FCTS 101

Fate Core and Tachyon Squadron

a comprehensive introduction to
the combined ruleset

Military sci-fi

Introduction to the setting

Draconis System

Astrography and sociology

Draconis system

Characteristics of Draconis society

Those magnificent pilots in their flying machines

Character sheets and ship cards

Character sheets

Fluff: name, pronouns, picture, description, and biography

Mechanics:

• skills: skills
• aspects: personality
• stunts: gear and special abilities
• tracks:
  • stress (recoverable physical and psychological damage)
  • consequences (permanent damage and its specific effects)
    right-click for details
• counters: fate points, refresh, boosts

Ship card

Fluff: name, picture (nose art), description, and biography (service history)

Mechanics:

• skills:
  • spacefaring skills of the pilot (same as character sheet)
  • weapon and armor specs of the ship
• aspects: ship characteristics
• stunts: ship systems and installed custom modules
• tracks:
  • shields (recoverable damage)
  • damage to computers, propulsion, critical systems (right-click for details)
  • victories - shot down enemy fighters

(ignore the counters)

Doing thing

Skills and Actions

Skills

Skill scores (the ladder)

Actions

	Action	Description	Target
	Overcome	Basic check: complete a task w/o opposition	Environment
	Attack	Oppose check: harm someone, complete a task with opposition	Defender
	Defend	Oppose check: prevent harm from attacker, interfere with task	Attacker
	Create advantage	Create bonuses: modify the situation to your advantage	Environment or defender

Skills and Actions

These are guidelines

Using skills

• Say what you want to accomplish (narratively)

  I swing the butt of my rifle at the rat that's trying to get to my rations…

• Determine the skill and action to use

  …so, I am going to attack with my fight skill, and the GM says the rat actively opposes me, so defends against me by rolling its athletics skill

• Roll and determine the outcome

  …and I fail by 1 shift, so I miss…

• (Optionally) apply re-rolls or additional bonuses

  …but I use a fate point with my martial artist aspect to get a +2 bonus, so when the rat thinks it got away scott free, I expertly correct my aim and hit the rat square in the head after all.

Rolling dice

<skill> + 4df + <modifiers>

die results:

• + ➔ + 1
• ➔ + 0
• - ➔ - 1

Rolling dice

<skill> + 4df + <modifiers>

die results:

• + ➔ + 1
• ➔ + 0
• - ➔ - 1

result range: - 4 – + 4

Overcome actions

Achieve a goal appropriate to a skill with passive opposition (difficulty set by GM)

<skill> + 4df + <aspect> + <stunts> + <other> vs <difficulty>

Attack and Defend actions

Two actors acting in opposition to each other (active opposition) using the same or different skills. The "active" actor makes an attack action, the other, defend:

• An attack typically intends to harm or influence someone against their will

  <attacker's skill> + 4df + <aspect> + <stunts> + <other>
  

• A defend action counteracts the attack

  <defender's skill> + 4df + <aspects> + <stunts> + <other>
  

• The attacker succeeds, ties, or fails by some number of shifts

  shifts = | att - def |

Attack and Defend: outcomes

Taking damage: calculating damage

Calculate damage only for a succesfull attack:

<hits> + <attacker's weapons rating> - <defender's armor rating>

• hits is calculated from shifts of success (see previous slide)
• weapon and armor ratings for characters come from their gear and stunts
• weapon and armor ratings for ships are found in their skills sections

Taking damage: stress and consequences

Stress track combines mental and physical stress                         ☐¹ ☐¹ ☐¹ ☐¹ ☐¹

• for each point of damage, cross out one box of stress

• if there is damage left over, pick consequences to try to absorb it
  write down the inflicted injury or trauma for each consequence (see: aspects)

  Consequence	Absorbed damage	Duration	Example
  mild	◯ ◯	scene	Black eye, Cranky
  moderate	◯ ◯   ◯ ◯	session	1st degree burn, Exhausted
  severe	◯ ◯   ◯ ◯   ◯ ◯	scenario	Compound fracture, Phobia

• if there is dmg left: take out character or extreme consequence (modify aspect)

The tings that make us special

Aspects and fate points

Aspects

Aspects

Using aspects: invoking an aspect

Invoke an aspect (good for character):

• Player character burns a fate point
• GM burns a fate point from the GM fate point pool
• Player character uses an existing free invoke

You can:

• add +2 modifier to your character's roll (after rolling)
• re-roll all dice on your character's roll
• add +2 modifier to somebody else's roll (after rolling)

The aspect has to make sense in the situation.
You can spend multiple fate points on a single roll.

Using aspects: compelling an aspect

Compell (bad for character):

• Player character receives a fate point, or
• Player character burns a fate point to prevent it

GM creates:

• An event that complicates a character's life

  You are trying to hide, but since you are Famous, a fan recognizes you.

• A compunction that complicates a character's life

  You Like shiny things, so you swipe the politician's gold pocket watch.

You can suggest a compel for your character to the GM for free.
You can suggest a compel to someone else's character for one fate point.

Creating an aspect

Use Create an advantage action to create an aspect

Describe the aspect:

• create situation aspect, or
• create character aspect

Take action to create the aspect with:

• active opposition (like attack vs defend)
• passive opposition (like overcome)

Pass a skill check, if succesfull, the action creates the aspect with free invokes

Using skills: Create an advantage (new aspect w/ passive opposition)

Create an advantage with passive opposition (difficulty set by GM)

<skill> + 4df + <aspect> + <stunts> + <other> vs <difficulty>

Using skills: Create an advantage (new aspect w/ active opposition)

Create an advantage with active opposition

• Character attempting to create an advantage (attacker)

  <attacker's skill> + 4df + <aspect> + <stunts> + <other>
  

• Actor attempting to counteract the advantage (defender)

  <defender's skill> + 4df + <aspect> + <stunts> + <other>
  

Creating free invokes: notes

• Use create advantage action to create free invokes for an existing aspect

• Creating/discovering an aspect without free invokes does not require an action

Discover an aspect

Use Create an advantage action to discover something about the environment or character

Discover character aspect:

• active opposition (like attack vs defend)

• passive opposition (like overcome)

Pass a skill check, if succesfull, the action reveals an aspect with free
invokes

Fate points and refresh

Fate points indicate triumphs and failures of the character: they gain fate points from failures and spend fate points to triumph

GM has 1 fate point per PC in each scene plus
fate points awarded from concession and compels

Sequences

Challenges
Contensts
Conflicts

Challenge

Contest

Contest: Exchange

Conflict

Conflict: Exchange

Full defense bonus

When taking part in a conflict, you can concentrate on defense
instead of doing anything else:

• Declare full defense in your turn
• Don't do anything other than defend actions for a turn
• Gain a + 2 bonus to all defend actions

Teamwork

Help another character to perform a specific action:

• requires average skill (1) or above
• character performing the action gains + 1 bonus per received help action

Using create advantage in a Conflict (examples)

Conflicts: removing characters

A character can be removed froma a conflict voluntarily or involuntarily:

Either way: the character cannot perform actions until the conflict ends

Space combat

Engagements

Engagement: overview

Enemy units

Detection phase

All ships/flights perform a Technology Overcome action w/ difficulty 0
Group the shifts by side and find the highest and lowest shift in each side

Players/GM choose which ships are undetected (minus ships with special detection)

1st Maneuver phase

Action phase

Each ship performs up to two actions in order of the maneuver chart
Ships in the same section of the maneuver phase interleave

Action	Cost	Step
Snap shot		◖
Get on their tail		◖◗
Attack large target		◖◗
Desperate attack		◖◗
Create advantage		◖ or ◗
Overcome action		◖ or ◗

Action	Cost	Step
Repair		◖ or ◗
Rescue or capture		◖◗
Shake of a tail		◖◗
Push		◗
Tactical refocus		◗
Thin out the swarm		◖ xor ◗
Switch zones		◗

Create advantage examples

End of Round phase

Subsequent Maneuver phases

Taking damage to a ship: shields and damage

• For each point of damage, cross out one box of shields

• Roll 1df for each remaining point of damage

  [+]	1 point of computer damage
  [ ]	1 point of propulsion damage
  [-]	1 point of critical damage

  Each box in each damage track absorbs up to 2 points of damage
  Mark boxes needed to absorb damage, apply consequences

• If any of the tracks are filled, the ship is destroyed, punch out!

• Each round, if the ship suffers damage, apply one point of damage to the pilot

Damage tracks for SF-46 Blackfish

(right-click on track)

Punching out

Afterwards:

• Ejected pilots have 30 hours of life support
• Shooting ejected pilots is a war crime

Ship modular equipment

Ship modular equipment: weapons

Ship modular equipment: repair and defense

Ship modular equipment: tactical advantage

Things to do

Game structure

In and out of the cockpit

Missions and off-duty tasks

Missions

Primary job: pilot fighter aircraft in combat missions

• receive briefing
• fighter loadout and pre-flight
• fly to location (possibly supported by a tender)
• execute mission
• deal with complication (typically in isolation from C&C)
• return to base

Some missions involve infiltration, investigation, or
dealing with problems out of the cockpit on site

Sometimes pilots conduct missions on their own initiative

Combat mission reference

Off-duty

You can perform two off-duty activities between missions

Players describe the events of each activity, and some activities become scenes

Small activities like conversations or grocery shopping don't require an activity

Money and discipline

Recovery

Recovering from stress

Recover from stress after a scene through Overcome action with Discipline

Recovering from stress through decompression

Recover from remaining stress after a mission by performing a decompression activity within the narrative

	Decompression	Cost / Reward	Remove
\☺\	healthy	spend 1 fate point	all stress
\☻\	unhealthy	receive 1 fate point	all stress

A character's decompression activity is listed under aspects in the character sheet

Recovering from consequences

• Pass an Overcome skill check for appropriate recovery action
• Rename the consequence
• Wait a narratively appropriate amount of time for the effect to clear
• While the consequence is in recovery, it takes up the consequence spot

Repairing your ship

Shields
Shields recover automatically after each engagement

Damage
Spend time on repairs (1 activity per attempt, see Routine)
Perform an Overcome action with Technology vs difficulty 2 for each pt of dmg
There may be additional requirements for facilities or parts

Repair facilities
DVG technical staff repairs 6 instances of damage between missions (total over all machines in the squadron)

Character creation

Before the game

• Come up with a basic idea for a fighter pilot volunteering for the DVG
• Come up with ideas for a name, pronouns, and callsign
• Make a character portrait for your pilot and nose-art for your fighter

Guidelines for volunteer starfighter pilots:

• irresistable draw to fly
• want to fly fighters in combat
• enjoy speed and danger
• aggressive, confident, reckless, competitive

During session zero

1. Write down a high concept aspect
2. Come up with healthy and unhealthy decompression mechanisms
3. Assign values to skills
4. Create one freeform aspect
5. Establish relationship aspects between player characters
6. Pick stunts, caulculate refresh
7. Pick personal gear
8. Pick preferred starfighter loadout
9. Write down a name, callsign, and pronouns, pick a portrait, fill in description

Character creation is collaborative

2. Decompression

Aspects that defines ways in which the character deals with psych. stress

4. Skills

Skills: examples

5. Relationships

6. Stunts and Refresh

• Pick 2 personal stunts
• You get 3 points of refresh (no. of fate points received at session start)

Optionally you can trade up to 2 refresh points for additional stunts (but don't)

Tachyon Squadron Stunts (p. 31)

Players can create new stunts in cooperation with the GM

7. Gear

• Characters carry narratively-sensible gear with them
• Pick 1 item of personal gear to represent special items

Tachyon Squadron Gear (p. 34)

Players can create new gear in cooperation with the GM

8. Modules

The SF-46 Blackfish has two equipment bays for custom modules

Tachyon Squadron Modular Equipment (p. 65)

Players can create new modules in cooperation with the GM

8. Starfighter loadout (availability)

What is available depends on conditions, but you should have a preference

Default availability (Tachyon Squadron p. 122 and p. 165)

To get more equipment, see Routine.

Blackfish Qty: ◯◯◯◯◯ ◯◯◯◯◯ ◯◯◯◯◯ ◯◯◯◯◯ ◯◯◯◯◯

9. Aesthetics

Names, pronouns
Anything is fine, as far as the DVG is concerned

Portrait and description
DVG is desperate for fighter pilots and accepts anyone regardless of
age*, background, ethnicity, experience*,

Volunteers are technically not military:

• you get a flight suit, but you can modify or replace it
• you don't get a uniform, you can wear whatever, even on duty

8. Aesthetics (callsigns)

Pick a callsign and tell the story behind it or have another player tell the story

From https://www.f-16.net/callsigns.html:

So, how do you get a callsign?
Do something stupid or have it fit with your last name. Obvious examples, 'Crash' or LT 'Cheese' Kraft. Sometimes it's based on a physical appearance thing like 'Carrot'. (…)

(They also have a list of callsigns to steal from)

8. Aesthetics (nose art)

Safety tools

Every player (and GM) produces a list of lines and veils.

All players (and GM) must abide by the everybody's lines and veils.

The list can be modified (extended or reduced) during gameplay.

References

Fate Core SRD
https://fate-srd.com/fate-core

Fate Core System
https://evilhat.com/product/fate-core-system/

Tachyon Squadron
https://evilhat.com/product/tachyon-squadron/