System Wank - Ads and Disads

Lots of systems out there feature various ways to make your character better, along with various ways to represent flaws.  Most of them function essentially the same way.  I want to call out the system that completely changed the way I thought about them, and in some ways how I thought about RPGs in general.

FATE, first seen by most of us in Spirit of the Century, approaches the whole issue from a decidedly different angle.  Advantages and disadvantages both serve one single purpose: grabbing the spotlight.  One way lets you shine by winning, the other by failing.  Unifying the mechanics as Aspects is undeniably brilliant.


Gaining a Little Aspect-ive

If you are a gamer, and have not at least checked out the SotC SRD, I strongly recommend that you do so.  No matter what your preferences, you will find stuff in there to make you think.

Aspects are, quite simply, the core qualities that distinguish your character from all the other characters.  Once you grasp them, it becomes pretty simple to identify the Aspects of any fictional character.  It is especially easy with characters in novels, because the Aspects tend to be the phrases you see repeated over and over.

One of the key elements of Aspects is that they are double-edged.  Being an overgrown Boy Scout means that you are always prepared, but it also means that you aren't going to be good at underhanded deeds.  They are both advantages and disadvantages, depending on the situation.

When you invoke an Aspect, you are using it as an advantage.  Hence, you must pay a fate point, and you become more likely to win the day.  When the Aspect is compelled, it is a disadvantage.  You get paid a fate point, and your life becomes more complicated.  (Note that I am glossing over a lot of the subtleties of the system here.)

One of the other great things about Aspects us that they are completely player-defined.  You pick a phrase that is key to the character, and that phrase starts to come up a lot.  Ideally, your Aspect should simply be naturally integrated in your description of your character's actions.  When Luke Skywalker does something awesome, an observer will say, "The Force is strong with this one."  Similarly, when Darth Vader is tipped to his presence, he says, "The Force is strong with this one."  That line is obviously one of Luke's Aspects, and makes his life both easier and harder.

Honorable Mention

I want to throw a bone to 7th Sea here, for the innovation of backgrounds.  While the actual mechanics ended up being a bit clunky (like much of the system), the concept was revolutionary.  Backgrounds are, in essence, disadvantages.  Things like Wanted Man, Vow of Vengeance, or Impoverished were typical.  What made them different was two things.  First, you actually paid for your backgrounds, as opposed to the typical mechanic of a disadvantage giving you extra points.  Second, you had to pay for your background, because it was actually a good thing for you. 

See, these sorts of "disadvantages" are actually big, shiny plot hooks for the GM to pull you into the story.  The more you have, the more spotlight you get.  John Wick had noticed this in other games, where a 10-point Nemesis inevitably led to the player of that character actually having more fun.  So, he turned the whole thing around.  In 7th Sea, the GM is strongly encouraged to use your backgrounds to make your life difficult.  Whenever he does so, though, you gain extra experience points for that session.  More backgrounds leads to both more involvement in the plot and faster advancement.

If you see some similarities in approach here, that's not entirely coincidental.  Rob Donoghue has mentioned that 7th Sea's backgrounds sparked a sea change in his thinking, one which eventually led to how Aspects were developed.