I posed this question on Google+ and got the answer that I could certainly run it any way I wanted, but the common answer was that , for example, you couldn't run a mystery in fate because of the degree of shared narrative control. But is that really backed into the rules? RAW players need Fate Points to make a declaration but the GM is the final arbiter. Is it possible that storygamy type people just use the game for extreme narrative control, or is it not going to work if I don't do that.
I can only speak to my experiences with Fate and in the recent additions, my reading of it.
First, I find the whole process of using, declaring aspects to pull me right out of the shared imagined space. It's jarring to me. Also, the plot modifications or suggestions by players that fall outside their immediate circle of control or influence (example - There just happens to be a flashlight in this drawer!). In that manner, I really feel like narrative games like Fate act more like "shared story making" vs. roleplaying. If it was billed as something tangential to "classic" roleplaying, I may have taken to it better. It's not bad, it's just different. Like the Pundit, I find comparing roleplaying games to story games to be like trying to equate bowling to croquet. Sure, they both use balls, but the goals are different. Neither sport is better than the other.
Second, the notion that you can't run a mystery in Fate is total nonsense. The GM can override declarations or even better go along with them and modify certain details to fit the players' declarations. Writing a mystery adventure for Fate would likely be different than say writing one for CoC, but I don't see why it couldn't be done. For example, you would frame the basics (the butler, with a knife, in the living room) and then let game play fill in details (motive, procedure, clues) where in a CoC some of the details might be important (creature type, ritual used, components gathered, alignment of the stars...) and you would want those to be more defined ahead of time.
The system you choose for your game is going to be based on what feels right for you. There are so many systems that unless you are into the mechanics of Fate I see no reason to use Fate. For a regular mystery for example you would be fine using BRP/CoC, GURPS, Unisystem or the like. If you like the idea of aspects, player declarations/ability to suggest or modify plot, compels, fate points, ephemeral qualities being as useful as relational qualities (my bad attitude is as useful in a fight as your high strength is!), then you would enjoy the style that Fate offers.
Thanks!
I'm a big fan of generic systems. One of the things i like about Fate Core is how many different tools it gives you to model stuff, whereas in Savage Worlds, Cypher, or WOIN you actually need a set of special rules to model whatever your're trying to model. I'm not super into character aspects or declarations, which seem to be the thing most Fate enthusiasts are into. I'm eagerly awaiting Strands of Fate 2e, which tones down some of these things.
Moving this into the main RPG forum.
Quote from: PencilBoy99;968318I posed this question on Google+ and got the answer that I could certainly run it any way I wanted, but the common answer was that , for example, you couldn't run a mystery in fate because of the degree of shared narrative control. But is that really backed into the rules?0
Hogwash.
It's best to think of fate as "impromptu" more than "narrative". You can create setting tidbits on the fly, but
1) The GM pretty much defines what you can attempt, and
2) When players create advantages, usually they state their intent, and the GM gets the final say on what is reasonable. Frex, if a player says "can I use
create advantage to give the whole space station "bubonic plague", the answer is going to be "no" unless you are operating on that scale.
Some Fate players, especially those on the Google+ groups, can drink the Fate koolaid pretty deeply at times. You can run a lot of things in Fate if you don't get overly worried about the preoccupation with player "agency" some Fate types get stuck on. As well, if you apply the Fate fractal, the mystery itself is a character which can resist convenient modifications to the uncovering of... itself. It takes stress damage and consequences (clues) as the players unravel more of the plot.
Thanks all
Quote from: PencilBoy99;968318I posed this question on Google+ and got the answer that I could certainly run it any way I wanted, but the common answer was that , for example, you couldn't run a mystery in fate because of the degree of shared narrative control. But is that really backed into the rules? RAW players need Fate Points to make a declaration but the GM is the final arbiter. Is it possible that storygamy type people just use the game for extreme narrative control, or is it not going to work if I don't do that.
I ran two different FATE-based campaigns, and obviously did not allow any kind of 'shared narrative control' bullshit. There's absolutely no reason why it's necessary. Which is proof that FATE is an RPG, and not a storygame. You can take the storygame shit out of it and it still works just fine.
Thanks all!
I was thinking about getting the My Little Pony game to play with my daughters but was worried about how the game uses narrative devices. I've found in playing with them, that they are much more into discovering things rather than creating or telling things. If that makes sense. And that having narrative devices be a requirement of the game would completely take them out of the game.
Fate is often described in terms of levers and dials; it is a big toolset and you can and are expect to adjust to suit your group. In that respect you can absolutely have with very conservative GM/player roles split.
One way you can achieve that is by limiting yourself to character-based Aspects and leave out the scene-based Aspects, Aspect used to describe the environment, circumstances or other stuff that is outside your character. That will help preserve a more traditional GM-Play relationship while allowing you to use a lot of Fate goodness, at it so much simple as means you a have fewer moving parts to keep track of whilst running. Or at least that's what I did with Bounty Hunters of the Atomic Wastelands.