Conan Adventures in An Age Undreamed Of - RPG
Aug 30, 2018 2:09:13 GMT -5
Post by boot on Aug 30, 2018 2:09:13 GMT -5
Only PCs get them, unless the GM wants to give an important foe a couple of them. PCs start out with 3 Fate Points. If the PC is one of the Hyborian races, then he starts out with 4 FP (to represent their dominance and ability to adapt during the Age).
The game is very deadly. No magical healing. The Massive Damage Threshold is lowered from standard d20 3.5 to just 20 points. If a PC takes 20 points of damage from a single blow, then he rolls a Fortitude save. Failing that save means that his head was chopped off or some other grisly way to die.
So Fate Points are a narrative tool to encourage that heroes continue with the story.
The GM controls the award of Fate Points. I keep them extremely rare in my game, but I do give them the 3 or 4 points that they're supposed to have when the character is created.
Going from the Second Edition rules, a player can use a Fate Point to....
...be Left For Dead. This is probably the most popular use. A character becomes unconscious at -1 hp, and he dies at -10 hp. If a FP is spent during this period, then the character is considered "left for dead" to where the enemy thinks he's dead, but in true heroic story form, the character survives.
Now, this isn't a 100% get-out-of-death free card. If the blow that kills the PC knocks him to more than -11 hp or more, the PC is dead. If the PC is burned, or drowned, or had his head chopped off, then the Left For Dead option is not available. If the GM has the foe going through the battlefield and sticking a spear through the heads of those still alive, then, again, the option is not available (unless the GM allows the FP to be where the character was missed by the foe soldiers making sure everybody was dead).
Even if the use of the FP is successful, then the character still needs to heal up normally.
The FP use basically just keeps the character from being flat out dead--it will still take time and effort to get him healed up.
...for a Mighty Blow. Rather than rolling damage dice on any successful hit, an FP can be spent to make a "mighty blow", which means that the attack did maximum damage. But, the might blow also destroys the weapon used.
...for Parry or Dodge. A PC can use an FP to add +5 to his Parry or Dodge AC.
...Reroll. A Player can use one of his characters FPs to re-roll any die roll in the game.
....Resist Terror. In this game, monstrous beings, demons, and dark sorcery scare the crap out of normal people. The first time they see such stuff, it could terrify an individual. This isn't D&D where a farmer goes out to his field and sees an ankheg burrow up out of the ground. In this game, if a skeleton sitting on a throne in some old dank hole in the ground gets up and starts moving, then that has the power to make even the toughest individuals shake and pee themselves. Mechanically, when this happens, the character gets a save, and it is really meant for characters level 1-3. If a character fails this save, the effects are similuar to a Fear Spell in D&D. A FP can be spent to allow the character to find his backbone and continue on in spite of his horror.
...Repent. I've already described how dark Sorcery can be. Those that dabble in sorcery are typically in contact with some pretty unwholesome things, like demons and their ilk. This can lead to the character slowing becoming corrupted (using the Corruption rules in the book). An FP can be used to remove one point of Corruption.
...for Destiny. This is a GM controlled narrative use of a FP. For example, let's say a PC has been captured and is thrown in a hole to be sold as a slave. The GM may allow the PC to spend an FP, and if it is spent, then the GM may figure out some way in the story to help the character. Maybe the hunchback jailer drops the keys, and if the PC is quick, then he can grab the keys and get out. Or, maybe the PC finds a loose stone in his cell, or a loose bar on the window.
The GM doesn't have to do this quickly. The result doesn't have to happen as soon as the PC spends the point. And, the GM should get creative with this use of the Fate Point. Maybe, one day, the PC bites into the moldy bread and chomps down on a piece of paper. He opens it up, and it reads, "Soon."
That's it. Just, "Soon."
So, because of the FP, the GM puts into the game an ally that will try to help the PC get out.
The GM can drag this out for as long as he wants. Let's say the PC has a family sword that is lost when he was captured. The player wants it back for his character. The GM, after the FP is spent, considers this and decides to make the sword pop up on another's belt, but the PC won't encounter this NPC until the next adventure--several game sessions later.
Whatever the GM thinks will be the most fun in the game is what he should do. And, the GM doesn't have to decide on the spot. A player can spend the FP for Destiny, telling the GM what he desires, and the GM can go home after the game session to consider how he wants to make this happen in the game. Players should remember the adage that they should be careful what they wish for. Destiny has a funny way of coming true but not in the way expected.
The GM can also plant "Destiny" spends in the game--X will happen if a PC spends an FP to get it, and if not, then it doesn't happen.
If you think about the 1982 Conan film, when Conan's slave owner set him free, it is stuff like this in narrative story telling that is the inspiration for Fate Points.
