System Enhancements

This page outlines the rule selections or modifications made when configuring Fate for Dominion. It is intended as an expansion to the SRD, not as an exhaustive rulebook.

New Mechanics

Scale

We define three scale steps: character, unit, and nation, each corresponding to one of the PC/tribe/dominion steps of character creation. Entities of the same scale are roughly equivalent in size or scale; while a given kobold tribe may be a bit larger or smaller than a division of the Patrian army, these differences can be captured through aspects or skills.
In order to encapsulate the advantages of scale, the following two effects take place in any conflict between entities at different scale steps:

• When the larger entity inflicts harm on the smaller, they inflict +2 shifts of harm.
• When the smaller entity inflicts harm on the larger, they inflict -2 shifts of harm. If this results in no harm being done, the smaller unit instead creates a boost.

Hazards

A hazard is a threat that cannot take stress, but can attack the PCs, such as an avalanche, a fire, or an active spell. It takes the form of an aspect with an associated skill rating, e.g. (+5) Raging Fire. It enters the initiative order, and can attack or create an advantage using its sole skill once a round.

Long-Term Projects

A project has a High Concept aspect, a Trouble aspect, and a stress track associated with it. When a player works on a project, they describe what they're doing, and eventually the GM calls for a roll. A success inflicts 1 stress on the project, and success with style inflicts 2. On a tie, a boost is created, which can be used the next time somebody works on the project.
Whenever the stress track advances, both the High Concept and Trouble will be renamed in order to reflect the progress made and the difficulties of advancing further, respectively.
When the stress track is completely full, the project is completed. The mechanical effect of this may vary, but most likely manifests as creating a new aspect on the player or party. An aspect so created begins with a free invoke on it.

Downtime

Fate has a unit of gameplay called a scenario, which is roughly a single movement of plot within an arc; it's comparable to a Blades score, albeit longer, in being a discrete unit of narrative time. In Dominion, scenarios are most likely based on external threats or aims, such as defeating humans or recruiting kobolds.
Between every scenario, I'm going to set aside a little time (half a session? A session? We'll see) for downtime. During this time, each player can work on a single long-term project. There will also be time for slower-paced scenes with NPCs, internal trouble with the dominion, and so on.

Roar Phase

I'm introducing something called a "Roar Phase" prior to certain combats. When narratively appropriate, all combatants (PCs, their kobold tribes, NPCs) will have a round in which to take any action except attacking. This can be fortifying, posturing, casting buffs, positioning troops, and so forth.
If you roll to Create an Advantage during the Roar Phase and fail, the advantage is still created, but you take a mild consequence related to the advantage you created—if you're "Promising Certain Death", you might take the consequence "Reputation on the Line". On a tie, the GM gets a boost instead of inflicting a consequence.

Changes to Existing Mechanics

Aspects

In addition to the High Concept and Trouble, characters have a third special aspect, Crossing Paths. It encompasses either a relationship with another character, or a trait that might lead to one.

Skills

The following skill list will be used in place of the "default" SRD list:

• Charm: Invoke joy or trust in a target.
• Clash: Attack with a melee weapon; defend in melee combat (blocking attacks). Tribes: Drive another unit out from your zone.
• Command: Rally and direct troops; intimidate through strength. When stacked with a tribe, the tribe's skills below the PC's command get a +1 bonus as long as the PC is attached. Can also be used to remove consequences from stacked tribes. Only available to PCs.
• Deceive: Disguise; conceal motivations. PCs: Tell a convincing lie. Tribes: Deceptive stratagems.
• Discern: Identify tells or intentions. PCs: See through lies. Tribes: See through feints.
• Evoke: Perform rituals en masse to bring about magical effects. Create ritual boosts (see below). Only available to dragon PCs and tribes.
• Fortify: Set up traps or fortifications. Tribes: Set up a camp.
• Lore: Knowledge of history, geography, and regional tribes and factions.
• Maneuver: Defend in either melee or ranged combat (avoiding attacks, using maneuvers like a shield wall to protect against ranged fire).
• Provoke: Invoke fear or anger in a target.
• Resolve: Hold fast against attempts to alter your emotional state; maintain purpose through adversity.
• Scout: Determine the location of enemies, identify potential terrain advantages, search for food.
• Sneak: Move without detection.
• Volley: Attack with a ranged weapon.

Stunts

Rituals are a new type of dominion-level stunt, defining a magical effect that kobold tribes (or a dragon) can bring about. Most define the details of a "ritual boost," a special variety of boost: (a) how to create it, (b) the permissions of who can use it, and (c) what the effect is of using it. Consider as an example this ritual, which gives the dragon a breath weapon:

Maw of Storms. Damira may spend the corresponding ritual boost to unleash a crackling bolt of blue lightning from her maw with Volley (Weapon:2). Hitting a target with a centralized nervous system also creates a boost, Briefly Paralyzed. Ritual boosts are created by Creating an Advantage with Evoke, DC 3.

Creation

Ritual boosts are created by rolling Evoke; as a result, they can only be created by tribes of kobolds or by a dragon. Each ritual establishes the difficulty necessary to create its variety of ritual boost. Success with style will always create two ritual boosts instead of one.

Permissions

Most of the time, the dragon will be the only unit in the game capable of spending ritual boosts. Narratively, this permission is unlocked by means of crests—arcane sigils permanently etched onto their scales that allow them to channel energy (either their own or that freely given by the kobold tribes) for the ritual.

Effect

The bit that varies the most from ritual to ritual. Traditionally, kobold rituals empower a dragon by granting or enhancing prowess in something we traditionally think of as draconic. Dragons can be made to fly faster (or a wingless dragon given the power of flight), given fire or some other elemental breath, made stronger, fiercer, sharper... the list goes on. In the example stunt above, the dragon is given lightning breath.
Compared to standard Fate stunts, rituals fluctuate in mechanical power. Some rituals might produce stronger effects than other, but at a higher DC. Other variations might exist, as well; for instance, a ritual might provide a conical breath weapon as opposed to linear.

Milestones

Fate has three types of milestones: minor (~1/session), significant (1/scenario, or every 2-3 sessions), and major (1/arc, or every few scenarios).

Minor

A minor milestone happens at the end of every session, or following a particularly impactful narrative moment. Upon reaching a minor milestone, PCs may do up to one of the following:

• Reword a non-High Concept aspect
• Switch the ranks of any two skills
• Replace a stunt with another
• Buy a new stunt for a point of refresh.

Significant

A significant milestone happens at the end of every scenario (roughly every third session). It confers all of the benefits of a minor milestone, as well as the following:

• PCs can advance a skill (within the PC skill cap).
• Tribes can advance a skill. If this is their first skill at this new level, they gain an aspect and a consequence slot. (All tribes except the initial tribe have a maximum skill level of +3.)

Major

A major milestone happens at the end of every narrative arc (roughly every third scenario). It confers all of the benefits of a significant milestone, as well as the following:

• PCs gain an extra point of refresh.
• PCs can rename their high concept, if desired.
• Tribes can rename an aspect, if desired.
• Gain a new dominion aspect.

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