wuxia game might be fun, I would suggest you download and read Fate Core first (available as pay-what-you-like/free price-point), before investing in either the PDF or the hardback for Tianxia. Tianxia takes what Fate Core offers and builds on it: if you don't like or grok Core, you will have the same trouble with Tianxia.

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More on the blog soon about our Tianxia game here in Seattle: The Kingdom of Xinjou!

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 Tianxia (HC+ PDF, IPR)

 Tianxia (PDF only, DTRPG)

Four-Color FAE: Supers Gaming via Fate Accelerated - pt13

Tomorrow is Go Play NW here in Seattle, a convention for RPGs and story games. We here at Station53 play to run an introductory adventure of Four-Color FAE, both because we love it and because it will be a great avenue to see how players, both experienced FATE players and those new to FATE, grok the rules. In particular, I want to see how easy it is to understand the power permissions concept. +Gary Anastasio has a Golden Age adventure prepped, which he describes as a "high octane classic superhero smack-down". We created a number of riffs on the classic archetypes of the era ready to go a pregens.

Next week we'll have a recap of that session, but for now, here's the characters we'll bring to the table (and links to each character's sheet):

Tomorrow Man

High Concept: The man of tomorrow...today!

Hero analogue: Golden-Age Superman

Captain 

Victory

High Concept: Patriotic action hero fighting for justice

Hero analogue: Captain America

Sheildmaiden

High Concept: Crusading Valkyrie Battle Leader

Hero analogue: Wonder Woman, Thor

Doctor DeSpelle

High Concept: Stage magician turned amateur sleuth and crime-fighter

Hero analogue: Zatara, Doctor Thirteen

Lady Nocturne

High Concept: Wise-Cracking Socialite Turned Crimefighter

Hero analogue: Batman, Golden Age Sandman

Mr. Malleable

High Concept: Blue-Collar Elastic Crimefighter

Hero analogue: Plastic Man

Skygirl

High Concept: Jet-propelled freedom-fighter

Hero analogue: Hawkgirl

Johnny Sasquatch

High Concept: Powerful Protector Of The Wilderness

Hero analogue: Bigfoot!!  (also, The Hulk)

Pacifica

High Concept: Headstrong Princess of Lemuria

Hero analogue: Namor, Aquaman, The Little Mermaid (per +Mike Lindsey)

Dynamo And Sparky

High Concept: The world’s greatest detective! (and his sidekick)

Hero analogue: Green Hornet and Kato, Batman and Robin

Mercury Man

High Concept: The Fastest Man Alive!

Hero analogue: The Flash

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The Tao of Fate: Challenge, Contest, or Conflict?

It's not always obvious how to stage a particular dramatic encounter in Fate. The game provides tools, such as rules for Challenges, Contests, and Conflicts. To pick the right tool for the job, I think of three things: stakes, momentum, and exit points.

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Stakes

For every encounter, start by asking: what's really at stake? What do the PCs get if they win, and what do they lose if they fail?

Something that would end the story on failure is never a good stake. Usually, this includes "the lives of the player characters", outside of a deliberately lethal conflict. If that's really what's on the line, you should rethink what the PCs are fighting for. Wherever possible, the stakes should reinforce the story being told, and they should be appropriate to the genre of your story.

If Superman is rescuing a crashing jetliner in his own comic book, and Lois is on it, then you can be pretty sure that Lois Lane isn't going to just die, because that will be jarring for the readers of a Superman comic book. Something else must be at risk. If Lois was injured badly enough in the rescue, would Superman be distracted from something more important? Would a villain be able to advance his plan further if the Man of Steel was in the hospital sitting by Lois' bed? Balancing his responsibility with his humanity is a core part of Superman's story, and those sorts of stakes reinforce his nature.

Changing Stakes

Sometimes, the stakes only become apparent as the encounter resolves itself. In "Blade Runner", during the final fight between Deckard and Roy Batty, Roy is already dying, and he knows it. Over the course of the conflict, the real stakes are eventually revealed: does his life matter? Will he leave behind any sort of legacy? Deckard is the last chance he has to make that happen. The stakes for Deckard seem to be his own survival, but they shift to protecting his identity. Can he keep being who he was? Does he want to?

If your group realizes that something has changed, it's perfectly legitimate to stop the currently running Challenge, Contest, or Conflict, or to reframe it in the new terms. In the Deckard vs. Batty Example Fight from Richard Bellingham (discussion thread here), this is exactly what happens, as the physical conflict becomes a mental one.

Momentum

In "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", Indy, Willie Scott, and Short Round are riding the rails in mine carts. Their goal, of course, was to avoid the villain's henchmen and get out of the mines safely. Shorty was explicitly told which route to take.

Did they go that way? Of course not!

Did failing to go the right way end the story? Of course not.

A good encounter works like a mine cart ride: no matter where you go, you have to keep moving. Like mine carts, a story is always worse if it derails than if it takes a new route. Don't fear failure - instead, fear not having a new direction to offer the group if the dice don't work out.

Exit Points

So what should you use - a Challenge, a Contest, or a Conflict - to model an encounter? For me, it depends on the ways the participants can leave it. Do these exit points center around the stakes (Contests), the participants (Conflicts), or the situation (Challenges)?

Contests have twists and turns, as rivals try to outmaneuver each other, but you're all still heading toward something or away from something. Everyone exits the encounter when one or another got where they wanted to go.

In a Conflict, exit points always come at a cost. Nobody makes it out in the same shape they came in, unless they bought their victory with hard work, effort, and good fortune. Even concessions carry a price.

In a Challenge, there's many ways to exit the encounter, with the PCs winnowing down the possibilities. Sometimes they get the outcome they most want. Sometimes they compromise. Sometimes they're left with a terrible choice. But the exit point they get to use is one they can afford with their resources of skill, Fate points, and luck.

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Challenges, Contests, and Conflicts are tools. They offer a way to challenge your players and provide a believable, if sometimes surprising, outcome. Once you have a sense of what the PCs are risking, and an idea of how their actions will carry them from scene to scene, you will be able to choose the right tool for the right job.

Character Highlight: Akifumi Oh (Cyber Jadepunk)

As mentioned in Reagan Taplin's post last week, we are gearing up soon to play a Jadepunk game via Google Hangouts, with the first session scheduled for July.

Rather than using the world as presented, our future Jadepunk game (dubbed 'Cyber Jadepunk') will explore the world of Kausao City almost a century forward in time from the setting presented in the book: where jadetech has progressed well beyond the steampunky into something resembling cyber-technology. 

With this idea in mind - and to provide an example- let's look at crusading reporter turned super-hacker, Akifumi Oh:

Akifumi Oh

Aspects

• Portrayal: Crusading reporter turned vengeful hacker
• Background: I gave up a life of luxury to pursue justice
• Inciting Incident: Virtually imprisoned for twelve long years
• Belief: I will taste all that life has to offer before I’m done
• Trouble: Beneath the snow-capped mountain, an unquenchable fire

Professions

• +3  Scholar
• +2  Engineer, Fighter
• +1  Explorer, Scoundrel
• +0  Aristocrat

Assets

Black-Jade Implant

• Type: Device
• Function Aspect: Black jade subdermal implant
• Features: Exceptional (Use your Professions to interact with jade); Focus 2 (+2 Scholar)
• Flaws: Situational 2 (When interacting with networked devices only), Troubling (Aspect: The channel goes both ways...)
• Cost: 1

Virtua-Fighter

• Type: Technique
• Guiding Aspect: Virtually imprisoned for twelve long years
• Features: Focus (+1 Fighter); Harmful 1 (+1 Shift)
• Flaws: Limited (Melee attacks only)
• Cost: 1

Old-Boy Network

• Type: Ally
• Function Aspect: The old-timers still remember me
• Features: Professional 2 (+1 Scholar, +2 Scoundrel); Aspect (Well-Informed)
• Flaws: Limited (Once per-scene)
• Cost: 1

Secret Bank Accounts

• Type: Technique
• Guiding Aspect: I gave up a life of luxury to pursue justice
• Features: Flexible (sub Scholar for Aristocrat)
• Flaws: Situational (Only when your purchasing power matters)
• Cost: 1

• Refresh: 3
• Stress: OOO

Consequences:

• Mild (2):
• Moderate (4):
• Severe (6):

Backstory:

Although born from an immigrant family, Akifumi Oh enjoyed a life of privilege: the best schools, the best opportunities, the best connections. A new white-jade powered roadster at age 16; and plenty of beautiful and well-connected friends. 

But during his schooldays young Akifumi saw a glimpse of how the other-half lived in Kausao City; and the spark of niggling doubt grew into the flame of righteous indignation. 

Upon completing his schooling he passed up other more lucrative opportunities to become of crusading reporter for the Kausao Times; covering the underbelly of lies and corruption that was the foundation of the city’s unequally distributed riches. 

By age 30 he was as famous as he was infamous; welcome at many a party, bar and bedroom door throughout the city. All of this changed one night: stumbling drunkenly home looking for late-night auto-rickshaw, he was abducted by unknown parties and immersed into saline bath, where he was locked into a virtual reality prison..for twelve long years.

Having eventually freed himself by learning how to communicate with and manipulate networked jadetech, Akifumi has sworn revenge upon the unknown parties that once made him their prisoner. And he is willing to use any tool at his disposal - including the permanent black-jade implant he gained when he was abducted - to achieve this goal, whatever the consequences might be for himself or others.

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Akifumi Oh (Google Docs)

Jadepunk Character Highlight: Shen Hu

Mike recently shared his review of Jadepunk, which you can read here. I highly recommend you do, as its a thorough analysis of what makes the setting and the mechanics tick. Ryan Danks, Jacob Possin, and Mike Olson have created something that is chock-full of high-octane narrative, and supports a wide-range of heroic character concepts.

+Gary Anastasio is soon to be running a game that takes the setting to a very interesting place - about 100 years in the future. What does the region look like with jade powering an exponential growth in technology? What does such a society look like on the verge of a Transhumanism? He's re-imagined  Kausao city as a dystopian cyberpunk setting, and it fits like a Red Jade-powered glove. +Jacob Possin outlines the setting with a bit more detail in his blogpost, and shares the two-fisted character he'll be playing for the game - best summarized it as a "Jadei".

I wanted to play some kind of classic wuxia old martial arts master, a Shaolin monk who tends to the needs of the poor and disenfranchised. I wanted to use the Asset system to create a martial arts style that is an analog to that ideal, which was surprisingly easy to do. I thought it would be fun to have a cybernetic tiger companion with human intelligence. Who wouldn't want that, really? A future Jadepunk supplement is planned that outlines how such Chaemeras work in the setting, but I found the Ally asset system simple and powerful enough to handle what I was asking of it.

Shen Hu


Aspects

• Portrayal: Crusading Master of Bihu Xuanya Martial Arts
• Background: Vowed To Assist The Poor And Helpless
• Inciting Incident: Last Survivor Of the Bihu Xuanya Temple
• Belief: Enlightenment Is Impossible Under Oppression
• Trouble: Always Help The Poor And Needy

Professions
+3 Fighter
+2 Explorer, Aristocrat
+1 Scholar, Scoundrel
+0 Engineer

Assets

Immortal Dance of the Invisible Guardians

Spinning and leaping, moving in and out of the throng - this technique requires a calm mind to interpret the ever-changing features of the environment. When the mind is focused, the world slows down, allowing the practitioner to manipulate the subtleties of his environment to his and his allies’ advantage.

• Type: Technique
• Guiding Aspect: Crusading Master of Bihu Xuanya Martial Arts
• Features: Exceptional 1 (When creating an advantage, instead of putting a free invocation on an aspect, you can create an additional aspect.)
• Flaws: Situational (Only when at least one ally is in the same zone), Limited (Can only be used once per scene)
• Cost: 1

Whirlwind Avalanche Of Infinite Solitudes
Altruism is a core tenet of Bihu Xuanya. Enlightenment can only be achieved when one freely gives of the self.

• Type: Technique
• Guiding Aspect: Crusading Master of Bihu Xuanya Martial Arts
• Features: Protective 1 (reduces the shift value of a successful attack against an ally by one)
• Flaws: Situational (Can only be used when the attack targets an ally in the same zone), Situational (Can only be used on someone else)
• Cost: 1

Perfect Thoughtful Falcon Toe
In the Void, the soul is lost and alone, but in unison, two souls can achieve magnificence. A master of Bihu Xuanya is acutely aware of this, and with the faintest touch, can use this harmony to his advantage.

• Type: Technique
• Guiding Aspect: Crusading Master of Bihu Xuanya Martial Arts
• Features: Harmful 2
• Flaws: Situational (Can only be used when you tag an aspect created by an ally)
• Cost: 1 

Baihu The Spirit Tiger
Sometimes, the universe expresses itself with a symbol of perfection. This is Baihu, a gentle but powerful soul. She can sense the Chi in others, and to those of pure spirit, is a formidable ally. To those who seek to corrupt others, she is a relentless foe.

• Type: Ally
• Function Aspect: Genetically Enhanced Tiger
• Features: Professional 2 (Fighting +2, Exploration +1), Resilient 1 (1 mild consequence slot), Sturdy 2 (2 stress boxes), Independent (can act on her own without spending a Fate Point)
• Flaws: Troubling 2 (I Didn't Steal Her - She Chose Me, Human Intelligence Doesn't Mean She Understands Human Customs)
• Cost: 1

Green Jade Prayer Beads
The monks of the Bihu Xuanya temple are not materialistic; they only use that which charity gives them. The altruistic have donated Green Jade to the cause, which the monks use to recite their mantras. With practice, a Master can use these beads to channel the power of Green Jade to relieve the suffering of others.

• Type: Device
• Function Aspect: Fo Of The Five Virtues
• Features: Exceptional 1 ( Reduce an ally’s consequence by one step)
• Flaws: Effort: (Time: One action), Situational (Can only be used once per scene)
• Cost: 1 

Refresh: 2
Stress: OOO
Consequences:

• Mild (2):
• Moderate (4):
• Severe (6):

Backstory:

Shen Hu has spent his long life at the Bihu Xuanya Temple, serving the the poor and the laborers of the Jade Mines and Refinery District. The temple espouses a philosophy stating “The Path To Understanding Comes Through Helping Others:, and “To Help Another You Must First Help Yourself.” To this extent, the monks provide food, education and spiritual enlightenment to all who ask. The temple humbly accepted any donation from those who have more, and strove to put use it to noble ends.

His rewarding life took a different turn a few years ago. In his dreams, he was visited by a spirit tiger named Baihu. A few weeks later, Baihu appeared at the temple. Baihu could understand the language of men, and claimed Shen Hu as her spirit brother. Baihu was beloved by the people of the area as the children would ride her back and play with her. Unfortunately, she is a genetically engineered tiger, designed to be a weapon by a biotech firm, and escaped. The firm threatened to shut down the temple if they would not give her up; the monks simply stated she was free to leave at any time if she wished.

Several weeks later, one of the mining companies pushed the worker crews to the limit, and they went on strike. The monks of the temple fed and cared for the strikers during that time. When the company cracked down on the strikers with force, the monks fought back, dealing a devastating below to the company’s military forces. Undeterred, and perhaps aided with the forces of the biotech firm, they destroyed the temple in the dead of night, killing all but Shen Hu and Baihu. Now the two fight side-by-side with the Jianghu, aiding the meek whenever possible, trying to right any wrong.

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