Fate Core is a fantastic generic system for roleplaying games. Most people are probably familiar with the juggernaut of Dungeons and Dragons, but that is a game that requires a lot of effort devoted to keeping track of statistics and tactical combat scenarios. Fate Core serves very much as its polar opposite, focusing on the concepts of collaborative storytelling and playing rich fictional characters.The book outlines the game system mechanics, featuring a unique method for creating not only a world for your game, but also assembling a party of players that is genuinely cohesive. The notion of playing a particular character with no regard to what the other players are playing is all but forbidden. It is nice to see a system that heavily involves player investment right from the beginning.Perhaps the best part of the game is the Fate Point economy, which quantifies the ups and downs that heroic characters will face during their adventures, thereby forcing the narrative to be dynamic and interesting, rather than bland and one-dimensional. It's a very elegant concept.The game is designed to be adaptable to any genre you can imagine, rather than sword and sorcery fantasy like D&D. As such, it would have been nice to see a few more varied examples. Most of examples of the game's mechanics are taken from a three-player game which is, oddly enough, of a sword and sorcery fantasy genre. I would have liked to see more examples that happened to be in a sci-fi or horror setting.Speaking of horror, I also feel like there was not enough effort devoted to explaining the mental stress track. Horror is an obvious application of this, but what about social conflicts in less fantastic settings? Does mental stress play a role there?These are only minor quibbles, however. If you are interested in the more narrative and improvisational aspects of roleplaying games, and wish to avoid devoting your efforts to number-crunching, Fate is a system that allows you a terrific freedom while still providing a basic rules framework to consult. All right. As a read, poor. The book starts out very strong, and as you read the game you become excited to play it, to run games with it, and you find yourself already envisioning the great fun you will have with the game.Then, later, as you read chapters of the storycrafting section, ones eyes may cross as they see page after page of fill in the blanks which are designed to help you make stories and scenarios. It could simply be the community of Fate, or maybe it snuck in, but there is a vague aura of smug that seems laden in the work at times. I can't put my finger on it.The extras section at the back of the book is woefully incomplete. Also, the book references a toolkit several times that is, as of yet, unavailable and should have just been included with the book. Period.As a game, great. New wave role-playing at it's finest.
What do You think about Fate Core System (2013)?
Super excited to run this system. There's literally no end to the number of games I can think of.
—readertan
What a wonderful revision of an excellent gaming system. Now I just need some players...
—Celeste
