30 Oct Compendium Preview #2 – Fate Points

Whenever I run one-shots for players who are new to The Dark Eye, someone always asks, “How can I get more Fate Points?” Luckily, the Aventuria Compendium has a few answers to this common problem.

Group Rules

The following Fate Point rules variants are all Focus Level I (see last week’s preview), and they appear in the chapter on Group Rules, because the whole group must agree on their use. Unlike Fighting Styles and many of the other rules, these rules don’t work as well if only one or two people at the table try to use them.

Motivations and Weaknesses

Instead of the usual FtP regeneration rules (Core Rules, p. 31), the group can opt to create Motivations and Weaknesses for their characters. Each character gets two Motivations – beliefs that drive heroes toward a particular goal – and two Weaknesses – fears, worries, or external troubles. Then, whenever a character plays to a Motivation or Weakness in a way that both causes them disadvantage and advances the plot, the GM awards a Fate Point.

Group Fate Points

The Motivations and Weaknesses system tends to make Fate Points flow more freely at the table, which does power up the game. If you want some flexibility that doesn’t necessarily raise the power level, you might consider the Group Fate Point system. This option pools some of the party’s Fate Points together. Anyone can use these points, but all Fate Points then regenerate much more slowly. This makes them more precious but also more available for those critical moments no matter who is rolling the dice.

Note that these two options cannot be combined, since one of them is more focused on individual roleplay and one of them is focused on group flexibility.

Whatever your party’s preference, you’ll find more options for both gaining and spending Fate Points in the Aventuria Compendium!