Bits: Aspects & Fate Points

(The 'Bits' category is where I put interesting bits & pieces of game rules, ideas, etc. The idea is that you can, without too much effort, pick up these bits and use them in your game.)

I'm pretty sure some of you readers will already be well acquainted with the concept of aspects and fate points as presented in the Fate rule system and used in such games as Spirit of the Century. For those readers who aren't familiar with aspects and fate points, you are in for a treat.

The concept of aspects and fate points are two separate systems that, when combined, can be added to nearly any RPG to provide players with a greater hand in controlling the game narrative. I'll briefly touch on both items and provide links to the Fate 2.0 SRD which explains things in greater detail.

Aspects, to quote the Fate SRD, "cover a wide range of elements and should collectively paint a picture of who the character is, what he’s connected to, and what’s important to him (in contrast to the “what can he do” of skills). Aspects can be relationships, beliefs, catchphrases, descriptors, items or pretty much anything else that paints a picture of the character." In simpler terms, an aspect is a descriptor like "quick witted" or "dark and mysterious" that can be applied to a character. In actual play, a player can "invoke" these aspects to get a bonus when their aspect applies to a situation. For instance, if a character had the aspect of "ladies man" he might get a bonus to a seduction role when he attempts to charm a woman at the bar. Typically the player would spend one of his character's fate points to be able to do this, which I'll explain more about below.

The really great thing about aspects is that you can plug them into nearly any RPG. They work especially well in RPGs that don't have an existing merit/flaw or advantage/disadvantage system. Aspects are, in effect, a system that works like merits and flaws but yet allows for a lot more game investment from the player.

Fate points compliment and power a character's aspects. As mentioned above, a player must spend a fate point to activate a bonus granted to him/her from an aspect. What I didn't mention is that GMs can also use your aspects to "compel" your character to do something. Using the example above, let's say our ladies man doesn't feel like trying to pick up someone at the bar tonight. A GM could declare that he is compelling the character's aspect and therefore the player has to have his character try to pick up the woman at the bar. Typically in these situations a player can spend a fate point to ignore the compel or roll with the punches and gain a fate point (see the Fate SRD for more details).

In addition to powering aspects, fate points also provide a player with a bit of narriative control. Let's take the example from the Fate SRD:

"Usually, these things can’t be used to drastically change the plot or win a scene. Declaring “Doctor Herborn drops dead of a heart attack” is not only likely to be rejected by the GM, it wouldn’t even be that much fun to begin with. What this can be very useful for is convenient coincidences. Does your character need a lighter (but doesn’t smoke)? Spend a fate point and you’ve got one! Is there an interesting scene happening over there that your character might miss? Spend a fate point to declare you arrive at a dramatically appropriate moment!"

That covers the basics of aspects and fate points, but I encourage you to read through the links below and check out other things that you can do with aspects and fate points. I didn't even touch on tagging locations with aspects, which you can find more information about in the links below. Aspects and fate points are both easy systems to plug into nearly any game and will help your players become invested in your game.

Links for further reading:
"Aspect Basics" from the Fate SRD
"Aspects" from the Fate SRD
"Fate Points" from the Fate SRD