Save Game - First Save Point Reached!

I just submitted my first draft of Save Game to the heads under the Evil Hat. A playtest this weekend really helped tighten up the manuscript and the focus of the game. I'd also like to thank everyone for their support and enthusiasm in working on the game.

After the jump, there's an except for the random aspect generation I use to give each character flavor. My playtesters giggled with evil glee picking the words for their fellows to use while creating their aspects. I thought it was a clever twist to the phase trio from Fate Core.

Step Six: Inventory Aspects

Video game characters  have strange and unique items. Heroes of 8-bit games combined a lot of unusual things to become heroes. One character might have a surfboard, a rocket launcher and a pet monkey. Another might be able to spit rainbows and teleport ten feet in the air. These aspects are called signature aspects. If you’re stuck for crazy ideas, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

Roll four Fate dice at the start of each phase. Each positive symbol is a positive word. Each negative symbol is a negative word. Any blank dice shorten the phrase. Then go through the lists and choose a word for each symbol rolled. No category may be chosen more than once during a phase, and no word may be chosen more than once per group. Once the words have been chosen, it’s up to you to create an aspect that uses them all. The easiest way is arranging them in a specific order. A Vampire Hammer Lock works much differently than a Lock Hammer Vampire. You don’t have to use them literally, as long as you create an interesting aspect. If you roll (or choose) four blanks, the table creates the aspect together. Each person at the table picks one word from the list. Assemble an aspect from the words.

Example: Ryan chooses Lock Hammer Vampire for his aspect, and combines the first two into Lockhammer Vampire. Ryan suggests that he’s a vampire of the Lockhammer family, longtime rival to Dracula, and the item is a signet ring. Aaron, the GM, likes the idea, since there will be all sorts of compels when the heroes enter the shadowed world of Templyvania.

The same character may not have the same words chosen for different aspects. Other characters may have the same words. For example, one character may not have shadow on their sheet for two different aspects, but two characters may each have a shadow aspect on their character. Maybe those two characters hail from the same game line?

Once you’ve built an aspect, take a moment to consider what it can be invoked for and what it can be compelled the character to do. These aren’t hard and fast definitions of the aspect, but they can be a great help to the GM deciding if an aspect is applicable. The GM can always compel you with the idea the item has been lost or out of charges, which means you are unable to use it until you stop at a nearby Bit-Mart.

Example: Ryan thinks about what it means to be a Lockhammer Vampire. He can spend Coins on invokes to do vampire things, like fly, turn to mist and resist damage. He can also get Coins for compels like being unable to cross running streams, being afraid of the sun, and when his connections to the Lockhammer family cause him trouble.