THE PHASE TRIO

Describe your character’s rst adventure. Describe how you’ve crossed

paths with two other characters. Write down one aspect for each of
these three experiences.
CHARACTER
CREATION

Important: Before moving on to this step, you need to have gured out
your high concept, trouble, and name.
e three remaining aspects on your character are made in phases,
together called the phase trio. e rst phase is about recent background:
something you did that’s interesting and adventurous. e second and third
are about how the other player
characters got involved in that If you’re used to other Fate
adventure, and how you got games, you’ll see that there

FOR VETERANS
involved in theirs.
is is an opportunity to
tell a story about your charac-
ters. Each phase will ask you to
write down two things. Use the
Character character creation worksheet
Creation (at the back of this book, or at
Worksheet FateRPG.com) to write down
p. 296 those details.
• First, write a summary of what
happened in that phase. A
couple of sentences to a para-
graph should su ce—you don’t
want to establish too much
detail up front, because you
might have to adjust details in
later phases.
• Second, write an aspect that
re ects some part of that
phase. e aspect can cover the
general vibe from the summary,
or it can focus on some piece of
it that still resonates with your
character in the present day.
are fewer aspects in this edi-
tion. We found that it’s easier
to come up with five good as-
pects than seven or ten. And
because there are game as-
pects and you can make situ-
ation aspects, you shouldn’t
be short of things to invoke or
compel!
If your game is going to use
a lot of extras, or you have spe-
cific elements in your game
that you want every character
to describe with aspects (such
as species or nationality), you
can raise the number of aspect
slots. We don’t recommend
going higher than seven char-
acter aspects—after that, we’ve
noticed that many of them
don’t tend to pull their weight
in play.

38 FATE CORE
CHAPTER 3
CHARACTER

39
CREATION
 Phase One: Your Adventure
e rst phase is your character’s rst true adventure—his rst book, epi-
sode, case, movie, whatever—starring him.
You need to think up
and write down the basic me
CHARACTER

o a bar fightbbwiedthofsohis
CREATION

details of this story for the Landon gets intTriad. He is ro. His life is
phase’s summary. e story of the Scar at severely med Old
doesn’t need to have a lot sword and beeten soldier na clean
saved by a lps ton he
v era
al Landon,
of detail—in fact, a pair Finn. Finn he list him in the town militia.
of sentences works pretty him up, and en
well—because your fellow
rything
players will add in their own *I Owe Old Finn Eve
details to this past adventure
in the next two phases (as
you will to theirs).
If you nd yourself stuck, look to your character’s high concept and
trouble. Find a dilemma that has a chance of throwing those ideas into
focus. What problem do you get roped into because of your high concept or
trouble? How does the other aspect help or complicate your life?
Ask yourself the following story questions. If you have trouble answering
them, talk to the other players and the GM for help.
• Something bad happened. What was it? Did it happen to you, to some-
one you cared about, or to someone that you were coerced into helping?
• What did you decide to do about the problem? What goal did you
pursue?
• Who stood against you? Did you expect the opposition you got? Did
some of it come out of nowhere?
• Did you win? Did you lose? Either way, what consequences arose from
the outcome?
Once you’ve come up with the adventure, write an aspect that relates to
some part of what happened.
A note on timing: Because two other characters will be involved in the
following phases, this adventure needs to be something that isn’t so early in
your character’s life that he hasn’t met the other protagonists yet. If one of
you has decided that you recently showed up in the story, then the adven-
tures involving that person happened recently. If some of you have been
friends (or old rivals!) for a long time, then those adventures can take place
further in the past. Your best bet is to not make these adventures speci c in
time; you can gure out that part once you know who’s involved in your
story.

40 FATE CORE
 Lenny goes through Phase One.
He looks at the story questions
to help him figure out the events
of the phase, and decides on the
following:
The bad thing was that Landon
kept getting into scrapes at his
local tavern. He grew up with no
sense of discipline or demeanor
and constantly picked fights with
people larger and stronger than
him.
One thug Landon insulted at the
tavern was connected to the Scar
Triad, so some of the thug’s bandit
buddies showed up and beat
Landon to within an inch of his life.
His bleeding body was then
found by a veteran soldier named
Finn who healed Landon’s wounds
and encouraged him to join the
town militia where he could learn
some discipline and fight with
honor.
Now Lenny has to write down
an aspect related to this story. He
decides to take I Owe Old Finn
Everything as his aspect, because
he wants to keep the connec-
tion to Finn in his story and give
Amanda a cool NPC to play.
As with the high concept and trouble
aspects, this (and the following phases) are further opportunities to esh
out the setting.
PHASES AND
INDEX CARDS
In phase one, you each came
up with your own adventure.
CHARACTER
CREATION
In phases two and three, you’re
going to trade those stories
around as other players’ char-
acters get involved. Figuring
out how your character fits
into someone else’s story can
be hard to do if you’ve handed
your character phase work-
sheet to another player, so we
recommend that you use index
cards (or whatever scraps of
paper you have).
During the first phase—when
you’re writing your adventure
down on your worksheet—take
a card and write your charac-
ter’s name and adventure de-
scription. Then you’ll pass the
card around during the second
and third phases so people can
contribute to your story. That
way, you’ll still have your work-
sheet when you’re writing your
contributions and aspects, and
other people will know what
stories they’re supposed to
hook into.
CHAPTER 3 41
 Phase Two: Crossing Paths
In the next two phases, you’ll tie the group together by having other charac-
ters contribute a minor, supporting role in your adventure, and vice versa.
Once everyone has their adventure written down (which is where our
index card suggestion comes in really handy), you’re ready for phase two.
CHARACTER
CREATION

You can pass to the left or right, or shu e the stack and hand them out
randomly (trading with the person to your right until you each have one
that isn’t yours). However you decide to do it, every player should now be
holding someone else’s adventure.
Your character has a supporting role in the story you’re holding, which
you get to come up with right now. Brie y discuss it with the player whose
adventure it is and add a sentence or phrase to the summary to re ect your
character’s supporting role. Supporting roles come in three forms: they
complicate the adventure, solve a situation, or both.
• Complicating the adventure: Your character managed to make some
part of the adventure uncertain (possibly because of an issue or trouble
aspect). Of course, since that happened in the past, we know you got
out of it all right (or mostly all right, as indicated by the aspect you
take). When describing this, don’t worry about how the situation is
resolved—leave that for someone else, or leave it open. Descriptions
like “Landon starts trouble when Cynere needs him quiet” or “Zird gets
captured by mysterious brigands” are enough to get some ideas owing.
• Solving a situation: Your character somehow solves a complication
that the main character in the adventure had to deal with, or your
character aids the main character in the central con ict (which is an
opportunity to involve your high concept aspect). When describing
this, you don’t have to mention how the situation was created, just
how your character takes care of it. Descriptions like “Cynere holds o
foes to give Landon time to escape” or “Zird
The default phase trio priori- uses his arcane knowledge to ask the ghosts for
tizes connecting the characters information” are enough to give us an idea of
together in a shared backstory. what happens.
We like this, because it’s coop-
• Complicating and solving: Here, your char-
erative and gets you talking to
acter either solves one situation but creates
one another. That’s not the only
another, or creates a situation but later solves
way to do it, though. You could
a di erent one. Mash up the two ideas, using
make any significant trifecta of
the word “later” in between them, such as:
backstory details into a phase
“Landon starts a ght with the Scar Triad while
trio. Your past, your present,
Zird is trying to lay low. Later, he helps Zird by
and your hope for the future
ghting o undead while Zird’s casting a spell.”
is another set of trio elements.
The Fate System Toolkit has
more examples of phase work.

42 FATE CORE
 e idea is to be a bit self-serving here. You want to put a little spotlight
on your character in order to gure out a good aspect from it: something
you’re known for, something you can do, something you own or have, and
someone you have a relationship with (for good or ill).

CHARACTER
Finally, write the adventure idea and your character’s contribution down

CREATION
on your phase worksheet. is is important, because your character gets an
aspect from the supporting role he played. e person whose adventure it is
should also write down the contribution, if there’s room on his sheet.

Lily has Landon’s starting adventure and needs to decide how

she fits into it.
She decides that Cynere helped solve the situation. After
Landon ends up in the militia, he still has a grudge against the
Triad members who ganged up on him. In fact, they robbed him
of his heirloom sword in the process. Hearing Landon’s tale of
woe, Cynere agrees to help steal the sword back.
She takes the aspect A Sucker for a Sob Story, to reflect the
reason why she got involved.

o a bar fightbbwit h some

Landon gets int is ro
Triad. He . His lifed of his
of the Scar at rely e is
sword and be teenrasen ve
soldier na me d O ld
saved by a velps to he al La ndon , cl ea n
inn he
F inn . F in the town mi . lit ia
him up, and enlist him
WOhen
ldLandon thing his story,
veryCynere
Finn Etells
*I Oweshe takes pity on him and decides to
help him recover his lost sword.

*A Sucker for a Sob Story

CHAPTER 3 43
 Phase Three:
FEWER THAN THREE
PLAYERS? Crossing Paths Again
The phase trio assumes that Once everyone’s done with phase two, you’ll
you’ll have at least three play- trade adventures with whatever method you
CHARACTER

ers. If you have only two, con- chose before, so long as everyone has an adven-
CREATION

sider the following ideas: ture that isn’t theirs or the one they just con-
tributed to. en you’re ready for phase three,
• Skip phase three and just
where you’ll contribute to this second adven-
make up another aspect,
ture and determine your next aspect. Follow the
either now or in play.
directions from phase two.
• Come up with a third, joint-
story together, and write Lily gets Zird’s starting adventure, a pretty
about how you each feature straightforward romp where Zird battles
in that one. his Collegia rivals to obtain a magical arti-
fact and return it to its rightful place.
• Have the GM also make a
She decides that she complicates that
character. The GM won’t
situation, by wanting the shiny artifact for
actually play this character
herself. Ryan already established that Zird
alongside the PCs, though—
gets the artifact back to where it belongs,
it should just be an NPC.
so she only holds it temporarily.
Such an NPC can be a great
She decides to take I’ve Got Zird’s
vehicle for kicking o a cam-
Back, as a way of reflecting her willing-
paign—if a friend they’re tied
ness to stick her neck out for Zird—the
to during character creation
group doesn’t know what he did to earn
mysteriously disappears or
such loyalty, but they figure they’ll find out
even dies, that’s instant fuel
eventually.
for drama.

If you only have one player, And with that, you have your ve aspects and
skip phases two and three, a good chunk of background!
leaving the aspects blank to be
filled in during play.

ct.
Cynere steals Zird’s artifa rd’s
Eventually it returns to Zi al
hands and the two gain a mutu
respect for each other.
*I’ve Got Zird’s Back

44 FATE CORE
 Character Creation Worksheet
CORE SYSTEM

CHARACTER IDEA
High Concept Aspect Disciple of the Ivory Shroud
Trouble Aspect The Manners of a Goat

CHARACTER
Landon

CREATION
Name

PHASE TRIO
Phase One: Your Adventure
Landon gets into a bar fight with some of the scar triad. He is robbed
of his sword and beaten severely. His life is saved by a veteran sol-
dier named Old Finn. Finn helps to heal Landon, clean him up, and enlist
him in the town militia.

Phase One Aspect I Owe Old Finn Everything

Phase Two: Crossing Paths

Zird the Arcane hires Landon to quietly break into the Tower of
Unrest at the Collegia. When their cover is blown, Landon kicks out
the tower’s supporting pillars. The two escape as the structure comes
crashing down.

Phase Two Aspect

Smashing Is Always an Option
Phase Three: Crossing Paths Again
Cynere drags Landon into a bar fight with warriors from the Dianan
Sisterhood. He gets cut across one eye, leaving him half-blinded and
scarred. Later, she provides him the chance for vengeance by helping
her steal an artifact from them.

Phase Three Aspect An Eye for an Eye

SKILLS STUNTS & REFRESH
• One at Great (+4) • ree Stunts = Refresh of 3
• Two at Good (+3) • Four Stunts = Refresh of 2
• ree at Fair (+2) • Five Stunts = Refresh of 1
• Four at Average (+1)

STRESS & CONSEQUENCES

• Average or Fair Physique gives you a 3-point physical stress box.
• Good or Great Physique gives you 3- and 4-point physical stress boxes.
• Superb+ Physique gives you 3- and 4-point physical stress boxes and an additional mild consequence slot.
• Average or Fair Will gives you a 3-point mental stress box.
• Good or Great Will gives you 3- and 4-point mental stress boxes.
• CHAPTER
Superb+ Will gives you 3- and 4-point mental stress boxes and an additional mild consequence3slot. 45
 Character Creation Worksheet
CORE SYSTEM

CHARACTER IDEA
CHARACTER
CREATION
High Concept Aspect

Trouble Aspect

Name
WORKSHEET
PHASE TRIO
Phase One: Your Adventure

Phase One Aspect

Phase Two: Crossing Paths

Phase Two Aspect

Phase Three: Crossing Paths Again

Phase Three Aspect

SKILLS STUNTS & REFRESH

• One at Great (+4) • ree Stunts = Refresh of 3
• Two at Good (+3) • Four Stunts = Refresh of 2
• ree at Fair (+2) • Five Stunts = Refresh of 1
• Four at Average (+1)

STRESS & CONSEQUENCES

• Average or Fair Physique gives you a 3-point physical stress box.
• Good or Great Physique gives you 3- and 4-point physical stress boxes.
• Superb+ Physique gives you 3- and 4-point physical stress boxes and an additional mild consequence slot.
• Average or Fair Will gives you a 3-point mental stress box.
• Good or Great Will gives you 3- and 4-point mental stress boxes.
• Superb+ Will gives you 3- and 4-point mental stress boxes and an additional mild consequence slot.