White Rose Mechanics

From FATE

White Rose is played with a custom version of the Cortex system. You can download the base rulebook here.

Overview

The mechanics play a narrow role in this campaign. As far as the GM's concerned, they represent probability and the laws of nature, nothing more. So these rules have nothing to do with your biographical information (age, sex, height, weight, eyes, hair, mother's maiden name, etc.) They only define your abilities.

Your character has six core Attributes. You also have a number of more specific Skills. Almost every roll you make will be an attribute plus a skill.

You also have a number of Traits. Traits affect your rolls in unique ways. Positive traits are called Assets. Negative traits are called Complications.

Differences from Book

Whenever there is a conflict between the rules and this page, this page wins.

The specific differences:

The skill list has been changed.
Some traits are not allowed. (Many traits will be incorporated into a special advancement system that will appear later in the campaign.)
We do not use plot points. You can ignore traits that describe a plot point cost for using them.

Steps

You don't have to deal with different dice and different numbers anymore. Every Attribute or Skill score is a die step (d2, d4, d6, d8, and so on). Here are a few general guidelines, just to give you an idea of what good or bad scores look like.

d0 (0) (If your Attribute score falls to zero (through wounds or poison or whatever), you automatically fail rolls with it.)
d2
d4 (Minimum score for Attributes.)
d6 (Average attribute; competent skill. Think of d6 as the general standard.)
d8
d10
d12 (This is the general maximum for normal people.)
d12 + d2 (Pretty godly. It costs extra to buy these scores.)
d12 + d4
d12 + d6...

Difficulty

The book was also kind enough to give you guidelines for the difficulty of skill rolls. I won't always tell you the difficulty of what you're doing, but they should give you a decent idea of what your character is capable of.

In combat, the difficulty of an attack roll is simply the enemy's defense roll.

Difficulty	Normal Action	Complex Action
Easy	3	15
Average	7	35
Hard	11	55
Formidable	15	75
Heroic	19	95
Incredible	23	115
Ridiculous	27	135
Impossible	31	155

A botch is when all the dice you're rolling come up 1. This is like a natural 1 in D&D - you automatically fail, and bad stuff happens.

An extraordinary success is when you beat the difficulty by at least 7. This is like a natural 20 - you automatically succeed, and good stuff happens.

Points

All three types of scores are bought with points. This table tells you 1) how many points you get to play with when making a new character, 2) how much a score costs for a new character, and 3) how much it costs to upgrade a character using Advancement Points.

Advancement points will be given after every session. You'll get more after completing big and exciting objectives.

	Starting	Creation	Advancement
Attributes	48	2/step	16/step
Skills	56	2/step	6/step
Combat Skills	12	"	"
Traits	0	2/step	14/step*

*Improve existing traits only.

The only special rule here is that it costs double to make the jump from a score of d12 to d12+d2. After that, allocation continues normally.

Attributes

The six Attribute scores are:

Agility
- Like dexterity - your grace, quickness, kinesthetic sense and coordination. Usually used for movement, shooting, sleight-of-hand.
Strength:
- Like strength, funnily enough. Lifting things, hitting things.
Vitality:
- Like constitution. Staying awake, staying alive, staying healthy.
Alertness:
- Your senses - physical, as well as social. Spotting, listening, searching, sensing motive, sensing danger.
Intelligence:
- Memory, mental calculations, discovering important details that others miss.
Willpower:
- Your inner fire. Persuasion, intimidation, concentration amidst chaos.

Derived Attributes

Those six scores also determine a few other important numbers.

Life Points
- Vitality + Willpower
- Like HP, but it's a little more interesting here. You can take two kinds of damage: Stunning and Wounding. How much of each determines whether you're wounded, unconscious, dying, etc.
Initiative
- Agility + Alertness
- Same as usual: when we go into rounds, roll Initiative to see who goes first.
Endurance
- Vitality + Willpower
- Used, among other things, when you're trying to keep from dying.
Resistance
- Vitality + Vitality
- No, that's not a typo.
- Used to fight off disease or poison.

Skills

Skills work a little differently. There are a number of General skills, which you buy to start with; these go up to d6. After that, you get into Specialty skills. These can go as high as you can pay for, but if you want to invest in another specialty in the same skill, you start at d6.

Specialties are a bit open-ended, as they are in the real world. Some specialties can also go with more than one skill. But the ones in bold are important and specifically called for in some situations (such as combat).

Animals
- Care, Training, Riding, Medicine, Zoology...
Artistry
- Appraisal, Cooking, Composition, Forgery, Painting, Photography, Poetry, Sculture, Writing...
Athletics
- Run
- Dodge
- Jump
- Climb
- Swim
- Contortion, Juggling, Gymnastics, Parachuting, Riding, Sports (pick one)...
Covert
- Disguise
- Stealth
- Camouflage, Forgery, Pickpocketing, Sabotage, Safecracking, Streetwise...
Craft
- Architecture, Brewing, Carpentry, Cooking, Leatherworking, Metalworking, Pottery, Sewing...
Crystallurgy**
Discipline
- Concentration
- Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidation, Leadership, Morale...
Drive
- Boat, Bus, Car, Motorcycle, Tractor, Truck...
Influence
- Bluff
- Diplomacy
- Intimidate
Knowledge
- Appraisal, Culture, Folklore, History, Law, Literature, Medicine Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Sports...
Mechanics*
- Jury-Rigging
- Repair, Crystal
- Repair, Machine
- Repair, Vehicle
- Construction, Customization, Welding, Plumbing...
Medicine*
- First Aid
- Surgery
- Forensics, Biology, Diagnostics, Genetics, Neurology, Pharmaceuticals, Physiology, Psychiatry, Toxicology, Veterinary...
Perception
- Sight
- Hearing
- Empathy (Sense Motive)
- Investigation
- Tracking
- Touch, Smell, Taste,
Performance
- Disguise
- Sleight of Hand
- Acting, Dancing, Oratory, [Instrument], Singing, Illusion...
Science*
- Earth, Environmental, Life, Math, Physics, Astronomy...
Survival
- Stealth
- First Aid
- Tracking
- Foraging, Trapping, Woodcraft...

(* = Skilled-only. If your score is zero, either because you have no points in it or you've taken a penalty, you won't succeed.) (** = Restricted for now.)

Combat Skills

Your fighting skills are organized a little differently. They work the same way as regular skills, in terms of the general/specific idea, but they draw from a separate pool of points. What's new is this: instead of training in weapons, you train in tactics. Each tactic allows you to specialize in a primary, secondary, tactical and strategic weapon type. Your choices will also affect your advancement in Crystallurgy. None is better than the other two; they compliment each other, and a good team will learn to balance all three.

Assault

Submachine Guns
Unarmed Combat (includes knives)
Shotguns
Streaming Weapons (Flamethrowers)

Assault weapons tend to be small, light and mobile. They're the tip of the sword - a class dedicated to the application of terminal power, first in and last out. They trade power for control, even when firing automatically, which makes them ideal for an open attack, especially in close-quarters.

Control

Machine Guns
Grenades (Hand, Remote, Proxy, Sticky)
Arcing Weapons (Grenade launchers, Mortars)
Explosive Weapons (Rockets)

If Assault is the sword, Control weapons are the shield. They're the anchor: not very mobile, but that's because they combine incredible power with the ability to cover a wide area. Control weapons are made to define the terms of battle, the objectives that Assaults complete. Their specialty weapons are more expensive, but only because they're so valuable, and not to be used lightly.

Manipulate

Sniper Rifles
Pistols
Exotic Weapons (Of your choice - swords, axes, whips, bows, etc.)
Covert Weapons (Concealable and/or Non-lethal)

Manipulation weapons are built for precision. They have one job to do, and do it well. As a result, they are extremely powerful and accurate, and at the same time light and maneuverable. The one thing they lack is covering ability - the combination is too much for wide-area, guns-blazing tactics, so if you're facing an angry mob, it's time to try something else. Manipulation is neither for offense or defense, but rather to take careful, calculated action to tip the odds.

Traits

Traits account for special or unusual qualities that affect your rolls. The reason you start with zero points for traits is that Assets, positive traits, carry a positive cost, while Complications, negative traits, have a negative cost. Most traits also have a variable cost, according to how significant an effect they have. Each trait's description includes its allowed steps. If there's a difference at the end, it can be applied to your Attributes (but not skills).

In general, you can have a maximum of five of each, but if you've got good reasons, you can talk to me and we'll work something out.

The following are approved Assets and Complications.

Assets

Allure
Ambidextrous
Animal Empathy
Attuned to Nature
Attuned to Technology
Born Behind the Wheel
Enhanced Communication
Enhanced Manipulation
Enhanced Movement
Enhanced Senses
Fast Healer
Fast on your Feet
Focused Hunter
Immune
Light Sleeper
Lightning Reflexes
Natural Athlete
Natural Linguist
Photographic Memory
Quick Learner
Steady Calm
Sure Footed

Complications

Absent-minded
Addiction
Allergy
Amnesia
Animal Enmity
Bleeder
Combat Paralysis
Illiterate
Illness
Impaired Communication
Impaired Manipulation
Impaired Movement
Impaired Senses
Klutz
Lightweight
Little Person
Low Pain Threshold
Overconfident
Overweight
Paralyzed
Phobia
Traumatic Flashes
Unstable
Weak Stomach

White Rose		Sessions
Appendices		History \| Timeline \| Atlas \| Mechanics
Categories		Affiliations \| Characters \| Documents and Transcripts \| Events \| Institutions \| Locations \| Weapons and Technology
		White Rose and associated original media are copyright © 2009-2010. All rights reserved.