Fate Kickstarter PDF Download Frenzy

I finally have enough time to sit in front of my computer and download my Fate Kickstarter PDFs. I ended up with Fate Core, Fate Accelerated, Fate System Toolkit, Fate Worlds (Volumes 1 & 2), Strange Tales of the Century, Sally Slick and the Steel Syndicate, Deck of Fate, Fate Freeport Companion, plus a lot of smaller items too numerous to list. I went in for two print books, Fate Core and Fate System Toolkit, which should be coming in the next month or so.

I have almost played a Fate-based game on two different occasions. The first time, we had a group that spent two sessions creating characters for Dresden RPG. I was bummed we didn't get to play (half the group consisted of college students, the other have being their parental units, so scheduling stopped us in our tracks). My wife had the best character ever--an teenaged Amish wizard. Our second attempt at Fate was with Spirit of the Century, with the intent of just doing a one-shot. Again, scheduling became an issue and we ended up with an Apples to Apples session instead.

I have been following Christian's posts (destination unknown) as he prepped for a Fate Accelerated game. I was encouraged by his notes on his game session. I am not sure how it would play with our Monday Night gaming goobers, but it would have been awesome with our old in-house group (the kids and their parental units).

Five for Friday 21: Mash-ups

"You got chocolate in my peanut butter!" "You got peanut butter in my chocolate!" Who doesn't like peanut butter and chocolate together (actually, I don't, but that is a Sheldon Cooper kind of sensory thing for me, a matter for professional help, and beside the point).

I like RPG mash-ups but I am not particularly creative with them myself, so I thought I would take a crack at coming up with five mash-ups. To be honest, I am more interested in what other people come up with, but here are some things that have occurred to me:

Constantinople (c. 1150) + Oceans 11 + GURPS: I have actually put some work into this one as my embryonic Onyx campaign. A medieval urban fantasy campaign, featuring a band of specialists engaged in heists against the rich and powerful. It is currently on hold because our Monday Night Gaming Group is busy with other stuff.

Dresden RPG (Fate) + Amish + Jack Reacher: Our in-house gaming group created the characters for this, but the three kids in the group all left for college before we could actually play. My wife created a young Amish woman whose spellcasting abilities put her at odds with her community and her own faith. I was bummed we never played. I was a delivery truck driver with Jack Reacher combat skills (much like real life).

Swords & Wizardry + Realms of Crawling Chaos + Post-Apocalyptic Detroit: It doesn't take much imagination to cast Detroit in this role.

PDQ + Steampunk + Alice in Wonderland: This would take a bit of work and I probably would hack a few existing PDQ-based games but this seems like a trippy rules-lite combo.

Crypts & Things + Weird Adventures + Silk Road (Central Asia): I have always like the part in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana Jones travels to Nepal, plus I am a fan of Central Asia, medieval and modern. I also really like Crypts & Things and Weird Adventures. It would take a bit of work but C&T is really simple and WA is awesomely groovy.

Have you come up with interesting mash-ups and hybrids? Have you seen something created by someone else that strikes you as particularly creative, bizarre and fun to play?

Thoughts on Medieval Urban Fantasy Settings

So, the first thing to note is that I have a name for my embryonic medieval urban fantasy campaign: Onyx (which likely reflects my recent rereading of Black Company and my list of two syllable words for naming RPG things). My second choice was Twerpshoppleville (which likely reflects the fact that there is a short circuit north of my neck).

I've noticed that there are two main approaches to urban-based fantasy RPGs. One approach is to take the typical D&D style fantasy game and sets it in an urban setting. You get the medieval tech levels, magic, elves, dwarves, etc etc.

The second approach is to take a modern (or near-modern) urban setting, like the Dresden RPG, that is based on the real world. The magic or fantastical elements, that represents true reality, are hidden from the majority of the populace. To be sure, there are many other approaches (clockwork, steampunk, horror, pulp, etc), but I do think that there exists two sets of tropes that are commonly used for urban fantasy--the medieval D&D approach and the modern hidden reality approach.

My intention is to take the modern approach--with magic and the fantastic mostly hidden from plain sight--and use it in a medieval urban setting. It means that +1 swords will not be available at the corner store, unicorns will not be for sale at the city's livestock auction (sorry, Tim), and humans will be the only race available as player characters. I think this sort of setting lends itself to systems like GURPS and FATE. I could see using a very stripped down D&D retro-clone, like Swords & Wizardry (maybe a slightly tweaked Crypts & Things would work well, with the mages having to operate in secret).

Conceptually, I am starting with a real-world city (Constantinople), creating a realistic fictional city based on it (so I don't have the cloud of historical accuracy lingering over my head), and then infusing it with magic and the fantastic (much like Jim Butcher does with the Dresden Files). I think it could create a very different feel than starting with a standard fantasy setting and creating a city for it.

I would be interested to hear what you think.