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Fate Core System (2013)

by Leonard Balsera(Favorite Author)

4.49 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Evil Hat Productions

review 1: I picked up Fate Core one fatefull evening. My boyfriend had been talking about alternatives to D&D and had mentioned Fate a few times. Then one evening I didn't know what to do and I picked up the Fate Core book. and then i fell completely in love with the Fate roleplaying system and this book.I just finished reading this book for the second time in a month and every book that I can re-read in such a short period of time deserves a 5 star rating. Okay so I usually don't review these kind of books I am going to give it a try :).While I never finished a D&D book I thought it was normal for roleplay game rule books to be boring and written dryly. Well as soon as i started Fate it was obvious Fate isn't like that, the Fate Core book is well writen with humor and lots of examp... moreles that make you want to stand up and play the game now. It's a fun book to read, while still being easy to understand. The explanations are really clear and the system is really neat and simple. There are some things and concepts I didn't fully understand the first time, like boosts and how attacking and defending worked with different skills, but after re-reading those things became clear as well.There is an example game setting that is used every time they need an example and then you get a piece of tekst in italics where the session takes place and it illustrates the point the tekst was going to make. There are also some black tekst boxes with additional tips, extra's or tips for the GM. The layout is really clear and i's easy to find what you're looking for, although both times I just read the book from beginning till end. The index makes it easy to look up a specific section you want to know more about or look up a certain rule you forgot.As I read Fate after only knowing the D&D roleplaying system it's really difficult at first to let go of the things that make D&D and which I thought where universal roleplaying rules, well they are not. After I let go of those predetermined thoughts and opinions I could fully appreciate how awesome and neat the Fate system is. There are some core concepts and when you understand those you can adjust and hack the system to fit whatever you want. The nice thing about Fate is also that whatever you want to do, you can. You start with what you want and then think how you can use the Fate rules to achieve that.Overal the Fate system sounds like a fun and easy system and I can't wait to actually try it out in a Fate campaign. You can adjust the system to whatever setting you want and on the internet there is a lot of information to be found from peopl who made their own Fate hack or setting / campaign based on the Fate Core system.To conclude: The Fate Core is a well written and fun book to learn the Fate Core system. The book is fun to read and the explanations are clear and there are example throughout the book to clarify things even more. I found it very easy to understand and reading this book (twice) made me really enthousiastic for this system and I can't wait to play a Fate Campaign. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to know more about roleplay and is looking for an easy to learn and easy to adjust system.
review 2: Great presentation and update of the core Fate rules. The authors have obviously applied the many lessons learned from previous iterations of the system found in Spirit of the Century and the Dresden Files RPG.The layout of the book is excellent with concepts filling a page or two. It uses a textbook-like format with page references to important concepts mentioned in the text found in the margins. I really like this format and haven't seen it used much in other RPGs outside of the work of Monte Cook.The writing comes across as a bit dry at times, but this is hard to avoid given that the rules are a generic system stripped of setting and background.I think my favorite part of the book is the chapter on the "long game" that concerns building and running a campaign using the Fate rules. I've always seen Fate as being excellent for one shots but weak for campaigns, and the ideas in this chapter actually make me want to try running a campaign using the rules.Overall, this book solidifies Fate as my go-to recommendation for anyone looking for a generic system to adapt to a particular setting. less

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