This is an excellent system! It's fast and really rewards character and story rather than simulationism. But it still has enough rules "crunch" to make it interesting and engaging.

One other thing that was a nice bonus: in the gaming group used as examples throughout the book, I was impressed to read that the GM is female. That's a nice change of pace, and I hope to see more of it in the future from other publishers!

Technically, the PDF is very clean and lightweight. It works very well on my iPad, and doesn't lag like some image-heavy books. It does have art, mind you -- just not enough to clog up a PDF viewer!

Probably the simplest and most powerful RP engine I have ever encountered. The focus is on the characters, not on their gear, which is how a "roleplaying game" should be, and the Aspect system really makes you think about your character as you build them, while allowing you to adjust things as you go.

First of all let me say this: Whether you like Fate or not, this is easily the best written role-playing core role-book I have ever read. And I have read many. It's well-structured, the text is to the point, and due to text boxes and highlights and excellent headings, you can skim this volume in a very short time. Plus, after you've read this, you will have a very clear picture of what kind of game Fate aims to be. Which is more than I can say about most systems.

I have never played a Fate game before, but after studying this (and using one of the excellent Fate Worlds books) I was easily able to run a great session with a group of all Fate newbies. It was a blast.

I love what the developers have done with Fate: The have streamlined to system to its very core (hence the name), and they have made very clear how all elements interact with each other. All the isolated rules exceptions most other RPG systems feature are just not here. What a relief. Aspects, Stunts and Skills are the only things you need to know about, and these elements help to create story- and character-focussed games with high drama and action.

Sure, if you've only ever played variations of D&D before, you'll need to wrap your head around the concepts presented in Fate Core, such as the Create Advantage mechanic and the way Fate Points work, but once you've seen how you can contribute actively to story development as a player instead of just reacting to whatever the GM is throwing your way, you'll never turn back.

Plus: this is a truly universal system. Yes, it caters to a particular play-style, but if you like the system, you can use it in any and every world. It's infinitely hackable.

I've never been a system hacker or even a huge world builder myself, but even reading this book made me want to go and create something right away. I don't think there can be higher praise for a role-playing core rulebook.

I just got done reading Fate Core, cover to cover. It's a rarity for me to read an RPG completely, especially one that 300 pages. It reminded me of when I read Spirit of the Century, another FATE RPG from Evil Hat.

This is a great generic system except I don't think it runs in the same way as other generic systems save possibly for Savage Worlds. It is kinda like a smart phone, where there is the basic stuff and then there are apps that can completely customize your phone. Where the apps are different rule plugins that meet your particular game style. Whether you'd like to play fantasy or cyberpunk, you just change out what different plugins you'd like to see. It is really meant be modified for the different styles of play.

At it's core, it excels at creating competent action PCs. The PCs have a very broad abilities and then there is the Aspects on top of it to make them even more bad ass.

If you are looking for an RPG and haven't taken a look at any Fate products before, I'd recommend checking this out. Especially as a Pay what you want product.

Fate Core does a great job of de-coupling the game mechanics from any kind of setting. I first came to Fate via Spirit of the Century and it was very setting specific. This book does a great job of walking you through how to create the Fate game you want to make. It goes through in detail the conversation that players and GM's should have to put together the game that everyone wants to play.

You might be intimidated by the page count but that is just because the book is thorough for those who are brand new to the Fate system (which can be a little tricky when you first see it).

Also the book does a great job of helping you cross reference. When you are in one section but need to check on another thing, in the side margins will be a little note giving you the page number. And in the pdf version the page number is a link you can click to look it up.

This is hands down my favorite game system right now (and the best implementation of Fate so far). I had previously thought of Fate as a 'generic rule system,' but the more I play it, the more I realize that's not what it is at all. It's hardly 'generic;' although it has no built-in setting and can be used for any genre you want, it's made specifically to emulate genre. It's a CINEMATIC game system, that's what it is. With a few easy tweaks the game system can become anything from dungeon-delving fantasy to cold war spy thriller- and each game will run very differently. The rules are totally unconcerned with simulationism, and instead focus on asking 'what makes your campaign exciting and interesting? How can we facilitate those conflicts and events, using the Fate dice mechanic?'

So, yeah, you can play hardboiled occult detectives, or time-traveling cyborgs, or diplomats in the steam age or whatever else you want. But it's still not a generic system. Each of those campaigns will have custom skill lists, stunts, possibly even different stress tracks and any number of Extras. And it's all easy to customize- that's what the system is made for! If you want to play a campaign in the style of a particular book, movie, or series, with the same literary logic and causality, then Fate Core is the best system out there. Evil Hat is an awesome company with great practices that are worth supporting, and at the pay-what-you-want price it's just too good to pass up. It's so good that I already owned it, but I paid again just to review it here!

I cannot speak highly enough of Fate. I spent nearly a decade searching for a better roleplaying game system and I finally found it in Fate Core. Fate is a well designed system with rules that are at once both simple and flexible. A GM can run any sort of game with Fate and players can create any sort of characters. The core of Fate is story telling and the system is designed to let you do that no matter what sort of story you want to tell. Fate is the only game system I know of where characters with no combat skills whatsoever are just as effective as combat monsters (perhaps more so).

The essence of the Fate game system is solid but, in my opinion, Fate Core is even better than the previous versions. The rulebook is well laid out and the rules are very well explained. I have no trouble finding the information I need and no trouble understanding the explanations of the mechanics.

I could go on all day (in fact I have a much longer review written elsewhere), but I won't bore you with with details. Suffice to say that Fate Core is, hands down, THE best roleplaying game system if you are looking for roleplaying and storytelling.

This is the most brilliant and flexible universal gaming system I have had the pleasure to come across.

Over the last year I have seen an astonishing number of settings and games of different varieties produced thanks to the existence of this great game.

There's a joke on RPG forums that if you want a "movie-style" party of a goddess, a special agent and a monkey, you're out of luck. It's not true when you're playing FATE, though. Better yet, the party is even balanced! Well, obviously it's not balanced for combat, but still. You basically get one of the most versatile systems out there, able to do any setting. And unlike GURPS, you don't even need a setting book in order to play it, FATE Core is enough!

In many ways, Fate (or FATE) is the ultimate in generic role-playing systems. At it's "core", Fate is about asking "what's cool about my character?", and then just writing that explicitly on the character sheet, rather than trying to find the exact mix of skills, abilities and feats to make it happen. With Fate, you can easily replicate any setting or genre, move from any rules system, and do it all with just a single slim rulebook, but without removing the special powers and abilities that make each character feel fun.

What to be a bad-ass pirate? Write "Bad-ass pirate" as an "Aspect" on your sheet. Now, whenever your character is in a situation where either his bad-assitude or piratical nature is relevant, you can "invoke" that aspect to receive cool bonuses, or your GM can invoke it to create an interesting problem, dealing with which grants you more fate points, which in turn you can use to invoke aspects to your advantage again.

Evocative in-book examples aside, there is no default setting here, but Fate can be used in combination with Fate-based setting books (like Dresden Files or Spirit of the Century), or as a new "engine" for other settings where you like the setting but hate the rules (or the rules are just out-dated), or for your own home-brew.

The only "knock" against Fate is that it does require some buy-in from your players. Fate characters are not passive, and players who just want to sit at the table and roll dice occasionally may not get the most out of this, and would be better served by a more "gamey" kind of system, like 4th ed.

Spirit Of The Century was the groundbreaking Fate 3.0 iteration but Fate Core is really the best Fate version out there. The presentation of the rules is the simplest yet and that makes Fate Core the ultimate Fate product.

A wonderful system that can be used for pretty much any genre of game. It excels at enabling a cooperative style of play and while this can be difficult for GMs to adapt to, once you do playing this is always an amazing experience. With Fate it's all about the story.

There was a time when I felt terribly constrained as the guy running a game. Sure I had an ungodly number of games to choose from, but I didn't much like running most of them. They either had settings I loved, and settings I hated, or systems I liked, and with dull setting that the system was married too. The universal systems, were the least inspiring of the lot.

It had gotten to the point where Call of Cthulhu was about all I ever wanted to run. Now I love Lovecraftian horror more than is considered healthy by most, but there is more to me than that. I love Wuxia too, transhumanist science fiction, spaghetti western, sword and sorcery, pulpie steampunk, and cypherpunks raging against the dying of the light of freedom, and so much more besides.

Then Fate Core dropped into my hands.

Now, when it gets time for me to run something new, I don't just go to the bookshelf and look at which purist scenario my players will suffer through next, or even write a new one myself. No, I get to tell stories of swashbuckling airpirates, or near future eco-terrorist.

Fate, is unique, in that it manages to be rather good at simultaneously being fun, and close to a universal system.

Quick (yet remarkably detailed), setting neutral (yet characterful). Fate manages to be all things to all people (so long as your okay with a storytelling game elements).

Where GURPS fails because it is clunky beyond belief (and the fact that I am beginning to suspect that the rumors that some people actually play it, may actually be a collective delusion of the RPG community), Fate manages to offer fast paced game play, with a rich narrative to combats, debates and other challenges.

Where OGL fails, because lets face it, even when your playing a modern day game with it, your really just playing DnD, fate manages to be very nearly truly setting neutral. This is thanks to its minimalist rules design and its very hackable.

It isn't perfect. It's fundamental setup is not a good horror.

But for everything else, there is fate core.

While a fan of FATE since the early hours, I drifted to other systems over the years. However the new FATE Core got me back to FATE immediately, having me rethink all campaign ideas I had, but never found a good rule system for. A very high value product for such a low price.

The Review Fate Core will help you build the game you want to play as long as the game revolves around characters who are proactive, competent, and dramatic. Every bit of this book is a guide to doing that, from teaching what FATE is in chapter one right down to how to add in all the extra bits like magic, superpowers, or cyberware in chapter eleven. Other games which try to do this don’t always excel at giving or explaining the tools to players and GMs. Fate Core is superb in that regard. The layout is easy to read, important information jumps off the page in bold text or in bullet lists, there are tons of examples throughout the course of the book, and the side bars are punchy and poignant. Oh, did I mention the hyperlinks for you digital readers. The table of contents is hyper-linked and there are hyperlinks in the margins to jump you to places in the book which might help you grok what’s written on the current page. Those margin notes also have page numbers for those with physical copies. This book is just another of the fine products produced by Evil Hat Productions and is the tightest Fate rules set produced to date. I recommend buying it but if you want to know what’s inside here’s a chapter break down of what you get.

Chapter one talks about the basics of Fate. It starts with the obligatory “What is role playing” section before moving on to describe fudge dice, the ladder, Fate Points, Aspects, taking action in the game, invoking, and compels. By covering all these ideas in basic terms the chapter prepares you for the rest of the book.

Chapter two covers game creation. This is a pared down version of the Dresden Files RPG city creation system but it also expands the ideas in that game to assist GMs in getting their groups to collaborate on any type of game they might want to play. It breaks down how to create a setting, set the scale of the game, get the games big issues going, and populating the game with, organizations, locations and NPCs.

Chapter three is all about character creation and how it’s also a game. Fate games use a system which tells part of a characters story and how the character connects with two other characters. From this little storytelling game you get your Aspects, which define half of a Fate character. The other half are skills and stunts. The skills use something called the skill pyramid. Each character gets four skills at +1, three at +2, two at +3, and one at +4. Characters are also capped at +4 or great according to the core rules. There is an optional rule where players start with twenty points to spend but are limited by the cap and the idea of the skill column, which is always in effect. In this version of Fate three stunts are free and refresh can be spent to get up to two more. Next Stress and Consequences are covered which is the way damage is handled. Finishing up some smooth and quick character creation rules are laid out. In short a character starts with a couple of Aspects, some skills, and a bunch of blanks filled in during the first session, adding in what is needed when it is needed. This works really well for people who have some ideas but aren’t sure how the game is going to play out and which skills will be really important.

Chapter four talks about what I believe to be the lynch pin mechanic which makes this game so much fun to play. Aspects and Fate Points. Fate points are the currency of the game and Aspects bring what would normally be background fluff to the forefront of play allowing it to be invoked or compelled. In previous books like The Dresden Files RPG and Spirit of the Century there have been chapters on the Aspect but none as comprehensive and easy to understand as in this book. It starts by defining Aspects and Fate Points, then discusses the type of Aspects: Game, Character, Situation, Consequences, and Boosts. After that we learn what Aspects do, covering how making something an Aspect makes it important to the game and get some advice on determining when the mechanics should be engaged. Next it covers how to make quality Aspects. Here’s my favorite advice: Always ask what matters and why?

If that question is answered an Aspect is easy to make. Following that is invoking Aspects which is the mechanical application of Aspects and hits on something I believe is new to this version of Fate in how free invocations are used. As many free invocations on an Aspect can be made at one time as there are fate points on the Aspect, even spending a fate point from the acting players own pool on top of it. Compelling aspects comes after along with the types of compels. The best part here is the idea of suggesting compels is everyone at the tables responsibility. After this are sections about using Aspects as role playing prompts, how to remove or change Aspects through play, and creating or discovering new Aspects. Finally the chapter talks about the Fate point economy, how refresh works, other ways to spend Fate points other than invoking, and how to earn them. Something new for the GM here is whenever a scene starts you get a Fate point for every PC in that scene. You can spend these Fate points on anything you want in the scene to help get your ideas going and to challenge the players.

Chapter Five explains Skills and Stunts. It starts by defining skills, what they do in the game, and touches on the four basic actions of Overcome, Create an Advantage, Attack, and Defend. When a player takes action that requires a dice roll in this game they are always doing one of these four things with some skill. The best rule change from previous versions of the game is the Create an Advantage action. It replaced a bunch of old actions that created Aspects. I was always confused since they were so similar. Stunts are covered next and this section has a fantastic “how to” on building new stunts. In fact anytime this book is giving you the “how to” on anything it is done in superb fashion with the mechanical tools explained clearly, followed up with common examples so you have a blueprint to start with when building anything. Finishing the chapter is the skill list. I think it’s worth noting there is a quality side bar on dealing with the resource skill on pg 123.

Chapter six is all about Actions and Outcomes. This chapter and chapter 7 cover the procedures of play, starting by getting in depth with the four outcomes and the four actions. Everything in this chapter exemplifies the Fantastic layout of the book. It’s easy to read and understand and if a term was forgotten the margin notes point to where to find it.

Chapter seven covers challenges, contests, and conflicts. When a single roll of the dice isn’t enough to determine the outcome these are the procedures given to decide what happens. There are some great questions GMs can ask to decide which of these three frameworks should be used. Challenges cover overcoming some series of obstacles where a single roll doesn’t seem to fit, contests involve two or more characters striving for a goal but aren’t trying to harm each other directly, and conflicts are for those situations where people are trying to hurt each other physically or mentally. The conflict section is the largest of the chapter and covers setting the scene, determining turn order, what exchanges and zones are, creating situation Aspects, resolving attacks, taking consequences, recovering from consequences, ending a conflict and all the other little gritty details of fighting, be it with words or swords. I really like the teamwork rule in this game. It’s simple. If a character has at least an Average rating (or +1) in the skill that the die roller is using a +1 can be added assuming the characters assistance makes sense in the narrative. The only caveat is if a character helps they are now subject to any costs associated with the roll.

Chapter eight is all about running the game from the GMs perspective. It covers what the GMs responsibilities are which is starting and ending scenes, playing the world, judging the use of the rules, and creating scenarios along with just about everything else. So while that’s the over view of what the GMs job is this chapter goes deep, giving GMs some options for how to guide game creation and deciding if extras are needed. Then it hits on how to make the game go during play and it starts with the Golden Rule of Fate:

Decide what you’re trying to accomplish first, then consult the rules to help you do it.

It seems so simple but it’s such good advice for any game. Next it talks about when to roll the dice:

Roll the dice only when succeeding or failing at the action could each contribute something interesting to the game.

Then there’s advice on how to make failure interesting, some excellent tips about how to not marginalize characters because they failed, and what constitutes a minor cost vs. a serious cost. After that the chapter goes into how to push some of the work onto your players, setting difficulties, dealing with game time and story time, and how to use story time in success and failure to create deadline pressures. There’s advice on zooming in and out on the story, judging the use of skills and stunts, why you should leave specific measurements out of the game, dealing with the weird things that happen in conflicts, and how multiple targets of effects could be handled. It covers environmental hazards, gives advice on dealing with Aspects and how not to be weaksause (their words not mine) when making compels. Finally there is an excellent set of guidelines for creating and playing the PCs opposition. This version of Fate, like others adopts a create only what you need philosophy, which I approve of, and covers how to right-size your opposition if you want rougher or easier conflicts based on numbers, skills, advantages, and venues. I think this chapter is a gold mine of advice for any GM running most traditional RPGs and even some which aren’t so traditional.

Chapter nine covers the creation of scenes, sessions, and scenarios. It starts with defining the scenario and how to start building them by finding the problems, asking story questions, establish the opposition, and set the first scene. After that the game should just go. It’s fantastic stuff and helps GMs out by posing a bunch of Madlibs to figure out what problems there are and following it up with questions you can answer to figure out everything else. Next is support for scenes through determining the purpose of the scene and figuring out what interesting thing is going to happen. Then the book takes a few pages to help GMs get their players interested in the scene by advising GMs to hit character Aspects and calling back to the three pillars of the game: Competence, Proactivity, and Drama. Then some superb advice is given.

Whatever you have planned will always be different from what actually occurs.

The chapter finishes with some information on resolving the scenario.

Chapter ten is called the long game which defines and then gives advice for building story arcs and campaigns. They’re basically giving frameworks for spontaneous storytelling. The mechanic that helps signify the ending and beginnings of these arcs are milestones. The book takes some time to define minor, significant, and major milestones and what mechanical benefits each of them give to players. Then advancing the world is covered and the things the GM should think about during each of the milestones. The chapter finishes up with advice about how to handle NPCs over the long haul.

Chapter eleven is all about the Extras. What’s an extra? It’s anything that’s part of a character or controlled by a character that gets special treatment in the rules. These are the setting rules you’ll get in a super hero game or the magic system in a fantasy setting. To help GMs out the book has a bunch of different add-ons you can use or use as a blueprint to build your own extras. To help GMs create those extra’s they even have a great list of questions GMs can ask to help them figure out what they may or may not need. In here is also one of the coolest things about Fate. The Fate fractal. Anything in the game world can be treated like it’s a character. A car, an organization, a location, whatever. Just throw some Aspects, skills, stunts, a stress track or two, and consequence slots on it if you want. You want a Birthright campaign, you can do it, just make all the kingdoms Fate characters with skills, stunts, or Aspects, and that’s just one of the things you could do.

My personal thoughts are this rules set is the tightest Fate has produced yet. Aspects are easier to understand than ever before, there is an interesting failure mechanic where the player gets to choose if they fail or succeed with a consequence, and the game creation sections along with the extra’s chapter gives you the tools to build the game you want. For GMs Chapters eight through ten are some of the best GM advice collected in one place I’ve seen in a RPG book that isn’t Robin’s Laws of Game Mastering. As far as presentation and use of language for explaining a game is concerned I’ve always felt the best book out there was the Mouse Guard RPG. While that book is still more beautiful I feel Fate Core is at least its equal and maybe just a little bit better at teaching the rules through the text and layout. I don’t give ratings but I will say this. I love Dungeon World and I’m very fond of Mouse Guard as a book to teach a rules set. Fate Core accomplishes the goal of teaching the game better than either of those games. I can’t say it’s a better rules set than Dungeon World or Mouse Guard because it’s focus is different but as a set of tools to help GMs and players build a game I’ve never seen a book or game do it better.