Fate is not the game I play the most, but is the game I think about at all times. The simplicity and flexibility of the system and the characters make for a roleplaying game that really plays the way you feel like an RPG should. Diving deep into the game in all of its forms will make you better roleplayer and GM in any system. From how to make your characters work well together, to how to structure a session of play, Fate is by far my favorite RPG.

I like this system. it's fun, easy, and quick. However, the book seems to think otherwise. This is probably one of the worst formatted TTRPG I've ever read. Why am I spending 10 to 15 minutes manually searching for important information? The table of context is totally useless, as many headlines repeat themselves. And when you actually do find what you're looking for, you're stuck reading the authors ramblings on what makes a good session. This books page count could easily be halved and it wouldn't make a single difference. Actually, I think it would improve. There's 0 reason for this system to have more than 150 pages.

A cool concept. I also like the included adventure and setting. But, Fate is just too light mechanically for me. You millage may vary.

Thank you ELSA SJUNNESON! This book should be on everybodies reading list. It gives such a valuable insight and definitely affects my approach on gaming and thinking when it comes to accessibility. It is helpful not only for gaming purposes, but also in every day situations. Well done!

I love these cards and use them for more than just FATE. These really make for easy organization and it is very tactile which I appreciate.

Such a good read. The clearest rules and GM suggestions I've ever read. There are links to easily navigate around the document and comes with an ereader file! Perfect! Even if you don't enjoy the genre, if you want to make games I'd suggest reading this. It really gives you the long and the short of it.

Venture City is, in some ways, exactly what you would look for when searching for an easy, roleplay heavy game about superheroes and the city they protect. It's got tons of powers, ways to mix and match, and ways that these powers manifest to make even one super with invisibility play differently than another (for instance, blending in with environments with camouflage vs. having the shadows coallesce around you and hide you).

However, I do have some of the same complaints that I've seen others list here: the math on some of these powers is pretty game breaking. To use the invisibility example from before, it's possible to get up to +8 Stealth just on your invisibility power stunt, to say nothing of your mundane stealth skill, making it nearly impossible for anyone to detect them (of course, this is the point of the major boost to the skill, but that means that even other modes of detection such as hearing, touch, infrared and so on are probably not going to roll high enough to detect the super ever). I would have leaned more heavily into advantages, aspects, and boosts for powers where applicable.

Do not get me wrong: I've played two campaigns using this game and I did enjoy them both, but I still think there's still areas that I would want to see improvement.

One of my favorite PbtA games and one that I consider a classic of the game engine and a paragon of the genre. My only gripe is that it was created just a bit early and you can feel it when comparing it to the newer PbtA games that have been put out.

Just another apocalypse? - a Mephisto review

Another timeline has been released for Fate of Cthulhu, this time focusing on the infamous Great Old One Hastur. As usual, the player characters have to save the world. The apocalypse that Hastur triggers starts harmlessly with an oil spill and mysterious suicides in the water – but then quickly leads to much more bizarre effects, which then escalate with a very extreme end of the world. As usual, there are several triggering events in this timeline that the player characters must stop accordingly. The characters have to stop the initial ritual, help a musician whose music can dampen the general depression, and or even find Cassilda who could stop Hastur.

Perhaps I was biased being focused on the classic King in Yellow scenario (which plays no role here), but this timeline for Fate of Cthulhu failed to convince me. Both the flow of this apocalypse is too bizarre for me (especially when four gigantic giant falcons appear), and the possibilities of how the players can avert the apocalypse do not really make sense to me. The approach of presenting Hastur as a mysterious concept and less as a physical entity certainly does justice to the mythos. But for me, both the threat and the way the characters can avert it were less concrete, threatening, and exciting than the previous timelines, so that for me The Rise of Hastur is one of the weaker titles of the series.

(Björn Lippold)

Epic start in a galaxy far away - a Mephisto review

The galactic civilization of the Milky Way has perished, and the remnants of humanity boarded hundreds of space arks on their way to bridge the millions of light-years between galaxies to start anew in Andromeda. However, when the space arks reach their destination after 500 years of flight, it becomes apparent that Andromeda is inhabited by many alien civilizations which do not welcome the newcomers. And even aboard the planet-sized ships, there is tension, intrigue, and conflict between four factions.

The Fate World of Adventure Andromeda offers a space opera setting with alien threats and internal tensions. On the space ark, there are four power groups: the ruling elite, the technicians and scientists, a mixture of church, educational institution and media, and the working population. The names of these groups and many other terms are derived from the artificial language Esperanto, to use a foreign and yet somewhat familiar language. Starting with this basic setting, however, some aspects remain to be defined by the gaming group - for example, whether the inhabitants of the space ark were in cold sleep, developed a centuries-old culture on board a generation ship, or were hatched as a new generation only arriving at their destination. It also matters whether the space ark is among the first ones to reach Andromeda, in the middle of the exodus or one of the stragglers.

Andromeda - like most representatives of the Fate Worlds of Adventure - uses its own approaches regarding several mechanisms. For example, this game consistently utilizes the Fate deck and its additional symbols and aspect phrases instead of the classical Fate dice. The aspect phrase on the cards describes the action as an Execution Aspect which can be used accordingly. The sun and moon symbols count as agenda points to advance the major goals of the characters and power groups. On the scale of this game, antagonists are defined as entire species right away and can be generated randomly or built from options.

More importantly, however, is the background of the space ark, its factions, and the characters associated with the factions. The central element is each character's agenda - a major goal to achieve, for which a complex rule system is presented. However, the game statistics of the characters are based on only four skills, which are rather basic attributes. In addition, there are extras such as allies and special abilities.

With agendas, the goal is to advance them, which is accomplished through successful tests and the collection of symbols on the Fate deck cards. How many symbols have to be collected depends on the size of the agenda - and lifetime agendas are the smallest size level here...

In general, Andromeda takes place on a level typical for space opera: the actions of a few individuals have effects on entire planets and civilizations.

Andromeda presents an exciting basic setting which requires some fine-tuning by the individual group, but encourages the game master to improvise heavily using tables and suggestions based on the characters' actions.

(Björn Lippold)

Slip

What if the feeling that something was wrong with the world was not paranoia but accurate? What if our known world was not the only one, and if other worlds were trying to invade ours? What if these phenomena were dangerous and a threat to humanity? And what if some people recognized this truth and had special powers from this insight?

The Fate World of Adventure Slip presents a game world in which worlds literally collide - and these other worlds of the so-called Slip try to invade Earth. This Convergence repeatedly leads to phenomena where worlds overlap, reality changes, and beings from other worlds infest our reality. But fortunately, some people have developed talents to oppose this threat and have organized themselves into a group called Vigilance. However, the mysterious Commission also opposes the Convergence - but with its own goals.

Character creation in Slip gives players the option to choose a talent, which brings advantages and disadvantages. For example, a Ripper can break the barriers between worlds where it is thin, but his very presence also weakens that barrier, leading to rifts that cause problems. Unlike other Fate worlds, the background for the game master is presented in a separate chapter with more background and a few rules. This chapter also clearly describes the truth about the Convergence or the real goals of the Commission.

After that, a bizarre world is briefly presented as an example. Additonally, The Sea from Beyond offers a complete scenario.

Slip proposes an exciting setting that provides many opportunities for horror and confronts the player characters with an escalating struggle for reality. The short elaboration on the groups, Vigilance and Commission, as well as some characters offers good starting points. From my point of view, Slip delivers an exciting scenario, which can also carry a more extended campaign if the gamemaster can come up with enough ideas for the threatening worlds of Slip.

(Björn Lippold)

I ran this for my two young daughters (8 and 10) and we had an awesome time. Highly recommeneded.

The inspiration for the Fate World of Adventure Red Planet is Soviet pulp science fiction. In this science fiction setting, communist idealists have developed the philosophy of progressive materialism and traveled to Mars to found the Union of Materialist Republics there. Arriving at Mars, however, they first had to overthrow the Martian dictatorship and convince the Martians to join the Union. Over the following centuries, the Union has expanded over large parts of the solar system - from Venus, overgrown with jungles, to icy Pluto. But the Union still has many enemies: the corporate-dominated capitalist USA, the corrupt USSR, and the two-dimensional aliens of the Geometrists.

Characters first choose a class, each giving them a bonus to skills. In addition to scientists, soldiers, bureaucrats, etc., there are also preserved brains, cyborgs and uplifted animals. The skill system features a few minor changes, where Pilot replaces Drive, and Renown is introduced. Pilot is necessary for flying within the atmosphere and in space, while Renown reflects the fame and reputation that can help get respect and help. Since Red Planet wants to convey a utopian idealism, one rules mechanic revolves around how to convert people to the Union (instead of taking them out by force). The book introduces a few vehicles and technologies, as well as typical enemies. As usual, there is a sample adventure in which the player characters must foil a plot of the Geometrists threatening Earth and Mars. A few ready-to-play characters allow you to jump right in.

Red Planet offers a classic pulp science fiction setting, where the planets of the solar system are not only habitable but have their own species. The setting deliberately goes the route of capturing pulp flair with dinosaurs, dirigibles, four-armed gorillas, etc., and foregoes any illusion of realistic science fiction. The idea of combining the pulp genre with the utopian "progressive materialism" is fitting. The book also quite clearly distances itself from real-world communism and its historical atrocities (and also from capitalism), presenting a fictional utopian philosohpy (after all, in this setting, both the USA and USSR are the antagonists of the Union). The author clearly states that Red Planet is about a fictional role-playing world rather than a hidden attempt at political propaganda in any direction.

The book thus offers an interesting pulp setting with a space opera touch and a unique perspective.

(Björn Lippold)

Calm prison life after the apocalypse - a Mephisto review

The starting point of Fate World of Adventure Behind the Walls sounds interesting: the year is 1959, and eight years ago, there was a nuclear war. The player characters have spent this entire time in prison. The setting revolves around the Collins Park Correctional Facility, where the characters are incarcerated and separated from the rest of the world. Therefore, character creation also begins with what crime (whether committed or not) the character was imprisoned for. In addition, there are the usual aspects and skills, but all skills are expanded that the player specifies how the character usually uses that skill. In addition, one skill is replaced (Lore by Knowledge), and with Invent a new skill is added. As for stunts, the setting distinguishes between personal, cooperative, and secret stunts, which have a simple format that describes what advantage a character gets and where it comes from. Cooperative stunts give a bonus to the player character and their partner, while secret stunts combine a strength with a weakness - and they are usually kept secret. Secrets play yet another role in the setting, as each character has a secret that also provides them with advantages. The book offers two approaches to how these secrets can be presented in terms of mechanics and discusses how they can be used to drive the story.

Finally, a ready-to-play story involves the confrontation between the two major gangs in the prison that the characters are drawn into.

Behind the Walls is based on a one-shot adventure, and it shows in the finished book. Even though the setting has potential, the limitation to the prison means that the post-nuclear war world does not play a particularly visible or essential role for the setting. Even the aspect of prison life remains vague. This impression is especially noticeable in the adventure hook, which focuses on prison conflict, missing a lot of the action and/or drama to be expected. In this regard, the ideas to adjust the scenario do not help much. The rules concepts regarding secrets provide an interesting rules variation. Still, in the end, this book fails to provide a consistent setting that lives up to expectations and can carry an ongoing campaign.

(Björn Lippold)

Arecibo

Something strange is happening in Puerto Rico: there is an island-wide power outage. The US military begins a naval blockade. And some children develop strange powers...

The initial situation of Fate World of Adventure Arecibo sounds exciting. Players take on the role of children who have been altered by strange forces and thus develop special abilities. Three new skills represent these powers, but they are also the central factor in the setting because they are apparently bound to alien entities seeking to achieve their goals through the children. And it's no coincidence that the title of the game refers to the radio telescope in Arecibo.

Arecibo offers an interesting setting – starting from the insights into Puerto Rico and the scenario of playing as children to large conspiracies of cosmic powers that also attract the US military to the island. An introductory adventure delivers the player characters directly into the story. Unfortunately, however, much remains very vague. After the introduction, the further course of the plot arc lies in the hands of the individual gaming group. For me, in this case, this feels less like freedom for the game master and more like being left alone. Arecibo offers exciting ideas and promises some potential, but in my view, the book leaves too many questions for the reader to start playing easily.

(Björn Lippold)