Star Wars: The Fires of Hope - TTRPG using Fate Core

[Martian]

It’s been three months since the Galactic Empire lost its first major battle in its Civil War. The Rebel Fleet was able to destroy the super-weapon known as the Death Star, ruining countless years of Imperial planning. This disaster has caused the Empire to crack down even harder on all forms of resistance, its grip tightening around the Galaxy. And yet there is still hope. Spurred on by the Rebel victory at Yavin, many new recruits have decided to join the armed resistance. One such mass enrollment would be on the planet Pythis. A small tourist world in the Mid Rim, Pythis was just obscure enough for a Rebel recruiter to try and have multiple factions join the Rebellion at the same time. The only problem is that the Empire is aware of this, and is ready to strike as soon as the potential Rebels make themselves known.

So I really love the Fate Core system and would like to try running it here on the Guild. For those unfamiliar, Fate Core is a simple role-playing system that focuses more on telling a collaborative story than having in depth dice rolling rules. In fact the only dice roll ever done in Fate Core is rolling four fate dice, which will give you a result between negative four and plus four, to which you then add your relevant skill ranking. Obviously there’s a bit more to it than that, but the system is easy to learn.

Here’s some resources if you aren’t familiar with Fate Core:

• This is the official publisher’s website. You can download a PDF of the core rules for any price, including free.
• This is a hack of Fate Core to make it Star Wars themed. We will be using the skill list included within, as well as the rules for Extras.
• This is a helpful video explaining how to play Fate Core.
• This is a video of celebrities playing Fate Core, with one of the game designers as GM. This is good if you want to see Fate in actual play.

If you are interested in participating, I ask that you start coming up with a character concept. All player characters are people who hate the Empire for some reason and are looking to join the Rebellion, coming to Pythis to meet with a Rebel recruiter. I am hesitant to include Jedi, being more open to other Force using traditions. As for species, pretty much any alien both canon or original would work, as long as they fit in the setting and aren’t overpowered.

Stuff to do if you’ve read the rule book

If you understand the rules of Fate Core and have some kind of character idea, please do these next few steps.

• Start thinking about your aspects. An aspect should be a few words to up to a sentence.
• Your first aspect is your high concept. This should be a short way of explaining your character, and should include your species.
• Next is your trouble. This should be something that comes up fairly regularly to mess with your life. This could be a mental or emotional issue, a problem with an NPC, or anything else that you could think of that would screw up your character.
• Next up you should write an origin. This should be a paragraph explaining something that happened in the character’s past, shaping who they are. This will also create their third aspect.
• The next story to come up with is the Spark of Rebellion. This is what drove them to wanting to join the Rebellion. Was a family member killed? A home world exploited? Or is it just on principle? This will create your fourth aspect.
• The fifth and final aspect will be a Bond. This is some sort of relationship between player characters. If you want, your characters can know each other prior to the start of the roleplay, or you could leave it blank and fill it in as the story progresses.
• Now that you’ve done your aspects, please refer to the Star Wars hack PDF and pick your top 3-5 skills. This will help shape your character.
• And if you done everything else, maybe come up with a stunt. There are several example stunts in both the core rules and the Star Wars hack, which are perfectly acceptable, or you could get creative and make your own.

So if people are interested in participating in this, please let me know. I’m here to answer any questions about the tabletop system or the setting that you may have. Also if we do get players, we can start discussing the setting and character roles together as collaborative game design in a big part of Fate Core.

May the Force be with you.

[rush99999]

[Abashi76]

What kind of characters are we going to be playing as? How many options do we have?
Do we get to choose between the Sith & the Jedi? Do we get to choose from Rebels vs Empire troopers?
Do the characters have to have already been written or can we just make them up?

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∵ ∴ ╠⊚╣ ∵ ∴ ╠⊚╣ ∵ ∴ ╘∺⊙∺╛ ∵ ∴ ╠⊚╣ ∵ ∴ ╠⊚╣ ∵ ∴
· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
∵ ∴ ╘⌌⇑⌍╛ ∵ ∴ ╘⌌⇑⌍╛ ∵ ∴ ╘⌌⇑⌍╛ ∵ ∴
˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

Spoiler

┌ . . ┐ ⌈⌎⇓⌏⌉

[Martian]

@rush99999
Yes, I couldn’t help myself. I really want to run this game.

@Abashi76
So I actually forgot to add a line about the initial role of the player characters, which I’m going to edit the first post to add. Anyways, your characters will be people who have a reason to hate the Empire and are thus trying to join the Rebellion. Prior to the start of the RP, they’ve made some kind of contact with a Rebel recruiter who is going to meet them in person on the planet Pythis. Character concept wise I’m pretty open, though I’m hesitant to include Jedi. However, other Force using traditions could be a better fit, whether that be some kind of mystic, or even something like a Witch of Dathomir. Also I’m pretty open on player species, allowing custom creations, as long as they fit in the Galactic Civil War era and aren’t too overpowered. Hopefully that clears that up for you. Also you would be creating original characters, but all you really need to write up is their Fate Core character sheet, which can be found at the end of the PDF rulebook linked above. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[rush99999]

@Martian

Are the Origin and Spark of Rebellion aspects meant to be the two extra aspects mentioned in the hack PDF?

[rocketrobie2]

Got room for one more? This looks pretty cool

[Martian]

@rush99999
Yeah, sorry about not being clear. I may have been adding things from the Fate System Toolkit book, as its been awhile since I read it or the core rules and thus forget what is specifically in each book. Anyways I was planning to change up how a player creates their starting aspects. Basically I’m keeping the High Concept and Trouble as is, but I’m changing up the other three aspects to be origin, spark of rebellion, and bonds.

As for how extras work, the two aspects mentioned there are for creating a special item or companion that is separate from your character. For example, if you were playing Luke Skywalker, you could make an extra R2-D2. For R2 his aspects would be something like Reliable Astromech and Treasured Friend.

Hopefully that clears up some confusion. I’m planning to write up an example character sheet to show what it looks like. Expect that in a day or two.

@rocketrobie2
We definitely still have room. Glad to see another person interested in this. I’m wondering if you have any character concept in mind? Also if you’re not familiar with Fate Core, please view the resources listed in the opening post.

[rush99999]

As for how extras work, the two aspects mentioned there are for creating a special item or companion that is separate from your character.

@Martian

Are the two stunts and six skill points also for the special item or companion?

[Mistress Dizzy]

I am here

[rocketrobie2]

@Martian I’m completely green when it comes to Fate (I’ve heard of it for ages but never played it) and I’ve got a couple of concepts in mind but nothing concrete. Probably I’ll play a droid (I love playing droids in EoE) but what that entails I’m not sure.

Speaking of; if anyone wants a droid companion lemme know and maybe we can write some collaborative backstory!

[rush99999]

Speaking of; if anyone wants a droid companion lemme know and maybe we can write some collaborative backstory!

@rocketrobie2

I'll take that offer. No Space-Dracula is truly complete without a trusty Robo-Renfield to do his bidding.

[Martian]

@Mistress Dizzy
Glad to have you. Are you still interested in playing a Nautolan doctor?

@rocketrobie2
Luckily Fate isn’t hard to learn. Also a Droid character would be acceptable, just noting that some game play mechanics will be different for you, like getting healed by a mechanics roll as you’re a machine.

Also it would be awesome for you and rush to work together. That would allow you guys to have a bond aspect before the game starts, if you so choose.

@rush99999
Yes they are. So the way I’m imagining it, you can either have one or two items, a companion, or an item and a companion. However if you decide not to use either the stunts or the skills, I will house rule it that you can trade it in for another point of refresh. This will make it so that you can have a very diverse character, using all of the extras, or a more powerful character that is more limited in scope.

Also, here’s the example character sheet I mentioned.

Example Character

BASIC

Name: Jib Phean
Refresh: 3
(Notes: The default refresh is three. It can be higher by one if you choose not to use all your extras budget. This affects the minimum fate points that you start a session with. Can also be spent at milestones to gain a new stunt.)
Current FP: 3
(Notes: Fate points are used to invoke aspects. Doing so allows you to get either a +2 to a roll or do a complete re-roll. Multiple invokes can be used for a single role, but a single aspect can only be invoked once per roll.)

ASPECTS

High Concept: Gran Ex-Pro Podracer
(Notes: The high concept must include your species and a few words establishing a basic character type.)
Trouble: I owe the Hutts so many Credits
(Notes: Due to a lifetime of gambling, Jib owes a substantial amount of Credits to a Hutt crime lord. This is a trouble that works as it can come up as a recurring thing, with the threat of the Hutts always looming and can be invoked for when Jib can’t stop himself from gambling.)
Origin: I just need to go fast
(Notes: Growing up on Malastare, Jib always loved podracers. From a young age he piloted them, quickly rising in the ranks. Jib then became something of a celebrity in the podracing scene.)
Spark of Rebellion: They banned my sport!
(Notes: Wishing to crack down on the black market, the Empire banned podracing as it fueled organized crime. Jib had his podracer impounded by Imperial Forces, and the podracer league shut down. Now with nothing else to live for and a hatred for the Empire, Jib decided to fight back.)
Bond: Nos Tuu always has what I need
(Notes: Another example character is Nos Tuu, a smuggler. Back when Jib was still a podracer, he knew Nos Tuu, who would always smuggle him goods, mostly paid for with gambling wins. Now that they’re both in the rebellion, Jib relies on Nos Tuu to help him out.)

SKILLS

Superb +5:
Great +4: Transport
Good +3: Mechanics, Deception
Fair +2: Blast, Will, Notice
Average +1: Athletics, Vigor, Lore, Investigation
Basic +0: Everything Else
(Notes: This is the array of skills you start with. You can increase skills as you play, but it takes a long time to do so. Also when increasing skill levels, it must maintain a pyramid shape, meaning that the skill rank below another must have equal or more skills in it.)

EXTRAS

DRN-71
Aspects: Customized, Loyal Pit Droid
Skills: +4 Mechanics, +2 Transport
Stunts: Built in Toolkit: You may declare that you have the right tool for a repair. When you do an overcome roll using said tool, if you succeed with style, you can add a bonus boost.
(Notes: This is a basic example of a companion. He uses one aspect, one stunt, and all six skill points. Also I’m capping a companion’s skill rating a +4, same as a starting character.)

Podracer Toolkit
Aspects: High Quality Corellian made Toolkit
Stunts: Just About Every Tool I could ever need: Once per scene, you make declare that you have the right tool for a repair. Gain +2 to a Mechanics to Overcome a repair.
(Notes: This is an example special item. It uses one aspect and one stunt.)

STUNTS

Focus: Gain a +2 Bonus to Will roles to create an advantage on yourself.
(Notes: This is a stunt listed in the Star Wars hack. Using pre-made stunts is definitely fine, especially if you are new to Fate.)

Customization Expert: You may use Transport instead of Mechanics to Create an Advantage of customizing a vehicle.
(Notes: This is a simple, use a skill for another skill role stunt. They’re a good way of sharpening your character’s focus.)

Dangerous Driving: If in a vehicle, you may roll Transport to make an attack roll on another vehicle.
(Notes: Another skill for a skill stunt. This one fits thematically as Jib was a dangerous driver back when he piloted podracers.)

STRESS

Physical: (1) (2) (3)
[Notes: Jib gets a bonus stress box for having a +1 in Vigor, the equivalent skill of Physique in the core book.]
Mental: (1) (2) (3)
(Notes: Jib also gets a bonus stress box for having a +2 in Will.)

CONSEQUENCES

2:
4:
6:
(Notes: Unlike stress boxes, consequences aren’t separated by physical and mental.)

If anyone has any more questions about character creation, please let me know.

[rocketrobie2]

@Martian Me and Rush are already working on it. Right now I'm trying to find a droid model (or line) that I like that'll fit in good with his character. Not to be a little basic but I'll probably end up with an Astromech though everything is real loose at the moment.

[rush99999]

Here's my character.

[Mistress Dizzy]

@Martian Yep, still bringing the Doc.

[Martian]

@Mistress Dizzy
Cool. Let me know if you need any help with creating your character.

@rocketrobie2
Glad to see some collaboration. As for what kind of droid to pick, like with species, I’m allowing original creations, just so that you aren’t stuck with a character type that doesn’t match what you have in your head. As for playing an astromech, that would probably be fine, though you would be limited in what you can do, not having actual arms and legs. But I’ll wait to see the character sheet before I pass final judgment.

@rush99999
I really like your character sheet. However, there are some things to address. All your aspects are good except for your trouble. Bored is kind of vague, so perhaps you could say what he was bored with. Is he tired of the status quo? Bored with his decadence? Or something like that. If it was a little more precise, it would be easier for me to invoke against you.

Also I see that you made your extra an organization. That would be fine, save the fact that only the start of the RP was going to be on Pythis, so the Count’s extra would rarely be of use. I suggest maybe changing it to Pythis Corporation, as a company could show up more in our galaxy spanning adventure. You could keep the same skills but change the two aspects. Also you could use your two stunts in the extras budget. My recommendation would be to add the thugs stunt, found in the organizations section of the Star Wars hack, and move over Throw Credits at It, as you’re only supposed to start with three personal stunts at character creation. But other than those couple of changes, your character sheet is very good.

Also since you made your character so deeply tied to the planet Pythis, I’m going to share with you my concepts of what the planet was like. Discovered during the High Republic Era, Pythis, or Planet O2874 as it was called initially, was located just outside a giant gas cloud in space. With no natural sentient life, Pythis was a mostly water world, save massive islands made of giant coral pieces that rose above the water. The planet would mostly only be used for scientific research and fishing of the creatures that lived beneath the waves. The planet would then be purchased by Count Pythis, who turned the various coral islands into resorts. Pythis would be a popular tourist destination, though interest in it has waned since the Galactic Empire came to power.

Let me know if you had any ideas about the planet Pythis.

[rush99999]

@Martian

Trouble has been changed.

Extra has been edited.

If I recall correctly, additional personal stunts can be purchased with refresh. I used the fourth point of refresh I got from not using all my extras budget to purchase my fourth personal stunt. Or can that only be done at milestones and not at character creation?

[Martian]

@rush99999
The new trouble works. You can spend refresh to gain another stunt at character creation, however you only get that 4th refresh point if you don't use either skills or stunts with your extras. So what I was thinking was to not get a 4th refresh, instead getting the Thugs and Throw Credits At It as part of your company. This will allow you to effectively have five stunts, three personal and two extra, which is kind of exploiting the system, but I'm cool with doing that. Or if you want that extra point of refresh to spend on a fourth stunt, you can, you would just need to remove the stunt from your organization.

Personally I would do it the way I suggested, but it's your character and ultimately your choice.

[rush99999]

@Martian

Edits have been made.

I decided to move Your Reputation Precedes You to Pythis Destinations rather than Throw Credits At It though. Since Vanovar is pretty wealthy even without his monopoly and hasn't been on an adventure for the past three hundred years, I'd say it would be his reputation rather than his access to healthcare that is more closely tied to his business.

[Martian]

@rush99999
Count Vanovar Pythis is accepted! Thanks for putting up with all my little edits.

@rocketrobie2 @Mistress Dizzy
Do you guys need any help with your character sheets?

@Abashi76 @mattmanganon @Dark Cloud @ErsatzEmpress
Wondering if you guys are still interested in this? Either way if it’s yes or no, please let me know.