An Evil Hat Productions Publication

www.evilhat.com feedback@evilhat.com
@EvilHatOfcial on Twitter
facebook.com/EvilHatProductions
Fate Accelerated Edition
Copyright 2013 Evil Hat Productions, LLC.
All rights reserved.
Te text of Fate Accelerated Edition will be available under the
Open Gaming License and a Creative Commons Attribution license.
For more details about the terms and requirements of these licenses,
please visit www.evilhat.com or www.faterpg.com.
First published in 2013 by Evil Hat Productions, LLC.
10125 Colesville Rd #318, Silver Spring, MD 20901.
Evil Hat Productions and the Evil Hat and Fate Accelerated
logos are trademarks owned by Evil Hat Productions, LLC.
All rights reserved.
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-61317-047-2
Kindle ISBN: 978-1-61317-055-7
ePub ISBN: 978-1-61317-054-0
Printed in the USA
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior express permission of the publisher.
Tat said, if youre doing it for personal use, knock yourself out.
Tats not only allowed, we encourage you to do it.
For those working at a copy shop and not at all sure if this means
the person standing at your counter can make copies of this
thing, they can. Tis is express permission. Carry on.
Tis is a game where people make up stories about wonderful, terrible, impossible,
glorious things. All the characters and events portrayed in this work are fctional.
Any resemblance to real people, magical martial artists, schoolgirl witches,
pulp scientists, or piratical cats is purely coincidental, but kinda hilarious.
CONTENTS
Get Started! ...................................... 5
Telling Stories Together ................. 6
What Do You Mean,
Tell Stories? .................................6
So How Do We Do It? ..........................6
Telling Stories Together?
What Do You Mean?....................7
Who Do You Want To Be? .............. 8
What Kind of Characters
Can I Play?.......................................8
How Do I Make the Character?.........8
How To Do Stuf: Outcomes,
Actions, and Approaches .......12
Dice or Cards......................................... 13
Outcomes................................................ 13
Actions..................................................... 14
Choose Your Approach ..................... 18
Roll the Dice, Add Your Bonus........ 18
Decide Whether
to Modify the Roll ....................... 18
Challenges, Contests,
and Conicts ............................19
Challenges .............................................. 19
Contests..................................................20
Conicts..................................................20
Ouch! Damage, Stress,
and Consequences ................. 22
What Is Stress? .................................... 23
What Are Consequences? ............... 23
What Happens
When I Get Taken Out? ........... 23
Giving In ................................................. 24
Getting BetterRecovering from
Stress and Consequences ...... 24
Aspects and Fate Points ............... 25
What Kinds of
Aspects Are There?................... 25
What Do You Do With Aspects?... 27
Composing Good Aspects ..............30
Stunts ...............................................31
Getting Better at Doing Stuf:
Character Advancement........ 33
Milestones.............................................. 33
Being the GM.................................. 35
Help Build Campaigns....................... 35
Build Scenarios and Run Game
Sessions......................................... 36
Setting Difculty Levels ................... 37
Bad Guys................................................ 38
Example Characters ......................40
Reth of the Andrali Resistance......40
Voltaire..................................................... 41
Abigail Zhao .......................................... 42
Bethesda Flushing, PhD ................... 43
Quick Reference ............................44
5 GET STARTED!
GET STARTED!
Remember those books where the teenage wizards struggle against the Dark
Lord of Evil? Tat movie where the dwarves fght to recapture their moun-
tain home from a dragon? Tat animated TV show about mystical knights
and their army of clones righting wrongs across the galaxy?
Arent those awesome?
Heres your chance to put yourself in the heroes shoes in stories like
those.
Fate Accelerated Edition is a tabletop roleplaying game, where you and
your friends gather around and tell stories full of danger, excitement, and
adventure. You might have played games similar to this beforeDungeons
&Dragons is a very popular onebut dont worry if you havent; this book-
let will guide you through it.
Heres what youll need to play:
Tree to fve people. One of you will be the gamemaster, the others
players. Well talk about what those mean later.
Fate Dice, at least four, preferably four per
person. Tese are a special kind of six-sided
dice that are marked on two sides with a
plus symbol ( +), two sides with a minus
symbol ( -), and two sides are blank ( 0).
You can get these dice from many hobby
and game stores, often under their original
nameFudge dice. We call them Fate Dice
in this book, but you can call them whatever
youlike. Evil Hat will ofer Fate Dice for sale at www.evilhat.com later
in 2013.
Te Deck of Fate is an alternative to Fate Dice. Its a deck of cards that
mimics the probability of Fate Dice, and its designed to be used in the
same way Fate Dice are. Te Deck of Fate will be available from Evil
Hat in 2013 or 2014.
Character sheets, one for each player. You can download these from
www.evilhat.com.
Index cards or sticky notes or similar slips of paper.
Tokens for fate points. Tese can be poker chips, beads, pennies, or
anything similar. Get a handfulabout 30 or 40.
Next, lets talk about how to use Fate Accelerated to tell stories together.
If you dont want to use Fudge
dice, you dont have toany set
of regular six-sided dice will
work. If youre using regular
dice, you read 5 or 6 as , 1 or
2 as , and 3 or 4 as .
C L A R K V A L E N T I N E
W R I T I N G R E F I N E M E N T
L E O N A R D B A L S E R A
C O R E S Y S T E M D E V E L O P M E N T
F R E D H I C K S
C O N C E P T W R I T I N G L A Y O U T
M I K E O L S O N
S Y S T E M E D I T I N G
A M A N D A V A L E N T I N E
C L A R I T Y E D I T I N G
C L A U D I A C A N G I N I
C O V E R A R T I N T E R I O R A R T
F A T E W A S O R I G I N A L L Y C R E A T E D B Y
R O B D O N O G H U E A N D F R E D H I C K S
8 F A T E A C C E l E R A T E D
W H O D O Y O U W A N T T O B E ?
O n c e y o u v e d e c i d e d w h a t k i n d o f s t o r y y o u l l b e t e l l i n g i n y o u r g a m e , y o u
d e c i d e w h o y o u r c h a r a c t e r i s w h a t t h e y l o o k l i k e , w h a t t h e y r e g o o d a t ,
a n d w h a t t h e y b e l i e v e .
W H A T K i n D O F C H A R A C T E R S C A n i P l A Y ?
T i n k a b o u t t h e s e t t i n g t h a t y o u v e d e c i d e d t o p l a y i n a n d m a k e t h a t y o u r
m a i n g u i d e . A r e y o u p l a y i n g i n a s c h o o l f o r y o u n g s o r c e r e r s ? P l a y a y o u n g
s o r c e r e r ! A r e y o u p l a y i n g s p a c e p i l o t s f g h t i n g a n e v i l e m p i r e ? P l a y a s p a c e
p i l o t ! M a k e s u r e y o u r c h a r a c t e r h a s a r e a s o n t o i n t e r a c t a n d c o o p e r a t e w i t h
t h e c h a r a c t e r s t h e o t h e r p l a y e r s a r e m a k i n g .
H O W D O i M A K E T H E C H A R A C T E R ?
N o w i t s t i m e t o s t a r t w r i t i n g s t u f d o w n . G r a b a p e n c i l a n d a c o p y o f t h e
c h a r a c t e r s h e e t . S o m e p e o p l e l i k e t o u s e f o r m - f l l a b l e P D F s o n a l a p t o p o r
t a b l e t c o m p u t e r . A n y o f t h a t s f n e , b u t y o u d e f n i t e l y w a n t s o m e t h i n g t h a t
l e t s y o u e r a s e a n d c h a n g e .
A S P E C T S I N A N U T S h E L L
A n a s p e c t i s a w o r d , p h r a s e , o r s e n t e n c e t h a t d e s c r i b e s s o m e t h i n g c e n t r a l l y
i m p o r t a n t t o y o u r c h a r a c t e r . I t c a n b e a m o t t o y o u r c h a r a c t e r l i v e s b y , a
p e r s o n a l i t y q u i r k , a d e s c r i p t i o n o f a r e l a t i o n s h i p y o u h a v e w i t h a n o t h e r
c h a r a c t e r , a n i m p o r t a n t p o s s e s s i o n o r b i t o f e q u i p m e n t y o u r c h a r a c t e r h a s ,
o r a n y o t h e r p a r t o f y o u r c h a r a c t e r t h a t i s v i t a l l y i m p o r t a n t .
A s p e c t s a l l o w y o u t o c h a n g e t h e s t o r y i n w a y s t h a t t i e i n w i t h y o u r c h a r a c -
t e r s t e n d e n c i e s , s k i l l s , o r p r o b l e m s . Y o u c a n a l s o u s e t h e m t o e s t a b l i s h f a c t s
a b o u t t h e s e t t i n g , s u c h a s t h e p r e s e n c e o f m a g i c o r t h e e x i s t e n c e o f a u s e f u l
a l l y , d a n g e r o u s e n e m y , o r s e c r e t o r g a n i z a t i o n .
Y o u r c h a r a c t e r w i l l h a v e a h a n d f u l o f a s p e c t s ( b e t w e e n t h r e e a n d f v e ) ,
i n c l u d i n g a h i g h c o n c e p t a n d a t r o u b l e . W e d i s c u s s a s p e c t s i n d e t a i l i n
A s p e c t s a n d F a t e P o i n t s b u t f o r n o w , t h i s s h o u l d h e l p y o u g e t t h e i d e a .
h I G h C O N C E P T
F i r s t , d e c i d e o n y o u r c h a r a c t e r s h i g h c o n c e p t . T i s i s a s i n g l e p h r a s e o r
s e n t e n c e t h a t n e a t l y s u m s u p y o u r c h a r a c t e r , s a y i n g w h o y o u a r e , w h a t y o u
d o , w h a t y o u r d e a l i s . W h e n y o u t h i n k a b o u t y o u r h i g h c o n c e p t , t r y t o
t h i n k o f t w o t h i n g s : h o w t h i s a s p e c t c o u l d h e l p y o u , a n d h o w i t m i g h t m a k e
t h i n g s h a r d e r f o r y o u . G o o d h i g h c o n c e p t a s p e c t s d o b o t h .
E x a m p l e s : F e l i n e C a p t a i n o f C i r r u s S k i m m e r ; S u n c a l l e r o f t h e
A n d r a l D e s e r t ; C h i e f F i e l d A g e n t o f I G E M A
E s t a b l i s h i n g
s e t t i n g f a c t s :
p . 2 9
A s p e c t s a n d
F a t e P o i n t s :
p . 2 5
7T E l l i n G S T O R i E S T O G E T H E R
T E l l i n G S T O R i E S T O G E T H E R ?
W H A T D O Y O u M E A n ?
A l l t h e p e o p l e a t t h e t a b l e , G M a n d p l a y e r s a l i k e , a r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t e l l i n g
t h e s t o r y . W h e n y o u m a k e a d e c i s i o n f o r y o u r c h a r a c t e r ( o r f o r o n e o f t h e
N P C s , i f y o u r e t h e G M ) , t h i n k a b o u t t w o t h i n g s .
F i r s t , p u t y o u r s e l f i n y o u r c h a r a c t e r s s h o e s a n d t h i n k h a r d a b o u t w h a t
t h e y w o u l d d o e v e n i f i t s n o t t h e b e s t i d e a . I f y o u r e p l a y i n g a c h a r a c t e r
t h a t s o m e t i m e s m a k e s p o o r d e c i s i o n s , d o n t b e a f r a i d t o m a k e a p o o r d e c i -
s i o n f o r t h e m o n p u r p o s e .
S e c o n d a n d t h i s i s r e a l l y i m p o r t a n t t h i n k a b o u t t h e s t o r y t h a t s b e i n g
t o l d . T i n k a b o u t t h e c h o i c e t h a t w o u l d m a k e t h a t s t o r y e v e n b e t t e r : m o r e
i n t e r e s t i n g , m o r e e x c i t i n g , f u n n i e r . W o u l d a c e r t a i n c h o i c e g i v e a n o t h e r
p l a y e r s c h a r a c t e r a c h a n c e t o b e a w e s o m e ? S t r o n g l y c o n s i d e r m a k i n g t h a t
c h o i c e .
T a t s h o w y o u t e l l g r e a t s t o r i e s t o g e t h e r b y n o t b e i n g a f r a i d f o r y o u r
c h a r a c t e r t o m a k e m i s t a k e s , a n d b y m a k i n g c h o i c e s t h a t m a k e t h e s t o r y
m o r e i n t e r e s t i n g f o r e v e r y o n e a t t h e t a b l e n o t j u s t y o u .
6 F A T E A C C E l E R A T E D
T E L L I N G S T O R I E S T O G E T H E R
S o y o u v e g a t h e r e d y o u r f r i e n d s , y o u r d i c e , a n d y o u r i n d e x c a r d s , a n d y o u r e
r e a d y t o p l a y F a t e A c c e l e r a t e d E d i t i o n ( w e l l c a l l i t F A E f r o m n o w o n ) . T i m e
t o t e l l s o m e s t o r i e s !
W H A T D O Y O u M E A n , T E l l S T O R i E S ?
F A E i s a l l a b o u t t e l l i n g s t o r i e s . Y o u c r e a t e a g r o u p o f c h a r a c t e r s a n d f o l l o w
t h e m t h r o u g h s o m e i m a g i n a r y a d v e n t u r e t h a t y o u a l l t a k e t u r n s t e l l i n g l i t t l e
p a r t s o f .
T i n k a b o u t a m o v i e , v i d e o g a m e , o r T V s h o w y o u l i k e w h e r e t h e c h a r -
a c t e r s g o o n a d v e n t u r e s s o m e t h i n g l i k e T e L e g e n d o f K o r r a o r S t a r W a r s
o r T e A v e n g e r s o r t h e Z e l d a g a m e s o r D o c t o r W h o o r T e L o r d o f t h e R i n g s .
N o w i m a g i n e a s i m i l a r s o r t o f s t o r y , w h e r e y o u a n d y o u r f r i e n d s a r o u n d t h e
t a b l e m a k e t h e d e c i s i o n s f o r t h e c h a r a c t e r s a s t h e y m o v e t h r o u g h t h e s t o r y ,
a n d t h e s t o r y c h a n g e s a s y o u m a k e t h o s e d e c i s i o n s .
S o m e t i m e s s o m e o n e m a k e s a d e c i s i o n t o t r y s o m e t h i n g a n d y o u d o n t
k n o w f o r s u r e h o w i t w o u l d t u r n o u t ; t h a t s w h e n y o u r o l l d i c e t o s e e w h a t
h a p p e n s n e x t . T e h i g h e r y o u r o l l , t h e b e t t e r t h e c h a n c e t h a t t h i n g s w o r k
o u t t h e w a y y o u w a n t t h e m t o .
S O H O W D O W E D O i T ?
W e l l , f r s t y o u n e e d t o f g u r e o u t w h a t k i n d o f s t o r y y o u r e g o i n g t o t e l l .
W h a t g e n r e a r e y o u i n t e r e s t e d i n ? F a n t a s y ? S c i e n c e f c t i o n ? M o d e r n - d a y
a d v e n t u r e ? W i l l y o u p l a y i n t h e w o r l d o f a T V s h o w o r c o m i c b o o k o r m o v i e
t h a t y o u l o v e , o r w i l l y o u c r e a t e y o u r o w n w o r l d ? F o r s o m e g r e a t a d v i c e
a b o u t h o w t o d e s i g n t h e f r a m e w o r k o f y o u r g a m e , s e e G a m e C r e a t i o n i n F a t e
C o r e , a v a i l a b l e f o r f r e e a t w w w . e v i l h a t . c o m .
N e x t , i t s t i m e t o c h o o s e w h o w i l l b e t h e p l a y e r s , a n d w h o w i l l b e t h e
g a m e m a s t e r . O f t h e p e o p l e a r o u n d t h e t a b l e , a l l b u t o n e a r e r e f e r r e d t o a s
p l a y e r s . E a c h p l a y e r t a k e s o n t h e r o l e o f o n e p l a y e r c h a r a c t e r o r P C i n t h e
s t o r y , a n d p u t s t h e m s e l v e s i n t h e i r c h a r a c t e r s s h o e s t o m a k e t h e d e c i s i o n s
t h a t t h e i r c h a r a c t e r w o u l d m a k e . T e r e m a i n i n g p e r s o n i s c a l l e d t h e g a m e -
m a s t e r o r G M . T e G M s j o b i s t o p r e s e n t c h a l l e n g e s t o t h e p l a y e r s a n d t o
p o r t r a y a l l t h e c h a r a c t e r s t h a t a r e n t c o n t r o l l e d b y t h e p l a y e r s ( n o n - p l a y e r
c h a r a c t e r s o r N P C s ) .
O n c e y o u d e c i d e w h o t h e G M w i l l b e , a n d w h a t t h e g e n r e a n d f r a m e -
w o r k o f t h e s t o r y w i l l b e , i t s t i m e f o r t h e p l a y e r s t o m a k e t h e i r c h a r a c t e r s
t h a t s i n t h e n e x t c h a p t e r .
M o r e o n t h e
t h e G M s j o b :
p . 3 5
W h o d o y o u
w a n t t o b e ?
p . 8
10 FATE AccElErATED
APPROAChES
Choose your approaches.
Approaches are descriptions
of how you accomplish tasks.
Everyone has the same six
approaches:
Careful
Clever
Flashy
Forceful
Quick
Sneaky
Each approach is rated with a
bonus. Choose one at Good (+3),
two at Fair (+2), two at Average(+1),
and one at Mediocre(+0). You can
improve these later. We talk about
what each approach means and how
you use them in How to Do Stuf:
Outcomes, Approaches, and Actions.
Your approaches can say a lot
about who you are. Here are some
examples:
Te Brute:
Forceful +3, Careful and Flashy +2, Sneaky and Quick +1, Clever +0
Te All-Star:
Quick +3, Forceful and Flashy +2, Clever and Careful +1, Sneaky +0
Te Trickster:
Clever +3, Sneaky and Flashy +2, Forceful and Quick +1, Careful +0
Te Guardian:
Careful +3, Forceful and Clever +2, Sneaky and Quick +1, Flashy +0
Te Tief:
Sneaky +3, Careful and Quick +2, Clever and Flashy +1, Forceful +0
Te Swashbuckler:
Flashy +3, Quick and Clever +2, Forceful and Sneaky +1, Careful +0
THE LADDER
In Fate, we use a ladder of adjec-
tives and numbers to rate a charac-
ters approaches, the result of a roll,
difculty ratings for simple checks,
etc.
heres the ladder:
+8 Legendary
+7 Epic
+6 Fantastic
+5 Superb
+4 Great
+3 Good
+2 Fair
+1 Average
0 Mediocre
-1 Poor
-2 Terrible
What each
approach
means:
p.18
11 WHO DO YOu WAnT TO BE?
STUNTS AND REFRESh
A stunt is a special trait that changes the way an approach works for your
character. Generally, stunts give you a bonus (almost always +2) to a certain
approach when used with a particular action under specifc circumstances.
Well talk more about stunts in Stunts. Choose one stunt to start, or you can
wait and add a stunt during the game. Later, when your character advances,
you can choose more.
Your refresh is the number of fate
points you begin each game session
withunless you ended the previous
session with more unspent fate points
than your refresh, in which case you
start with the number you had left last
time. By default, your refresh starts at
three and is reduced by one for each
stunt after the frst three you choose
essentially, your frst three stunts are
free! As your character advances, youll
get opportunities to add to your refresh.
Your refresh may never go below one.
HOWMANY STUNTS?
By default, FAE suggests choosing one
stunt to start with.
however, if this is your rst time play-
ing a Fate game, you might nd it easier
to pick your rst stunt after youve had a
chance to play a bit, to give you an idea
of what a good stunt might be. Just add
your stunt during or after your rst game
session.
On the other hand, if youre an ex-
perienced Fate gamer, you might look
ahead and discover that, just like in Fate
Core, your character is entitled to three
free stunts before it starts costing you
refresh. In that case, let the least expe-
rienced member of your game group
be your guide; if someone is new to the
game and only takes one to start with,
thats what everyone should do. If youre
all experienced, and you want to start
with more powerful characters, just take
all three to start and of you go.
Stunts: p.31
12 FATE AccElErATED
HOW TO DO STUFF:
OUTCOMES, ACTIONS,
AND AppROACHES
Now its time to start doing something. You need to leap from one moving
train car to another. You need to search the entire library for that spell you
really need. You need to distract the guard so you can sneak into the fortress.
How do you fgure out what happens?
First you narrate what your character is trying to do. Your characters
own aspects provide a good guide for what
you can do. If you have an aspect that sug-
gests you can perform magic, then cast that
spell. If your aspects describe you as a swords-
man, draw that blade and have at it. Tese
story details dont have additional mechani-
cal impact. You dont get a bonus from your
magic or your sword, unless you choose to
spend a fate point to invoke an appropriate
aspect (page 27). Often, the ability to use
an aspect to make something true in the story
is bonus enough!
How do you know if youre successful?
Often, you just succeed, because the action
isnt hard and nobodys trying to stop you.
But if failure provides an interesting twist in
the story, or if something unpredictable could
happen, you need to break out thedice.
TAKING ACTION:
THE 30-SECOND VERSION
1. Describe what you want your
character to do. See if some-
one or something can stop you.
2. Decide what action youre
taking: create an advantage,
overcome, attack, or defend.
3. Decide on your approach.
4. Roll dice and add your
approachs bonus.
5. Decide whether to modify your
roll with aspects.
6. Figure out your outcome.
13 OuTcOMES, AcTiOnS, AnD APPrOAcHES
DicE Or cArDS
Part of determining your outcome is generating a randomnumber, which is
usually done in one of two ways: rolling four Fate Dice, or drawing a card
from a Deck of Fate.
Fate Dice: Fate Dice (sometimes called Fudge dice, after the game they were
originally designed for) are one way to determine outcomes. You always roll
Fate Dice in a set of four. Each die will come up as -, 0, or +, and you
add them together to get the total of the roll. For example:
-+0+ = +1 +-00 = 0
+++- = +2 -000 = 1
Deck of Fate: Te Deck of Fate is a deck of cards that copies the statistical
spread of Fate Dice. You can choose to use theminstead of diceeither one
works great.
OuTcOMES
Once you roll your dice, add your approach bonus (well talk about that in
a moment) and any bonuses from aspects or stunts. Compare the total to a
target number, which is either a fxed difculty or the result of the GMs roll
for an NPC. Based on that comparison, your outcome is:
You fail if your total is less than your opponents total.
Its a tie if your total is equal to your opponents total.
You succeed if your total is greater than your opponents total.
You succeed with style if your total is at least three greater than your
opponents total.
Now that weve covered outcomes, we can talk about actions and how the
outcomes work with them.
These rules are written with the assumption that
youre rolling Fate Dice, but use whichever one your
group prefers. Anytime youre told to roll dice, that also
means you can draw from the Deck of Fate instead.
Setting
difculties:
p.37
9
T R O U B L E
N e x t , d e c i d e o n t h e t h i n g t h a t a l w a y s g e t s y o u i n t o t r o u b l e . I t c o u l d b e a
p e r s o n a l w e a k n e s s , o r a r e c u r r i n g e n e m y , o r a n i m p o r t a n t o b l i g a t i o n a n y -
t h i n g t h a t m a k e s y o u r l i f e c o m p l i c a t e d .
E x a m p l e s : S t e e l A s s a s s i n s W a n t M e D e a d ; C a s t N o w , A s k
Q u e s t i o n s L a t e r ; G o t t a L o o k O u t f o r M y L i t t l e B r o t h e r
A N O T h E R A S P E C T
N o w c o m p o s e a n o t h e r a s p e c t . T i n k o f s o m e t h i n g r e a l l y i m p o r t a n t o r
i n t e r e s t i n g a b o u t y o u r c h a r a c t e r . A r e t h e y t h e s t r o n g e s t p e r s o n i n t h e i r
h o m e t o w n ? D o t h e y c a r r y a m i g h t y s w o r d k n o w n t h r o u g h h i s t o r y ? D o t h e y
t a l k t o o m u c h ? A r e t h e y f l t h y r i c h ?
O P T I O N A L : O N E O R T W O A D D I T I O N A L A S P E C T S
I f y o u w i s h , y o u m a y c r e a t e o n e o r t w o m o r e a s p e c t s . T e s e a s p e c t s m i g h t
d e s c r i b e y o u r c h a r a c t e r s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h o t h e r p l a y e r c h a r a c t e r s o r w i t h
a n N P C . O r , l i k e t h e t h i r d a s p e c t y o u c o m p o s e d a b o v e , i t m i g h t d e s c r i b e
s o m e t h i n g e s p e c i a l l y i n t e r e s t i n g a b o u t y o u r c h a r a c t e r .
I f y o u p r e f e r , y o u c a n l e a v e o n e o r b o t h o f t h e s e a s p e c t s b l a n k r i g h t n o w
a n d f l l t h e m i n l a t e r , a f t e r t h e g a m e h a s s t a r t e d .
N A M E A N D A P P E A R A N C E
D e s c r i b e y o u r c h a r a c t e r s a p p e a r a n c e a n d g i v e t h e m a n a m e .
C R E A T I N G C H A R A C T E R S :
T H E 3 0 - S E C O N D V E R S I O N
1 . W r i t e t w o a s p e c t s ( p a g e 2 5 ) :
a h i g h c o n c e p t a n d a t r o u b l e .
2 . W r i t e a n o t h e r a s p e c t .
3 . G i v e y o u r c h a r a c t e r a n a m e a n d
d e s c r i b e t h e i r a p p e a r a n c e .
4 . C h o o s e a p p r o a c h e s ( p a g e 1 8 ) .
5 . S e t y o u r r e f r e s h t o 3 .
6 . Y o u m a y w r i t e u p t o t w o m o r e
a s p e c t s a n d c h o o s e a s t u n t
( p a g e 3 1 ) i f y o u w i s h , o r y o u
m a y d o t h a t d u r i n g p l a y .
W H O D O Y O u W A n T T O B E ?1 6 F A T E A c c E l E r A T E D
O V E R C O M E
Y o u u s e t h e o v e r c o m e a c t i o n w h e n y o u h a v e t o g e t
p a s t s o m e t h i n g t h a t s b e t w e e n y o u a n d a p a r t i c u l a r
g o a l p i c k i n g a l o c k , e s c a p i n g f r o m h a n d c u f s , l e a p -
i n g a c r o s s a c h a s m , f y i n g a s p a c e s h i p t h r o u g h a n a s t e r -
o i d f e l d . T a k i n g s o m e a c t i o n t o e l i m i n a t e o r c h a n g e
a n i n c o n v e n i e n t s i t u a t i o n a s p e c t i s u s u a l l y a n o v e r c o m e
a c t i o n ; w e l l t a l k m o r e a b o u t t h a t i n A s p e c t s a n d F a t e P o i n t s . T e t a r g e t o f
y o u r a c t i o n m a y g e t a c h a n c e t o u s e t h e d e f e n d a c t i o n t o s t o p y o u .
I f y o u f a i l : Y o u h a v e a t o u g h c h o i c e t o m a k e . Y o u c a n s i m p l y f a i l t h e
d o o r i s s t i l l l o c k e d , t h e t h u g s t i l l s t a n d s b e t w e e n y o u a n d t h e e x i t , t h e
e n e m y s p a c e s h i p i s s t i l l O n Y o u r T a i l . O r y o u c a n s u c c e e d , b u t a t
a s e r i o u s c o s t m a y b e y o u d r o p s o m e t h i n g v i t a l y o u w e r e c a r r y i n g ,
m a y b e y o u s u f e r h a r m . T e G M h e l p s y o u f g u r e o u t a n a p p r o p r i a t e
c o s t .
I f y o u t i e : Y o u a t t a i n y o u r g o a l , b u t a t s o m e m i n o r c o s t . T e G M c o u l d
i n t r o d u c e a c o m p l i c a t i o n , o r p r e s e n t y o u w i t h a t o u g h c h o i c e ( y o u c a n
r e s c u e o n e o f y o u r f r i e n d s , b u t n o t t h e o t h e r ) , o r s o m e o t h e r t w i s t . S e e
S u c c e e d a t a C o s t i n R u n n i n g t h e G a m e i n F a t e C o r e f o r m o r e i d e a s .
I f y o u s u c c e e d : Y o u a c c o m p l i s h w h a t y o u w e r e t r y i n g t o d o . T e
l o c k s p r i n g s o p e n , y o u d u c k a r o u n d t h e t h u g b l o c k i n g t h e d o o r , y o u
m a n a g e t o l o s e t h e a l i e n s p a c e s h i p o n y o u r t a i l .
I f y o u s u c c e e d w i t h s t y l e : A s s u c c e s s ( a b o v e ) , b u t y o u a l s o g a i n a b o o s t .
R e m o v i n g
a s i t u a t i o n
a s p e c t : p . 2 6
S e t t i n g
d i f c u l t i e s :
p . 3 7
1 5O u T c O M E S , A c T i O n S , A n D A P P r O A c H E S
I f y o u r e t r y i n g t o t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f a n a s p e c t y o u a l r e a d y k n o w a b o u t :
I f y o u f a i l : Y o u d o n t g e t a n y a d d i t i o n a l b e n e f t f r o m t h e a s p e c t . Y o u
c a n s t i l l i n v o k e i t i n t h e f u t u r e i f y o u d l i k e , a t t h e c o s t o f a f a t e p o i n t .
I f y o u t i e o r s u c c e e d : Y o u g e t o n e f r e e i n v o c a t i o n o n t h e a s p e c t f o r y o u
o r a n a l l y t o u s e l a t e r . Y o u m i g h t w a n t t o d r a w a c i r c l e o r a b o x o n t h e
a s p e c t s n o t e c a r d , a n d c h e c k i t o f w h e n t h a t i n v o c a t i o n i s u s e d .
I f y o u s u c c e e d w i t h s t y l e : Y o u g e t t w o f r e e i n v o c a t i o n s o n t h e a s p e c t ,
w h i c h y o u c a n l e t a n a l l y u s e , i f y o u w i s h .
A C T I O N S & O U T C O M E S : T H E 3 0 - S E C O N D V E R S I O N
C r e a t e a n A d v a n t a g e w h e n c r e a t i n g o r d i s c o v e r i n g a s p e c t s :
F a i l : D o n t c r e a t e o r d i s c o v e r , o r y o u d o b u t y o u r o p p o n e n t ( n o t y o u )
g e t s a f r e e i n v o c a t i o n .
T i e : G e t a b o o s t i f c r e a t i n g n e w , o r t r e a t a s s u c c e s s i f l o o k i n g f o r e x i s t i n g .
S u c c e e d : C r e a t e o r d i s c o v e r t h e a s p e c t , g e t a f r e e i n v o c a t i o n o n i t .
S u c c e e d w i t h S t y l e : C r e a t e o r d i s c o v e r t h e a s p e c t , g e t t w o f r e e
i n v o c a t i o n s o n i t .
C r e a t e a n A d v a n t a g e o n a n a s p e c t y o u a l r e a d y k n o w a b o u t :
F a i l : N o a d d i t i o n a l b e n e t .
T i e : G e n e r a t e o n e f r e e i n v o c a t i o n o n t h e a s p e c t .
S u c c e e d : G e n e r a t e o n e f r e e i n v o c a t i o n o n t h e a s p e c t .
S u c c e e d w i t h S t y l e : G e n e r a t e t w o f r e e i n v o c a t i o n s o n t h e a s p e c t .
O v e r c o m e :
F a i l : F a i l , o r s u c c e e d a t a s e r i o u s c o s t .
T i e : S u c c e e d a t m i n o r c o s t .
S u c c e e d : Y o u a c c o m p l i s h y o u r g o a l .
S u c c e e d w i t h S t y l e : Y o u a c c o m p l i s h y o u r g o a l a n d g e n e r a t e a b o o s t .
A t t a c k :
F a i l : N o e f e c t .
T i e : A t t a c k d o e s n t h a r m t h e t a r g e t , b u t y o u g a i n a b o o s t .
S u c c e e d : A t t a c k h i t s a n d c a u s e s d a m a g e .
S u c c e e d w i t h S t y l e : A t t a c k h i t s a n d c a u s e s d a m a g e . M a y r e d u c e d a m a g e
b y o n e t o g e n e r a t e a b o o s t .
D e f e n d :
F a i l : Y o u s u f e r t h e c o n s e q u e n c e s o f y o u r o p p o n e n t s s u c c e s s .
T i e : L o o k a t y o u r o p p o n e n t s a c t i o n t o s e e w h a t h a p p e n s .
S u c c e e d : Y o u r o p p o n e n t d o e s n t g e t w h a t t h e y w a n t .
S u c c e e d w i t h S t y l e : Y o u r o p p o n e n t d o e s n t g e t w h a t t h e y w a n t , a n d y o u
g e t a b o o s t .
1 4 F A T E A c c E l E r A T E D
A c T i O n S
S o y o u v e n a r r a t e d w h a t y o u r P C i s t r y i n g t o d o , a n d y o u v e e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t
t h e r e s a c h a n c e y o u c o u l d f a i l . N e x t , f g u r e o u t w h a t a c t i o n b e s t d e s c r i b e s
w h a t y o u r e t r y i n g t o d o . T e r e a r e f o u r b a s i c a c t i o n s t h a t c o v e r a n y t h i n g
y o u d o i n t h e g a m e .
C R E A T E A N A D V A N T A G E
C r e a t i n g a n a d v a n t a g e i s a n y t h i n g y o u d o t o t r y t o
h e l p y o u r s e l f o r o n e o f y o u r f r i e n d s . T a k i n g a m o m e n t
t o v e r y c a r e f u l l y a i m y o u r p r o t o n b l a s t e r , s p e n d i n g
s e v e r a l h o u r s d o i n g r e s e a r c h i n t h e s c h o o l l i b r a r y , o r
t r i p p i n g t h e t h u g w h o s t r y i n g t o r o b y o u t h e s e a l l
c o u n t a s c r e a t i n g a n a d v a n t a g e . T e t a r g e t o f y o u r a c t i o n
m a y g e t a c h a n c e t o u s e t h e d e f e n d a c t i o n t o s t o p y o u . T e
a d v a n t a g e y o u c r e a t e l e t s y o u d o o n e o f t h e f o l l o w i n g t h r e e t h i n g s :
C r e a t e a n e w s i t u a t i o n a s p e c t .
D i s c o v e r a n e x i s t i n g s i t u a t i o n a s p e c t o r a n o t h e r c h a r a c t e r s a s p e c t t h a t
y o u d i d n t k n o w a b o u t .
T a k e a d v a n t a g e o f a n e x i s t i n g a s p e c t .
I f y o u r e c r e a t i n g a n e w a s p e c t o r d i s c o v e r i n g a n e x i s t i n g o n e :
I f y o u f a i l : E i t h e r y o u d o n t c r e a t e o r d i s c o v e r t h e a s p e c t a t a l l , o r
y o u c r e a t e o r d i s c o v e r i t b u t a n o p p o n e n t g e t s t o i n v o k e t h e a s p e c t f o r
f r e e . T e s e c o n d o p t i o n w o r k s b e s t i f t h e a s p e c t y o u c r e a t e o r d i s c o v e r
i s s o m e t h i n g t h a t o t h e r p e o p l e c o u l d t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f ( l i k e R o u g h
T e r r a i n ) . Y o u m a y h a v e t o r e w o r d t h e a s p e c t t o s h o w t h a t i t b e n e f t s
t h e o t h e r c h a r a c t e r i n s t e a d o f y o u w o r k i t o u t i n w h a t e v e r w a y m a k e s
t h e m o s t s e n s e w i t h t h e p l a y e r w h o g e t s t h e f r e e i n v o c a t i o n . Y o u c a n
s t i l l i n v o k e t h e a s p e c t i f y o u d l i k e , b u t i t l l c o s t y o u a f a t e p o i n t .
I f y o u t i e : I f y o u r e c r e a t i n g a n e w a s p e c t , y o u g e t a b o o s t . N a m e i t a n d
i n v o k e i t o n c e f o r f r e e a f t e r t h a t , t h e b o o s t g o e s a w a y . I f y o u r e t r y i n g
t o d i s c o v e r a n e x i s t i n g a s p e c t , t r e a t t h i s a s a s u c c e s s ( s e e b e l o w ) .
I f y o u s u c c e e d : Y o u c r e a t e o r d i s c o v e r t h e a s p e c t , a n d y o u o r a n a l l y
m a y i n v o k e i t o n c e f o r f r e e . W r i t e t h e a s p e c t o n a n i n d e x c a r d o r s t i c k y
n o t e a n d p l a c e i t o n t h e t a b l e .
I f y o u s u c c e e d w i t h s t y l e : Y o u c r e a t e o r d i s c o v e r t h e a s p e c t , a n d y o u o r
a n a l l y m a y i n v o k e i t t w i c e f o r f r e e . U s u a l l y y o u c a n t i n v o k e t h e s a m e
a s p e c t t w i c e o n t h e s a m e r o l l , b u t t h i s i s a n e x c e p t i o n ; s u c c e s s w i t h s t y l e
g i v e s y o u a B I G a d v a n t a g e !
M o r e o n
a s p e c t s :
p . 2 5
B o o s t s :
p . 2 6
18 FATE ACCElERATED
CHOOSE YOUR APPROACH
As we mentioned in Who Do You Want to Be?, there are six approaches that
describe how you perform actions.
Careful: A Careful action is when you pay close attention to detail and
take your time to do the job right. Lining up a long-range arrow shot.
Attentively standing watch. Disarming a banks alarm system.
Clever: A Clever action requires that you think fast, solve problems,
or account for complex variables. Finding the weakness in an enemy
swordsmans style. Finding the weak point in a fortress wall. Fixing a
computer.
Flashy: A Flashy action draws attention to you; its full of style and
panache. Delivering an inspiring speech to your army. Embarrassing
your opponent in a duel. Producing a magical freworks display.
Forceful: A Forceful action isnt subtleits brute strength. Wrestling a
bear. Staring down a thug. Casting a big, powerful magic spell.
Quick: A Quick action requires that you move quickly and with dex-
terity. Dodging an arrow. Getting in the frst punch. Disarming a
bomb as it ticks 3 2 1
Sneaky: A Sneaky action is done with an emphasis on misdirection,
stealth, or deceit. Talking your way out of getting arrested. Picking a
pocket. Feinting in a sword fght.
Each character has each approach rated with a bonus from+0 to +3. Add
the bonus to your dice roll to determine how well your PC performs the
action you described.
So your frst instinct is probably to pick the action that gives you the
greatest bonus, right? But it doesnt work like that. You have to base your
choice of approach on the description of your action, and you cant describe
an action that doesnt make any sense. Would you Forcefully creep through
a dark room, hiding from the guards? No, thats being Sneaky. Would you
Quickly push that big rock out of the way of the wagon? No, thats being
Forceful. Circumstances constrain what approach you can use, so some-
times you have to go with an approach that might not play directly to your
strengths.
ROll THE DICE, ADD YOUR BONUS
Time to take up dice and roll. Take the bonus associated with the approach
youve chosen and add it to the result on the dice. If you have a stunt that
applies, add that too. Tats your total. Compare it to what your opponent
(usually the GM) has.
DECIDE WHETHER TO MODIFY THE ROll
Finally, decide whether you want to alter your roll by invoking aspects
well talk about this a lot in Aspects and Fate Points.
Who Do You
Want to Be?
p.8
invoking
aspects:
p.27
19 CHAllENGES, CONTESTS, AND CONFlICTS
CHALLENGES, CONTESTS,
AND CONFLICTS
Weve talked about the four actions (create an advantage, overcome, attack,
and defend) and the four outcomes (fail, tie, succeed, and succeed with
style). But in what framework do those happen?
Usually, when you want to do something straightforwardswim across
a raging river, hack someones cell phoneall you need to do is make one
overcome action against a difculty level that the GMsets. You look at your
outcome and go from there.
But sometimes things are a little more complex.
CHAllENGES
A challenge is a series of overcome and create an advantage actions that you
use to resolve an especially complicated situation. Each overcome action
deals with one task or part of the situation, and you take the individual
results together to fgure out how the situation resolves.
To set up a challenge, decide what individual tasks or goals make up the
situation, and treat each one as a separate overcome roll.
Depending on the situation, one character may be required to make sev-
eral rolls, or multiple characters may be able to participate. GMs, you arent
obligated to announce all the stages in the challenge ahead of timeadjust
the steps as the challenge unfolds to keep things exciting.
The PCs are the crew of a ship caught in a storm. They decide to
press on and try to get to their destination despite the weather,
and the GMsuggests this sounds like a challenge. Steps in resolv-
ing this challenge could be calming panicky passengers, repair-
ing damaged rigging, and keeping the ship on the right heading.
Setting
difculties:
p.37
20 FATE ACCElERATED
CONTESTS
When two or more characters are competing against one another for the
same goal, but not directly trying to hurt each other, you have a contest.
Examples include a car chase, a public debate, or an archery tournament.
A contest proceeds in a series of exchanges. In an exchange, every partici-
pant takes one overcome action to determine how well they do in that leg
of the contest. Compare your result to everyone elses.
If you got the highest result, you win the exchangeyou score a victory
(which you can represent with a tally or check mark on scratch paper) and
describe how you take the lead. If you succeed with style, you mark two
victories.
If theres a tie, no one gets a victory, and an unexpected twist occurs.
Tis could mean several things, depending on the situationthe terrain or
environment shifts somehow, the parameters of the contest change, or an
unanticipated variable shows up and afects all the participants. Te GM
creates a new situation aspect refecting this change and puts it into play.
Te frst participant to achieve three victories wins the contest.
CONFlICTS
Conficts are used to resolve situations where characters are trying to harm
one another. It could be physical harm (a sword fght, a wizards duel, a
battle with laser blasters), but it could also be mental harm (a shouting
match, a tough interrogation, a magical psychic assault).
SettinG tHe Scene
Establish whats going on, where everyone is, and what the environment
is like. Who is the opposition? Te GM should write a couple of situation
aspects on sticky notes or index cards and place them on the table. Players
can suggest situation aspects,
too.
Te GM also establishes
zones, loosely defned areas
that tell you where characters
are. You determine zones based
on the scene and the following
guidelines:
Generally, you can inter-
act with other characters in
the same zoneor in nearby
zones if you can justify acting
at a distance (for example, if
you have a ranged weapon or
magic spell).
Situation
aspects:
p.26
Situation
aspects:
p.26 CONFLICTS:
THE 30-SECOND VERSION
1. Set the scene.
2. Determine turn order.
3. Start the rst exchange.
On your turn, take an action.
On other peoples turns,
defend against or respond
to their actions as necessary.
At the end of everyones
turn, start a new exchange
or end the conict.
21 CHAllENGES, CONTESTS, AND CONFlICTS
You can move one zone for free. An action is required to move if theres
an obstacle along the way, such as someone trying to stop you, or if you
want to move two or more zones. It sometimes helps to sketch a quick map
to illustrate zones.
Thugs are attacking the characters in a house. The living room is
one zone, the kitchen another, the front porch another, and the
yard a fourth. Anyone in the same zone can easily throwpunches
at each other. From the living room, you can throw things at
people in the kitchen or move into the kitchen as a free action,
unless the doorway is blocked. To get fromthe living roomto the
front porch or yard requires an action.
DeteRMine tURn ORDeR
Your turn order in a confict is based on your approaches. In a physical
confict, compare your Quick approach to the other participantsthe
one with the fastest refexes goes frst. In a mental confict, compare your
Careful approachattention to detail will warn you of danger. Whoever
has the highest approach gets to go frst, and then everyone else goes in
descending order. Break ties in whatever manner makes sense, with the GM
having the last word.
GMs, its simplest if you pick your most advantageous NPC to determine
your place in the turn order, and let all your NPCs go at that time. But if
you have a good reason to determine turn order individually for all your
NPCs, go right ahead.
excHAnGeS
Next, each character takes a turn in order. On their turn, a character can
take one of the four actions. Resolve the action to determine the outcome.
Te confict is over when only one side has characters still in the fght.
four actions:
p.14
1 7O U T C O M E S , A C T I O N S , A N D A P P R O A C H E S
A t t A c k
U s e a n a t t a c k w h e n y o u t r y t o h u r t s o m e o n e , w h e t h e r p h y s i -
c a l l y o r m e n t a l l y s w i n g i n g a s w o r d , s h o o t i n g a b l a s t e r r i f e ,
o r y e l l i n g a b l i s t e r i n g i n s u l t w i t h t h e i n t e n t t o h u r t y o u r
t a r g e t . ( W e l l t a l k a b o u t t h i s i n O u c h ! D a m a g e , S t r e s s , a n d
C o n s e q u e n c e s , b u t t h e i m p o r t a n t t h i n g i s : I f s o m e o n e g e t s h u r t
t o o b a d l y , t h e y r e k n o c k e d o u t o f t h e s c e n e . ) T e t a r g e t o f y o u r
a t t a c k g e t s a c h a n c e t o u s e t h e d e f e n d a c t i o n t o s t o p y o u .
I f y o u f a i l : Y o u r a t t a c k d o e s n t c o n n e c t . T e t a r g e t p a r r i e s y o u r s w o r d ,
y o u r s h o t m i s s e s , y o u r t a r g e t l a u g h s o f y o u r i n s u l t .
I f y o u t i e : Y o u r a t t a c k d o e s n t c o n n e c t s t r o n g l y e n o u g h t o c a u s e a n y
h a r m , b u t y o u g a i n a b o o s t .
I f y o u s u c c e e d : Y o u r a t t a c k h i t s a n d y o u d o d a m a g e . S e e O u c h !
D a m a g e , S t r e s s , a n d C o n s e q u e n c e s .
I f y o u s u c c e e d w i t h s t y l e : Y o u h i t a n d d o d a m a g e , p l u s y o u h a v e t h e
o p t i o n t o r e d u c e t h e d a m a g e y o u r h i t c a u s e s b y o n e a n d g a i n a b o o s t .
D e f e n D
U s e d e f e n d w h e n y o u r e a c t i v e l y t r y i n g t o s t o p s o m e o n e f r o m
d o i n g a n y o f t h e o t h e r t h r e e a c t i o n s y o u r e p a r r y i n g a s w o r d
s t r i k e , t r y i n g t o s t a y o n y o u r f e e t , b l o c k i n g a d o o r w a y , a n d
t h e l i k e . U s u a l l y t h i s a c t i o n i s p e r f o r m e d o n s o m e o n e e l s e s
t u r n , r e a c t i n g t o t h e i r a t t e m p t t o a t t a c k , o v e r c o m e , o r c r e a t e
a n a d v a n t a g e . Y o u m a y a l s o r o l l t o o p p o s e s o m e n o n - a t t a c k
a c t i o n s , o r t o d e f e n d a g a i n s t a n a t t a c k o n s o m e o n e e l s e , i f y o u
c a n e x p l a i n w h y y o u c a n . U s u a l l y i t s f n e i f m o s t p e o p l e a t t h e t a b l e a g r e e
t h a t i t s r e a s o n a b l e , b u t y o u c a n a l s o p o i n t t o a r e l e v a n t s i t u a t i o n a s p e c t t o
j u s t i f y i t . W h e n y o u d o , y o u b e c o m e t h e t a r g e t f o r a n y b a d r e s u l t s .
I f y o u f a i l : Y o u r e o n t h e r e c e i v i n g e n d o f w h a t e v e r y o u r o p p o n e n t s
s u c c e s s g i v e s t h e m .
I f y o u t i e o r s u c c e e d : T i n g s d o n t w o r k o u t t o o b a d l y f o r y o u ; l o o k a t
t h e d e s c r i p t i o n o f y o u r o p p o n e n t s a c t i o n t o s e e w h a t h a p p e n s .
I f y o u s u c c e e d w i t h s t y l e : Y o u r o p p o n e n t d o e s n t g e t w h a t t h e y w a n t ,
p l u s y o u g a i n a b o o s t .
G e t t i n G H e l p
A n a l l y c a n h e l p y o u p e r f o r m y o u r a c t i o n . W h e n a n a l l y h e l p s y o u , t h e y
g i v e u p t h e i r a c t i o n f o r t h e e x c h a n g e a n d d e s c r i b e h o w t h e y r e p r o v i d i n g t h e
h e l p ; y o u g e t a + 1 t o y o u r r o l l f o r e a c h a l l y t h a t h e l p s t h i s w a y . U s u a l l y o n l y
o n e o r t w o p e o p l e c a n h e l p t h i s w a y b e f o r e t h e y s t a r t g e t t i n g i n e a c h o t h e r s
w a y ; t h e G M d e c i d e s h o w m a n y p e o p l e c a n h e l p a t o n c e .
D o i n g d a m a g e :
p . 2 3
D a m a g e ,
S t r e s s , a n d
c o n s e q u e n c e s :
p . 2 2
2 4 F A T E A C C E l E R A T E D
G I v I N G I N
I f t h i n g s l o o k g r i m f o r y o u , y o u c a n g i v e i n ( o r c o n c e d e t h e f g h t ) b u t
y o u h a v e t o s a y t h a t s w h a t y o u r e g o i n g t o d o b e f o r e y o u r o p p o n e n t r o l l s
t h e i r d i c e .
T i s i s d i f e r e n t t h a n b e i n g t a k e n o u t , b e c a u s e y o u g e t a s a y i n w h a t h a p -
p e n s t o y o u . Y o u r o p p o n e n t g e t s s o m e m a j o r c o n c e s s i o n f r o m y o u t a l k
a b o u t w h a t m a k e s s e n s e i n y o u r s i t u a t i o n b u t i t b e a t s g e t t i n g t a k e n o u t
a n d h a v i n g n o s a y a t a l l .
A d d i t i o n a l l y , y o u g e t o n e f a t e p o i n t f o r c o n c e d i n g , a n d o n e f a t e p o i n t
f o r e a c h c o n s e q u e n c e y o u t o o k i n t h i s c o n f i c t . T i s i s y o u r c h a n c e t o s a y ,
Y o u w i n t h i s r o u n d , b u t I l l g e t y o u n e x t t i m e ! a n d g e t a t a l l s t a c k o f f a t e
p o i n t s t o b a c k i t u p .
G E T T I N G B E T T E R R E C O v E R I N G F R O M
S T R E S S A N D C O N S E Q U E N C E S
A t t h e e n d o f e a c h s c e n e , c l e a r a l l o f y o u r s t r e s s b o x e s . R e c o v e r y f r o m a c o n -
s e q u e n c e i s a b i t m o r e c o m p l i c a t e d ; y o u n e e d t o e x p l a i n h o w y o u r e c o v e r
f r o m i t w h e t h e r t h a t s a n E R v i s i t , t a k i n g a w a l k t o c a l m d o w n , o r w h a t -
e v e r m a k e s s e n s e w i t h t h e c o n s e q u e n c e . Y o u a l s o n e e d t o w a i t a n a p p r o p r i -
a t e l e n g t h o f t i m e .
M i l d c o n s e q u e n c e : C l e a r i t a t t h e e n d o f t h e s c e n e , p r o v i d e d y o u g e t
a c h a n c e t o r e s t .
M o d e r a t e c o n s e q u e n c e : C l e a r i t a t t h e e n d o f t h e n e x t s e s s i o n , p r o -
v i d e d i t m a k e s s e n s e w i t h i n t h e s t o r y .
S e v e r e c o n s e q u e n c e : C l e a r i t a t t h e e n d o f t h e s c e n a r i o , p r o v i d e d i t
m a k e s s e n s e w i t h i n t h e s t o r y .
S c e n a r i o s :
p . 3 6
R E N A M I N G M O D E R A T E
A N D S E V E R E
C O N S E q U E N C E S
M o d e r a t e a n d s e v e r e c o n -
s e q u e n c e s s t i c k a r o u n d f o r
a w h i l e . t h e r e f o r e , a t s o m e
p o i n t y o u m a y w a n t t o c h a n g e
t h e n a m e o f t h e a s p e c t t o
b e t t e r t w h a t s g o i n g o n
i n t h e s t o r y . f o r i n s t a n c e ,
a f t e r y o u g e t s o m e m e d i -
c a l h e l p , P a i n f u l B r o k e n L e g
m i g h t m a k e m o r e s e n s e i f
y o u c h a n g e i t t o H o b b l i n g o n
C r u t c h e s .
2 3D A M A G E , S T R E S S , A N D C O N S E Q U E N C E S
W H A T I S S T R E S S ?
I f y o u g e t h i t a n d d o n t w a n t t o b e t a k e n o u t , y o u c a n c h o o s e t o t a k e s t r e s s .
S t r e s s r e p r e s e n t s y o u g e t t i n g t i r e d o r a n n o y e d , t a k i n g a s u p e r f c i a l w o u n d ,
o r s o m e o t h e r c o n d i t i o n t h a t g o e s a w a y q u i c k l y .
Y o u r c h a r a c t e r s h e e t h a s a s t r e s s t r a c k , a r o w o f t h r e e b o x e s . W h e n y o u
t a k e a h i t a n d c h e c k a s t r e s s b o x , t h e b o x a b s o r b s a n u m b e r o f s h i f t s e q u a l t o
i t s n u m b e r : o n e s h i f t f o r B o x 1 , t w o f o r B o x 2 , o r t h r e e f o r B o x 3 .
Y o u c a n o n l y c h e c k o n e s t r e s s b o x f o r a n y s i n g l e h i t , b u t y o u c a n c h e c k
a s t r e s s b o x a n d t a k e o n e o r m o r e c o n s e q u e n c e s a t t h e s a m e t i m e . Y o u c a n t
c h e c k a s t r e s s b o x t h a t a l r e a d y h a s a c h e c k m a r k i n i t !
W H A T A R E C O N S E Q U E N C E S ?
C o n s e q u e n c e s a r e n e w a s p e c t s t h a t y o u t a k e t o r e f e c t b e i n g s e r i o u s l y h u r t
i n s o m e w a y . Y o u r c h a r a c t e r s h e e t h a s t h r e e s l o t s w h e r e y o u c a n w r i t e c o n s e -
q u e n c e s . E a c h o n e i s l a b e l e d w i t h a n u m b e r : 2 ( m i l d c o n s e q u e n c e ) , 4 ( m o d -
e r a t e c o n s e q u e n c e ) , o r 6 ( s e v e r e c o n s e q u e n c e ) . T i s r e p r e s e n t s t h e n u m b e r
o f s h i f t s o f t h e h i t t h e c o n s e q u e n c e a b s o r b s . Y o u c a n m a r k o f a s m a n y o f
t h e s e a s y o u l i k e t o h a n d l e a s i n g l e h i t , b u t o n l y i f t h a t s l o t w a s b l a n k t o s t a r t
w i t h . I f y o u a l r e a d y h a v e a m o d e r a t e c o n s e q u e n c e w r i t t e n d o w n , y o u c a n t
t a k e a n o t h e r o n e u n t i l y o u d o s o m e t h i n g t o m a k e t h e f r s t o n e g o a w a y !
A m a j o r d o w n s i d e o f c o n s e q u e n c e s i s t h a t e a c h c o n s e q u e n c e i s a n e w
a s p e c t t h a t y o u r o p p o n e n t s c a n i n v o k e a g a i n s t y o u . T e m o r e y o u t a k e , t h e
m o r e v u l n e r a b l e y o u a r e . A n d j u s t l i k e s i t u a t i o n a s p e c t s , t h e c h a r a c t e r t h a t
c r e a t e s i t ( i n t h i s c a s e , t h e c h a r a c t e r t h a t h i t y o u ) g e t s o n e f r e e i n v o c a t i o n
o n t h a t c o n s e q u e n c e . T e y c a n c h o o s e t o l e t o n e o f t h e i r a l l i e s u s e t h e f r e e
i n v o c a t i o n .
L e t s s a y t h a t y o u g e t h i t r e a l l y h a r d a n d t a k e a 4 - s h i f t h i t . Y o u
c h e c k B o x 2 o n y o u r s t r e s s t r a c k , w h i c h l e a v e s y o u w i t h 2 s h i f t s
t o d e a l w i t h . I f y o u c a n t , y o u r e t a k e n o u t , s o i t s t i m e f o r a c o n -
s e q u e n c e . Y o u c a n c h o o s e t o w r i t e a n e w a s p e c t i n t h e c o n s e -
q u e n c e s l o t l a b e l e d 2 s a y , S p r a i n e d A n k l e . T h o s e n a l 2 s h i f t s
a r e t a k e n c a r e o f a n d y o u c a n k e e p g h t i n g !
I f y o u r e u n a b l e t o a b s o r b a l l o f a h i t s s h i f t s b y c h e c k i n g a s t r e s s b o x ,
t a k i n g c o n s e q u e n c e s , o r b o t h y o u r e t a k e n o u t .
W H A T H A P P E N S W H E N I G E T T A K E N O U T ?
I f y o u g e t t a k e n o u t , y o u c a n n o l o n g e r a c t i n t h e s c e n e . W h o e v e r t a k e s y o u
o u t n a r r a t e s w h a t h a p p e n s t o y o u . I t s h o u l d m a k e s e n s e b a s e d o n h o w y o u
g o t t a k e n o u t m a y b e y o u r u n f r o m t h e r o o m i n s h a m e , o r m a y b e y o u g e t
k n o c k e d u n c o n s c i o u s .
2 2 F A T E A C C E l E R A T E D
O U C H ! D A M A G E , S T R E S S ,
A N D C O N S E q U E N C E S
W h e n y o u r e h i t b y a n a t t a c k , t h e s e v e r i t y o f t h e h i t i s t h e d i f e r e n c e b e t w e e n
t h e a t t a c k r o l l a n d y o u r d e f e n s e r o l l ; w e m e a s u r e t h a t i n s h i f t s . F o r i n s t a n c e ,
i f y o u r o p p o n e n t g e t s + 5 o n t h e i r a t t a c k a n d y o u g e t a + 3 o n y o u r d e f e n s e ,
t h e a t t a c k d e a l s a t w o s h i f t h i t ( 5 3 = 2 ) .
T e n , o n e o f t w o t h i n g s h a p p e n s :
Y o u s u f e r s t r e s s a n d / o r c o n s e q u e n c e s , b u t y o u s t a y i n t h e f g h t .
Y o u g e t t a k e n o u t , w h i c h m e a n s y o u r e o u t o f t h e a c t i o n f o r a w h i l e .
S T R E S S & C O N S E q U E N C E S :
T H E 3 0 - S E C O N D V E R S I O N
e a c h c h a r a c t e r s t a r t s w i t h t h r e e s t r e s s b o x e s .
S e v e r i t y o f h i t ( i n s h i f t s )
= A t t a c k R o l l D e f e n s e R o l l
W h e n y o u t a k e a h i t , y o u n e e d t o a c c o u n t
f o r h o w t h a t h i t d a m a g e s y o u . O n e w a y t o
a b s o r b t h e d a m a g e i s t o t a k e s t r e s s ; y o u c a n
c h e c k o n e s t r e s s b o x t o h a n d l e s o m e o r a l l o f
a s i n g l e h i t . Y o u c a n a b s o r b a n u m b e r o f s h i f t s
e q u a l t o t h e n u m b e r o f t h e b o x y o u c h e c k :
o n e f o r B o x 1 , t w o f o r B o x 2 , t h r e e f o r B o x 3 .
Y o u m a y a l s o t a k e o n e o r m o r e c o n s e q u e n c e s
t o d e a l w i t h t h e h i t , b y m a r k i n g o f o n e o r
m o r e c o n s e q u e n c e s l o t s a n d w r i t i n g a n e w
a s p e c t f o r e a c h o n e . M i l d c o n s e q u e n c e = 2
s h i f t s ; m o d e r a t e = 4 s h i f t s ; s e v e r e = 6 s h i f t s .
i f y o u c a n t ( o r d e c i d e n o t t o ) h a n d l e t h e
e n t i r e h i t , y o u r e t a k e n o u t . Y o u r o p p o n e n t
d e c i d e s w h a t h a p p e n s t o y o u .
G i v i n g i n b e f o r e y o u r o p p o n e n t s r o l l a l l o w s
y o u t o c o n t r o l h o w y o u e x i t t h e s c e n e .
Y o u a l s o g e t o n e o r m o r e f a t e p o i n t s f o r
d o i n g t h i s !
S t r e s s a n d m i l d c o n s e q u e n c e s v a n i s h a t t h e
e n d o f t h e s c e n e , p r o v i d e d y o u g e t a c h a n c e
t o r e s t . O t h e r c o n s e q u e n c e s t a k e l o n g e r .
26 FATE ACCElERATED
Situation Aspects: Tese aspects describe the surroundings that the action
is taking place in. Tis includes aspects you create or discover using the
create an advantage action. A situation aspect usually vanishes at the end
of the scene it was part of, or when someone takes some action that would
change or get rid of it. Essentially, they last only as long as the situational
element they represent lasts.
Examples: On Fire; Bright Sunlight; Crowd of Angry People;
Knocked to the Ground
To get rid of a situation aspect, you can attempt an overcome action to
eliminate it, provided you can think of a way your character could accom-
plish itdump a bucket of water on the Raging Fire, use evasive maneu-
vers to escape the enemy fghter thats On Your Tail. An opponent may use
a Defend action to try to preserve the aspect, if they can describe how they
do it.
Consequences: Tese aspects represent injuries or other lasting trauma that
happen when you get hit by attacks. Tey go away slowly, as described in
Ouch! Damage, Stress, and Consequences.
Examples: Sprained Ankle; Fear of Spiders; Concussion;
Debilitating Self-Doubt
Boosts: A boost is a temporary aspect that you get to use once (see What
Do You Do With Aspects? next), then it vanishes. Unused boosts vanish
when the scene they were created in is over or when the advantage they
represent no longer exists. Tese represent very brief and feeting advantages
you get in conficts with others.
Examples: In My Sights; Distracted; Unstable Footing; Rock in
His Boot
Recovery from
consequences:
p.24
27 ASPECTS AnD FATE POinTS
WHAT DO YOu DO WiTH ASPECTS?
Tere are three big things you can do with aspects: invoke aspects, compel
aspects, and use aspects to establish facts.
INVOkING ASPECTS
You invoke an aspect to give yourself a bonus or make things a bit harder for
your opponent. You can invoke any aspect that you a) know about, and b)
can explain how you use it to your advantageincluding aspects on other
characters or on the situation. Normally, invoking an aspect costs you a fate
pointhand one of your fate points to the GM.
To invoke an aspect, you need to describe how that
aspect helps you in your current situation.
I attack the zombie with my sword. I
know zombies are Sluggish, so that
should help me.
I really want to scare this guy. Ive heard
hes Scared of Mice, so Ill release a
mouse in his bedroom.
Nowthat the guards Distracted, I should
be able to sneak right by him.
This spell needs to be really powerfulIman Archwizard of
the Ancient Order, and powerful spells are my bread and
butter.
pVp
The only time that fate point
might not go to the GM is
when youre in conict with
another player. If you are, and
you invoke one of that players
character aspects to help you
out against them, they will get
the fate point instead of the
GM once the scene is over.
28 FATE ACCElERATED
What does invoking the aspect get you? Choose one of the following efects:
Add a +2 bonus to your total. Tis costs a fate point.
Reroll the dice. Tis option is best if you rolled really lousy (usually a
3 or 4 showing on the dice). Tis costs a fate point.
Confront an opponent with the aspect. You use this option when your
opponent is trying something and you think an existing aspect would
make it harder for them. For instance, an alien thug wants to draw
his blaster pistol, but hes Buried in Debris; you spend a fate point
to invoke that aspect, and now your opponents level of difculty is
increased by +2.
Help an ally with the aspect. Use this option when a friend could use
some help and you think an existing aspect would make it easier for
them. You spend a fate point to invoke the aspect, and now your friend
gets a +2 on their roll.
Important: You can only invoke any aspect once on a given dice roll; you
cant spend a stack of fate points on one aspect and get a huge bonus from
it. However, you can invoke several diferent aspects on the same roll.
If youre invoking an aspect to add a bonus or reroll your dice, wait until
after youve rolled to do it. No sense spending a fate point if you dont need to!
Free invocations: Sometimes you can invoke an aspect for free, without
paying a fate point. If you create or discover an aspect through the create
an advantage action, the frst invocation on it (by you or an ally) is free (if
you succeeded with style, you get two freebies). If you cause a consequence
through an attack, you or an ally can invoke it once for free. A boost is a
special kind of aspect that grants one free invocation, then it vanishes.
COMPELLING ASPECTS
If youre in a situation where having or being around a certain aspect means
your characters life is more dramatic or complicated, anyone can compel
the aspect. You can even compel it on yourselfthats called a self-compel.
Compels are the most common way for players to earn more fate points.
Tere are two types of compels.
Decision compels: Tis sort of compel suggests the answer to a decision
your character has to make. If your character is Princess of Alaria, for
example, you may need to stay to lead the defense of the Royal Alarian
Castle rather than feeing to safety. Or if you have a Defant Streak a Mile
Wide, maybe you cant help but mouth of to the Dean of Discipline when
he questions you.
Succeed with
style: p.13
Boosts:
p.26
29 ASPECTS AnD FATE POinTS
Event compels: Other times a compel
refects something happening that makes
life more complicated for you. If you have
Strange Luck, of course that spell youre
working on in class accidentally turns the
dour Potions Masters hair orange. If you
Owe Don Valdeon a Favor, then Don
Valdeon shows up and demands that you
perform a service for him just when its least
convenient.
In any case, when an aspect is compelled
against you, the person compelling it ofers
you a fate point and suggests that the aspect
has a certain efectthat youll make a cer-
tain decision or that a particular event will
occur. You can discuss it back and forth, pro-
posing tweaks or changes to the suggested
compel. After a moment or two, you need to
decide whether to accept the compel. If you
agree, you take the fate point and your char-
acter makes the suggested decision or the
event happens. If you refuse, you must pay
a fate point from your own supply. Yes, this
means that if you dont have any fate points,
you cant refuse a compel!
ESTABLIShING FACTS
Te fnal thing that aspects can do is establish facts in the game. You dont
have to spend any fate points, roll dice, or anything to make this happen
just by virtue of having the aspect Ruddy Ducks Pilot, youve established
that your character is a pilot and that you fy a plane named the Ruddy Duck.
Having the aspect Mortal Enemy: Te Red Ninjas establishes that the set-
ting has an organization called the Red Ninjas and that theyre after you
for some reason. If you take the aspect Sorcerer of the Mysterious Circle,
you not only establish that theres a group of sorcerers called the Mysterious
Circle, but that magic exists in the setting and that you can perform it.
When you establish facts of the setting this way, make sure you do it in
cooperation with other players. If most people want to play in a setting
without magic, you shouldnt unilaterally bring magic into it through an
aspect. Make sure that the facts you establish through your aspects make
the game fun for everyone.
HOwMANy FATE pOINTS
DOES THE GM GET?
As GM, you dont need to track
fate points for each NPC, but that
doesnt mean you get an unlimited
number. Start each scene with a
pool of one fate point per PC thats
in the scene. Spend fate points from
this pool to invoke aspects (and
consequences) against the PCs.
When its empty, you cant invoke
aspects against them.
how can you increase the size
of your pool? When a player com-
pels one of an NPCs aspects, add
the fate point to your pool. If that
compel ends the scene, or when an
NPC gives in, instead add those fate
points to your pool at the start of
the next scene.
Fate points you award for com-
pels do NOT come from this pool.
You never have to worry about run-
ning out of fate points to award for
compels.
2 5A S P E C T S A n D F A T E P O i n T S
A S p E C T S A N D F A T E p O I N T S
A n a s p e c t i s a w o r d o r p h r a s e t h a t d e s c r i b e s s o m e t h i n g s p e c i a l a b o u t a
p e r s o n , p l a c e , t h i n g , s i t u a t i o n , o r g r o u p . A l m o s t a n y t h i n g y o u c a n t h i n k
o f c a n h a v e a s p e c t s . A p e r s o n m i g h t b e t h e G r e a t e s t S w o r d s w o m a n o n t h e
C l o u d S e a . A r o o m m i g h t b e O n F i r e a f t e r y o u k n o c k o v e r a n o i l l a m p .
A f t e r a t i m e - t r a v e l e n c o u n t e r w i t h a d i n o s a u r , y o u m i g h t b e T e r r i f e d .
A s p e c t s l e t y o u c h a n g e t h e s t o r y i n w a y s t h a t g o a l o n g w i t h y o u r c h a r a c t e r s
t e n d e n c i e s , s k i l l s , o r p r o b l e m s .
Y o u s p e n d f a t e p o i n t s w h i c h y o u k e e p t r a c k o f w i t h p e n n i e s o r g l a s s
b e a d s o r p o k e r c h i p s o r s o m e o t h e r t o k e n s t o u n l o c k t h e p o w e r o f a s p e c t s
a n d m a k e t h e m h e l p y o u . Y o u e a r n f a t e p o i n t s b y l e t t i n g a c h a r a c t e r a s p e c t
b e c o m p e l l e d a g a i n s t y o u t o c o m p l i c a t e t h e s i t u a t i o n o r m a k e y o u r l i f e
h a r d e r . B e s u r e t o k e e p t r a c k o f t h e f a t e p o i n t s y o u h a v e l e f t a t t h e e n d o f
t h e s e s s i o n i f y o u h a v e m o r e t h a n y o u r r e f r e s h , y o u s t a r t t h e n e x t s e s s i o n
w i t h t h e f a t e p o i n t s y o u e n d e d t h i s s e s s i o n w i t h .
Y o u e a r n e d a l o t o f f a t e p o i n t s d u r i n g y o u r g a m e s e s s i o n , e n d i n g
t h e d a y w i t h v e f a t e p o i n t s . Y o u r r e f r e s h i s 2 , s o y o u l l s t a r t w i t h
v e f a t e p o i n t s t h e n e x t t i m e y o u p l a y . B u t a n o t h e r p l a y e r e n d s
t h e s a m e s e s s i o n w i t h j u s t o n e f a t e p o i n t . H i s r e f r e s h i s 3 , s o h e l l
b e g i n t h e n e x t s e s s i o n w i t h 3 f a t e p o i n t s , n o t j u s t t h e o n e h e h a d
l e f t o v e r .
W H A T K i n D S O F A S P E C T S A R E T H E R E ?
T e r e s a n e n d l e s s v a r i e t y o f a s p e c t s , b u t n o m a t t e r w h a t t h e y r e c a l l e d t h e y
a l l w o r k p r e t t y m u c h t h e s a m e w a y . T e m a i n d i f e r e n c e i s h o w l o n g t h e y
s t i c k a r o u n d b e f o r e g o i n g a w a y .
C h a r a c t e r A s p e c t s : T e s e a s p e c t s a r e o n y o u r c h a r a c t e r s h e e t , s u c h a s y o u r
h i g h c o n c e p t a n d t r o u b l e . T e y d e s c r i b e p e r s o n a l i t y t r a i t s , i m p o r t a n t d e t a i l s
a b o u t y o u r p a s t , r e l a t i o n s h i p s y o u h a v e w i t h o t h e r s , i m p o r t a n t i t e m s o r
t i t l e s y o u p o s s e s s , p r o b l e m s y o u r e d e a l i n g w i t h o r g o a l s y o u r e w o r k i n g
t o w a r d , o r r e p u t a t i o n s a n d o b l i g a t i o n s y o u c a r r y . T e s e a s p e c t s o n l y c h a n g e
u n d e r v e r y u n u s u a l c i r c u m s t a n c e s ; m o s t n e v e r w i l l .
E x a m p l e s : C a p t a i n o f t h e S k y s h i p N i m b u s ; O n t h e R u n F r o m
t h e K n i g h t s o f t h e C i r c l e ; A t t e n t i o n t o D e t a i l ; I M u s t P r o t e c t M y
B r o t h e r
R e f r e s h :
p . 1 1
h i g h c o n c e p t :
p . 8
T r o u b l e :
p . 9
3 2 F A T E A C C E l E R A T E D
T e s e c o n d t y p e o f s t u n t l e t s y o u m a k e s o m e t h i n g t r u e , d o s o m e t h i n g
c o o l , o r o t h e r w i s e i g n o r e t h e u s u a l r u l e s i n s o m e w a y . U s e t h i s t e m p l a t e :
B e c a u s e I [ d e s c r i b e s o m e w a y t h a t y o u a r e e x c e p t i o n a l , h a v e a c o o l b i t
o f g e a r , o r a r e o t h e r w i s e a w e s o m e ] , o n c e p e r g a m e s e s s i o n I c a n [ d e s c r i b e
s o m e t h i n g c o o l y o u c a n d o ] .
F o r e x a m p l e :
B e c a u s e I a m W e l l C o n n e c t e d , o n c e p e r g a m e s e s s i o n I c a n
n d a h e l p f u l a l l y i n j u s t t h e r i g h t p l a c e .
B e c a u s e I a m Q u i c k o n t h e D r a w , o n c e p e r g a m e s e s s i o n I
c a n c h o o s e t o g o r s t i n a p h y s i c a l c o n i c t .
B e c a u s e I c a n R u n C i r c l e s A r o u n d a l e o p a r d , o n c e p e r
g a m e s e s s i o n I c a n s h o w u p a n y w h e r e i w a n t t o , p r o v i d e d i
c o u l d r u n t h e r e , n o m a t t e r w h e r e i s t a r t e d .
T e s e t e m p l a t e s e x i s t t o g i v e y o u a n i d e a o f h o w s t u n t s s h o u l d b e c o n -
s t r u c t e d , b u t d o n t f e e l c o n s t r a i n e d t o f o l l o w t h e m e x a c t l y i f y o u h a v e a
g o o d i d e a . I f y o u d l i k e t o r e a d m o r e a b o u t t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f s t u n t s , s e e
S k i l l s a n d S t u n t s i n F a t e C o r e .
3 1S T u n T S
S T U N T S
S t u n t s a r e t r i c k s , m a n e u v e r s , o r t e c h n i q u e s y o u r c h a r a c t e r h a s t h a t c h a n g e
h o w a n a p p r o a c h w o r k s f o r y o u r c h a r a c t e r . G e n e r a l l y t h i s m e a n s y o u g e t a
b o n u s i n c e r t a i n s i t u a t i o n s , b u t s o m e t i m e s i t g i v e s y o u s o m e o t h e r a b i l i t y
o r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c . A s t u n t c a n a l s o r e f e c t s p e c i a l i z e d , h i g h - q u a l i t y , o r e x o t i c
e q u i p m e n t t h a t y o u r c h a r a c t e r h a s a c c e s s t o t h a t g i v e s t h e m a f r e q u e n t e d g e
o v e r o t h e r c h a r a c t e r s .
T e r e s n o d e f n i t i v e l i s t o f s t u n t s t h a t y o u p i c k f r o m ; m u c h l i k e a s p e c t s ,
e v e r y o n e c o m p o s e s t h e i r o w n s t u n t s . T e r e a r e t w o b a s i c t e m p l a t e s t o g u i d e
y o u i n c o m p o s i n g y o u r s t u n t s , s o y o u d o h a v e s o m e t h i n g t o w o r k f r o m .
T e f r s t t y p e o f s t u n t g i v e s y o u a + 2 b o n u s w h e n y o u u s e a c e r t a i n
a p p r o a c h i n a c e r t a i n s i t u a t i o n . U s e t h i s t e m p l a t e :
B e c a u s e I [ d e s c r i b e s o m e w a y t h a t y o u a r e e x c e p t i o n a l , h a v e a c o o l b i t
o f g e a r , o r a r e o t h e r w i s e a w e s o m e ] , I g e t a + 2 w h e n I [ p i c k o n e : C a r e f u l l y ,
C l e v e r l y , F l a s h i l y , F o r c e f u l l y , Q u i c k l y , S n e a k i l y ] [ p i c k o n e : a t t a c k ,
d e f e n d , c r e a t e a d v a n t a g e s , o v e r c o m e ] w h e n [ d e s c r i b e a c i r c u m s t a n c e ] .
F o r e x a m p l e :
B e c a u s e I a m a S m o o t h T a l k e r , I g e t a + 2 w h e n I S n e a k i l y
c r e a t e a d v a n t a g e s w h e n i m i n c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h s o m e o n e .
B e c a u s e I a m a l o v e r o f P u z z l e s , I g e t a + 2 w h e n I C l e v e r l y
o v e r c o m e o b s t a c l e s w h e n i a m p r e s e n t e d w i t h a p u z z l e ,
r i d d l e , o r s i m i l a r c o n u n d r u m .
B e c a u s e I a m a W o r l d - C l a s s D u e l i s t , I g e t a + 2 w h e n I
F l a s h i l y a t t a c k w h e n e n g a g e d i n a o n e - o n - o n e s w o r d g h t .
B e c a u s e I h a v e a B i g K i t e S h i e l d , I g e t a + 2 w h e n I F o r c e f u l l y
d e f e n d w h e n i u s e m y s h i e l d i n c l o s e c o m b a t .
S o m e t i m e s , i f t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e i s e s p e c i a l l y r e s t r i c t i v e , y o u c a n a p p l y t h e
s t u n t t o b o t h t h e c r e a t e a n a d v a n t a g e a c t i o n a n d t h e o v e r c o m e a c t i o n .
A p p r o a c h e s :
p . 1 8
3 0 F A T E A C C E l E R A T E D
C O M P O S i n G G O O D A S P E C T S
W h e n y o u n e e d t o t h i n k o f a g o o d a s p e c t ( w e r e m a i n l y t a l k i n g a b o u t c h a r -
a c t e r a n d s i t u a t i o n a s p e c t s h e r e ) , t h i n k a b o u t t w o t h i n g s :
H o w t h e a s p e c t m i g h t h e l p y o u w h e n y o u d i n v o k e i t .
H o w i t m i g h t h u r t y o u w h e n i t w o u l d b e c o m p e l l e d a g a i n s t y o u .
F o r e x a m p l e :
I l l G e t Y o u , v o n S t e n d a h l !
I n v o k e t h i s w h e n a c t i n g a g a i n s t v o n S t e n d a h l t o i m p r o v e
y o u r c h a n c e s .
G e t a f a t e p o i n t w h e n y o u r d i s l i k e f o r v o n S t e n d a h l m a k e s
y o u d o s o m e t h i n g f o o l i s h t o t r y t o g e t h i m .
H a i r T r i g g e r N e r v e s
I n v o k e t h i s w h e n b e i n g e x t r a v i g i l a n t a n d c a r e f u l w o u l d h e l p
y o u .
G e t a f a t e p o i n t w h e n t h i s c a u s e s y o u t o b e j u m p y a n d b e
d i s t r a c t e d b y t h r e a t s t h a t a r e n t r e a l l y t h e r e .
O b v i o u s l y , y o u r t r o u b l e a s p e c t i s s u p p o s e d t o c a u s e p r o b l e m s a n d
t h e r e b y m a k e y o u r c h a r a c t e r s l i f e m o r e i n t e r e s t i n g a n d g e t y o u f a t e p o i n t s
s o i t s o k a y i f t h a t o n e s a l i t t l e m o r e o n e - d i m e n s i o n a l , b u t o t h e r c h a r a c t e r
a n d s i t u a t i o n a s p e c t s s h o u l d b e d o u b l e - e d g e d .
34 FATE ACCElERATED
SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES
A signifcant milestone usually occurs at the end of a scenario or the con-
clusion of a big plot event (or, when in doubt, at the end of every two or
three sessions). Unlike minor milestones, which are primarily about change,
signifcant milestones are about learning new thingsdealing with prob-
lems and challenges has made your character generally more capable at what
they do.
In addition to the beneft of a minor milestone, you also gain both of the
following:
If you have a severe consequence thats been around for at least two
sessions, you can clear it.
Raise the bonus of one approach by one.
MAJOR MILESTONES
Major milestones should only occur when something
happens in the campaign that shakes it up a lotthe
end of a big story arc, the fnal defeat of a main NPC
villain, or any other large-scale change that reverberates
around your game world.
Tese milestones are about gaining more power.
Te challenges of yesterday simply arent sufcient to
threaten these characters anymore, and the threats of
tomorrow will need to be more adept, organized, and
determined to stand against them.
Achieving a major milestone confers the benefts of a signifcant mile-
stone and a minor milestone. In addition, you may do all of the following:
Take an additional point of refresh, which you may immediately use to
purchase a stunt if you wish.
Rename your characters high concept (optional).
Scenarios:
p.36
RAISING
AppROACH
BONUSES
When you raise the bonus
of an approach, theres
only one rule you need
to remember: you cant
raise an approach bonus
above Superb (+5).
35 BEinG THE GM
BEING THE GM
Te GM has many responsibilities, such as presenting the confict to the
players, controlling NPCs, and helping everyone apply the rules to the situ-
ation in the game.
Lets talk about the GMs jobs.
HElP BuilD CAMPAiGnS
A campaign is a series of games you play with the same characters, where
the story builds on what happened in earlier sessions. All the players should
collaborate with the GMto plan how the campaign will work. Usually this
is a conversation among all of you to decide what sort of heroes you want to
play, what sort of world you live in, and what sorts of bad guys youll have.
Talk about how serious you want the game to be and how long you want
it to last.
Cat-people sky pirates in
ying ships, always on the run
from the Royal Navy trying to
catch them.
Magic-wielding desert towns-
folk stand against the invad-
ing soldiers of the evil Steel
Empire.
Students at a boarding school
for magical youth solve mys-
teries and uncover secrets of
their ancient school.
LEARNING HOW
TO BE A GM
Being a GM and running games
can seem intimidating and dif-
cult at rst. Its a skill that takes
some practice to master, so dont
worryyoull get better the more
you do it. If youd like to read more
about the art of GMing Fate, there
are several chapters in the Fate
Core rules that you should check
out: Running the Game, Scenes,
Sessions, and Scenarios, and The
Long Game are particularly help-
ful. Fate Core is available for free
at www.evilhat.com.
36 FATE ACCElERATED
BuilD SCEnARiOS AnD Run GAME SESSiOnS
A scenario is one short story arc, the sort of thing you might see wrapped
up in one or two episodes of an adventure television show, even if its a
smaller part of a bigger story. Usually you can wrap up a scenario in one to
three game sessions, assuming you play for three or four hours at a time. But
what is a scenario, and how do you build one?
SCENARIOS
A scenario needs two things: A bad guy with a goal, and a reason the PCs
cant ignore it.
Bad guy with a goal: Youve probably fgured this out already. Te cam-
paigns main opposition, or one of his allies, is probably your bad guy.
Something the PCs cant ignore: Now you have to give the PCs a reason to
care. Make sure the bad guys goal is up in the PCs faces, where they need
to do something about it or bad things will happen to them, or to people
or things they value.
RUNNING GAME SESSIONS
Now that your bad guy is doing something the PCs will pay attention to,
its time to start them of. Sometimes the best way to do that, especially for
the frst session of a new story arc, is to put them right in the action. Once
the PCs know why they should care about whats going on, you just get out
of the way and let them take care of it.
Tat said, there are a bunch of tasks the GM needs to perform to run
thesession:
Run scenes: A session is made up of individual scenes. Decide where
the scene begins, whos there, and whats going on. Decide when all the
interesting things have played out and the scenes over.
Adjudicate the rules: When some question comes up about how to
apply the rules, you get fnal say.
Set difculties: You decide how difcult tasks should be.
Play the NPCs: Each player controls their own character, but you con-
trol all the rest, including the bad guys.
Keep things moving: If the players dont know what to do next, its
your job to give thema nudge. Never let things get too bogged down in
indecision or because they dont have enough informationdo some-
thing to shake things up.
Make sure everyone has a chance to be awesome: Your goal isnt to
defeat the players, but to challenge them. Make sure every PC gets a
chance to be the star once in a while, from the big bad warrior to the
little sneaky thief.
Difculties:
p.37
37 BEinG THE GM
SETTinG DiFFiCulTY lEvElS
When another character is opposing a PC, their rolls provide the opposition
in a confict, contest, or challenge. But if theres no active opposition, you
have to decide how hard the task is.
Low difculties are best when you want to give the PCs a chance to
show of and be awesome. Difculties near their approach ratings are
best when you want to provide tension but not overwhelm them. High
difculties are best when you want to emphasize how dire or unusual the
circumstances are and make them pull out all the stops.
RULES OF ThUMB:
If the task isnt very tough at all, give it a
Mediocre(+0)or just tell the player they
succeed without a roll.
If you can think of at least one reason why
the task is tough, pick Fair (+2).
If the task is extremely difcult, pick
Great (+4).
If the task is impossibly difcult, go as
high as you think makes sense. Te PCwill
need to drop some fate points and get lots
of help to succeed, but thats fne.
OpTIONAL RULE:
AppROACH-RELATED
TARGET NUMBERS
Sometimes being Careful makes
things a lot easier; sometimes it
just takes too long. The GM may
wish to adjust the target number
up or down by 1 or 2 depending
on whether you choose a tting
or a problematic approach. This
makes things a bit more complex,
but for some groups its worth it.
3 3C H A R A C T E R A D v A n C E M E n T
G E T T I N G B E T T E R A T D O I N G S T U F F :
C H A R A C T E R A D V A N C E M E N T
P e o p l e c h a n g e . Y o u r s k i l l s s h a r p e n a s y o u p r a c t i c e t h e m . Y o u r l i f e e x p e -
r i e n c e s a c c u m u l a t e a n d s h a p e y o u r p e r s o n a l i t y . F a t e A c c e l e r a t e d E d i t i o n
r e f e c t s t h a t w i t h c h a r a c t e r a d v a n c e m e n t , w h i c h a l l o w s y o u t o c h a n g e y o u r
a s p e c t s , a d d o r c h a n g e s t u n t s , a n d r a i s e y o u r a p p r o a c h b o n u s e s . Y o u d o t h i s
w h e n y o u r c h a r a c t e r r e a c h e s a m i l e s t o n e .
M i l E S T O n E S
S t o r i e s i n T V s h o w s , c o m i c b o o k s , m o v i e s , a n d e v e n v i d e o g a m e s u s u a l l y
c o n t i n u e f r o m e p i s o d e t o e p i s o d e , s e a s o n t o s e a s o n . I t t o o k F r o d o t h r e e b i g
b o o k s t o t a k e t h e R i n g t o t h e f e r y m o u n t a i n . I t t o o k A a n g t h r e e s e a s o n s t o
d e f e a t t h e F i r e L o r d . Y o u g e t t h e i d e a . F A E c a n t e l l t h o s e k i n d s o f s t o r i e s ;
y o u p l a y m a n y g a m e s e s s i o n s i n a r o w u s i n g t h e s a m e c h a r a c t e r s t h i s i s
o f t e n c a l l e d a c a m p a i g n a n d t h e s t o r y b u i l d s o n i t s e l f . B u t w i t h i n t h e s e
l o n g s t o r i e s , t h e r e a r e s h o r t e r s t o r y a r c s , l i k e s i n g l e e p i s o d e s o f a T V s h o w o r
s i n g l e i s s u e s o f a c o m i c , w h e r e s h o r t e r s t o r i e s a r e t o l d a n d w r a p p e d u p . F A E
c a n d o t h a t t o o , e v e n w i t h i n a l o n g e r c a m p a i g n .
I n F A E , w e c a l l t h o s e w r a p - u p s m i l e s t o n e s w h e t h e r t h e y r e s m a l l o n e s
f o r s h o r t s t o r i e s , o r r e a l l y b i g o n e s a t t h e e n d o f m a n y s e s s i o n s o f p l a y . F A E
r e c o g n i z e s t h r e e t y p e s o f m i l e s t o n e s , a n d e a c h o n e a l l o w s y o u t o c h a n g e
y o u r c h a r a c t e r i n c e r t a i n w a y s .
M I N O R M I L E S T O N E S
A m i n o r m i l e s t o n e u s u a l l y o c c u r s a t t h e e n d o f a s e s s i o n o f p l a y , o r w h e n
o n e p i e c e o f a s t o r y h a s b e e n r e s o l v e d . R a t h e r t h a n m a k i n g y o u r c h a r a c t e r
m o r e p o w e r f u l , t h i s k i n d o f m i l e s t o n e i s m o r e a b o u t c h a n g i n g y o u r c h a r -
a c t e r , a b o u t a d j u s t i n g i n r e s p o n s e t o w h a t e v e r s g o i n g o n i n t h e s t o r y i f y o u
n e e d t o . S o m e t i m e s i t w o n t r e a l l y m a k e s e n s e t o t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f a m i n o r
m i l e s t o n e , b u t y o u a l w a y s h a v e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y i n c a s e y o u n e e d t o .
A f t e r a m i n o r m i l e s t o n e , y o u c a n c h o o s e t o d o o n e ( a n d o n l y o n e ) o f t h e
f o l l o w i n g :
S w i t c h t h e r a t i n g s o f a n y t w o a p p r o a c h e s .
R e n a m e o n e a s p e c t t h a t i s n t y o u r h i g h c o n c e p t .
E x c h a n g e o n e s t u n t f o r a d i f e r e n t s t u n t .
C h o o s e a n e w s t u n t ( a n d a d j u s t y o u r r e f r e s h , i f y o u a l r e a d y h a v e t h r e e
s t u n t s ) .
A l s o , i f y o u h a v e a m o d e r a t e c o n s e q u e n c e , c h e c k t o s e e i f i t s b e e n a r o u n d
f o r t w o s e s s i o n s . I f s o , y o u c a n c l e a r i t .
4 0 F A T E A C C E l E R A T E D
E x A M p L E C H A R A C T E R S
H e r e a r e f o u r s a m p l e c h a r a c t e r s t h a t y o u c a n u s e a s - i s o r u s e a s i n s p i r a t i o n
f o r y o u r o w n c h a r a c t e r s .
R E T H O F T H E A n D R A l i R E S i S T A n C E
R e t h i s 1 4 y e a r s o f a g e . H e h a s d a r k b r o w n s k i n a n d d a r k h a i r t h a t h e w e a r s
i n t h i c k d r e a d l o c k s . H e w e a r s l i g h t , l o o s e - f t t i n g c l o t h i n g a n d s a n d a l s , a n d
h e s a s k i l l e d m a r t i a l a r t i s t . H e s t h e m o s t p o w e r f u l S u n c a l l e r t o b e b o r n i n
g e n e r a t i o n s ; h e c a n m a g i c a l l y c a l l f o r t h t h e p o w e r o f f r e . O r i g i n a l l y f r o m
a t o w n i n t h e v a s t A n d r a l D e s e r t , h e a n d h i s f r i e n d s t o o k a s t a n d a g a i n s t
t h e i n v a d i n g S t e e l E m p i r e a n d h a v e
b e e n l i v i n g o n t h e r u n s i n c e .
R E T h
H i g h C o n c e p t :
S u n c a l l e r o f t h e A n d r a l D e s e r t
T r o u b l e : S t e e l A s s a s s i n s W a n t M e D e a d
O t h e r A s p e c t s : M y K u n g F u I s T e S t r o n g e s t ;
C r u s h O n A v a s a ; I C a n L e a r n f r o m S e r i o s
E x p e r i e n c e
A P P R O A C h E S
C a r e f u l : F a i r ( + 2 )
C l e v e r : A v e r a g e ( + 1 )
F l a s h y : M e d i o c r e ( + 0 )
F o r c e f u l : G o o d ( + 3 )
Q u i c k : F a i r ( + 2 )
S n e a k y : A v e r a g e ( + 1 )
S T U N T S
S t a n c e o f t h e D e f a n t S u n : B e c a u s e I h a v e
p e r f e c t e d t h e S t a n c e o f t h e D e f a n t S u n , I
g a i n a + 2 t o F o r c e f u l l y d e f e n d i n h a n d - t o -
h a n d c o m b a t .
( M a y t a k e t w o m o r e s t u n t s
w i t h o u t r e d u c i n g r e f r e s h ! )
S T R E S S 3
C O N S E q U E N C E S
M i l d ( 2 ) :
M o d e r a t e ( 4 ) :
S e v e r e ( 6 ) :
R E F R E S h : 3
3 9B E i n G T H E G M
G r o u p s o f M o o k s : I f y o u h a v e a l o t o f l o w - l e v e l b a d g u y s f a c i n g t h e P C s ,
y o u c a n m a k e y o u r j o b e a s i e r b y t r e a t i n g t h e m a s a g r o u p o r m a y b e a f e w
g r o u p s . I n s t e a d o f t r a c k i n g a d o z e n b a d g u y s , y o u t r a c k t h r e e g r o u p s o f f o u r
b a d g u y s e a c h . E a c h o f t h e s e g r o u p s a c t s l i k e a s i n g l e c h a r a c t e r a n d h a s a s e t
o f s t a t s j u s t l i k e a s i n g l e m o o k w o u l d :
1 . C h o o s e a c o u p l e o f t h i n g s t h e y r e s k i l l e d a t . Y o u m i g h t d e s i g n a t e g a n g -
i n g u p a s o n e o f t h e t h i n g s t h e g r o u p i s g o o d a t .
2 . C h o o s e a c o u p l e o f t h i n g s t h e y r e n o t s o g o o d a t .
3 . G i v e t h e m a n a s p e c t .
4 . G i v e t h e m o n e s t r e s s b o x f o r e v e r y t w o i n d i v i d u a l s i n t h e g r o u p .
F a t e C o r e h a s a w a y o f h a n d l i n g t h i s , c a l l e d m o b s ( s e e t h e C r e a t i n g t h e
O p p o s i t i o n s e c t i o n o f t h e R u n n i n g t h e G a m e c h a p t e r i n F a t e C o r e ) . F e e l f r e e
t o u s e t h a t o p t i o n i f y o u p r e f e r . N o t e t h a t i t m a y l e a d t o v e r y s t r o n g m o b s ,
u n l e s s y o u s t a r t w i t h e x t r e m e l y w e a k m o o k s i f y o u w a n t t o g i v e y o u r P C s
a s e r i o u s c h a l l e n g e , t h a t c o u l d b e o n e w a y t o d o i t .
G A N G O F T h U G S
A x e H a n d l e s & C r o w b a r s
S k i l l e d ( + 2 ) a t : G a n g i n g u p , s c a r i n g i n n o c e n t p e o p l e
B a d ( - 2 ) a t : T i n k i n g a h e a d , f g h t i n g w h e n o u t n u m b e r e d
S t r e s s : 2 ( 4 t h u g s )
3 8 F A T E A C C E l E R A T E D
B A D G u Y S
W h e n y o u m a k e a b a d g u y , y o u c a n s t a t t h e m o u t e x a c t l y l i k e t h e P C s , w i t h
a p p r o a c h e s , a s p e c t s , s t r e s s , a n d c o n s e q u e n c e s . Y o u s h o u l d d o t h i s f o r i m p o r -
t a n t o r r e c u r r i n g b a d g u y s w h o a r e i n t e n d e d t o g i v e t h e P C s s o m e r e a l d i f -
f c u l t i e s , b u t y o u s h o u l d n t n e e d m o r e t h a n o n e o r t w o o f t h e s e i n a s c e n a r i o .
M o o k s : O t h e r b a d g u y s a r e m o o k s u n n a m e d t h u g s o r m o n s t e r s o r
g o o n s t h a t a r e t h e r e t o m a k e t h e P C s d a y a l i t t l e m o r e d i f c u l t , b u t t h e y r e
d e s i g n e d t o b e m o r e o r l e s s e a s i l y s w e p t a s i d e , e s p e c i a l l y b y p o w e r f u l P C s .
H e r e s h o w y o u c r e a t e t h e i r s t a t s :
1 . M a k e a l i s t o f w h a t t h i s m o o k i s s k i l l e d a t . T e y g e t a + 2 t o a l l r o l l s
d e a l i n g w i t h t h e s e t h i n g s .
2 . M a k e a l i s t o f w h a t t h i s m o o k i s b a d a t . T e y g e t a 2 t o a l l r o l l s d e a l i n g
w i t h t h e s e t h i n g s .
3 . E v e r y t h i n g e l s e g e t s a + 0 w h e n r o l l e d .
4 . G i v e t h e m o o k a n a s p e c t o r t w o t o r e i n f o r c e w h a t t h e y r e g o o d a n d b a d
a t , o r i f t h e y h a v e a p a r t i c u l a r s t r e n g t h o r v u l n e r a b i l i t y . I t s o k a y i f a
m o o k s a s p e c t s a r e r e a l l y s i m p l e .
5 . M o o k s h a v e z e r o , o n e , o r t w o b o x e s i n t h e i r s t r e s s t r a c k , d e p e n d i n g o n
h o w t o u g h y o u i m a g i n e t h e m t o b e .
6 . M o o k s c a n t t a k e c o n s e q u e n c e s . I f t h e y r u n o u t o f s t r e s s b o x e s ( o r d o n t
h a v e a n y ) , t h e n e x t h i t t a k e s t h e m d o w n .
C Y C L O P S h O U S E B U L L Y
C y c l o p s H o u s e B u l l y , C o w a r d l y W i t h o u t B a c k u p
S k i l l e d ( + 2 ) a t : F r i g h t e n i n g o t h e r s t u d e n t s , w e a s e l i n g o u t o f
t r o u b l e , b r e a k i n g t h i n g s
B a d ( - 2 ) a t : P l a n n i n g , s t u d y i n g
S t r e s s : N o n e ( f r s t h i t t a k e s t h e m o u t )
S T E E L A S S A S S I N
S t e e l A s s a s s i n , T e N i g h t I s O u r s
S k i l l e d ( + 2 ) a t : S n e a k i n g , a m b u s h i n g
B a d ( - 2 ) a t : S t a n d i n g u p t o d e t e r m i n e d o p p o s i t i o n
S t r e s s : 1
S k Y S h A R k
I m a S h a r k , V u l n e r a b l e B e l l y
S k i l l e d ( + 2 ) a t : F l y i n g , b i t i n g
B a d ( - 2 ) a t : A n y t h i n g t h a t i s n t f y i n g o r b i t i n g
S t r e s s : 2
42 FATE ACCElERATEd
ABiGAil ZHAO
Abigail is a student at the School of Sorcery, and a member of Hippogrif
House. She has light skin and long black hair with a pink streak. She pushes
her luck with her school uniform, adding jewelry, studded belts, and dyed
designs to the regulation blouse, trousers, and tie. Shes especially adept at
enchantments. While she loves showing up those goons in Cyclops House,
she does have a tendency to act before thinking.
ABIGAIL ZhAO
High Concept: Enchantment Specialist of
Hippogrif House
Trouble: Cast Now, Ask Questions Later
Other Aspects: I Hate Tose Guys in
Cyclops House; Sarah Has My Back;
Dexter Fitzwilliam Is Going Down
APPROAChES
Careful: Mediocre(+0)
Clever: Fair (+2)
Flashy: Average(+1)
Forceful: Fair (+2)
Quick: Average(+1)
Sneaky: Good (+3)
STUNTS
Teachers Favorite: Because I am a Teachers
Favorite, once per session I may declare that
a helpful teacher arrives in the scene.
(May take two more stunts
without reducing refresh!)
STRESS 3
CONSEqUENCES
Mild (2):
Moderate (4):
Severe (6):
REFRESh: 3
43 EXAMPlE CHARACTERS
BETHESdA FluSHinG, PHd
Dr. Flushing is a fellowat the Institute for Gravitical and Electro-Mechanical
Advancement (IGEMA), and is one of IGEMAs lead test engineers and
feld agents. IGEMA is frequently in confict with agents of various interna-
tional organizations who seek to steal their technology, take over the world,
or both. Gustaf von Stendahl, leader of a shadowy spy agency of uncertain
afliation, is frequently a thorn in her side. Dr. Flushing has bright red hair
and is never without several gadgets, including her helicopter pack.
BEThESDA FLUShING
High Concept: Chief Field Agent of IGEMA
Trouble: Ill Get You, von Stendahl!
Other Aspects: My Inventions Almost Always Work.
Almost.; My Grad Students Come Trough, Just Not
How I Expect Tem To; I Trust Dr. Alemiedas Genius
APPROAChES
Careful: Fair (+2)
Clever: Good (+3)
Flashy: Average(+1)
Forceful: Fair (+2)
Quick: Average(+1)
Sneaky: Mediocre(+0)
STUNTS
Experimental Helo Pack: When I use my
Experimental Helo Pack, I gain a +2
bonus to Quickly create an advantage or
overcome an obstacle if fying would be
both possible and helpful.
Gadgeteer: Because I am a Gadgeteer, once
per session I may declare that I have an
especially useful device that lets me eliminate
one situation aspect.
(May take one more stunt
without reducing refresh!)
STRESS 3
CONSEqUENCES
Mild (2):
Moderate (4):
Severe (6):
REFRESh: 3
FATE ACCELERATED: qUICK REFERENCE 1
diCE RESulTS (PAGE18)
Result = Dice Roll + Approach Bonus
+ Bonuses from Stunts
+ Bonuses from Invoked Aspects
OuTCOMES (PAGE13)
versus Opponents Result or Target number:
Fail: Your Result is lower
Tie: Your Result is equal
Success: Your Result is higher by 1 or 2
Success with Style: Your result is higher by 3 or more
SETTING TARGET NUMBERS (PAGE37)
Easy Task: Mediocre (+0)or success without a roll.
Moderately difcult: Fair (+2).
Extremely difcult: Great (+4).
impossibly difcult: Go as high as you think makes sense.
The PC will need to drop some fate points and get lots of
help to succeed, but thats ne.
THE lAddER
+8 Legendary
+7 Epic
+6 Fantastic
+5 Superb
+4 Great
+3 Good
+2 Fair
+1 Average
0 Mediocre
-1 Poor
-2 Terrible
ACTiOnS (PAGE14)
C
Create an advantage when
creating or discovering aspects
(page 14):
Fail: Dont create or discover, or you
do but your opponent (not you) gets
a free invocation.
Tie: Get a boost if creating new, or
treat as success if looking for existing.
Succeed: Create or discover the
aspect, get a free invocation on it.
Succeed with Style: Create or dis-
cover the aspect, get two free invoca-
tions on it.
C
Create an advantage on an
aspect you already know about
(page 15):
Fail: No additional benet.
Tie: Generate one free invocation on
the aspect.
Succeed: Generate one free invoca-
tion on the aspect.
Succeed with Style: Generate two
free invocations on the aspect.
O
Overcome
(page 16):
Fail: Fail, or succeed at a serious cost.
Tie: Succeed at minor cost.
Succeed: You accomplish your goal.
Succeed with Style: You accomplish
your goal and generate a boost.
A
Attack
(page 17):
Fail: No efect.
Tie: Attack doesnt harm the target,
but you gain a boost.
Succeed: Attack hits and causes
damage.
Succeed with Style: Attack hits and
causes damage. May reduce damage
by one to generate a boost.
D
defend
(page 17):
Fail: You sufer the consequences of
your opponents success.
Tie: Look at your opponents action to
see what happens.
Succeed: Your opponent doesnt get
what they want.
Succeed with Style: Your opponent
doesnt get what they want, and you
get a boost.
Getting Help (page 17):
An ally can help you perform your
action.
When an ally helps you, they give
up their action for the exchange and
describe how they help.
You get a +1 for each ally that helps in
this way.
GM may place limits on how many
may help.
FATE ACCELERATED: qUICK REFERENCE 2
TuRn ORdER (PAGE21)
Physical Conict: Compare Quick
approachesthe one with the fastest
reexes goes rst.
Mental Conict: Compare Careful
approachesthe one with the most
attention to detail senses danger.
Everyone else goes in descending
order. Break ties in whatever manner
makes sense, with the GM having the
last word.
The GM may choose to have all
nPCs go on the turn of the most
advantageous nPC.
STRESS
& COnSEQuEnCES
(PAGE 22)
Severity of hit (in shifts)
= Attack Roll defense Roll
Stress Boxes: You can check one
stress box to handle some or all of the
shifts of a single hit. You can absorb a
number of shifts equal to the number
of the box you check: one for Box 1,
two for Box 2, three for Box 3.
Consequences: You many take one or
more consequences to deal with the
hit, by marking of one or more avail-
able consequence slots and writing a
new aspect for each one marked.
Mild = 2 shifts
Moderate = 4 shifts
Severe = 6 shifts
Recovering from Consequences:
Mild consequence: Clear it at end
of the scene.
Moderate consequence: Clear it at
the end of the next session.
Severe consequence: Clear it at the
end of the scenario.
Taken Out: If you cant (or decide not
to) handle the entire hit, youre taken
out and your opponent decides what
happens to you.
Giving in: Give in before your oppo-
nents roll and you can control how
you exit the scene. You earn one
or more fate points for giving in
(page 24).
APPROACHES (PAGE18)
Careful: When you pay close attention
to detail and take your time to do the
job right.
Clever: When you think fast, solve
problems, or account for complex
variables.
Flashy: When you act with style and
panache.
Forceful: When you use brute
strength.
Quick: When you move quickly and
with dexterity.
Sneaky: When you use misdirection,
stealth, or deceit.
ASPECTS (PAGE25)
invoke (page 27):
Spend a fate point to get a +2 or
a reroll for yourself, or to increase
difculty for a foe by 2.
Compel (page 28):
Receive a fate point when an aspect
complicates your life.
Establish facts (page 29):
Aspects are true. Use them to afrm
details about you and the world.
TYPES OF ASPECTS
Character Aspects (page 25)
Written when you create your
character.
May be changed when you reach a
milestone (page 33).
Situation Aspects (page 26)
Established at the beginning of a
scene.
May be created by using the create
an advantage action.
May be eliminated by using the
overcome action.
Vanish when the situation ends.
Boosts (page 26)
May be invoked once (for free), then
they vanish.
May be eliminated by an opponent
using an overcome action.
Unused boosts vanish at the end of
the scene.
Consequences (page 23)
Used to absorb shifts from successful
attacks.
May be invoked by your opponents as
if they were situation aspects.
4 1E X A M P l E C H A R A C T E R S
v O l T A i R E
V o l t a i r e i s c a p t a i n o f t h e C i r r u s S k i m m e r , a s k y s h i p t h a t r o a m s a v a s t s e a
o f c l o u d s . S h e s a c a t p e r s o n , h e r b o d y a b l e n d o f h u m a n a n d f e l i n e f e a -
t u r e s . S h e w e a r s a n o s t e n t a t i o u s a s s o r t m e n t o f p i r a t e y c l o t h e s i n c l u d i n g a
l o n g b r o w n j a c k e t , k n e e - h i g h b o o t s , a f e a t h e r e d c a p , a n d a b a s k e t - h i l t e d
c u t l a s s . B e i n g a c a t p e r s o n , s h e d o e s h a v e t h e t e n d e n c y t o n o d o f a t o d d
m o m e n t s
V O L T A I R E
H i g h C o n c e p t :
F e l i n e C a p t a i n o f C i r r u s S k i m m e r
T r o u b l e : * Y a w n *
O t h e r A s p e c t s : T a t ? O h , T a t s a D e c o y ;
M a r t i n I s a B i g C h e a t ; S a n c h e z I s t h e B e s t
F i r s t M a t e a S h i p C o u l d H a v e
A P P R O A C h E S :
C a r e f u l : A v e r a g e ( + 1 )
C l e v e r : A v e r a g e ( + 1 )
F l a s h y : G o o d ( + 3 )
F o r c e f u l : M e d i o c r e ( + 0 )
Q u i c k : F a i r ( + 2 )
S n e a k y : F a i r ( + 2 )
S T U N T S
S w a s h b u c k l i n g S w o r d s w o m a n : B e c a u s e I a m
a S w a s h b u c k l i n g S w o r d s w o m a n , I g a i n a + 2
t o F l a s h y a t t a c k s w h e n c r o s s i n g b l a d e s w i t h a
s i n g l e o p p o n e n t .
( M a y t a k e t w o m o r e s t u n t s
w i t h o u t r e d u c i n g r e f r e s h ! )
S T R E S S 3
C O N S E q U E N C E S
M i l d ( 2 ) :
M o d e r a t e ( 4 ) :
S e v e r e ( 6 ) :
R E F R E S h : 3
I D
A S p E C T S
C O N S E q U E N C E S
S T U N T S
A p p R O A C H E S
S T R E S S
N a m e
H i g h C o n c e p t
C A R E F U L
T r o u b l e C L E V E R
F L A S H Y
F O R C E F U L
q U I C K
S N E A K Y
D e s c r i p t i o n
R e f r e s h C u r r e n t
F a t e P o i n t s
2
4
6
1 32
M i l d
M o d e r a t e
S e v e r e
F A E C h a r a c t e r S h e e t 2 0 1 3 E v i l H a t P r o d u c t i o n s , L L C .
M a y b e p r i n t e d a n d p h o t o c o p i e d f o r p e r s o n a l u s e .
H i t
s e v e r i t y o f , 2 3
s h i f t s a n d , 2 3
I n d e x c a r d s , 5
I n v o c a t i o n ( s ) , 1 5 , 2 3
f r e e , 2 8
I n v o c a t i o n s , 1 5
I n v o k e , 2 7 , 4 5
a g a i n s t a n o t h e r p l a y e r , 2 7
a s p e c t , 2 7 - 2 8
L a d d e r o f a d j e c t i v e s a n d n u m b e r s , 1 0 , 4 4
L o w d i f c u l t i e s , 3 7
M a j o r m i l e s t o n e , 3 4
M i l d c o n s e q u e n c e , 2 4
M i l e s t o n e s , 3 3 - 3 4
M i n o r m i l e s t o n e , 3 3
M o b s , 3 9
M o d e r a t e c o n s e q u e n c e , 2 4
M o o k s , 3 8
g r o u p s o f , 3 9
N o n - p l a y e r c h a r a c t e r s ( N P C s ) , 6 , 1 3
p l a y i n g , 3 6
t u r n o r d e r a n d , 2 1
N u d g i n g , 3 6
O u t c o m e s , 1 3 , 4 4
O v e r c o m e , 1 5 , 1 6 , 4 4
s t u n t s , 3 1
P l a y e r c h a r a c t e r ( P C ) , 5 , 6 , 7
s e l e c t i o n o f , 6
P v P , 2 7
Q u i c k a c t i o n , 1 8
R e f r e s h , 1 1 , 2 5
R e t h ( e x a m p l e c h a r a c t e r ) , 4 0
R o u g h t e r r a i n , 1 4
R u l e s , f n a l s a y a n d , 3 6
R u n n i n g t h e G a m e i n F a t e C o r e , 1 6
S c e n a r i o ( s ) , 2 4 , 3 4 , 3 6
S c e n e ( s )
s e t t i n g , 2 0
r u n n i n g , 3 6
S e l f - c o m p e l s , 2 8
S e v e r e c o n s e q u e n c e , 2 4
S h i f t s , 2 2 , 2 3
S i g n i f c a n t m i l e s t o n e , 3 4
S i t u a t i o n
a s p e c t ( s ) , 2 0 , 2 6 , 4 5
r e m o v a l o f , 1 6 , 2 6
S k y S h a r k , 3 8
S n e a k y a c t i o n , 1 8
S t e e l A s s a s s i n , 3 8
S t i c k y n o t e s , 5
S t o r y g e n r e , 6
S t o r y t e l l i n g , 6 , 7
S t r e s s , 2 2 , 4 5
r e c o v e r y f r o m , 2 4
t r a c k , 2 3
S t u n t s , 1 1 , 3 1 - 3 2
S u c c e e d , 1 3
a s p e c t , 1 4 , 1 5 , 4 4
a t t a c k , 1 5 , 1 7 , 4 4
d e f e n d , 1 5 , 1 7 , 4 4
o v e r c o m e , 1 5 , 1 6 , 4 4
S u c c e e d w i t h s t y l e , 1 3
a s p e c t , 1 4 , 1 5 , 4 4
a t t a c k , 1 5 , 1 7 , 4 4
d e f e n d , 1 5 , 1 7 , 4 4
o v e r c o m e , 1 5 , 1 6 , 4 4
S u c c e e d , 1 3
S w a s h b u c k l e r ( a p p r o a c h ) , 1 0
T a k e n o u t , 2 2 , 2 3
T a r g e t n u m b e r s , 3 7 , 4 3
T i e f ( a p p r o a c h ) , 1 0
T i e , 1 3
a s p e c t , 1 4 , 1 5 , 4 4
a t t a c k , 1 5 , 1 7 , 4 4
d e f e n d , 1 5 , 1 7 , 4 4
o v e r c o m e , 1 5 , 1 6 , 4 4
T o k e n s , 5
T r i c k s t e r ( a p p r o a c h ) , 1 0
T r o u b l e , 8 , 9 , 2 5
T u r n o r d e r , 2 1 , 4 5
V o l t a i r e ( e x a m p l e c h a r a c t e r ) , 4 1
Z h a o , A b i g a i l ( e x a m p l e c h a r a c t e r ) , 4 2
Z o n e s , 2 0
m o v i n g f r o m , 2 1
T a n k s t o o u r f e e d b a c k h e r o e s , F a t e A c c e l e r a t e d E d i t i o n i s t h e b e s t i t c a n p o s s i b l y b e :
A n d r e w S h o r e , B r i a n H o f m a n n , C a r r i e U l r i c h , C h r i s t o p h e r A l l e n - - R P G n e t , C h r i s t o p h e r
R u t h e n b e c k , C r a i g H a r g r a v e s , D a n i e l P a a r m a n n , D a t a w e a v e r , D a v i d H o b e r m a n , D e v o n A p p l e ,
F e n i k s o , J a c k G u l i c k , J a n S t a l s , J a r e d N u z z o l i l l o , J a v i e r G a s p o z , J a y E l m o r e , J o h n D o n o g h u e ,
J o n a t h o n H o d g e s , L i s a P a d o l , L u c i a n , M a r k G i z m o , M a r k W a t s o n , M a r k o W e n z e l , M a r k u s W a g n e r ,
M a r t n V a n H o u t t e , M i t c h A . W i l l i a m s , R o n B l e s s i n g , W o j c i e c h G e b c z y k
I N D E x
A c t i o n ( s ) , 1 4 , 2 1 , 4 4
a p p r o a c h e s t o , 1 8
c r e a t i n g a d v a n t a g e b y , 1 4 , 1 5
t a k i n g , 1 2
A d v a n t a g e , 1 4 , 1 5 , 4 4
c r e a t i n g , 2 6 , 2 8 , 3 1
A l l - S t a r ( a p p r o a c h ) , 1 0
A l l y , 1 7
A p p r o a c h ( e s ) , 1 0 , 1 8 , 3 1 , 4 5
b o n u s , 1 3
r a i s i n g b o n u s f o r , 3 4
A p p r o a c h - r e l a t e d t a r g e t n u m b e r s , 3 7
A s p e c t ( s ) , 8 , 9 , 2 5 , 4 5
c o m p e l l i n g , 2 7 , 2 8 - 2 9
c r e a t i n g n e w , 1 4
d i s c o v e r i n g e x i s t i n g , 1 4
i n v o k i n g , 1 2 , 1 8 , 2 7
k i n d s o f , 2 5 - 2 6
r e n a m i n g , 2 4
u s i n g , 2 7
w r i t i n g , 9 , 2 3 , 3 0
A t t a c k , 1 5 , 1 7 , 4 4
B a d g u y ( s ) , 3 8
w i t h g o a l , 3 6
B o n u s ( e s ) , 1 3
r a i s i n g , 3 4
B o o s t ( s ) , 1 4 , 1 5 , 1 6 , 1 7 , 4 5
u n u s e d , 2 6 , 2 8
B r u t e ( a p p r o a c h ) , 1 0
C a m p a i g n , 3 3 , 3 5
C a r d s , d e c k o f , 5 , 1 3
C a r e f u l a c t i o n , 1 8
C h a l l e n g e , 1 9
C h a l l e n g i n g p l a y e r s , 3 6
C h a r a c t e r ( s ) , 4 0 - 4
a d v a n c e m e n t , 3 3
a s p e c t s , 2 5 , 4 5
c r e a t i n g , 8 , 9
n a m e , a p p e a r a n c e o f , 9
s h e e t s , 5
t y p e t o p l a y , 8
C h a r a c t e r s , 4 0 - 4 3
C l e v e r a c t i o n , 1 8
C o m p e l ( s ) , 2 8 , 4 4
a s p e c t , 2 7 , 2 8 - 2 9
o n y o u r s e l f , 2 8
C o n c e d e , 2 4
C o n f i c t , 2 0
C o n s e q u e n c e ( s ) , 2 2 , 2 3 , 4 5
r e c o v e r y f r o m 2 4 , 2 6
C o n t e s t , 2 0
C y c l o p s H o u s e B u l l y , 3 8
D a m a g e , 1 7 , 2 2
D e c i s i o n c o m p e l , 2 8
D e c k o f F a t e , 5 , 1 3
D e f e n d , 1 5 , 1 7 , 4 4
D i c e , 5 , 1 3
r e s u l t s , 1 8 , 4 4
r o l l , 1 8
r o l l , m o d i f y i n g , 1 8
D i f c u l t y ( i e s ) , 1 9
l e v e l s o f , 3 6 , 3 7
n e a r a p p r o a c h r a t i n g , 3 7
s e t t i n g , 1 3 , 1 6 , 3 7
E s t a b l i s h f a c t s , 8 , 2 7 , 4 5
s e t t i n g a n d , 2 9
E v e n t c o m p e l , 2 9
E x c h a n g e , 2 0 , 2 1
F a c t ( s ) e s t a b l i s h m e n t , 8 , 2 7 , 2 9 , 4 5
F a i l , 1 3
a s p e c t , 1 4 , 1 5 , 4 4
a t t a c k , 1 5 , 1 7 , 4 4
d e f e n d , 1 5 , 1 7 , 4 4
o v e r c o m e , 1 5 , 1 6 , 4 4
F a t e C o r e , 3 5 , 3 9
F a t e D i c e , 5 , 1 3
F a t e p o i n t ( s ) , 2 3 , 2 4
g a m e m a s t e r a n d , 2 9
i n v o k i n g a s p e c t , 1 2
p r o t e c t i o n , 2 7
s p e n d i n g , 2 5
F l a s h y a c t i o n , 1 8
F l u s h i n g , D r . B e t h e s d a ( e x a m p l e c h a r a c t e r ) , 4 3
F o r c e f u l a c t i o n , 1 8
F u d g e d i c e , 5 , 1 3
G a m e f r a m e w o r k , 6
G a m e m a s t e r ( G M ) , 5
a l l i e s a n d , 1 7
b a d g u y s a n d , 3 8 - 3 9
c a m p a i g n b u i l d i n g b y , 3 5
d i f c u l t y l e v e l s , s e t t i n g o f , 1 9 , 3 6 , 3 7
f a t e p o i n t s a n d , 2 9
i n t r o d u c i n g c o m p l i c a t i o n s , 1 6
j o b o f , 6
l e a r n i n g h o w t o b e , 3 5
r o l l f o r n o n - p l a y e r c h a r a c t e r , 1 3
r u n n i n g g a m e s e s s i o n s , 3 6
s c e n a r i o s a n d , 3 6
s i t u a t i o n a s p e c t s a n d , 2 0
t u r n o r d e r d e t e r m i n a t i o n b y , 2 1
G a n g o f t h u g s , 3 9
G i v e i n , 2 2 , 2 4
G u a r d i a n ( a p p r o a c h ) , 1 0
H e l p , 1 7 , 4 4
H i g h c o n c e p t , 8 , 2 5
H i g h d i f c u l t i e s , 3 7