m20 Fate and Trait System

[JSpektr]

Here's the recently revised Fate system from my Ledgendary d20 system that's ever so slowly crawling towards completion. This makes it very easy to differentiate characters in a freeform fashion, drives roleplaying, and duplicates some of what 4e was attempting to do with hitpoints, only better and simpler (in my humble opinion, of course).

Fate points mostly replace hitpoints. Fate is spent to dodge attacks. Spend Fate for spellcasting instead of hps (DMs can allow hitpoints to be spent for spells in an emergency, but it will really hurt).

Character Creation

Start with 6 Fate points and Str+4 hitpoints. A starting character can spend Fate points on Traits, but should not spend more than 2 or 3.

Advancement

Whenever a character gains an additional 6 Fate points they also gain another level. With the DM's permission, you can invest Fate points to buy your character new Traits when their level increases. Invested Fate points cannot be spent during play, nor can they be recovered. A character may relinquish a Trait at any time if the DM agrees, immediately freeing thost Fate points. Gaining a level does not grant additional hitpoints.

Spending Fate in Play

Heroism: a character can spend Fate to increase or decrease any roll after it has been rolled, up to their level in points. Each point spent raises or lowers the roll by 1. Attacks may be dodged by lowering the attack roll.

Heroic Recovery: any time a character is reduced to less than 0 hitpoints, but is not yet dead, they can spend Fate Points equal to their level to immediately heal back up to 1 positive hit point. They can take a normal action the next turn.

Plot Twist: spend 1 to 6 Fate points to change the plot in some minor way. The DM must approve of any plot twists and is free to alter the plot twist or introduce unexpected complications. One point is sufficient for inconsequential changes (the PC just happens to know a shortcut to the inconsequential NPC's place), while 6 points are required for major changes that affect gameplay (a giant eagle arrives to carry the PC to safety just as the villain is about to destroy them).

Last Stand: If a character is about to die, and the player and the DM agree, they may immediately regain all of their Fate points, and be allowed to use Heroism again if it's already been used this encounter. When this happens, the PC will die by the end of the encounter, nothing can prevent it.

Recovering Fate

At the end of each successful encounter, all characters regain their level in Fate points. The DM can restore lesser amounts of Fate points at any time, for exceptional actions by characters or players, minor accomplishments, or when they inflict something especially unpleasant on the characters. Invoking Traits (see below) is the most common method of restoring Fate. A character can never regain more Fate points than their permanent Fate score.

Refreshes

Any time the PCs are "off screen" for a long time, the DM may determine a Refresh has occurred, and all Fate pools reset to normal.

Gaining Permanent Fate

A character's Fate pool can be increased by accomplishing major game goals. Each adventure should end with the characters gaining 1 Fate point. Very challenging or long adventures can have award one Fate point in the middle of the adventure, and one at the end.


Traits

Traits are features of a character not covered by other rules. They can be special abilities, resources, or even problems. For each Fate point invested in a Trait, that Trait has 1 rank, up to a rank of 5. Each rank in the Trait grants the following benefits:

1. Heroism is 1 point less expensive when the action is related to this Trait (for example, using Double Jointed when rolling Dex+Subterfuge to escape imprisonment).
2. Plot Twists are 1 point less expensive when the Twist is related to this Trait (the enemy army treats the PCs as honored prisoners instead of executing them  using the Noble Ancestry Trait).
3. The Trait can be invoked in a negative way by the player or the DM, restoring 1 Fate points to the character. This can take the form of a Plot Twist (invoking Criminal Past to bar the PC admittance to the inn as night is falling) or a -2 penalty to actions related to the Trait (when dealing with Trolls, the PC's Dashingly Handsome Trait gives him -2 per rank to all Social rolls).

Most Traits take the form of talents (mostly useful for Heroism, like Swashbuckling Swordsman, Steeped in Secret Lore, or Unbreakable Will), backgrounds (mostly useful for Plot Twists, like Hero of the People, Famous Ancestor, or Underground Connections), or flaws (mostly useful for restoring Fate quickly, such as  Oafishly Clumsy, Uncontrollable Temper, or Hideously Ugly). All Traits can be used for any of the three benefits with sufficient creativity, and many are equally applicable to all of them.

[JSpektr]

So... that bad, eh?

[talysman]

I wasn't going to comment, because I have my own traits/backgrounds system and figured I would recuse myself. However, I think I could point out some things that might be helpful...

The rules, as they stand, say that characters don't lose hit points until fate points are gone. This make "Heroic Recovery" impossible. Rather than changing the first statement, I'd ditch Heroic Recovery, because the rules are a little complicated and need streamlining. I'd also merge Heroism and Plot Twist and streamline it. Just allow fate to be spent for extra dice rolls, even when a roll is not normally possible, such as to change the plot. Drop the variable cost for changing the plot: GM just sets a DC, same as anything else.

Making some fate points dedicated and unspendable is too much extra bookkeeping. Just say "Characters can begin with up to three traits. They may gain more through roleplaying." If Heroism and Plot Twists are merged as suggested above, just say "Traits can be used once per (encounter | session | adventure) to gain a free die roll, but can't be used to dodge attacks or power spells the way fate points can." Keep the negative use of traits as a way to recharge fate points, though. I wouldn't rank traits, though.

If you drop fate points entirely and just use unranked traits, that's basically my trait system. Each trait gives you a chance to reroll a skill or attack roll, without erasing the results of the previous roll, just modifying it. The troll grabbed you, but you were able to slip from his grasp because you're double-jointed. There's another twist to it, but I'll explain that some other time.

[greywulf]

So... that bad, eh?

Nope, not bad at all - I'm just stuck thinking when I'd use it  Might be a good option for a Modern game where the Traits weave to form an important part of the plot. Hmmmmm...............

[JSpektr]

I wasn't going to comment, because I have my own traits/backgrounds system and figured I would recuse myself. However, I think I could point out some things that might be helpful...

The rules, as they stand, say that characters don't lose hit points until fate points are gone. This make "Heroic Recovery" impossible. Rather than changing the first statement, I'd ditch Heroic Recovery, because the rules are a little complicated and need streamlining. I'd also merge Heroism and Plot Twist and streamline it. Just allow fate to be spent for extra dice rolls, even when a roll is not normally possible, such as to change the plot. Drop the variable cost for changing the plot: GM just sets a DC, same as anything else.

Making some fate points dedicated and unspendable is too much extra bookkeeping. Just say "Characters can begin with up to three traits. They may gain more through roleplaying." If Heroism and Plot Twists are merged as suggested above, just say "Traits can be used once per (encounter | session | adventure) to gain a free die roll, but can't be used to dodge attacks or power spells the way fate points can." Keep the negative use of traits as a way to recharge fate points, though. I wouldn't rank traits, though.

If you drop fate points entirely and just use unranked traits, that's basically my trait system. Each trait gives you a chance to reroll a skill or attack roll, without erasing the results of the previous roll, just modifying it. The troll grabbed you, but you were able to slip from his grasp because you're double-jointed. There's another twist to it, but I'll explain that some other time.

Oops. The thing about not losing hitpoints until fate is gone is a mistake, leftover from an earlier version. You can very easily lose hitpoints while you have fate to spend, especially at low levels, since you're limited on the amount of fate that can be spent to dodge an attack.

I don't understand what you're saying with combining heroism and plot twists. Plot twists don't have anything to do with rolling dice, they're a direct change to the plot. Not really combinable.

Ranked traits are very important. Earlier versions had flat traits, I found that didn't work well, because it made all traits the same. A Slightly Ugly Trait and a Hideously Deformed Trait shouldn't give the same bonuses, neither should Dashing Swordsman and World's Greatest Swordsman. Ranking is a very simple way to add a great deal of depth.

[JSpektr]

So... that bad, eh?

Nope, not bad at all - I'm just stuck thinking when I'd use it  Might be a good option for a Modern game where the Traits weave to form an important part of the plot. Hmmmmm...............

My intent is to use it extensively with the variant m20 I'm working on. They were build with DnD style medieval fantasy in mind. What makes you say they seem more appropriate for Modern?

Perhaps some examples would help:

Gandalf the 10th level Wizard has Master of Forgotten Lore 3, Aura of Command 2, and Ancient Enemy of Evil 5.

When the party encounters ancient dwarven runes, Gandalf burns 1 point of Fate to use his Master of Forgotten Lore to add +4 to his Intelligence/Knowledge roll to decipher them.

When Gandalf needs to speak to the elven king, he uses Aura of Command to request a Plot Twist that the royal guards simply let him pass. The DM rules that this is a minor change to the plot, and prices it at 2, making it only cost 1 for Gandalf (the minimum cost is 1). Later, when Gandalf is trying to be inconspicuous while waiting for the rest of the part to arrive at the inn, the DM invokes Gandalf's Aura of Command and announces that a group of peasants recognizes him as a powerful wizard, and begs him to come cast a spell to remove the "curse" they are sure was placed on their crops. This restores 2 of Gandalf's Fate points.

While the party is deep in a dungeon, they are faced with a terrible monster. The rest of the party is wounded, Gandalf decides to hold it off while they escape. The DM agrees that he can use his Ancient Enemy of Evil while fighting the monster, and allows him to declare a Heroic Last Stand. Gandalf recovers all of his Fate points, and turns to face the creature, readying his most powerful spells, knowing that neither one of them will ever leave that dark place.

[JSpektr]

BTW, I added this the other night, haven't had a chance to post it yet.

Borrowed Fate

If a character has run out of Fate points, and is in dire need, they can spend Fate they don't have. This borrowed Fate comes at a steep price. Every point borrowed is subtracted from all future refreshes, reducing the PC's Fate pool. The borrowed Fate is paid off by the DM afflicting the character with negative Plot Twists or penalties (-2 per point). Each point of negative consequences applied by the DM pays off one point of borrowed Fate. A character can never borrow more Fate than they have in their fully refreshed Fate pool.

I'm not sure how well it will work, though it seems to fit the literary character that manages to barely make it past incredible odds, then has to face dire consequences.

[talysman]

I don't understand what you're saying with combining heroism and plot twists. Plot twists don't have anything to do with rolling dice, they're a direct change to the plot.

Right, that's what I'm saying. Normally, a player can't change the plot with a die roll. If spending a Fate point lets you make a die roll for practically anything, including something you normally wouldn't have a die roll for, you have one mechanic that does two things: make a reroll, or roll to change the plot.

For the second example you gave: the villain is about to destroy the party and there seems to be no escape. A player asks, "What's the likelihood of a giant eagle rescuing us, if I spend a fate point for it?" GM says, "Oh, quite high: DC 25." Player could spend a fate point and roll d20+ whatever skill and attribute the player could convince the GM is relevant. "As a former believer of the druid path, I know the secret cry of the eagles! Spotting a distance eagle, I make a cry for help! I roll Comm+MIND."

You could also let the fate point represent a roll for previous events. Maybe the rationale for the eagle is that the character has passed through this area before and befriended the giant eagle. In fact, the player could spend 1 fate point for a befriending roll, then a second fate point for the cry and rescue, and add a bonus from the first roll to the second. No matter what the result of the roll, something happens; the roll just determines whether the player was even helped by the event.

For the other example, finding a shortcut, I wouldn't even use a fate point: it's just a straight Know+MIND roll to know the shortcut. You could spend a fate point to better the odds, though.

Of course, like I said, maybe I shouldn't critique your system, for exactly that reason. As I understand it, you're adapting a Spirit of the Century-style Aspects mechanic to M20. One of the things about Spirit of the Century I don't like is spending points to activate Aspects/create plot twists. I would just let people roll for the plot twist and not bother with points.

[JSpektr]

Right, that's what I'm saying. Normally, a player can't change the plot with a die roll. If spending a Fate point lets you make a die roll for practically anything, including something you normally wouldn't have a die roll for, you have one mechanic that does two things: make a reroll, or roll to change the plot.

Ah. That might be my fault for being unclear. Spending Fate doesn't let a PC make extra rolls. Heroism is a bonus to a roll. I'm really debating on having it added after the roll, but the idea is to represent the way heroic characters succeed when they should have failed, rather than having bonuses all the time.

Maybe an example would help:

Ajax the Unstoppable is fighting a minotaur. Ajax rolls 15 on his attack score, too low to hit. He spends Fate to use his Sinews of Iron 3 Trait to boost the roll to 19 (1 Fate point). The swing of his mighty axe looked as if it wouldn't penetrate the minotaur's tough hide, but Ajax pushes to the limit of his incredible strength, and the axe slices into the beast's flesh.

For Plot Twists I don't want a roll, since the idea is the Plot Twist is something your character either couldn't accomplish with a roll, or you want to avoid risking a roll (or many rolls) to do it.

[JSpektr]

It does occur to me that maybe I've refactored things too much. It's something we run into at work, a system may be elegant from a code perspective, but confusing to the end users.

An older version of Traits and Fate worked like this, let me know if this would be better, or easier to use:

Hitpoints: PCs get level 1 hitpoints plus 6 Fate, don't earn new hp on leveling up. Fate is flat-out burned to absorb damage, as if they were hitpoints.

Heroism costs 1 Fate, and adds 1d6 to any roll. It doesn't subtract from rolls.

Traits are broken into three kinds:

Talent: each rank of a Talent provides +2 to rolls when appropriate. No Fate points have to be spent to use it.

Background: backgrounds can add to rolls like a Talent, but are mostly used for Plot Twists, which always just cost 1 Fate. The effect is based on Rank.

Flaws: each Rank of a Flaw gives a -2 penalty to rolls when appropriate. When this happens, the PC gets 1 Fate per Rank back.


So PCs get Talents, which act a lot like Feats, and get to flesh out the backgrounds of their characters, then have to buy Flaws to have a way of earning back Fate (other than refreshing or winning encounters).

[talysman]

Right, that's what I'm saying. Normally, a player can't change the plot with a die roll. If spending a Fate point lets you make a die roll for practically anything, including something you normally wouldn't have a die roll for, you have one mechanic that does two things: make a reroll, or roll to change the plot.

Ah. That might be my fault for being unclear. Spending Fate doesn't let a PC make extra rolls. Heroism is a bonus to a roll. I'm really debating on having it added after the roll, but the idea is to represent the way heroic characters succeed when they should have failed, rather than having bonuses all the time.

No misunderstanding. I was suggesting changing it to an extra roll or reroll. Perhaps that's my prejudice (I prefer no point-spending, just a reroll, for meta issues.) If you stick with adding a bonus after the fact, I'd suggest it should be better than +1. Your older version (+1d6) seems better.

For Plot Twists I don't want a roll, since the idea is the Plot Twist is something your character either couldn't accomplish with a roll, or you want to avoid risking a roll (or many rolls) to do it.

I'd still suggest merging it somehow, to simplify the rules. Perhaps spending a fate point *before* rolling gives a +10 per fate point; if the total skill + fate point bonus is 20 more than the DC, no need to roll. Plot twists are then just a matter of the GM telling players what the DC for a plot twist would be, and the players choosing whether to spend the points.