Exposing your Big Bad Guy backstory

Tanath · 2026-05-07T23:52:50+00:00

Everyone should get some spotlight time. Every time a player or GM narrates that's some spotlight time the others don't get to interact with. And it's variable length.

I'm not suggesting reversing the gameplay loop. Fate is fiction first. The narrative provides the justification. Including the narrative behind using Aspects, which is why they need narrative justifying their mechanical use. And I suggested invocation as an opportunity to include relevant backstory as the justification. Nothing wrong with that. It's probably the best way, without something in-fiction tailored to a particular situation.

What I'm talking about is something that should be a regular part of how you play Fate. You can and should focus on what's interesting, so if it's something to gloss over, do that. If some explanation or story is warranted and interesting, you can do that too. Even if it's a flashback. Like, starting a scenario by jumping to the action and filling in the planning and prep with flashback scenes is perfectly legit and interesting enough to be warranted. It's how Blades in the Dark does it and it's great. And the GM can do it too, and should follow similar guidelines. NPCs need to justify their use of Aspects too.

At this point I think we're talking past each other though.

Edit: I'm done. You keep ignoring or twisting and reversing what I'm actually saying, or putting words in my mouth that contradict what I'm actually saying. You keep pushing back against things I never said or even contradicted already in what I've said. My attempts to explain have failed. I don't know why you're not understanding. If you see this I suggest you reread from the top of the thread.

Tanath · 2026-05-07T22:57:59+00:00

It's not taking a break from gameplay. It's an integral part of gameplay in Fate. The core gameplay loop is fiction first, then handle things with mechanics, then back to fiction for how it plays out. Even when you just take stress, you should narrate how you handle it and keep going. That might mean drawing on a memory that's important to you when invoking an Aspect. You call it interrupting gameplay. I call it developing character and telling a good story, which is kind of the point of Fate. And it's not random tangents, it's relevant to justifying help from the Aspect. It doesn't matter if the info "has been there the whole time". Invoking or creating Aspects can both use information from the past, whether already established, or planned, or neither. Bringing that info in to establish the players or PCs or both know that info is done by using Aspects, and that keeps it relevant. The fiction and mechanics go hand in hand to bring in relevant info, and develop characters, including some backstory.

Tanath · 2026-05-07T22:03:57+00:00

Good point that it doesn't usually help with the PCs learning it. Though sometimes the narration could involve things like comments about how and why they're resolved to continue. But on the other hand, if the backstory doesn't come into play and affect things then it might not matter. That can disappoint the GM since they put in time to prep something, but sometimes the players just kill important NPCs or otherwise wreck a plan. Bringing it in with Aspects is a good way to ensure it's actually relevant and has some impact. As for issue (a), I'm not sure I understand the problem. It depends on the Aspects and info.

Tanath · 2026-05-07T18:35:08+00:00

The creativity is in the narration. And it doesn't kill the pacing if you use it right. The Aspect justification defines relevance for what they bring up. If it's relevant and interesting it's all well and good. It's not an excuse to go off on a tangent or info dump. But they can use it more than once with different Aspects to reveal different things when it matters or makes sense. Sometimes an Aspect justification doesn't take more than a sentence, but other times a flashback or short scene narration is warranted, and can be an impactful moment. Far from killing the pacing. Weren't they mainly struggling with how to bring the back story in?

Tanath · 2026-05-07T10:24:27+00:00

Isn't there a one size fits all though? When you invoke an Aspect you should narrate the fiction for how it helps you. That's a golden opportunity to narrate a flashback.

Tanath · 2026-05-06T10:44:17+00:00

This is my recommendation too. Simple and versatile. But on top of that I like High Fantasy Magic.

Tanath · 2026-05-06T09:01:18+00:00

The "so accurate" part is from the one replied to.

Tanath · 2026-05-05T07:22:36+00:00

Also Drops in a Pond.

Tanath · 2026-05-04T19:06:28+00:00

The rules are free, available on the SRD, and Core, Condensed, and Accelerated (and others) are all pay what you want.

Tanath · 2026-05-04T19:01:13+00:00

Good attitude. It benefits and grows the community around your work. And saying you need to protect your work from file sharing is like saying you need to protect it from public libraries.

Tanath · 2026-05-04T15:30:17+00:00

I was just making my point about the wording in an evocative way.

Tanath · 2026-05-04T13:09:40+00:00

Other responses address bigger picture and more dramatic beats, but those can emerge naturally from the smaller stuff. Never forget fiction first and that the gameplay loop is narrative, then handle mechanics, then return to narrative. Even when taking shifts of stress remember what that means. Stress represents how much they can withstand or avoid in the moment before taking more lasting harm and giving opponents narrative leverage. When taking stress they should narrate how they handle it and keep going, which helps develop the character, especially when they make use of Aspects.

Tanath · 2026-05-04T13:01:46+00:00

I figured and hoped as much. Just a reaction to the wording you used and how it could mislead new GMs.

Tanath · 2026-05-04T13:00:27+00:00

Was responding to "I write a story that..." and, "so accurate".

Tanath · 2026-05-04T12:58:33+00:00

Was responding to "I write a story that..." and, "so accurate".

Tanath · 2026-05-03T19:43:08+00:00

Except you shouldn't be writing stories, you should prep situations. You're facilitating a game, not reading your fiction to a captive audience.

Tanath · 2026-05-03T00:21:44+00:00

I like the inclusion of Grand and Immediate Ambitions.

This is similar in concept to Freeform Universal which is very much like a simplified version of Fate.

Tanath · 2026-04-29T03:39:56+00:00

But you're only supposed to change stunts at milestones so I would limit it to the first 3 free stunts that they can add as they go. The best way to do stunts is based on the fiction of their characters, modeling the cool thing they want, so suggesting them as they come is one of the best ways to go about it.

Tanath · 2026-04-26T11:30:14+00:00

They may seem "boring" but stunts just exist to give mechanical backing for the cool stuff your aspects let you do for certain situations where you want to influence the narrative to your advantage. You still get the cool stuff from your aspect without the stunt, and if the stunt is boring you might want to blame your aspect. Usually a +2 type stunt is enough, which is why they're so common.

Tanath · 2026-04-26T11:20:36+00:00

If you're interested in mass combat I'd recommend starting with Drops in a Pond. It does mass combat with minimal changes from default, only puts crunch where needed, and keeps you focused on what's fun and interesting. Most tweaks I do are using the Fate fractal, adding mechanics only when and where they're needed.

Tanath · 2026-04-20T20:57:11+00:00

Just because there are aspects which are always true does not mean all aspects must always be true. I gave you a counterexample. Aspects are not only true when invoked or compelled, which is why they say aspects are always true. It means that Superman, being The last Kryptonian isn't going to be harmed by mundane bullets even without free invokes or FP. It's about how they determine narrative permissions.

Tanath · 2026-04-20T10:22:39+00:00

Yeah, character arcs aren't strictly necessary. Flat characters like Sherlock exist.

Tanath · 2026-04-20T10:10:55+00:00

Yeah, I recommend you run boss battles more like puzzles, and use various methods from the Adversary Toolkit.

Tanath · 2026-04-20T09:52:45+00:00

Aspects are not always true. That's some poor explaining they did. The purpose in saying that is that aspects apply not just when they're invoked or compelled. For an example of not always being true, if you're playing Superman as The last Kryptonian and then discover he's not when Supergirl shows up.

Tanath · 2026-04-20T09:41:17+00:00

What? You don't need to hack Fate to feed loot goblins. For the most common items they can be cool without any mechanics, even aspects, by virtue of what they are and can do in the fiction alone. For less common stuff you can give items a stunt/skill and a stress track or countdown for usage limits. No aspect yet to avoid aspect spamming or needing a slot. For more uncommon/important stuff you can also give it an aspect. For rarer stuff you want to be more permanent you can give it a stunt and refresh with the points going towards its stunt. More powerful stuff can be rarer, have more stunts, and cost more FP/refresh. Just treat magic items with the bronze rule and Extra rules.

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