Fate Core Synthesis Draft

This is cross-posted from my other blog.


Working on the Sigils extra was like clearing a logjam: I was able to get a strong start on adapting Synthesis to Fate Core. I realize the common wisdom with creating Fate Core settings is "start with the skill list!", but in this case I felt starting from the other end was better. By working my way through the other Tribe 8 specific skills (Dreaming, Ritual, Sundering, Technosmithing) I'll have a much clearer vision of how to prune and shape the default skill list.
The direction I am going with Synthesis was something that the way Fate Core is written, and how various things are categorized, really brought into focus. The four actions provide a good framework for taming a freeform beast like Synthesis without having to delve into a lot of niggling little rules and modifiers. It helped me realize (for example) that bonuses for trances, extra time, ritual implements, etc. weren't a static thing but should be the result of the character doing something to create an advantage for themselves. The same thing will go for resisting effects; it's not automatic, the character needs to actually do something to get the bonus. Once again, Rob Donoghue's channeling "hack" helped tremendously in helping the rest of the pieces fall into place.
You can get the draft from Google Docs, and I will post regular updates as I tweak and refine it. 

Updated Conversion Doc

I've updated the conversion doc with some clarifications on Supplies and Barter. I've also revised the travel rules to include the Distance stress track and some clarifications, and included a method for exploration to use the new random exploration tables.

Kicking Tribe 8 up a notch

So I'm coming around to my occasional and random musings on Tribe 8 in general, and I was thinking about some slight changes to the canon setting (specifically, pre-Capal Vimary) that might make things a little more interesting. Some of these things are inspired by my delving into other fantasy settings such as Game of Thrones and the Dragon Age series of crpgs.

The first thought I had was simultaneously increasing the amount of threat that the Z'bri pose and the capability of the Joanites to defend Vimary. Basically, the idea is to make an active "Cold War" between the Tribes and the Z'bri - which would fundamentally change the Pact of the Dome. It would also settle a slight incongruity in the setting regarding why the Tribes would completely back off from finishing the Z'bri off after the Liberation. So instead of a sudden and complete truce, the new history would have the Z'bri being actively pushed back into what is now the Hl'kar. Cornered by the combined might of the Tribes, the desperate Z'bri send out secret emissaries to the Fatimas and agree to a forced stalemate between them. This results in the the now familiar arrangements for the Z'bri to sacrifice the Baron if the Fatimas sacrifice Joshua (this part of the canon background still holds - with Joshua around, there's no way that a stalemate could have worked). To hold the Z'bri to their side of the bargain, the Fatimas commanded the Joanites to build the Seven Fingers at the edge of Hl'kar. These Seven Fingers are quite a bit different than the canon - they are bigger, better defended, better constructed, and actually imbued with Synthesis that both bolsters the power of the defenders and actively prevents Z'bri from crossing them. They're like a smaller version of The Wall from A Song of Ice and Fire.

The Pact of the Dome would exist to make sure that each group stays within their sandbox, with the consequences of breaking it a renewed all out war. The Joanites seldom if ever venture beyond the Seven Fingers, and the Z'bri can't cross into Tribal lands without assistance (more on this in a bit). I'd actually push Hl'kar fully back over the river past Laval and off the island. Abonom always struck me as being far too close to Tribal land, as did the Z'bri settlements shown north of Evan land on the south shore of the river. This creates a situation where it's believable that the Z'bri have somewhat fallen into the realm of bogeymen and the Tribes have no real inkling as to what threat they pose. I would then populate the island north of the Seven Fingers with Squat bands, which provide the Z'bri with a source of flesh. Those Squat bands are actually what pose a threat to the Tribes, as Z'bri raiding forces them to throw themselves at the Joanite defenders in desperation to escape. It also creates believable scenarios for Joanite scouts to move among the Squat tribes to determine if the Z'bri are holding up the Pact.

This new reality would need a few more tweaks to make it workable. I never really liked the idea of Jo'han Z'bri so close to the Tribes - particularly those in the Skyrealms. While I get that the upper reaches of Montreal's skyscrapers might be near inaccessible to the Tribes, that alone being a reason for the Tribes tolerating Z'bri living there doesn't jive with me. With better defenses (and the implied ability of the Tribes to ward areas against the Z'bri) that means the Jo'han would be absent from most places in Tribal lands. In their place, I'd actually place any Z'bri that a Tribal can come in contact with in Tribal lands underground. The Emporiums and the underground are where Tribal and Z'bri emissaries meet when needed; they're also where Z'bri that have escaped Hl'kar live. Known entrances in Tribal lands could be warded similar to the Seven Fingers but there's a lot of unknown entrances. Any large Z'bri assault on Tribal lands would come from underground as a result (at least until the Seven Fingers are torn down), and also provides the means for Squats from north of the Seven Fingers to get into Vimary undetected.

That's it for now...I'll have more when I get some more ideas on how I'd like to change the dynamics of the setting for the better.

Possible rules changes

So, I found a tool that seems to do the job nicely (SmartDraw), and I've gotten further in a half hour than I got in hours futzing around with Word.

But when I put the stress tracks in, I realized I have six distinct stress tracks. It made me kind of rethink things a bit to see if it can possibly be simplified.

I know I can subsume Spirit into Equilibrium. They're really almost the same thing, and having them be separate is really a holdover from Silhouette and not really something that is hardwired into the setting. It just means that Consequences need to reflect the source (i.e., Synthesis backlash vs. spirit combat).

Barter is the other one I'm looking at, and it's a sticky-wicket. Technically it represents the goods and services that the character has available to them - either directly on hand or because of things that are owed to them by others. Subsuming it into Social makes some amount of sense. The character's social relationships are going to directly impact the character's ability to get things. The problem is that Social can't reasonably cover what the character actually has, and currently Barter as a separate stress track does both things nicely. I'm very much tempted to leave that alone and just combine Equilibrium and Spirit.