I played a Fate game the other night.

I played a Fate game the other night.

I played a Fate game the other night. The whole time I just pretended I was playing DW and let the GM figure out the rules. It was brilliant! 

After years of burnout, I’m almost ready to play a version of D&D just to see if it can be fun again.

11 thoughts on “I played a Fate game the other night.”

  1. I tried going back once since I started playing FATE and DW…it wasn’t good. Could have been the GM or maybe the prewritten adventure, but either way it was boring. I kept trying to do things that aren’t really covered in the rules and I’ll give the GM credit he ruled it well, but it still didn’t feel right. I think it was the fact that I wanted XP every time I missed an attack.

  2. +Matt Smith being able to go with the flow of the game and just let the chips fall where they may is often a fun experience.

    Delos Adamski rules don’t need to get in the way of play. The first versions of DnD played a lot like DW, but with even less direction and even less rules. The right balance of rules and rewards are a winning combination in any game. Too few rules and people start wondering how to handle situations and can worry about GM favoritism and too many rules and people feel constrained like a straight jacket.

    I am with you David Guyll that every game is about expectations. I have had years of fun just role-playing in general with a wide variety of systems. They are like clothes, some feel more comfortable than others in different situations and based on expectations.

  4. I think the nostalgia people feel for old school D&D often comes from the freedom they experienced. House rules really didn’t exist back then. You read Moldvay Basic D&D and you use what you want and make up the rest as you go. Plus, much of it must be interpreted. It is notoriously vague =P.

    I hear all the time that AD&D was a persons favorite edition but they openly admit they didn’t play it as it was written, usually not even close. They just used what they wanted. What they loved most about AD&D was all of the products and books at the time. They sparked the imagination and let them play the types of adventures they wanted, not by design, but through inspiration.

    The best way to go about experiencing any system is to make sure your group is on the same page before you start play as far as expectations are considered. The more you view rules as guidelines instead of hard facts the more free you’ll feel at the table.

    I chose DW because the moves structure is likely to help inspire my player by giving her ideas on what to do next. It’s lack of hard rules was a big selling point. I prefer the relaxed OSR approach to gaming which encourages us to make the game our own. With B/X, for example, everybody was playing the same game technically, but no single game was being played in the same way ^_^

  6. Delos Adamski

    My exact frustration when playing Pathfinder Society every other week. The scripted railroads just about kills it for me. But I still play because I love the group and the social aspects of it. But I wish I could convert them to DW…

  10. I would echo what Jason Morningstar says with the one caveat of inviting people to try something new, if it’s not for them, no harm done in testing the waters.  

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