Spirit of the Century - Part 2
OK, it's been a few days and I used the time to read through SOTC and take some notes. Here is the full review.
SOTC is presented in a 6"x9" paperback with full color on the cover. It weighs in at 428 pages with sparse black and white pictures inside. The drawings are high quality and appear to be pen or ink. The sparse nature of the drawings is due to the fact that the folks at Evil Hat filled the rest of the space with rules and extremely useful examples. I would say that they crammed the text in but I don't want to give the impression that the book is unorganized. Just the opposite: this book is well laid out and easy to read.
The basic premise behind the game is simple. You are members of the Century Club - an organization that seeks to promoting science and cooperation among the world's people. The ultimate goal is one of ending the world's evils. Therefore, your characters play a role in shaping the world to come. It just so happens that your characters are actually Centurions, individuals born at the beginning of the new century (January 1, 1901 normally) that embody the spirit of that century (see the pun?). However, there are shadows of the century too and they aim is far less noble even if neither side is completely aware of it's own role.
This basic setting is sufficiently pulpy that you can work with it but you don't have to tie your hands either. Let's talk mechanics for a minute.
The game runs on skills; there are no attributes. That's not to say that some skills don't function like attributes when needed. While the skill MIGHT is used for anything with brute force behind it, it also governs how much you can lift and carry. Your characters are well above average and have five skills at +1, four at +2 . . . one at +5. Everything else is done at a neutral +0. Technically each +X has a name like Good, Great, Terrible or Mediocre but I can never keep them straight so I use the numbers. You only roll four dice. Each one comes up as a -1, 0 or +1. (You can use 1-2 as -1, 3-4 as 0 and 5-6 as +1 if you don't have FUDGE/FATE dice.) Add (or subtract) to your skill and compare to a difficulty number. Equal to or greater than that difficulty and you succeed.
Next up: Aspects
Aspects are small descriptions about your character. Indiana Jones might have the following for aspects: Whip and fedora, I don't have time for this! and Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes? The first and last are obvious to anyone who as watched the movies. The middle one is best explained by this clip. Now the aspects can pretty much be anything you and the GM agree to but are best if they are double-edged. More on that in a minute.
Fate points
Part of the reason this is called the FATE engine is the use of fate points. Character start out with a number of fate points equal to their aspects (max 10). You can spend them to get a flat +1 to a roll but that is inefficient. If you can reasonably explain how the aspect aplies, then you can spend a fate point to either re-roll or add a static +2. Now if you only pay for things then you run out of fate points in a hurry. This is why having a double-edged aspect is a good thing. The GM can 'force' an aspect but must pay you a fate point. Why else would Indy reach back for his hat when a multi-ton door is slamming shut. Since he has the aspect Whip and fedora he could be forced to keep the hat. Fate points really are the currency of this game.
Stunts
If you want to bend or outright break the rules, then stunts are your friends. They add a little more flavor to the character and help define his niche. They can be stand alone or tiered for greater effects. You can even use them to "buy" a unique piece of gear that helps define your character. If you are looking for a point of comparison they are similar to feats in d20 but less confusion and more consistent.
Gameplay
Take this with a grain of salt as I have not had the change to play test the rules with a tabletop group. Play is more cooperative story-telling than rule dominated (more fluffy, less crunchy) and therefore, much of the action takes place without rolling dice. However, when dice are rolled serious consequences can hit the table. I find that I am moving toward this style of play even in rules heavy games like Shadowrun so the fact that gameplay is designed to run this way is great.
Personal take-aways
This is a great game. Period. It is an excellent pulp game. The system is fresh and offers a great deal of flexibility (just keep it in the pulp ballpark). If your group isn't centered on pen-and-paper 'video games' then give this one a try.
SOTC is presented in a 6"x9" paperback with full color on the cover. It weighs in at 428 pages with sparse black and white pictures inside. The drawings are high quality and appear to be pen or ink. The sparse nature of the drawings is due to the fact that the folks at Evil Hat filled the rest of the space with rules and extremely useful examples. I would say that they crammed the text in but I don't want to give the impression that the book is unorganized. Just the opposite: this book is well laid out and easy to read.
The basic premise behind the game is simple. You are members of the Century Club - an organization that seeks to promoting science and cooperation among the world's people. The ultimate goal is one of ending the world's evils. Therefore, your characters play a role in shaping the world to come. It just so happens that your characters are actually Centurions, individuals born at the beginning of the new century (January 1, 1901 normally) that embody the spirit of that century (see the pun?). However, there are shadows of the century too and they aim is far less noble even if neither side is completely aware of it's own role.
This basic setting is sufficiently pulpy that you can work with it but you don't have to tie your hands either. Let's talk mechanics for a minute.
The game runs on skills; there are no attributes. That's not to say that some skills don't function like attributes when needed. While the skill MIGHT is used for anything with brute force behind it, it also governs how much you can lift and carry. Your characters are well above average and have five skills at +1, four at +2 . . . one at +5. Everything else is done at a neutral +0. Technically each +X has a name like Good, Great, Terrible or Mediocre but I can never keep them straight so I use the numbers. You only roll four dice. Each one comes up as a -1, 0 or +1. (You can use 1-2 as -1, 3-4 as 0 and 5-6 as +1 if you don't have FUDGE/FATE dice.) Add (or subtract) to your skill and compare to a difficulty number. Equal to or greater than that difficulty and you succeed.
Next up: Aspects
Aspects are small descriptions about your character. Indiana Jones might have the following for aspects: Whip and fedora, I don't have time for this! and Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes? The first and last are obvious to anyone who as watched the movies. The middle one is best explained by this clip. Now the aspects can pretty much be anything you and the GM agree to but are best if they are double-edged. More on that in a minute.
Fate points
Part of the reason this is called the FATE engine is the use of fate points. Character start out with a number of fate points equal to their aspects (max 10). You can spend them to get a flat +1 to a roll but that is inefficient. If you can reasonably explain how the aspect aplies, then you can spend a fate point to either re-roll or add a static +2. Now if you only pay for things then you run out of fate points in a hurry. This is why having a double-edged aspect is a good thing. The GM can 'force' an aspect but must pay you a fate point. Why else would Indy reach back for his hat when a multi-ton door is slamming shut. Since he has the aspect Whip and fedora he could be forced to keep the hat. Fate points really are the currency of this game.
Stunts
If you want to bend or outright break the rules, then stunts are your friends. They add a little more flavor to the character and help define his niche. They can be stand alone or tiered for greater effects. You can even use them to "buy" a unique piece of gear that helps define your character. If you are looking for a point of comparison they are similar to feats in d20 but less confusion and more consistent.
Gameplay
Take this with a grain of salt as I have not had the change to play test the rules with a tabletop group. Play is more cooperative story-telling than rule dominated (more fluffy, less crunchy) and therefore, much of the action takes place without rolling dice. However, when dice are rolled serious consequences can hit the table. I find that I am moving toward this style of play even in rules heavy games like Shadowrun so the fact that gameplay is designed to run this way is great.
Personal take-aways
This is a great game. Period. It is an excellent pulp game. The system is fresh and offers a great deal of flexibility (just keep it in the pulp ballpark). If your group isn't centered on pen-and-paper 'video games' then give this one a try.
posted by ludomastro | 20:15
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