Post by gamedave on Jan 10, 2020 10:10:26 GMT -5
This is another departure from FATE Core. SuperFATE! doesn't use Skills, it uses Abilities and Talents. When you make a roll, you add your rating in one applicable Ability and one applicable Talent. Abilities are defined by the type of challenge they are used for, while Talents "free-floating".
For example, the most obvious use of the Shooting Talent is to shoot someone in conjunction with the Combat Ability. However, you could also use Adventure + Shooting to compete in a trick-shot contest, or Intellect + Shooting to analyze a weapon, or Social + Shooting to blend in and make contacts at a gun show.
Note that Abilities and Talents operate on a rather more compressed Ladder than the standard FATE Ladder. But, remember that you add the relevant Ability and Talent together, so your Hero's total bonus to a roll will usually be similar to a character that uses the normal FATE Core Skill Ladder.
ABILITIES
Abilities form the core of your Hero's capacity to overcome challenges in four different sorts of situations, adventure, combat, intellect, and social.
Unlike some other implementations of FATE, these four Abilities are intended to be rigidly applied. The Combat ability rates how capable your Hero is at the Attack and Defend actions in combat, period. No Stunts to use another Ability in its place, even in limited situations. If you have a smart Hero who uses a highly analytical fighting style and out-thinks her opponents in combat, that's fine, but that's a narrative description of your Combat Ability, not a reason to use your Intellect Ability in its place.
Abilities are rated differently from the standard FATE Ladder.
-1: Impaired
+0: Average
+1: Professional
+2: Expert
+3: The Best There Is*
*See The Best There Is Stunt, below.
Heroes will normally have Abilities in the -1 to +2 range. Your Hero can't have an Ability of +3 unless they have the following Stunt:
The Best There Is
If you have this Stunt, you can increase one of your Hero's Abilities from +2 to +3. This Stunt doesn't increase the Ability by itself, it just gives you permission to use build points or Milestone Advancements to do so. Your Hero can't be the Best There Is at more than one Ability, and your Hero can't be the Best There Is at an Ability if another Hero in your group already is.
The Four Abilities
ADVENTURE
The Adventure Ability reflects your Hero's quickness, coordination, agility, and overall physical prowess. It is used for movement and maneuvers, and responding to, manipulating, or avoiding hazards and obstacles. Use Adventure to climb a wall, sneak past a guard, hack a computer, or swing from a chandelier. If an action is something a swashbuckler, thief, or spy would be good at, it's usually Adventure. Adventure is normally used for the Overcome and Create an Advantage actions involving physical obstacles.
COMBAT
The Combat Ability is pretty straight-forward - it measures your Hero's overall ability in a fight. Combat actions pretty much always involve physically fighting a foe. Use Combat to shoot someone, swing a sword at them, or take cover from incoming fire. If an action is something a warrior, soldier, or martial artist would be good at, it's usually Combat. Combat is normally used for the Attack and Defend actions, as well as the Create an Advantage action, in physical altercations with foes.
INTELLECT
The Intellect Ability reflects your Hero's knowledge, reason, logic, and memory. It is used for investigation, solving puzzles, planning, research, problem solving and trouble-shooting, and inventions. Use Intellect to reprogram a computer, win a chess match, recall vital information, find clues, or design and build a hot rod. If an action is something a detective, scientist, engineer, or scholar would be good at, it's usually Intellect. Intellect is normally used for the Overcome and Create an Advantage actions involving intellectual obstacles.
SOCIAL
The Social Ability reflects your Hero's ability to interact with others and influence them. It is used for interacting with other people, getting them to think or act the way you want them to, and for reading people and getting an idea of what they are thinking and feeling. Use Social to fast-talk your way past a guard, make a good impression on the local lord, entertain (and distract) a crowd, interrogate a prisoner, con a mark, sway a jury, or convince a group of thugs to back down. If an action is something a con artist, diplomat, or bard would be good at, it's usually Social. Social is normally used for the Attack and Defend actions, as well as the Create an Advantage action, in social conflicts.
TALENTS
SuperFATE! uses a base list of 24 Talents, but unlike Abilities, Talents are fairly free-form. If none of the listed Talents fit what you want for your Hero, you should work with your Table to create one that does. Talents are also more loosely defined than Abilities and often have overlap. You can use any Talent that seems applicable to an action, and you can take a Stunt to apply a different Talent in limited situations ("I use Combat + Stealth when making a sneak attack!").
Talents use a different rating system than the standard FATE Ladder.
-: No particular talent or training.
+0: Beginner
+1: Professional
+2: Expert
+3: The Best There Is*
*See The Best There Is Stunt, below.
Heroes will normally have Talents in the +0 to +2 range. In SuperFATE!, having a Talent at +0 is actually different from not having that Talent at all. While you don't have bonuses to rolls at +0, of course, you do have a basic knowledge of and aptitude for that Talent. That means you can perform routine activities that normally don't require rolls.
For example, if your Hero has Piloting +0, they aren't actually any better at pulling off aerobatic maneuvers than a Hero without the Piloting Talent, but they can operate an aircraft under routine circumstances, read the instrumentation, have a basic idea of its capabilities, and so forth. A Hero without the Piloting Talent might not even be able to find the altimeter.
Your Hero can't have an Ability of +3 unless they have the following Stunt:
The Best There Is
If you have this Stunt, you can increase one of your Hero's Talents from +2 to +3. This Stunt doesn't increase the Talent by itself, it just gives you permission to use build points or Milestone Advancements to do so. Your Hero can be the Best There Is at more than one Talent, but your Hero can't be the Best There Is at an Talent if another Hero in your group already is.
List of Talents
ACADEMICS: General education, academia, research, social sciences
ARCANA: Deep secrets, occult, weird stuff, adventuring knowledge.
ATHLETICS: Climbing, jumping, running, swimming.
BRAWLING: Punching, kicking, grappling, improvised weapons.
COMMAND: Inspiring, leading, organizing, coordinating.
COMPUTERS: Hacking, programming, repairing, designing.
DIPLOMACY: Negotiating, persuading, etiquette, protocol.
DRIVING: Cars, trucks, motorcycles, carriages.
EVASION: Defending, escaping, misdirection, avoiding.
FAST TALK: Conning, misleading, prevarication, blather.
GUNNERY: Artillery, rocket launchers, siege weapons, vehicular weapons.
HEALING: Diagnosis and treatment of injuries, diseases, poisons.
INTIMIDATION: Bullying, glaring, threatening, strong-arm tactics.
INVESTIGATION: Finding clues, forensic analysis, interviews, research.
MELEE: Swords, axes, whips, vibroblades.
PERCEPTION: Awareness, evaluation, insight, listening and spotting.
PILOTING: Air liners, helicopters, jet fighters, dirigibles.
SCIENCE: Biology, chemistry, math, physics.
SHOOTING: Pistols, rifles, bows, blasters.
SNEAKING: Hiding, moving silently, concealing, prowling.
STREETWISE: Carousing, gathering information, local knowledge, street etiquette
SURVIVAL: Foraging, orienteering, hunting, tracking
TECHNOLOGY: Electronics, mechanics, repairing, tinkering
THIEVERY: Disguise, picking locks, picking pockets, bypassing security systems
For example, the most obvious use of the Shooting Talent is to shoot someone in conjunction with the Combat Ability. However, you could also use Adventure + Shooting to compete in a trick-shot contest, or Intellect + Shooting to analyze a weapon, or Social + Shooting to blend in and make contacts at a gun show.
Note that Abilities and Talents operate on a rather more compressed Ladder than the standard FATE Ladder. But, remember that you add the relevant Ability and Talent together, so your Hero's total bonus to a roll will usually be similar to a character that uses the normal FATE Core Skill Ladder.
ABILITIES
Abilities form the core of your Hero's capacity to overcome challenges in four different sorts of situations, adventure, combat, intellect, and social.
Unlike some other implementations of FATE, these four Abilities are intended to be rigidly applied. The Combat ability rates how capable your Hero is at the Attack and Defend actions in combat, period. No Stunts to use another Ability in its place, even in limited situations. If you have a smart Hero who uses a highly analytical fighting style and out-thinks her opponents in combat, that's fine, but that's a narrative description of your Combat Ability, not a reason to use your Intellect Ability in its place.
Abilities are rated differently from the standard FATE Ladder.
-1: Impaired
+0: Average
+1: Professional
+2: Expert
+3: The Best There Is*
*See The Best There Is Stunt, below.
Heroes will normally have Abilities in the -1 to +2 range. Your Hero can't have an Ability of +3 unless they have the following Stunt:
The Best There Is
If you have this Stunt, you can increase one of your Hero's Abilities from +2 to +3. This Stunt doesn't increase the Ability by itself, it just gives you permission to use build points or Milestone Advancements to do so. Your Hero can't be the Best There Is at more than one Ability, and your Hero can't be the Best There Is at an Ability if another Hero in your group already is.
The Four Abilities
ADVENTURE
The Adventure Ability reflects your Hero's quickness, coordination, agility, and overall physical prowess. It is used for movement and maneuvers, and responding to, manipulating, or avoiding hazards and obstacles. Use Adventure to climb a wall, sneak past a guard, hack a computer, or swing from a chandelier. If an action is something a swashbuckler, thief, or spy would be good at, it's usually Adventure. Adventure is normally used for the Overcome and Create an Advantage actions involving physical obstacles.
COMBAT
The Combat Ability is pretty straight-forward - it measures your Hero's overall ability in a fight. Combat actions pretty much always involve physically fighting a foe. Use Combat to shoot someone, swing a sword at them, or take cover from incoming fire. If an action is something a warrior, soldier, or martial artist would be good at, it's usually Combat. Combat is normally used for the Attack and Defend actions, as well as the Create an Advantage action, in physical altercations with foes.
INTELLECT
The Intellect Ability reflects your Hero's knowledge, reason, logic, and memory. It is used for investigation, solving puzzles, planning, research, problem solving and trouble-shooting, and inventions. Use Intellect to reprogram a computer, win a chess match, recall vital information, find clues, or design and build a hot rod. If an action is something a detective, scientist, engineer, or scholar would be good at, it's usually Intellect. Intellect is normally used for the Overcome and Create an Advantage actions involving intellectual obstacles.
SOCIAL
The Social Ability reflects your Hero's ability to interact with others and influence them. It is used for interacting with other people, getting them to think or act the way you want them to, and for reading people and getting an idea of what they are thinking and feeling. Use Social to fast-talk your way past a guard, make a good impression on the local lord, entertain (and distract) a crowd, interrogate a prisoner, con a mark, sway a jury, or convince a group of thugs to back down. If an action is something a con artist, diplomat, or bard would be good at, it's usually Social. Social is normally used for the Attack and Defend actions, as well as the Create an Advantage action, in social conflicts.
TALENTS
SuperFATE! uses a base list of 24 Talents, but unlike Abilities, Talents are fairly free-form. If none of the listed Talents fit what you want for your Hero, you should work with your Table to create one that does. Talents are also more loosely defined than Abilities and often have overlap. You can use any Talent that seems applicable to an action, and you can take a Stunt to apply a different Talent in limited situations ("I use Combat + Stealth when making a sneak attack!").
Talents use a different rating system than the standard FATE Ladder.
-: No particular talent or training.
+0: Beginner
+1: Professional
+2: Expert
+3: The Best There Is*
*See The Best There Is Stunt, below.
Heroes will normally have Talents in the +0 to +2 range. In SuperFATE!, having a Talent at +0 is actually different from not having that Talent at all. While you don't have bonuses to rolls at +0, of course, you do have a basic knowledge of and aptitude for that Talent. That means you can perform routine activities that normally don't require rolls.
For example, if your Hero has Piloting +0, they aren't actually any better at pulling off aerobatic maneuvers than a Hero without the Piloting Talent, but they can operate an aircraft under routine circumstances, read the instrumentation, have a basic idea of its capabilities, and so forth. A Hero without the Piloting Talent might not even be able to find the altimeter.
Your Hero can't have an Ability of +3 unless they have the following Stunt:
The Best There Is
If you have this Stunt, you can increase one of your Hero's Talents from +2 to +3. This Stunt doesn't increase the Talent by itself, it just gives you permission to use build points or Milestone Advancements to do so. Your Hero can be the Best There Is at more than one Talent, but your Hero can't be the Best There Is at an Talent if another Hero in your group already is.
List of Talents
ACADEMICS: General education, academia, research, social sciences
ARCANA: Deep secrets, occult, weird stuff, adventuring knowledge.
ATHLETICS: Climbing, jumping, running, swimming.
BRAWLING: Punching, kicking, grappling, improvised weapons.
COMMAND: Inspiring, leading, organizing, coordinating.
COMPUTERS: Hacking, programming, repairing, designing.
DIPLOMACY: Negotiating, persuading, etiquette, protocol.
DRIVING: Cars, trucks, motorcycles, carriages.
EVASION: Defending, escaping, misdirection, avoiding.
FAST TALK: Conning, misleading, prevarication, blather.
GUNNERY: Artillery, rocket launchers, siege weapons, vehicular weapons.
HEALING: Diagnosis and treatment of injuries, diseases, poisons.
INTIMIDATION: Bullying, glaring, threatening, strong-arm tactics.
INVESTIGATION: Finding clues, forensic analysis, interviews, research.
MELEE: Swords, axes, whips, vibroblades.
PERCEPTION: Awareness, evaluation, insight, listening and spotting.
PILOTING: Air liners, helicopters, jet fighters, dirigibles.
SCIENCE: Biology, chemistry, math, physics.
SHOOTING: Pistols, rifles, bows, blasters.
SNEAKING: Hiding, moving silently, concealing, prowling.
STREETWISE: Carousing, gathering information, local knowledge, street etiquette
SURVIVAL: Foraging, orienteering, hunting, tracking
TECHNOLOGY: Electronics, mechanics, repairing, tinkering
THIEVERY: Disguise, picking locks, picking pockets, bypassing security systems