Fate

FATE · Fate Core

Fate

Fate is a narrative roleplaying game designed for bold action and significant character moments. You determine what matters most about your heroes and the world, then the story propels forward with fast-paced scenes and dramatic choices. A session feels like an exciting adventure film, featuring quick setups, collaborative twists, and space for quips and emotion. Our Game Masters highlight each player, maintain a tight pace, and adjust the tone from lighthearted to gritty, ensuring the table remains engaged.

Fate is ideal for newcomers and veterans alike, suitable for mixed groups, parties, and team events. It excels in thrilling capers, superhero exploits, urban fantasy, or mysteries with supernatural elements. A professional Game Master provides thorough preparation, flexible improvisation, and clear guidance, allowing you to concentrate on ideas and roleplay. Ready to find the perfect match? Browse our Game Masters who run Fate across various styles and themes.

How to play Fate

At the table, you roll four Fate dice, each showing a plus, minus, or blank. Add them to a skill rating and try to meet or beat a target set by the Game Master or an opponent’s roll. On your turn, you state what you want, roll, and together describe the outcome, from a clean success to success at a cost. Your character’s aspects come into play when you spend fate points for a reroll or a bonus, and the Game Master can offer compels to hand you points when trouble strikes.

Players bring a character concept, a few defining aspects, and a goal for the session. Our Game Master teaches the rules as you go, helps shape aspects that matter, frames scenes, and keeps stakes clear. One-shots focus on quick character creation and a complete caper in 2 to 3 hours. Campaigns add collaborative setting creation, recurring foes, and milestones for growth. We can use Fate Core, the lighter Fate Accelerated, or Fate Condensed, depending on your group. Playing online? We use shared sheets and dice rollers on tools listed here: online play platforms.

Seven friends crowd together and pose during a StoryForgers D&D night
Seven friends crowd together and pose during a StoryForgers D&D night
A red, marble-textured ten-sided dice showing the numbers 5 and 9 in gold, used for tabletop RPG adventure games.
A red, marble-textured ten-sided dice showing the numbers 5 and 9 in gold, used for tabletop RPG adventure games.

Common questions

I've never played Fate. Will I be confused?

You’ll be right. A professional Game Master teaches Fate as you play. All you need is a character idea and a sense of what your hero is about. The GM will guide you through quick character creation, explain the aspects, show you how to roll the four Fate dice, and prompt you with choices. You can expect to be making confident moves within the first scene. If you’re looking for someone who specialises in onboarding new players, browse our Game Masters and check out Fate one-shots or teaching sessions.

How does Fate differ from D&D or Pathfinder?

Fate prioritises story choices. There are no classes, and fewer tactical rules to manage. You act using broad skills or approaches, rather than lists of powers. Scenes utilise abstract zones instead of a battle grid. Harm is measured with stress and consequences, so setbacks influence the narrative. Players often create advantages to set up significant moments, and compels introduce drama. If you enjoy fast, collaborative problem-solving and cinematic battles, Fate is a great choice. If you prefer detailed positioning, D&D provides more of that.

Which edition of Fate will we be using for our session?

Most tables use Fate Core or Fate Condensed. Fate Core provides a comprehensive skill list and traditional options. Fate Condensed is a modern, streamlined version that many GMs prefer. Fate Accelerated employs six approaches such as Clever or Forceful, making it ideal for a lighter atmosphere or younger players. Your Game Master will recommend a version based on your group and theme. Be sure to share any preferences when you book. To align the rules with table culture, explore GM playstyles and choose a GM whose approach resonates with you.

What do "aspects" and "fate points" actually do?

Aspects are brief truths about your character or the situation, such as Former Thief or Warehouse Ablaze. When an aspect would be beneficial, you can spend a fate point to reroll or gain +2, known as an invoke. The GM can also offer a compel, where an aspect causes trouble in exchange for a fate point. You can create advantages to introduce new aspects to scenes and receive free invokes. This keeps the dice light and the narrative at the forefront.

What group size and session length are best for Fate?

Fate works well with 2 to 6 players. One-shots typically last 2 to 3 hours, which is ample time for character creation and a complete caper. With two players, you experience focused, character-driven gameplay. With four or five, teamwork and banter come to the forefront. At six, the GM ensures scenes are quick-paced so everyone gets to act frequently. Campaigns maintain the same session length, incorporating downtime and milestones between adventures.

Is Fate suitable for kids or mixed-age groups?

Yes. Fate's rules are straightforward and the tone can be adjusted. For younger players, Fate Accelerated is effective as it employs simple mechanics. Teens and adults often prefer Fate Core or Condensed. A professional Game Master ensures boundaries are respected, maintains age-appropriate content, and simplifies complexity to suit attention spans. Reading is minimal, the dice mechanics are easy, and turns progress quickly, which helps keep mixed-age groups engaged.

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Genres you can play in Fate

  • Pulp

    Two-fisted thrills, cliffhanger chases, masked villains, and deathtraps. Think Indiana Jones-style adventure or hardboiled capers, where…

    View genre: Pulp
  • Mystery

    Follow the clues, build timelines, and catch the culprit. Think Knives Out, but you are the detective, piecing together alibis and secrets…

    View genre: Mystery
  • Space Opera

    Epic sci-fi melodrama set among the stars, featuring daring pilots, noble rebels, tyrants wielding planet-destroying weapons, and a crew…

    View genre: Space Opera
  • Heroic

    Stand tall, make the right choice, and triumph in the end. Heroic games evoke the spirit of The Lord of the Rings, featuring bold oaths…

    View genre: Heroic

What players are saying

  • Tom was fantastic! He was really great with the kids and very patient with his explanations. It was a wonderful evening and definitely worth doing again! The kids asked the next day when we could do this again.

    Danny

  • First of all, I want to say that Sebastian was really great as a DM. For his first run as a booked DM, he did a fantastic job. The 3 stars refer to the following: 1. We were disappointed that the adventure was labelled a One Shot yet wasn't a complete story. Discovering that there are two more parts wasn't very positive for us, as it meant there was no satisfying conclusion to the story. 2. As new players, it was difficult for us to understand the English character sheets in such a short time. In German, it would have been much easier. Even receiving the character sheets a few days in advance would have been helpful for preparation. 3. More guidance would be beneficial. Especially for beginners, a more linear one shot would have been preferable. We wasted a large portion of the adventure time doing unnecessary things because we didn't really know how the game worked. Overall, I think the StoryForgers concept is really good and I see a lot of potential in it, especially for introducing new players to D&D. I hope you don't take my feedback the wrong way but as honest criticism. Cheers, Mario

    Mario

  • Bryan was exceptional. We had a group with varied experience levels, and he managed to keep everyone engaged and involved. His positive attitude made the game enjoyable for all. I really appreciated how he could clearly explain what was needed for our less experienced players while keeping our more seasoned players on their toes with his extensive knowledge of the game. Everyone in our party had a fantastic time thanks to Bryan.

    Jeremy

  • Dayron was fantastic. Well-prepared, punctual, and had a brilliant sense of humour.

    Corey

  • Dayron was fantastic; he provided an excellent experience. Thanks!

    Casey

    The Merry Meeple

  • The game was incredibly engaging. I organised a session as a gift for my boyfriend, who is really passionate about it, and he was very pleased and appreciated Leonardo's professionalism. I don't have much experience with DnD, but I found the game to be quite straightforward and enjoyable.

    Marina

  • Baptiste was a fantastic GM who adapted seamlessly to our group and helped us make great progress in this one-shot. However, there was one issue with the character sheets provided; they were not complete or clear. Some of the French translations were quite rough. For instance, our cleric was missing spells, including a healing spell, even though they were meant to have some.

    Pierre

  • Rachel was fantastic; my daughter and her friends left their game saying it was the most fun they’d ever had, and my daughter wanted to sign up for another game with her straight away. She was friendly, and her approach let the players immerse themselves in the game by giving them control over how they wanted their actions to unfold. I would definitely work with her again.

    John

  • A great first experience with D&D. Amber was excellent at explaining and guiding the game, allowing us as players to quickly get into the flow and focus on the story. Collaborating on attack strategies with my colleagues was a fun activity that provided valuable insights into each other's characters, thought processes, and differences. Overall, I found it to be a very enjoyable session.

    Jens

    Triodos Bank N.V.

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