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Character Concept
You should start o with some idea of what kind of character you want to make, in
broad strokes. Often this comes down to an broad archetypical statement such as "I
want to play some kind of wizard", or perhaps a reaction against a stereotype such as "I
want to play a warrior...but a clever tricksy one".
The big idea, so to speak. This will likely get re ned down and polished into your High
Concept or Aspects later, but for now it is enough just to have a sense of what you are
aiming for.
Name
You need a name, and though obviously you can ll this in when it comes to you, it's
handy to have a handle for the character as you go thru the creation process. You can
always choose a di erent name later if you change your mind.
Starting Refresh
By default, characters are assumed to start with 3 Refresh . However, the GM may alter
this up or down if they want to start play with more or less experienced characters.
Refresh determines your character's default Fate point threshold; the number of Fate
points you are guaranteed to start every session with. However, it also serves as the
primary "currency" or resource that you use to gain other abilities for your character,
primarily Stunts.
If you want to be exible and interact with Aspects and thus the narrative more, you
want to keep your Refresh high. If you prefer a less reactive style of play and prefer
reliability and predictability you can trade Refresh for extra Stunts.
Having a high Refresh a ords you a comfortable amount of Fate points to lean on each
session, which gives you a measure of plot protection and lowers the impact of bad dice
rolls. But even with a low Refresh you can accrue Fate points during play by accepting
compels on your Trouble or Aspects.
Race
Note: Race is an extra Aspect; it does not take up one of a character's standard three Aspects.
Path nder characters must also choose a Race Aspect, which acts as a sort of
supplementary High Concept. However unlike a High Concept, Race usually cannot be
changed (without some serious magic, at any rate). All the standard Path nder Races (Elf,
Dwarf, Gnome, various halfsies, di erent Human cultures, etc) are available.
A character's Race is a fact about the character that is always true, and can be
interacted with by other abilities that reference the Race.
Like all Aspects, Race has no direct mechanical e ect unless invoked; it primarily
provides a justi cation for a character to do something that a member of that Race is
supposed to be able to do, per the source material. Actions are resolved using
Approaches and Archetypes, and characters have the option to pay a Fate point to invoke
their Race Aspect in the same way as they use any other Aspect.
For instance the player of an Elf could justify spending a Fate point to invoke their Elf Aspect to
get a +2 bonus or a reroll on a notice check due to the stereotypically keen senses of elvenkind,
while a Dwarf could justify spending a Fate point to invoke their Dwarf Aspect to get a +2 bonus
or a reroll when defending against a magical attack due to the legendary spell resistence of
dwarvenkind.
If there is some special ability that a character wants that pertains to their Race, at their
perogative the GM might hand wave it away and allow the character to use their Race
Aspect to justify actions and rely on Create Advantage in particular to handle this sort of
thing, or they might allow an occasional use of a special ability with the expenditure of a
Fate point, or they may require a character to take a Stunt de ning the ability. This is left
to GM preference, but by default Path nder Fate assumes that the more permissive
method is generally preferred.
For instance many Races have the ability to see in the dark, but it may not always be relevant to
the larger story, and making all members of such Races take a Darkvision Stunt can be
unnecessarily taxing. Thus a GM might allow a character of such a Race to simply see in the dark
due to their Race Aspect, or similarly may just require them to use the Create Advantage action to
put a situational Aspect on themselves. Alternately the GM might require the expenditure of a
Fate point to "turn on" Darkvision for a scene.
Aspects
Aspects are at the heart of Fate, and play an important role in helping you to de ne
your character.
In Path nder Fate Accelerated it is assumed that characters start with 3 Aspects .
Your Aspects can be whatever makes sense for your character, but it can be particularly
useful if they help to ll in the character's background and provide a foundation for how
they came to have their abilities and how they became adventurers.
If you are at a loss for coming up with Aspects, try the following. Have your rst Aspect
hinge on your character's formative years, or their Race. Then, focus the second Aspect
on the character's early adulthood and early successes or perhaps failures and perhaps
how they picked up their Archetypes. Finally have the third Aspect ground what the
character has been doing most recently prior to play starting, and perhaps anchor their
career as an adventurer.
Path nder Fate Accelerated extends Fate Accelerated with the concept of Archetypes
intended to capture a character's competencies in broad areas of capabilities modeled
on various tropes of fantasy roleplaying in general and the D&D or Path nder gaming
experience speci cally. The separation between divine, arcane, and nature-oriented
magics, the unlikely stealth con artistry and burgling ability of various rogues, the feats of
combative arms displayed by warriors of di erent stripes, adeptness at more esoteric
abilities such as displayed by monks and psions and similar fringe concepts.
Approaches
Careful : You act with caution, paying attention to the details. When you are holding
back, taking your time, making extra special sure you get it right, leaving no opening
for counterattack, maintaining situational awareness, buying time, or being guarded
in your responses...you are being careful.
Clever : You think quickly, and act with great nesse. When you do 'the smart thing',
make intuitive leaps, exploit a nuance or a weakness, outwit or trick, execute
choreographed or complex maneuvers, use an opponent's strengths against them,
or otherwise rely on your smarts to solve something...you are being clever.
Flashy : You act in big showy ways, giving the appearance of sparkling brilliance and
ostentatiously draw attention to yourself. Being larger than life is a speciality. When
you go big, brazenly proclaim, entertain, seek to impress, bluster your way out of
something, show o , or just do things while piling on with extra awesome style...you
are being ashy.
Forceful : You act boldly with no hesitation and without holding back. Both physically
and mentally you fully commit to what you are doing and exert yourself to your
fullest. When you swing for the fences, throw your shoulder into it, grin and bear it,
give it your all, and go all in...you are being forceful.
Quick : You act swiftly and with great agility, fast and sure-footed. When you act
without stopping to think, dart and weave, lunge and leap, use quick re exes to
respond in a hurry, squeeze in an extra little non-action, dash through before its too
late...you are being quick.
Sneaky : You act deceptively, secretively, attempting to avoid notice, in furtive and
surreptitious ways. When you try to conceal or hide what you are doing, obscure
your intentions, evade detection, appear to be other than what you are, set a trap or
lay in ambush...you are being sneaky.
Archetypes
Archetypes represent common broad
Guidelines are provided for translating
character concepts found in the source
Path nder classes into Path nder Fate
material. The six (6) Archetypes are
Accelerated terms.
Combative, Roguish, Focused, Arcane,
Divine, and Primal; detailed descriptions of In addition to Archetype considerations
each are provided. Individual characters being covered in detail, Approach
can specialize in a single Archetype or mix considerations and sample Stunts are
Archetypes as they like to de ne various also provided.
character concepts.
For instance, a Cavalier might be de ned as Combative +4, while a "Fighter/Mage/Thief" might
be de ned as Combative +1, Arcane +2, Roguish +1, and a Ranger might be de ned as Combative
+2, Primal +2.
Unlike Approaches which cap at Superb (+5), Archetypes do not cap. However, as
characters only get another +1 to a Archetype at major milestones, progression is
generally slow and each opportunity to advance a Archetype should be carefully
considered.
Each Archetype has three thresholds that represent increasing depth of a character's
immersion in a particular area of ability, and also increasing the breadth of what the
character can apply the Archetype to within the context of the story. Thus the di erence
between a +1 and a +2 in a given Archetype is more than just a probability bonus; the
higher level of ability also provides expanded narrative justi cation for actions pertaining
to that Archetype.
For each Archetype, +1 represents basic knowledge, fundamental skill, and general
familiarity with the things the Archetype concerns itself with. In addition to providing a
bonus to relevant 4dF resolutions, in conjunction with the character's Aspects and
High Concept the rst +1 of a Archetype also helps justify various things within the
narrative. It is left to the GM's discretion, but in some cases a character that has
Arcane +1 can justify attempting to do things in a particular way that a character
without Arcane +1 simply cannot justify, and so on. In other cases a GM might allow
characters lacking at least a +1 in a particular Archetype to attempt something, but at
a cost or versus a higher di culty...or both.
For each Archetype, +2 represents professional competence. This threshold is
su cient for all normal purposes for the majority of the people in the world.
For each Archetype, +3 represents exceptional competence. For the magic oriented
Archetypes, +3 is when full unfettered "free casting" is achieved. For the non-magic
oriented Archetypes +3 is when truly extraordinary feats beyond what is possible for
"normal" people to accomplish become possible. Only remarkable people (some but
not necessarily all player characters and signi cant NPC's) attain or exceed this
threshold for even a single Archetype.
For each Archetype, +4 and higher represents increasingly sublime mastery. Having a
bigger bonus helps to reduce the chance of failure and makes game-bending exploits
statistically probable, but in practical terms such advanced levels of competence
primarily matter when facing o against other similarly progressed characters.
Combative : You have some skill in the warrior arts pertaining to direct armed con icts,
the waging of war, the winning of battles, and combat in general. Knowledge of
weapons, armor, tactics, as well as the physical training and discipline necessary to
be successful in such endeavors is relevant as well. This Archetype is strongly
associated with con ict, battle, and martial concerns.
At +1 you know how to use and care for weapons more serious than clubs and
daggers without embarassing yourself, how to wear armor heavier than leathers,
and basic knowledge of martial culture. You don't have much nesse or technique,
but are capable of basic strikes and blocks.
At +2 you have genuine skill at arms and are able to put together combos and
ourishes. Depending on your inclinations and background you might be schooled
in at least basic tactics and strategy, and possibly logistics as well; but even if
untutored you can usually spot an ambush, recognize a defensible position, and
so forth.
At +3 and above you are a world-class warrior, capable of impressive displays of
martial mastery. You are capable of taking on large numbers of unskilled and less
competent foes with reasonable odds of beating them all. Further, Combative
provides narrative justi cation to defend against not only the mundane attacks it
previously protected against, but also unusual and magical attacks that cause
physical harm. This can take many narrative forms, from blocking, de ecting,
using armor or shield e ectively, or even just being extra tough due to being a
hardened warrior.
Roguish : You are a competent, skilled individual of varied talents. This Archetype is
strongly associated with urban 'civilized' concerns, social rules and expectations, and
how to bend or break them.
At +1 you are good at cagey social interaction, have some innate shrewdness or are
streetwise, and are good at being opportunistic. You are comfortable in urban
areas and know how to handle yourself competently in such settings. You have
some practical insider knowledge of the sector of society you are most familiar
with and how things really work therein.
At +2 you are good at skulking around in urban areas, stealing things, getting in and
out of places you shouldn't be in, dirty tricks 'dishonorable' ghting using
pragmatic weapons true warriors tend to disapprove of, being shifty and evasive,
and likely some knowledge of the less than lawful sector of society.
At +3 and above you are incredibly competent, deeply knowledgeable in your area of
expertise, and are capable of succeeding at tasks beyond the reach of the less
skilled. Additionally, Roguish provides narrative justi cation to defend against any
kind of indirect or surprise attack and to avoid harm by getting out of the way of it.
Narratively this can take many forms, such as rolling out of the way, ducking
behind cover, 'seeing it coming' and somehow interupting the attack, and so forth.
Focused : You are innately good at concentrating your inner power and physical
potential into potent expressions of your will. This Archetype is strongly associated
with athletics, contests of merit, creative expression, and innate ability.
At +1 you are more nimble, athletic, alert, and have a stronger force of personality
than average. You are unusually aware of your own physical and mental limits and
how far you can push against them to excel. You are better than average at
sticu s, staying aware of your surroundings, and dodging.
At +2 you excel at feats of strength and of will, making uncanny leaps of intuition,
impressive grappling and unarmed ghting, raw athletic exploits, perseverance in
the face of adversity, tapping inner reserves, and so forth.
At +3 and above you are capable of impossible leaps, gate-crashing strength,
inescapable grappling holds, astounding memory tricks, cowing entire crowds with
sheer presence, and similar feats. Additionally, Focused provides narrative
justi cation for extraordinary feats unattainable by merely normal people, though
the nature of these abilities will vary according to the character's concept. Some
achieve such heights of mental and / or physical mastery that they develop
amazing monkish, psionic, or even innate "spell-like" abilities (if such things are
appropriate to the campaign). It is also more likely for a character with this level of
ability to avoid, shake o , or otherwise resist e ects beyond the tolerence of a
normal person to overcome; for instance withstand a poison that would kill a
normal man, spot something too fast or subtle for most to perceive, resist or
break out of mind control or domination, survive a fall from a great height, and so
on.
Arcane : You are skilled in the mystic arts, whether wizardly, sorcerous, bardic, or some
other style. This Archetype is strongly associated with esoteric knowledge,
otherworldly things, and manipulation of "magical principles".
At +1 you have relevant esoteric knowledge and awareness of magic, and you can
use some magic items such as wands and scrolls that other characters can't use.
At +2 you can work simple spells such as levitating small objects, making magical
light, shooting minor arcane blasts, and gain various momentary bene ts from
minor magical e ects.
At +3 and above you can cast proper spells with more powerful e ects, as
appropriate to your character's concept.
Divine : You are attuned to dei c entities, theology, and things of cosmological
signi cance. This Archetype is strongly associated with spiritual concerns, temples,
the afterlife, and faith.
Primal : You are skilled in the ways of the wildlands. This Archetype is strongly
associated with rural and unsettled areas, the circle of life, animistic beliefs, and the
fundamental (dare it be said, "primal") forces and principles of material existence.
At +1 you are comfortable in and have knowledge of the lore of the ora and fauna
native to your chosen terrain or environment. You can hunt and survive and move
stealthily in the wildlands.
At +2 you are attuned to the natural order, and have some craft that blurs the line
between mundane and mystical, such as calming animals, passing without trace
through undergrowth, divining water, and so forth.
At +3 and above you can work very powerful magics related to ora and fauna, the
natural order, the weather, and the elements including the Inner "Elemental
Planes" and other planes of existence with a strong connection to nature if such
exist in the cosmology of the campaign.
Stunts
Stunts allow you to di erentiate your character. They represent the "signature" abilities
or items or whatever that makes your character really stand out.
Aspects cost Fate points to invoke for mechanical bene ts, Stunts usually don't (though
some very powerful Stunts might). Thus in addition to o ering you a way to individualize
your character, Stunts also allow you to "pin down" the things that your character is
reliably good at.
Is your character supposed to be a "swashbuckling sword-master"? You would almost
certainly have an Aspect to anchor that (it might even be your High Concept), but to really
ensure that your character is always awesome at it when it mechanically matters (i.e. a
dice roll is involved) without having to spend a Fate point for a bonus, you should de ne
one or more related Stunts.
You get up to 3 Stunts for free . You can also take more Stunts by lowering your Refresh
by one (1) for each additional Stunt.
However, player characters cannot drop below Refresh: 1 . Thus, when starting, you can
take up to two (2) additional Stunts. You gain +1 Refresh at major milestones, and can
use this to take more Stunts if you like.
You don't have to pick your free Stunts if you don't want to or aren't sure. You can start
play and pick later, even during the course of the game if the GM allows it.
You can also swap a Stunt at milestones, so if you take a Stunt that seems like it would
be cool but it doesn't play out so well, you can change your mind later.
Stress
Path nder Fate Accelerated uses the default Fate Accelerated settings of 3 Stress
boxes , shared for all kinds of stresses.
Consequences
Path nder Fate Accelerated uses the default Fate Accelerated settings for shared Mild,
Moderate, and Severe Consequences .
Magic
By default, it is assumed that the Simple Magic guidelines are being used.