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Notes on Dark Metal MUSH's +Fate Proposal
by Jon Peterson
February 10, 1998
reprinted here with the author's permission
Full background on the Fate Proposal
Fate Proposal
What they are and what they mean
Since the +fate proposal was first disseminated, many people have asked why, as this is
supposedly a policy that supports diversity and encompasses many different aspects of
the MUSH, have all of these variables been pigeonholed into 5 discrete levels of Fate
when the system could allow for so much more customization? My answer to that question
has been, and will remain, that the apparently separate aspects of the system which
+fate covers are all, in fact, strongly interrelated, and that it is very appropriate
that they be organized in the way I have set them down. This statement is a bit of a
teaser, as I actually discuss this at length later in this document, but I felt that it
should be voiced here before the levels are formally laid out.
Fate 1
God does not play dice with the universe.
Description: At this, the lightest level of Fate, the player is almost entirely a
Storyteller. Players have maximal control over their characters and their characters'
destiny. It is presumed, when Fate 1 characters interact with other characters, that the
course of roleplay will be pre-negotiated. All conflicts between Fate 1 characters and
other characters are to be resolved through pre-negotiation, including uses of any
Disciplines, Spheres, combat maneuvers, or even social skills. Characters are expected
to pose actions taken and responses to actions in accordances with pre-negotiated
agreements.
System: Characters cannot enter diced combat or diced conflicts. Other characters
cannot roll diced powers against the character. Quantifiable damage cannot be dealt by
or to the character. Characters cannot die or kill.
OOC Messages: Yes
XP / Cycle: .1
Notes:
Does this mean Fate 1 characters are necessarily non-violent? No. If Fate 1
characters wish to enter combat with others, they will simply have to page the
player in question and negotiate a combatr scene. No dice will be rolled in that
combat, and no one will be +hurt as a result of it. Characters may accordingly
re-desc themselves to describe wounds, but their sheet will be
unchanged.
But in the earlier proposal, you said that "A player will choose a 'light' Fate
when they envision their character to be non-combative, primarily social, or wary
of IC confrontations."? And more stuff like it? The earlier draft is
mistaken, and those concepts are withdrawn from the +fate system. What I was
vaguely and poorly trying to state there were examples of playing styles that
the -player- might subscribe to if they wish to have a Fate 1 character. It
was not meant to limit who could choose Fate 1 to those who were non-combative,
or primarily social. I initially anticipated that Fate 1 would be very hard to
understand, and I intentionally phrased it with a certain slant in the hoeps
that it would make it easier to understand. It didnt.
Why the hell do these people get less XP than anyone else? This
will be discussed at length below, but my short answer would be,
because they are less 'IC' than other characters are.
What if I'm Fate 1 and I want my character to die? Then use the
+fate command to raise your Fate. Some of the questions do have easy
answers. :)
What if I'm Fate 1 and it makes sense in the story that I kill
another character just this once? Can I fudge it? Again, I'll discuss
this at greater length below, but my short answer would be that you
must raise your Fate in order to kill another character.
What does that 'OOC Messages' slot mean? This will be discussed
in greater detail below.
Fate 2
The die is cast
Description: At Fate 2, the element of chance is introduced. Players no
longer completely dictate the results of their characters' actions; rather, the
rolls of dice indicate whether or not their character succeeds in any particular
endeavor where system is relevant. Interactions with other characters no longer
need to be exhaustively pre-negotiated except where this is necessitated by
circumstnace. However, these characters' players may still use limited destiny
control in order to prevent character death.
System: Characters can roll dice, and take levels of damage. Characters still
cannot die or kill. Quantifiable damage dealt to or by a Fate 2 character can never
exceed the maximum health levels of the victim. limitd destiny control in order to
prevent character death.
OOC Messages: Yes limited destiny control in order to prevent character
death.
XP / Cycle: .15
Notes:
How does this differ significantly from Fate 1? Well, actually,
only in that the player is now willing to leave some things to chance.
The difference between deciding the outcome of a situation and allowing
it to be determined through all of those handy charts and die-rolling
systems developed by White Wolf is an important one. It is my blief that
hte latter is much more 'IC' than the former. The n ature of chance in
roleplaying games is (getting to be pretty predictable now, isn't it?)
discussed in an appendix below
What if I hurt a mortal pretty badly and they later die of blood
loss or complications? Simply put, they are not -allowed- to die as a
consequnece of your actions. This is af orm of destiny control that you
are exerting over their character due to your Fate rating.
What about beating up a Vampire or Garou? Vampires cannot be
dealt the Final Death by a Fate 2 character; they can, however, enter
torpor from such a combat. Garou who are 'killed' by a Fate 2 character
can be assumed to have made their Rage rolls nad thereby cheated death.
Hello, battle scars.
Fate 3
The middle of the road
Description: The closest approximation to the current system on Dark Metal, the
third level of Fate is one in which characters are capable of dying in combat. Players
can still refuse to consent to a character entering a combat with another character, but
once they have committed themselves to combat, the dice are to be obeyed.
System: Characters can roll dice, and take levels of damage. Characters who
suffera a killing blow in diced combat cannot invoke destiny control to save their
characters.
XP / Cycle: .2
Notes:
This level seems, well, uncomfortable in this proposal. Does it
even belong here? Maybe not. This level was created specifically in
order to emulate the current system on DArk Metal. Characters can invoke
destiny control in order to avoid combat (much like on DM now). In all
other particulars, this level is identicial to Fate 4.
What does it mean to invoke destiny control to avoid combat?
What's the mechanic? Good question. First off, 'combat' needs to be
somewhat rigorously defined. I'll leave that for another note.
Basically, roleplay at Fate 3 becomes partically pre-negotiated as soon
as the potential for any 'combat' situation arises. "Are you willing to
enter into a conflict with my character?" This pre-negotiation takes hte
form of a simple 'yes' or 'no;' the outcome of this combat, if both
players agree that it will occur, should be decided entirely by chance
and hte ingenuity of the players. One cannot consent to being punched,
but not Dominated, and so forth.
What is combat? Combat doesn't necessarily mean a swung punch.
It means the use of any powers, cybernetics, psychic attacks and so
forth, that target another player, with the exception of purely
'information-gathering' abilities (coded scans, and so forth). Yes, that
means you cannot invoke destiny control to prevent Telepathy in any of
its manifestations. Yes, that means you can invoke destiny control to
prevent someone from Dominating you, and so forth. No, that does not
mean you can invoke destiny control to ignore Majesty, Arcane, or
similar 'ambient' powers.
Fate 4
For whom the bell tolls
Description The RPG philosophy has become the dominant one at Fate 4. Players are
now nearly fully immersed in their characters; OOC interaction and knowledge is
minimized, and consent to combat need no longer be supplied. PLayers are considered to
auto-consent to death.
System: Players can roll dice, deal or receive damage, kill and die.
OOC Messages:No
XP / Cycle: .25
Notes:
But what if I'm sitting in a bar, a mass-murderer walks in, pulls
out a submachine gun, wins intiative, deals me twelve levels of
damage, and that's that?The short answer: You die. Perhaps you
shouldn't have been sitting in a bar, or you shouldn't have chosen Fate 4.
The long answer appears in the examples section below.
Fate 5
Horrid Reality
Description: At this level of Fate, the player can fully become their character.
As a player, you have exactly the same amount of influence over the MUSH as your
character does.
System: Characters can roll dice and take damage, kill or die, and additionally
experience 'Black Dog RP;' that is, roleplay of a decidedly adult character which may
involve rape, torture, graphic sexual or violent scenes, and so forth. Characters
automatically consent to absolutely anything befalling them on the IC grid.
OOC Messages: No; you have exactly the same amount of influence over the MUSH as
your character does
XP / Cycle: .25
Notes:
The legal stuff: Neither child characters nor child players
should select a character with a Fate of 5. Upon selecting a Fate of
5, a player agrees that htey are a) over 18 years of age, b) that
there are no laws in their state/country that would prevent them from
encountering 'adult' materials, and c) that htey are willing to be
exposed to such 'adult ' materials. These materials may include
literature with strong sexual content, graphic violence, etc. etc.
Why is this a separate Fate level? Is this even related to Fate?
Shouldn't we just have a separate 'black_dog_ok' flag that can be set
as, for example, an RP preference for players? In the author's
opinion, the topics covered by Fate 5 (rape, torture, etc.) imply a Fate
rating of at least 4. Certainly, if your character is going to rape
another character, your character should unquestionably consent to
death. But moreover, setting oneself 'black_dog_ok' is making a
statement about how close to the mental state of one's character one is
willing to be. Remember that selecting Fate 5 is not an indication or
advertisement that your character is interested in perpetrating rape, or
torture. It merely means that you as a player OOCly concede that such practices exist,
and that your character can be a part of htem.
An historical note:In the original Fate proposal, Fate 5
was granted .5 xp more than Fate 4. It was voiced by many parties that
this seemed to reward characters for being rapists, and so forth,
without changing their degree of IC-immersion from that of Fate 4. While
I consider this point arguable, I'm willing to endorse keeping Fate 5 at
.25 xp per cycle.
Due to the fact that many players expressly do -not-wish to come
into contact with the darker themes connected with Fate 5, it is
expected that Fate 5 characters will try to keep these themes out of hte
public eye.
The Main Rule of Fate: All interactions between characters of different Fates
are to be handled at the lowest Fate level present amongst the participants.
The Other Main Rule of Fate: Players may at any time 'darken' the Fate of
their characters; they may not, however, lighten the Fate of their
characters.
Now comes the difficult task of explaining the above.
First of all, what does Fate attempt to cover? Many critics initially identified this
policy as being pro-violence. I don't disagree that conflict is the point at which most
of Fate's attention is centered. Why? Because conflict is where the problem is. Without
conflict, there would be no need for any system whatsoever. It is only in cases where two
characters conflict, that consent, under the current system, needs to be invoked.
Moreover, rolling dice only occurs when a character is attempting to perform a difficult
action, an action which is contested, either by a player or by circumstances.
It is my contention that Fate will actually reduce violence, for the simple reason that
hte risks of combat will suddenly become much greater. In this way, players will begin to
think like their charactesr; rather htan frivolously sending thier characters into
combat, content in the knowledge that it needn't be for keeps, players are compelled to
evaluate the risks of entering a life-threatening situation realistically, if theya re at
all inclined to keep their characters alive.
Part of the misunderstanding arises from nomenclature. The terms 'light' and 'dark'
initially appeared to some readers as indicators of 'alignment,' in the classic Dungeons
and Dragons sense. My own associations with 'dark fate' derive from the White Wolf flaw
by the same name. It suggests an economy of sorts; taking hte flaw 'Dark Fate' grants you
a few more freebies for Char Gen in exchange for an assurance that your character is,
ultimately, doomed. It was my (somewhat mis=guided) idea that combining this idea with
the broader notion of fate in the context of destiny would encompass both ends of the
+fate spectrum.
Of course, not all characterts with a light +fate necessarily are benevolent, or even
fortunate. Thier lives are tailored to the expectations and whims of their creators,
whether these be magnanimous or masochistic. Similarly, dark-Fated characters are under
no especial obligation to be sinister or ill-starred. The 'alignment' misunderstanding
led to the common objection that players would like to have a different Fate for their
characters for every situation. The +fate setting is not a reflection of the mood of the
character. It is a reflection of the philosophy of roleplay of the player.
Secondly, I'dl ike to briefly describe the two main rules above.
The first Main Rule makes compatibility between characters of different Fates possible.
In keeping with the current system on Dark Metal, the 'rights' of lower Fate characters
are priviliged above those of higher Fate characters; that is, the right to exercise
destiny control takes precedence over, for example, a Fate 4 character's right ot Embrace
the target of their choice. This privilege is acknowledged in FAte with a simple
statement that conflicts between multiple characters of varying Fates are played out at
the lightest Fate level amongst the participants.
This is open to some small ambiguities. Who is siad to be a 'participant in a brawl in
the Vault on a packed Saturday night? Are any observers considered to be 'participants'?
What if light-Fated characters join a combat already in prgress? What if hte
lightest-Fated character leaves a combat in progress? I believe these and similar
ambiguities can be resolved with the following general clarification:anyone
who is rolling initiative in a round of combat should be considered a
'participant.' What does this mean for Fate 1 chracters, who cannot roll
initiative? Simply that they should resolve issues individually with the
characters with whom they are directly interacting. Initially, this rule may seem
not to cover all the bases. Initiative is not always rolled in cases of conflict,
and so forth. True, but in cases in which initiative is not rolled, it should be
pretty clear who are and are not the participants.
Players can also agree to resolve situations at a Fate lower than their lowest common
FAte. If, for example, a pair of Fate 4 Verbena wished to engage in a non-lethal
Certamen, they needn't risk death to resolve their differences. A consensus amongst
players is sufficient to allow a combat to be played out at a lighter FAte, this
consensus, however, must be agreed upon before combat begins,a nd cannot be changed once
combat has commenced.
The converse, however, is not true; palyers may not resolve a combat at a level higher
than the lowest common Fate.
The other main rule is really a game-mechanic. A global command would exist, +fate, which
would, for each time it is used, darken the Fate of the user by one notch. Starting
characters would be assumed to have a FAte of 1; at any time, the +fate command could be
used to alter hte characters current Fate rating. There would be no provision for
lightening the Fate of a character other than direct appeal to the Wizards. It is assumed
that Wizards would only look sympathetically on such a request if the new +fate rating
occurred in error, or in the case of non-player characters, or extreme freak
circumstances.
There are few reasons I can easily imagine for a legitimately assigned Fate rating
belonging to a player character to be lightened (one possibility would be a revision to
the Fate rules that changed the meaning of various Fate levels). Players would always, of
course, have the option of creating a new character with a lighter Fate rating if they
were uncomfortable with their current character.
The crux of the Fate proposal is now behind us. Two major topics remain to be discussed:
that of IC positions being restricted to characters of a minimum Fate, and the limitation
of OOC information provided to characters of sufficiently dark Fate (this is alluded to
in the description above).
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