Core Rules & Concepts

Two basic rules lie at the heart of Our Terrible Fate, and it is important to keep them in mind moving forward. They are simple in concept but carry a lot of implications, and they are discussed in greater detail later in this book.

Golden Rule

Decide what you’re trying to accomplish first, then consult the rules to help you do it.

Players should not feel restricted by the rules. Rest assured that if you want a character to do something in the game, there is a way to handle it using the rules. The important thing to remember is to base your decisions on what the characters would do (rationally or irrationally) in whatever situation they find themselves – not based on what you think will work out better under the rules.

The Keeper has a lot of flexibility when deciding what game mechanics to use in different situations, and in keeping with the Golden Rule, should always first consider what is trying to be accomplished in the story – and the game as a whole – before deciding on which mechanic to use.

Silver Rule

Never let the rules get in the way of what makes narrative sense. If you or the players narrate something in the game and it makes sense to apply a certain rule outside of the normal circumstances where you would do so, go ahead and do it.

The rules are always secondary to what makes sense in the game world, and they should not prevent the players and Keeper from telling a compelling story. If everyone agrees that one outcome to a given action makes for the best story, there’s no reason to even consult the rules – just go with it.

Core Game Concepts

There are a few basic game elements that everyone needs to be familiar with. The following brief introduction is enough to get new players started, but the Keeper will need to understand them more deeply. You can read more about them in later chapters.

Fate Points

Fate points are a kind of game currency that can be spent by the players and the Keeper to gain bonuses and exert additional influence on gameplay.

Aspects

Aspects are short phrases that describe the game world and everything in it. You can use an aspect to gain more control over the story or provide a mechanical bonus to a roll, but aspects can also make characters’ lives more difficult. Using an aspect to your advantage (referred to as invoking an aspect) costs you a fate point, while allowing an aspect to complicate your character’s life (called accepting a compel or compelling an aspect) awards you a fate point.

Clues

Clues are special aspects that are initially known to the Keeper and hidden from the players. Uncovering these clues is usually the primary goal for the players during much of the game. Eventually enough clues will be revealed that the players can figure out what needs to be done to resolve the issues in the scenario. Gathering additional clues may provide greater understanding of what’s going on or offer insight into exactly how the investigators might resolve the issues and successfully conclude the scenario.

Stress & Consequences

Bad things happen to characters in this game. If they’re lucky, they may come through an encounter with the mythos with just some bumps and bruises, some nightmares, and a scar or two. Unfortunately, it’s just as likely they will wake up to find themselves in a half-dug grave in the middle of the woods, covered in blood and dirt, with no idea how they got there. In game terms, this kind of extreme result is referred to as being taken out. Being taken out could mean the character is merely rendered helpless or irrelevant for the remainder of the scene, or it could be much more significant and lasting – even including permanent insanity or death. Characters can absorb stress and take consequences to avoid being taken out, allowing them to stay in the action longer, but doing so often means those consequences will make things more challenging later on. Consequences can take many forms: injuries like bruises, broken limbs, or bullet wounds, mental trauma like crippling fear, phobias, and amnesia, and even damage to a reputation, a ruined relationship, or deep-seated shame.

Sanity

Being exposed to the Mythos is ultimately detrimental to a person’s sanity, and it is important to understand how a character’s mental stability and well-being may begin to unravel over time. The sanity of investigators and other characters is represented by a combination of aspects, stress, and consequences. As a character’s sanity begins to erode, he or she can develop mental disorders, suffer from hallucinations, and even succumb to madness from which there is no return.