20. What is the most challenging but rewarding system have you learned?
Fate (Evil Hat Productions) — not because it’s inherently complicated, but because it required shifting mindsets altogether. I’ve described in a previous post how I played Fate-powered games for several years without “getting” it, and how things changed when I tried the Fate Core edition.
Essentially, I had to learn to switch from a pass/fail mindset (choose a skill and roll to see if you succeed) to a fictional positioning mindset (this is what a character would do, roll to see what direction the story takes, create mechanically reusable little bits of fiction.) Not only do I now adore the Fate system, it has also changed how I approach other games.
The Reef 