Continuing from my previous post: let’s look at creating some GM characters. This is a spot where Fate really shines for me, making my life easy as the game moderator. You see, while it’s true of any role-playing game, Fate is one of the few that openly acknowledges that adversaries don’t need to be statted the same way as player characters. At all. They don’t even need to use the same skill list. For example, here is a way to make very minor antagonists, a.k.a. mooks:
- Make a list of what this mook is skilled at. They get a +2 to all rolls dealing with these things.
- Make a list of what this mook is bad at. They get a −2 to all rolls dealing with these things.
- Everything else gets a +0 when rolled.
- Give the mook an aspect or two to reinforce what they’re good and bad at, or if they have a particular strength or vulnerability. It’s okay if a mook’s aspects are really simple.
- Mooks have zero, one, or two boxes in their stress track, depending on how tough you imagine them to be.
- Mooks can’t take consequences. If they run out of stress boxes (or don’t have any), the next hit takes them down.
This method is found in the Fate Accelerated Edition but used widely throughout the Fate range of implementations. It works very well for the lowest category of speedbump adversaries, dangerous mostly when in numbers or as impediments to slow the PCs down and let the real target escape. For example, I give you the hooligan: Continue reading “The Expanse in Fate: NPCs”
The Reef 