The Island -Time Heroes of Fate- Character Creation Steps

I've just now realized that when I was doing the design journal for Time Heroes of Fate I never went into the steps of character creation. As I prepare to do the writeup for the Island's character creation steps, I thought perhaps I would do the same for Time Heroes as well. I'll write up the Time Heroes proces first, then move on to the Island. Character creation for both games will be pretty much identical to that of Fate Core. The only difference will be in Aspect creation, so that's what each area will focus on.

In Time Heroes, characters were pulled from their various times so there isn't much of a likelihood the characters will have met previously to being thrown together by the Great Merlini (or Merlin or the Merlinator). Instead of Phases 1-3 involving the other characters, the phases for Time Heroes will be the following:

Phase One - Last Day of Previous Life: The first phase is a story from the character's life prior to being recruited by the Great Merlini (or Merlin or the Merlinator). The story could be an adventure the character had or just a regular "day in the life of" story. The story should end with their recruitment. Once this has been done the player should choose an aspect that the story illustrates.

Phase Two - First Encounter: This might be a "first adventure" kind of story. This phase revolves around the first encounter the character had with the Time War. The Great Merlini likes to drop his recruits into circumstances where they can show their worth to Time Heroes, Inc. From fighting members of the Roman legion to attempting to go undercover in Al Capone's group, this phase shows the character's first real chance to shine.

Phase Three - Equipment: This last phase is for an item or piece of equipment the character is known for carrying. This would be their signature item. Ghostbusters have proton packs, King Arthur has Excalibur; this aspect should be an item that embodies the character.

The Island is a situation where each of the characters may very well be from completely different dimensions. The first time the characters likely will be meeting is on the prison ship. Of course if it's determined the group has already been on the Island for a while, that might be different. But still, I think these phases will likely better capture the feel of the game.

Phase One - Race: In my last post I talked about Racial Aspects for the Island. Whether a character is Human, Elf, Dwarf, etc., each race has qualities both positive and negative. That is why the first phase is choosing what race the character is going to be.

Phase Two - The Crime: This phase is the story of the crime of which the character was convicted. Whether guilty or not, this story illustrates what the character's involvement in the situation was. The aspect drawn from this could be one that came about because of the crime and conviction, or one that led to it, or even one that showed itself during the crime.

Phase Three - The Belief: Even the most hardened of criminals believes in something. This aspect should paint a picture of something the character believes deep down inside. Granted, it could be something along the lines of "Suckers are Everywhere," but everyone believes in something. This gets down to the very core of a character.

The Island - Playing with Fate - Racial Aspects

Racial Aspects

The group that I'll be doing some play testing with has gotten started on the collaborative character/world creation in the RPGG forums. As this a fantasy setting, one of the things we are working on now is picking out races for the characters. I've opted to use Aspects to cover races.

I am going to list a few of the sample races I'm planning on using. With each one I will be stating sample Invokes as well as Compels. I'll begin each with a brief description of the race. Of course, the Invokes and Compels listed aren't the ONLY choices, just ideas based on the specific racial cultures.

I am still debating using humans as a Racial Aspect. Part of me says go with it, the other says to use them as the baseline; human characters then have that aspect to use for something else.

Dark Elf
Dark elves are a race of elves who live deep underground. Rarely going out in the daylight, they are a tribal race where the basest rule is the rule of deniability. Anything goes in the upper echelons as long as it cannot be traced back. Dark Elves are capable of slipping into shadows and disappearing. Some say they can literally turn themselves invisible.
Invoke Aspect - Invoke this aspect when slipping into shadows, using water magic, moving quickly or to maneuver about/notice things underground more easily.
Compel Aspect - A GM might compel this aspect in situations where the culture of this race is known, or when the light of the sun might affect the character's action, etc.

Golem
Golems are a race of large humanoids, manufactured from fired clay and generally used as servants. Though they are entirely sentient and intelligent, they are viewed almost everywhere as property. They are strong, indefatigable, able to withstand the elements and rarely need to rest. They can be of any size and shape, though generally they are made to appear as 8-9 foot tall humanoids.
Invoke Aspect - This Aspect can be invoked when attempting feats of great strength, when needing to remain awake while others sleep, to remain steadfast when others would move, withstand severe weather/temperatures or when using Earth Magic.
Compel Aspect - The GM might compel this aspect when the character needs to be taken seriously (as opposed to being viewed as an animate object), when the literal interpretation of something might cause complications, when heavy weight may be an issue, etc.

Human

Humans are the most prevalent race in the multiverse. They are found in nearly every (if not all) plane of existence. They are adventurous, innovative, equally warlike and peaceable to their neighbors. Unlike other races, humans are rarely viewed at with suspicion as a race.

Invoke Aspect - This Aspect can be invoked to illustrate a character's ability to not stand out in a crowd, to use the general amicability of humankind, embrace innovation or use Ritual Magic.

Compel Aspect - The GM might compel this aspect when the character is among another race that dislikes the prevalence of humans, when an impetuous move could cause problems for the group, etc.

Dwarf

Dwarves are a hardy race, shorter than humans. They are skilled at smithing and mining. They're generally seen as greedy but are loyal almost to a fault. Able warriors but as a race unaccustomed to mounts, they generally make up infantry in armies.

Invoke Aspect - This Aspect can be invoked when attempting to create well-crafted arms or armor, gauge the worth of jewels, tell direction when underground, strike a mighty blow at an enemy, be trusted with something of import or use Fire Magic.

Compel Aspect - The GM might compel this aspect when the character is drinking, his greed could get the better of him, or someone wants to use a loved one against him.

Elf

Elves are a graceful long-lived race. They are slightly taller than humans on average. On some planes they live in villages built high up in the trees; in others they create magnificent cities surrounded by woodlands; but wherever they live it is almost always in a forest. They are able ranged fighters, quick on their feet and are excel at creating items of great magic. Oftentimes they are haughty, looking down upon the other races. They are less hardy than the other races, though adept at dodging.

Invoke Aspect - This Aspect can be invoked when gracefulness is required, when forging magic items, combating within woodlands, hunting, leaving other standing in awe that allies might move about unnoticed or making use of Air Magic.

Compel Aspect - The GM might compel the aspect when interacting with other races, when taking a harsh attack, when not amongst the familiar surrounding of the forest, etc.

And that's it for now. I have chosen one race for each magic type, initially, though there will likely be more to follow. If I dump humans as an aspect I'll have to at least pick another to hand off Ritual Magic to.

The Island - Playing with Fate - The Repentant and the Innocent

Factions on the Island

Here are some of the Factions I'm planning on having existing on the Island, even prior to a collaborative world building. Of course, specific GMs can keep them or discard them as they wish. I, however, will likely be keeping them in any games I run.

The Repentant
Description: The Repentant is a religious sect on the Island. They believe that the Creature is the physical embodiment of the guilt of those who live on the Island. They believe the only way to be able to leave the Island and get free of the Creature is to declare repentance of their sins. They also believe that everyone on the Island IS guilty of the crime they were convicted of. This causes problems when they encounter people who remain steadfast in their innocence.
Aspect: Everyone is Guilty
Emotional Offense: +4
Magic Offense: +2
Mental Offense: +1
Physical Offense: +2
Social Offense: +3 
Emotional Defense: +1
Magic Defense: +2
Mental Defense: +2
Physical Defense: +2
Social Defense: +3
Trade (Cartography): +2

Franchise Affiliation Benefits
1-3: +2 Resource when attempting to trade for supplies
4-6: Guilt Stunt - Characters may use Empathy instead of Deceit when trying to talk someone into doing what they want
7-9: Evangelical - When using Guilt, character may add +2 to the roll. 
10: Hero of the Repentants - Free access to all Repentant maps, an additional +2 Resource when trading for supplies, open access to all Repentant Holds (free room and board)


The Innocent
Description: The Innocent is a group made up of all kinds of races and creeds. The only thing that binds them all together is the fact that every one of them attests that they did not commit the crime they were sent to the Island for.
Aspect: Live and let live
Emotional Offense: 2
Magic Offense: +2
Mental Offense: +2
Physical Offense: +2
Social Offense: +3 
Emotional Defense: +2
Magic Defense: +2
Mental Defense: +2
Physical Defense: +2
Social Defense: +3
Trade (Caravans): +2

Franchise Affiliation Benefits
1-3: +1 to bartering for supplies, +1 to Rapport interactions with X factions
4-6: +1 to Barter when trading for supplies, +1 Rapport interactions with X factions
7-9: True Soul Stunt - May spend a Quantum point to turn a successful Rapport roll with the Innocent and X factions into a Success with Style
10: One of Us Aspect; free room and board in Innocent Holds as well as ability to freely travel with trade caravans

I left off the consequence boxes because I think that is going to be dependent upon the collaborative world building (deciding which Factions have more Holds, etc). Once the world building is done the GM can assign consequence boxes as needed.

The Island - Playing with Fate - Faction Affiliation Part One

Well, I'm afraid today's post may not end up with anything solid in regards to the topic. I'm mostly going to just freeflow thoughts on the topic as they come to me. I suppose that it's possible that by the end of this I'll have laid out how the Franchise Affilition mechanic is going to work, but I'm not holding my breath. Anyway, without further ado, here goes!

Faction Affiliations
The Island isn't just filled with wildlife. It has had hundreds of years for the various convicts to form their own societies, stake their own claims to parts of the island. If a group is going to survive in the longterm, they are going to have to make some sort of alliances somewhere along the way, at least while it's convenient. Unfortunately, there are limited supplies for an always-growing population. This leads to strive amongst the various subcultures of the island. With this in mind, I am creating a new mechanic for the game called the Faction Affiliation System.

Each faction upon the island will be created as part of the collaborative world-building session. In the final product I will be including some of the bigger players on the island, although specific GMs can use or not use any particular faction as they desire. Each faction is going to be an entity in its own right. Every faction will have a name, an Aspect and skills. In addition, I am thinking of including Aspects and/or Stunts that are specific to each faction that characters with a certain level of Faction Affiliation can make use of.

Factions
Each faction in the game will made up of the following (for sure):
Name:
Aspect
Emotional Offense
Mental Offense
Physical Offense
Social Offense
Emotional Defense
Mental Defense
Physical Defense
Social Defense
Trade (specific profession)

When designing a faction, my first instinct is to have the group allot 20 levels amongst all nine of the skills listed, with any given skill maxing out (initially) at +4 (Great). If split evenly, that would give each skill a rating of +2 (Fair) with two skills a rating of +3 (Good).

I'm also planning on including levels in the factions with various stunts/aspects/benefits for characters that have an equal lefel in their Faction Affiliation Rating. I'm not sure specifically what they are yet, but I'll have more to talk about tomorrow.

The last thing I want to mention in this post is that I am going to adapt the Franchise Mechanics from Time Heroes of Fate to work with the Island, with some additions to add more depth to the system and to give some control to the players (and also potentially pit them against each other in secret). Come back tomorrow and I'll have more in detail. It seems to me that as I am detailing this from the top of my head, I'm quite liking the route it is going. I have a pretty good idea of where I'll be going with tomorrow's post.

Stay tuned and thanks for following along!

The Island - Playing with Fate - Initial Thoughts

That's right, I am now officially working on two Fate products at once. While my Time Heroes adaptation is underway and has made decent progress, I'm going to be starting my "the Island" campaign soon via G+ Hangout and so I thought another design journal would help get me going.

A History of "the Island"

The Island is all the place is known by. It is a setting where the "worst of the worst" criminals from various realities are dumped. In a world where all is ocean save for this one single continent, it seemed the perfect place to have a penal colony. No work was required other than just dumping convicts there and returning to the home reality.

The point behind the concept of the Island is survival. The PCs are those convicted of their realities' most heinous crimes (though not necessarily actually guilty of said crimes) who have been left on the Island to fend for themselves. Not only must they fend off the creatures of the Island, they must also make alliances, prove themselves useful to whatever subcultures they choose to join in a day-to-day fashion and make sure they aren't stuck holding the short end of the stick when all is said and done. Oh, and the creature of the Island.

The Island was originally born as a D&D 4E setting. My players had fun in it but, like most 4E games I ran, it just didn't feel right to me. Here I had created a setting that was just perfect for political intrigue and backbiting, survival in the wilderness and plain old adventure. 4E does have its merits, but this game could be so much more than what 4E provided for.

The next thing I attempted was to run it using Burning Wheel, Revised. The system was intriguing to me and it seemed perfect for what I wanted to do with the Island. Between the unique fighting system and social mechanics to interesting skills, what could be better? Unfortunately, this was a bit too far on the other side of things for my players. Not used to such a system, it fell flat on its face before the end of the first session (combined with trying to game in a local store with the kiddos running around in an enclosed room for the first time, which didn't happen after that). After that, I set the Island aside.

Why Fate?
After getting a bit into the conversion of Time Heroes to Time Heroes of Fate, I found myself loving the system. It has a collaborative world-building to it that allows a GM to take a basic idea for a game and use the players to flesh it out to the benefit of everyone at the table. It has combat mechanics that can be used for more than just physically attacking someone. Players can work with GMs to create their own Stunts that can be used for most anything imaginable.

That is when the Island popped back into my head. While I still feel Burning Wheel would be a great system for the Island, I am finding that Fate might prove to work just as well, while being more player (well, MY player) friendly. I have decided to create a design journal as I attempt to turn the Island into a game of Fate. If it turns out, that's awesome. If not, it's a learning experience.

Here is what I am planning for Design Journal entries (there will likely be more and it may not happen in this order):

Skills - Time Heroes of Fate was fine just adding the Magic and Future Tech skills to the list. I think that in order to accomplish what I want to with the Island I'm going to have to rename/change/add skills moreso than in my last adaptation.

Magic - Magic in the Island is going to be of a different style than how I am doing things in Time Heroes. I'm not solid yet on how exactly it will work. This entry will be me exploring ideas I have an possibly settling on the one that will work best for how I envision magic on the Island working.

Stunts - As I did with Time Heroes, I will write at least one post devoted to Island Stunts. This may be based off of magic as well as other things about the Island that would work best as a Stunt.

Collaborative Creation - The Island, I think, is going to be created collaboratively under more of a "Microscope"-style system, allowing the players to assist in creating factions, areas of the continent, common problems, etc. This will certainly be a post to itself, although I may or may not add a second post with an example of collaborative world creation.

Faction Affiliation - I want to see if I can create some kind of affiliation system that will affect the players while they are interacting with one faction or another.

The Creature - There are a couple of ways I see the Creature working in the Island. I will be writing a post going into more detail on the various options I think could work and then explaining why I chose what I chose.

As I said, there may be more posts than just those touching on the topics I've just mentioned, but at the least these will certainly be addressed along the way.

Time Heroes - Fate Adaptation - Franchise Conflicts

Franchise Conflicts
In the course of a Time Heroes game, there is going to be plenty of conflict at the personal level. The good guys are going to fight the bad guys, head games will be played, information extracted. However, in Time Heroes, there is a type of conflict that will occur at a higher level: the Franchise Conflict.

At the end of each session, a Franchise Conflict test will be made by the players. Depending upon the era the game is set in, the conflict could take different forms. An example from each era might be:

Past - A rival group of knights begins performing acts in the name of the PCs group, working to destroy their good name with the peasantry.

Present - The characters' particular Time Heroes, Inc. franchise is attacked by a rival corporation in the media in an attempt to drive its stocks into the ground.

Future - An elite group of robowarriors is capturing members of the characters' rebel cell, as well as allies, getting information from them that gradually brings them closer and closer to the location of the rebel base.

During world creation, the players and GM need to decide on the type of conflict that will be occurring, at least initially. This will likely stem from the decision made regarding who or what the group is going after in the long term (not la Fey generally, but what big bad a particular arc revolves around). After that particular arc is resolved one way or another, the group will have to work to decide what form the Franchise Conflicts in the next arc of the story are going to take.

At the end of each session, the GM will roll for an attack against wish the Franchise will roll a defense. The total defense can be affected by three things:
1. At the GM's discretion, actions taken by the characters during the session may add a bonus to their defense roll (or the attack roll if they really bungled something at the wrong time).
2. Remaining Fate Points may be spent on the roll, one per character, to invoke character aspects they can rationalize applying to the attack.
3. The defense skill of the Franchise is added to the roll.

Franchise Defense - This is a skill that is carried only by a Franchise. New Franchises start as being relatively unknown and so the skill begins at 0. Each time the players reach a milestone in which they are allowed to increase a skill, the Franchise Defense increases by one point.

Franchise Consequences - When a Franchise fails at defending itself, it gains a consequence in the same way a character does. They are removed slightly different than character consequences, however. First, one consequence may be renamed at either a Significant or Major Milestone. To remove it completely a second Significant or Major Milestone must be reached. In essence, it takes two Significant or Major Milestones for a Franchise Consequence to heal entirely.

The players may affect the removal of the consequence. The GM may offer them a situation in which they can remove a consequence with only one relevant milestone. However, this will work similarly to a Compel. The situation will be one that inconveniences the characters and/or makes their lives in general more difficult. This could even be impetus for a session all on its own (perhaps investigating to find evidence that the rival corporation was lying the entire time).

At the moment, this is how I see the conflicts working. Is it a good plan? I don't know. I won't know until I get a chance to use it. However, like many of my other posts, it feels at the very least like a great starting point.

With that, I think I might actually be done with the basic adaptation of Time Heroes to Face Core. I'll write more posts if I come up with other things I need to touch on, but for now I think I'm going to move on to other subjects. I'm not sure what tomorrow's post will be about as of yet, but chances are it won't be Time Heroes of Fate-related (unless I need make another correction or something else DOES end up coming to mind).

I hope you've enjoyed reading this little design journal as much as I have writing it. I also hope you'll keep reading my blog and find more of interest as I move on to other RPG topics.

Time Heroes - Fate Adaptation - The World of Time Heroes - Part 3. Example Collaborative Location Creation

Yesterday I wrote about collaborative location creation. In today's post I'm going to go through a quick example of what the process might look like. Should anyone be interested in running a Time Heroes of Fate game, hopefully this will make things a little easier to do so.

Paul, Ashley, Ben and the GM Andrew are sitting around a table. They've decided the best thing to do - even prior to character creation - is define the setting itself. The following is what a collaborative setting-creation exchange might look like.

Andrew (GM): "OK, so the first thing we should probably decide is what era we want to set this in. What do you guys think?"

Ben: "I was hoping to make use of the Future Tech skill with my character in some sense or other. With the description of the era 'past,' it looks like that would be tough to rationalize so I'd prefer present or future."

Ashley: "I'm interested in the more humorous aspects of the game. If we went with future, I'd rather avoid the possible dark overtones associated with things and keep it lighthearted. Plus, I'm a bit fantasied out, so I'd also rather not run in the past."

Andrew (GM): "Well, it sounds like unless Paul has a major objection to it, the past is out of the running then."

Paul: "Damn. I was thinking of going a Conan-ish thug route. I can come up with another plan though."

Andrew (GM): "Well, don't write that off yet. If that's the kind of character you want to run, that's still feasible in the present era. That seems like a pretty fair compromise across the board. Plus, with Ash's preference for humor, it's the more natural way to go."

At this point everyone agrees to go with Era: Present. Once that is complete, the group moves onto the next step.

Andrew (GM): "So, we've settled on the era. Let's focus in a bit. Where do we want to set the game, or at least start it? I think with what I've heard so far rural probably won't scratch your respective itches."

Ashley: "Why not set it in a city somewhere? Lots of people, lots of potential jobs to take."

Ben: "Yeah. Plus, night life!"

Andrew (GM): "So, your future tech-based character is going to be a party animal. Might want to think about working that into an aspect of some sort, Ben."

Paul: "I like the city idea as well. But aren't we going to look funny running around on the streets? Me in a loin cloth, Captain Future over there with his cybernose or whatever and...whatever Ashley's gonna be?"

Ashley: "I haven't been inspired yet. Once we're done with the setting I might have a better idea. In regards to a city, why not L.A.? With everyone running around there, who's gonna notice a librarian and a cyborg?"

Everyone chuckles and agrees that's the best way to go. Andrew writes Location: Los Angeles on the setting card.

Andrew (GM): "And onto the Lifestyle Aspect. "

Ben: "How about 'Weird is Everywhere' since we're in L.A.?"

Andrew (GM): "Not bad, but that sounds like more an answer to one of the questions about the setting as a whole."

Ashley: "So...how about 'Weird is blase?' As in, everyone in L.A. has seen it all and nothing shocks them anymore. So maybe we can invoke it when we are about to do something that would make others aware of the war and they'll just shrug and move on."

Andrew (GM): "OK, and how about for compels?"

Paul: "Ooh! You could drop a compel, say, when we're trying to alert people to danger and they'd just not be scared enough to hurry or follow directions or something."

Andrew (GM): "Not too shabby guys. I'll write that down. If we need to refine it later for whatever reason, we can. And remember, the Lifestyle Aspect isn't necessarily set in stone forever. It's possible circumstances could change it."

Andrew records Lifestyle Aspect: Weird is Blase.

Andrew (GM): "And the last step before I ask some questions to give myself a good idea of the setting is deciding on a Franchise Stunt. What do you guys want your group to be known for?"

Paul: "I think I'm sticking with my barbarian. I was thinking maybe he signed up to smash magic."

Ben: "I like that idea. Maybe my future tech guy's price to be brought to the 'past' was that he could learn magic and bring that back to his time to assist in the rebellion."

Andrew (GM): "OK, so far we have two thoughts revolving around magic. That's pretty vague. What about the supernatural in general?"

Ashley: "What, investigating it? Like the Ghostbusters? Ooh, could my character be a Ghostbuster-type?"

Andrew (GM): "I have no problems with that. Could lead to a lot of humorous circumstances. So we're going to have a barbarian who loathes and in fact has vowed to destroy all things magic, a"

Ben: "Cyberjanitor with a lasermop!"

Andrew (GM): "cyberjanitor with a lasermop and a girl who's watched 'Ghostbusters' too many times. Nothing could possibly go wrong! So here's my suggestion. How about we call the franchise 'Ghostbusters' and the benefit would be that someone could spend a Quantum Point if something supernatural is discovered and that person could make a Magic or Lore roll to create an advantage against that supernatural thing in a future scene. You guys ok with that?"

Ben, Ashley and Paul: "Love it!"

Andrew writes down Franchise Stunt: Ghostbusters and makes a note on what the Franchise Stunt does.

Andrew (GM): "OK, last step before we can get to character creation. Although, I have to say that the world creation seems to have gone a long way towards solidifying character ideas in your guys' minds. Anyway, first question: Is the war overt or covert?"

Paul: "I like the idea of it being covert."

Ashley: "Me too. Everyone isn't supposed to know it's going on. In L.A. it might be less noticed, but even then we don't want to be blasting at spooks in the middle of the street."

Ben: "What they said."

Andrew: "Great! That right there gives me a bunch of ways to complicate lives for you guys. Next question: Where is your franchise?"

Without hesitation, everyone simultaneously says fire hall. They spontaneously decide that Ashley's character picked out their headquarters.

Andrew (GM): "Moving on. Is your franchise itself overt or covert?"

Ben: "Well, the war is covert so wouldn't it make sense our franchise was as well?"

Ashley: "No way! I want a big Ghostbusters sign hanging outside the firehouse! We could hire out as real Ghostbusters!"

Paul: "And we could just be viewed as a bunch of crackpots."

The conversation continues from there and after a few more questions everyone has a good feel for the kind of world their Time Heroes of Fate game is going to be set in. In my next blog post, I will continue this example by moving it into the character creation part of the session.