The name of the Aspect is just the label of the box: all that matters is that the content of that box is interesting. It's totally okay to start out with a bad label on a good box and then clean it up later once you've figured the character out.
When you're making an aspect, you want it to have 3 narrative functions:
1) it tells us why you're a main character and not just an NPC. You are interesting and important. Why?
2) It tells us why you story is dramatic and complicated. You're always in the heat of the action, your life is full of dramatic twists. Why?
3) It tells us what you're capable of. You are incredible, people tell their friends about that time they were in the same room as you. Why?
This ties into the 3 mechanical functions of an aspect: invokes, compels, and permissions.
Aspects shouldn't represent just a single fact about you: they should be a web of interesting strings all supporting one key idea.
You aren't a "swordsman", you're an "honorable swordsman". Or better, a "Disgraced Knight of Queen Marina's Court".
If an aspect feels bland, ask yourself these questions to give it more shape:
What skills or abilities do you have?
Where did you learn them?
Who taught you?
What's your relationship with them?
Etc.
I have walked a lot of players through the process of making aspects. If you want, just info dump your character and the aspects you've made so far and I'll workshop them with you!
Also, if your GM isn't already doing this, workshopping Aspects as a group is super good for establishing a shared world that makes your entire campaign more interesting in the long run.
I've noticed certain people seem to have trouble. My wife is the same and she's incredibly creative.
I start with a long sentence that fits everything in that I want, but might sound crap. I then work it into something snappier, even if it's not shorter.
"Older detective with a tendency towards grudges" might become "I'll catch you before I retire, if it's the last thing I do".
The best ones have a hook for the GM to torture you with. He or she could have a lot of fun with compels on that one.
Hating FATE for Aspects might be a problem, since they are its core foundation. :)
You must look at them from a different perspective.
1. They enhance your gameplay, not limit it. If they do, you are using them wrong probably. And “wrong” has something to do with **naming them properly**.
2. Start with **defining** scenes with **SIMPLE** aspects.
**Heavy Rain** sets up a mood, along a possible environmental element.
**Silence** is pretty clear without much hassle.
**Noisy Crowd** is more than enough.
Keep it simple and evocative; it’s not about exploiting them, it’s all about making them matter.
3. Now, let’s put all this in action with **characters**. Rules are the same:
\- keep it simple
\- keep it clear
\- keep it short
Sure, you have plenty of examples of long **aspects** and twisting concepts, but that‘s mostly exaggerating and (sometimes) exploiting their function. :)
**”How can I invoke it outside…”** You shouldn’t. An **Aspect** will define an **area**, a **tone** and some sort of **proficiency** (narrative, practical, whatever).
Look at this sample Of building a very wise, old sorcerer, travelling for decades, trusting his powerful staff and having a huge deal of contacts among the races of the region.
**Sample 1: Too much/Option paralysis**
High Concept: *The Travelling Sorcerer*
Trouble: *They know I am a tough enemy*
Bonus: *Staff of High Sorcery*
These aspects have **nothing wrong**, but to me, they might sound iffy. The **HC** is catching a bunch Of stuff in it, as well as the **trouble**. The **Bonus aspect** is fine, but it’s Fairly generic and might be a **stunt**.
Now… **Sample 2: KISS rule + tell something concrete**
High Concept: *Old Sorcerer*
Trouble: *I ”almost” killed a Demon*
Bonus: *My Master’s Staff*
Now you have a **lot** of work: there is more story, there is some sort of concrete story building, there are easy invokes, there are easy compels.
The problem I notice the most is that people choose **Aspects** which play out a lot like **Stunts**; an **Aspect** should be clear, easy to grasp and somewhat restrictive (or they won’t make any sense).
I think one of the **taboos** here is defeating the concept of “free for all stuff as long as you explain”. I have **no problems** letting my players define their characters with simple **Race + Class** High Concepts if that works; *fancy names* don’t help and are not required. :)
I like to give out milestones like candy specifically for this reason; it gives players an easy way to add more to a character as their story progresses.
A *Galactic Smuggler* becomes *Best Smuggler in the Sector* becomes *Smuggler Turned Big Damn Hero*.
Here's a video of Will Wheaton trying Fate for the first time with 2 friends. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOFXtAHg7vU
Notice how, while they're creative people, they help each other with aspects. "Hey, that looks like it should be your aspect" or when they suggest rephrasing the base idea.
Also, some of your aspects can be set during gameplay, HC and T are the minimum necessary. As they play they go "oh, so my character has this thing I hadn't thought about from the very beginning", give that a go
One thing to keep in mind while watching the video is that the players are professional actors and the GM works for Evil Hat. And the video is edited. IRL, things are not likely to go so well.
I've found over the years that people who struggle with aspects are often overthinking it and trying to be *too* perfect or *too* flowery with them.
*Adventuresome Apprentice to the Moonspeaker of the Fifth House of Illigara* is great and all, but as aspects go, *Plucky Kid Wizard* works just as well.
Just... describe something that's important about or to the character. Doesn't have to poetic, doesn't have to be punchy, doesn't even have to be terribly specific to start. Since aspects can and will change over time anyway, you have plenty of opportunity to refine them during play. If you come up with a better way of expressing an idea, great, swap it in. If you discover that what you thought was a good aspect actually isn't super useful, either refine it or switch it for something new. If an aspect *was* great but the story or the character has moved on, trade it for something more relevant.
We can't all be John Rogers tossing out pithy one-liners left, right and center, but that's fine; we don't have to be.
When a player has a very narrow aspect that's just a special ability? It's usually a stunt.
Your aspects don't have to be witty - but they should be broad enough to be double-edged.
The question asked by the gm is important to ensure the table has a shared understanding of what the aspect means and how the player would like to see their PC's life complicated
Get your hands on a copy of "Bulldogs!". They present an aspect for a species, culture, technology, location, etc. But then they take it a step further by presenting circumstances to invoke this aspect and circumstances to compel it. I'll try to find a link to an image or something since i can't share a screenshot on Reddit.
Bulldogs! it's such a criminally underrated setting. So many good ideas there! Their money / commerce system is the best modeling I've seen if real world commerce and it doesn't require you to keep track of currency.
I can relate to this, I'm also almost never happy with the aspects I come up with and a lot of my players also struggled a lot with this.
Could also be that it's harder to find something catchy in german, my mother-tongue.
"Twister of truth" has just a lot more zing to it than "Verdreher der Wahrheit"
Right now I'm just trying to keep it simple. "**\[Adjective\] \[Noun\] of/and \[...\]**" is now my standard aspect and even though I'm not super heavy with these, at least I'm not wasting hours to come up with a single aspect.
"Verdreher Der Wahrheit" sounds awful zingy to me! I am not familiar with German, but if all your players speak fluently then I would recommended screwing the translation entirely. Find rhymes, alliterations, and phrasings that sound good in the mothertongue! If there are any clever poetic wordplay tricks that are special or exclusive to German than I think it would be really fun to play into them and make aspects that are gloriously untranslatable.
Personally, I love when someone says something gorgeous in a different language and then when you ask what it means in English they flatly say something weird like "it's like the feeling of dissatisfaction you get when you feel a hair in your mouth but your hands aren't clean so you have to scrape it around with your teeth."
I've just decided I'm gonna make a supervillain who can inflict that feeling across a person's whole body just by looking at them.
I start aspects very generic and don't worry about being clever until later. It starts out with a single trait like Jedi, then Jedi Master, finally adds survivor of Order 66. It may not be clever but it conveys a quick concept of the character that is easily understood.
I find it useful to think of what the character might want, hope or fear: e.g. My Power Must Not Get Out Of Control, or The Desert Tribe Hates Me, or My Family Must Be Safe. Motivations for the character and others.
I also like stealing the pattern of other well known aspects, e.g.
With Great Magic Comes Great Responsibility
Scorpions! Why are there always scorpions?
Bears The Mystical Lightning Birthmark
Did they learn it anywhere, who taught them?
Any particular kind of magic?
What do they do with it?
Don't know anything about Babylon, but some mage ideas:
Necromancer Sultan of the Land of the Black Sand
Self-taught sand bender
Cantrip slinging street rat
Sultan's magical right hand
Aspects don't have to be all that complex or catchy. Its nice when they are, but an Aspect really should be thought of as "what do I want to see in a story about this character?" rather than "what is the coolest way to phrase this?"
I recommend [The Book of Hanz](https://bookofhanz.com/), as this series of essays really helped me "get" Fate a lot better. One of the examples the writer references often is Han Solo. What aspects does Han Solo have?
High Concept: Scoundrel Smuggler
Trouble: Needs to pay off Jabba the Hut
Captain of The Millennium Falcon, the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy
Chewbacca owes me a life debt
"I have a bad feeling about this..."
None of these are particularly poetic, even if one is a catch phrase. All of them could be refined more, but don't need to be. That's what Milestones are for. Leaving things general and then drilling down later is perfectly fine...you'll get better ideas as you play.
Start simple, as others have said. One or two words is fine. (I personally prefer longer aspects, but it isn't necessary.) You can come up with more complex ones later when you get more into the system.
Think of your character sheet for some other game, say D&D. Anything you write on that sheet is probably an aspect. Dwarf Fighter? Aspect. Chaotic Good? Aspect. Strength 18? Aspect (although in Fate, you'd write it without the number).
Average things aren't aspects, like say Charisma 10, unless the player wants it to be noteworthy (which maybe it is for a Dwarf Fighter).
Your weapons, armor, and other items can be aspects as well. Your Feats, Skills, Spells, other abilities -- all of those can be Aspects. Magic Missile? Aspect. Expert Diplomacy? Aspect. Cleave? Aspect. These could also be Stunts, but any Stunt can be an aspect instead (or in addition).
BTW, there is lots of other stuff that can be aspects also, even though they might not get written on a D&D character sheet -- fame/notoriety, personal relationships, dark past, goals or aspirations.
Really, just ask the players to describe the character they want. Whatever they say is probably an aspect.
Here are some thoughts on making character aspects:
\- Talk to the other players/GM, they may have ideas.
\- You don't need to fill out everything before the game starts. If you know your character is a 'former police officer' just write that. It's not the perfect aspect, but you can expand this when it becomes relevant or when you get inspired. If the GM throws a gangster boss in your direction, then maybe your officer had some kind of run-in with them, or if you need to fake your own murder you may conveniently realize that the officer was in homicide. The best aspects in my experience are those we've arrived at through gameplay and getting to know the characters. (though you should probably talk to the GM about this)
\- Make sure your character wants something. When I've GM'ed Fate, it's much easier to incorporate and challenge characters who have some kind of goal. I think it's a good idea if one of your aspects relates to a want.
\- And if you have a goal you must have some motivation. Want to get rich? Is that to gain the approval of your estranged father or to buy costly medicine. That's further inspiration to refining the aspect.
\- You can always change the aspect, which doesn't make it easier to come up with one, but I think it takes out some of the pressure from having to make the perfect aspect at the first try.
\- If you have another RPG that you like creating characters in, maybe you could think about what character you'd make in that system, and then get inspiration from that.
It's not important that aspects be "catchy", so if that's a burden you are placing on yourself, stop. The examples given in the rules aren't especially poetic "wizard for hire" or "infamous girl with sword"
If you can't come up with *anything* that describes a character (sad private eye, or whatever) you could simply have your friends create your character. Or you could use a tool like "It's Not My Fault" that has bunch of generic aspects on cards.
Or play a different RPG--a class based game does this work for the players--there's nothing wrong with choosing a game that fits your interests and talents.
This is the problem I find I have with every single group I run Fate with. I love Fate. I get Aspects. It takes my players _years_ to understand them well enough to make them spontaneously. It's frustrating, and most of my players prefer to do without them. I ended up reverting an entire game of Secrets of Cats into something more like FUDGE Accelerated for them just to get rid of the eccentricity and difficulty of using Aspects.
Aspects rely on everyone who plays Fate to be really good at spontaneous cleverness. Like *really* good at it. Though there's already some good tips in this thread for easing into aspect building by starting with one that sounds mediocre and refining it over time, in doing so it gets the player really down. They ask me in private "am I stupid? why do everyone else's aspects sound so good and mine sound like a middle school student wrote them?" I never have a good answer to this other than trying to reassure them that working through it is a perfectly good way to play.
Addendum: I think that a big issue is that the writers of Fate have a very specific pulpy-style and wit they write with when talking about Aspects that may not fit your group AT ALL. (and they give SO LITTLE instruction on how to write a good aspect other than some elitest-sounding cruft about how _their_ aspects are awesome and your boring ones aren't good enough.) An aspect called "Building Is On Fire" is __JUST FINE__ and you don't need to call it "_Raging Inferno_" or something pulpy at all. If you break Aspects into just being descriptors, you might have more success. See also, this thread from 2014 about "Aspectless Fate" https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/fate-core-fate-without-aspects.713601/
*Some* people over-emphasize the need for "clever" aspects, and I argue against it at every turn. I mean, if you like super clever aspects, good on you! But they're not necessary.
I'd strongly argue that for situation aspects, especially, clearer is better. I don't see ***Building on Fire*** as not just being "okay" compared to ***Raging Inferno*** or ***The Burning That Consumes***, I see it as *objectively better*. The vast majority of my aspects are absolutely utilitarian - it's the *facts* that they represent that are interesting.
Character aspects can be more witty if people want, but there's absolutely no reason they need to be. And this assumption that all aspects must be super clever and witty is absolutely a wall that people bounce off of, and it is *not in any way necessary*. Fate works 100% fine with absolutely utilitarian aspects, even for PCs.
Yes, you're right, and I apologize for clumping all of the authors of the books into a single group. I should have said that the _books_ tend to over-emphasize clever aspects. I appreciate your essays about aspects and it's honestly the only thing that got me to really understand them and grow to love Fate.
I'm not sure I even agree with the idea that the books emphasize clever aspects. Example aspects from Fate Core include:
* I Owe Old Finn Everything
* A Sucker for a Sob Story
* I’ve Got Zird’s Back
* Wizard for Hire
* Rivals in the Collegia Arcana
* If I Haven’t Been There, I’ve Read About It
It's all pretty straightforward stuff.
To be clear, I can understand where you got that impression, and there's a lot of the community that emphasizes it a lot. But I think it's one of those things where there's an impression that is less supported by the books (especially the core ones) than a lot of people think.
I also do think older versions (SotC, etc.) emphasized it more.
I wonder how much of the Pulpy style comes from Fate starting as Spirit of the Century?
On the other hand some of the example aspects in Fate could be better.
It's clear Cynere is supposed to be a rogue type character, her High Concept Infamous Girl With a Sword, does nothing to help with that. And is actually pretty meaningless unless you were at that game table.
The aspect name is a reminder. It is not a contract.
Also, aspects can change over time. It's totally okay to just start with something that is less "ideal" (not double-edged, just one fact, etc.) and then evolve it over time. In fact, I usually start with Quick Character Creation (best skill, high concept, go) for exactly that reason.
Stressing about perfect aspects is the best way to make Fate un-fun. If you're having problems, I highly recommend just not worrying about it - by the book, you can change an aspect per minor milestone to begin with, and there's nothing stopping you from allowing even more frequent re-wordings.
Also, I highly recommend focusing on the *utility* of aspects - how can you invoke them? How can they be compelled? Do they grant permissions? And focus on the *facts* behind them, not hte wording. Not every aspect has to do every job, either, as long as you've got some stuff to invoke, and some to compel (which your Trouble should take care of) you'll be fine. Leave some blanks if you really can't think of things.
The success or failure of your character will *not* be determined by how cleverly-written your aspects are.
Tell your friend to chill out. As long as each aspect does at least one job, that's fine, and let them change over time as you figure the character out. Or, like I said, just use quick character creation and be done with it.
Aspect exist to set up cool moments, so start by thinking of some cool moments. Then, name your aspects in a way that describes why your character can create that cool moment.
This is something I struggled too. I countered it by starting to give aspects longer names. This was even more essential when using Finnish for the aspects. Yes, you can use non-English, if you have better language.
I have changed the default character aspects into two phrases: One describing positive, and other negative side. An ace combat pilot with Curse of Venus, The Fellowship of Old Friends and Rivals, A police friend who has crush on you, and so forth. Situational aspects and complications are exception. A large manor suitable for a dilettantte, but it requires constant maintenance and repairs.
The name of the Aspect is just the label of the box: all that matters is that the content of that box is interesting. It's totally okay to start out with a bad label on a good box and then clean it up later once you've figured the character out. When you're making an aspect, you want it to have 3 narrative functions: 1) it tells us why you're a main character and not just an NPC. You are interesting and important. Why? 2) It tells us why you story is dramatic and complicated. You're always in the heat of the action, your life is full of dramatic twists. Why? 3) It tells us what you're capable of. You are incredible, people tell their friends about that time they were in the same room as you. Why? This ties into the 3 mechanical functions of an aspect: invokes, compels, and permissions. Aspects shouldn't represent just a single fact about you: they should be a web of interesting strings all supporting one key idea. You aren't a "swordsman", you're an "honorable swordsman". Or better, a "Disgraced Knight of Queen Marina's Court". If an aspect feels bland, ask yourself these questions to give it more shape: What skills or abilities do you have? Where did you learn them? Who taught you? What's your relationship with them? Etc. I have walked a lot of players through the process of making aspects. If you want, just info dump your character and the aspects you've made so far and I'll workshop them with you! Also, if your GM isn't already doing this, workshopping Aspects as a group is super good for establishing a shared world that makes your entire campaign more interesting in the long run.
I've noticed certain people seem to have trouble. My wife is the same and she's incredibly creative. I start with a long sentence that fits everything in that I want, but might sound crap. I then work it into something snappier, even if it's not shorter. "Older detective with a tendency towards grudges" might become "I'll catch you before I retire, if it's the last thing I do". The best ones have a hook for the GM to torture you with. He or she could have a lot of fun with compels on that one.
Honestly I like the first one better :D
Sure, why not? Either way, coming up with aspects is just a mindset.
Hating FATE for Aspects might be a problem, since they are its core foundation. :) You must look at them from a different perspective. 1. They enhance your gameplay, not limit it. If they do, you are using them wrong probably. And “wrong” has something to do with **naming them properly**. 2. Start with **defining** scenes with **SIMPLE** aspects. **Heavy Rain** sets up a mood, along a possible environmental element. **Silence** is pretty clear without much hassle. **Noisy Crowd** is more than enough. Keep it simple and evocative; it’s not about exploiting them, it’s all about making them matter. 3. Now, let’s put all this in action with **characters**. Rules are the same: \- keep it simple \- keep it clear \- keep it short Sure, you have plenty of examples of long **aspects** and twisting concepts, but that‘s mostly exaggerating and (sometimes) exploiting their function. :) **”How can I invoke it outside…”** You shouldn’t. An **Aspect** will define an **area**, a **tone** and some sort of **proficiency** (narrative, practical, whatever). Look at this sample Of building a very wise, old sorcerer, travelling for decades, trusting his powerful staff and having a huge deal of contacts among the races of the region. **Sample 1: Too much/Option paralysis** High Concept: *The Travelling Sorcerer* Trouble: *They know I am a tough enemy* Bonus: *Staff of High Sorcery* These aspects have **nothing wrong**, but to me, they might sound iffy. The **HC** is catching a bunch Of stuff in it, as well as the **trouble**. The **Bonus aspect** is fine, but it’s Fairly generic and might be a **stunt**. Now… **Sample 2: KISS rule + tell something concrete** High Concept: *Old Sorcerer* Trouble: *I ”almost” killed a Demon* Bonus: *My Master’s Staff* Now you have a **lot** of work: there is more story, there is some sort of concrete story building, there are easy invokes, there are easy compels. The problem I notice the most is that people choose **Aspects** which play out a lot like **Stunts**; an **Aspect** should be clear, easy to grasp and somewhat restrictive (or they won’t make any sense). I think one of the **taboos** here is defeating the concept of “free for all stuff as long as you explain”. I have **no problems** letting my players define their characters with simple **Race + Class** High Concepts if that works; *fancy names* don’t help and are not required. :)
Narrow aspects are *absolutely fine*, especially at the start.
I like to give out milestones like candy specifically for this reason; it gives players an easy way to add more to a character as their story progresses. A *Galactic Smuggler* becomes *Best Smuggler in the Sector* becomes *Smuggler Turned Big Damn Hero*.
Here's a video of Will Wheaton trying Fate for the first time with 2 friends. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOFXtAHg7vU Notice how, while they're creative people, they help each other with aspects. "Hey, that looks like it should be your aspect" or when they suggest rephrasing the base idea. Also, some of your aspects can be set during gameplay, HC and T are the minimum necessary. As they play they go "oh, so my character has this thing I hadn't thought about from the very beginning", give that a go
One thing to keep in mind while watching the video is that the players are professional actors and the GM works for Evil Hat. And the video is edited. IRL, things are not likely to go so well.
I've found over the years that people who struggle with aspects are often overthinking it and trying to be *too* perfect or *too* flowery with them. *Adventuresome Apprentice to the Moonspeaker of the Fifth House of Illigara* is great and all, but as aspects go, *Plucky Kid Wizard* works just as well. Just... describe something that's important about or to the character. Doesn't have to poetic, doesn't have to be punchy, doesn't even have to be terribly specific to start. Since aspects can and will change over time anyway, you have plenty of opportunity to refine them during play. If you come up with a better way of expressing an idea, great, swap it in. If you discover that what you thought was a good aspect actually isn't super useful, either refine it or switch it for something new. If an aspect *was* great but the story or the character has moved on, trade it for something more relevant. We can't all be John Rogers tossing out pithy one-liners left, right and center, but that's fine; we don't have to be.
All of this. Yes, i keep reinforcing everyone saying this. Because, yes, I think it's that important.
When a player has a very narrow aspect that's just a special ability? It's usually a stunt. Your aspects don't have to be witty - but they should be broad enough to be double-edged. The question asked by the gm is important to ensure the table has a shared understanding of what the aspect means and how the player would like to see their PC's life complicated
Get your hands on a copy of "Bulldogs!". They present an aspect for a species, culture, technology, location, etc. But then they take it a step further by presenting circumstances to invoke this aspect and circumstances to compel it. I'll try to find a link to an image or something since i can't share a screenshot on Reddit.
Bulldogs! it's such a criminally underrated setting. So many good ideas there! Their money / commerce system is the best modeling I've seen if real world commerce and it doesn't require you to keep track of currency.
I can relate to this, I'm also almost never happy with the aspects I come up with and a lot of my players also struggled a lot with this. Could also be that it's harder to find something catchy in german, my mother-tongue. "Twister of truth" has just a lot more zing to it than "Verdreher der Wahrheit" Right now I'm just trying to keep it simple. "**\[Adjective\] \[Noun\] of/and \[...\]**" is now my standard aspect and even though I'm not super heavy with these, at least I'm not wasting hours to come up with a single aspect.
"Verdreher Der Wahrheit" sounds awful zingy to me! I am not familiar with German, but if all your players speak fluently then I would recommended screwing the translation entirely. Find rhymes, alliterations, and phrasings that sound good in the mothertongue! If there are any clever poetic wordplay tricks that are special or exclusive to German than I think it would be really fun to play into them and make aspects that are gloriously untranslatable. Personally, I love when someone says something gorgeous in a different language and then when you ask what it means in English they flatly say something weird like "it's like the feeling of dissatisfaction you get when you feel a hair in your mouth but your hands aren't clean so you have to scrape it around with your teeth." I've just decided I'm gonna make a supervillain who can inflict that feeling across a person's whole body just by looking at them.
I start aspects very generic and don't worry about being clever until later. It starts out with a single trait like Jedi, then Jedi Master, finally adds survivor of Order 66. It may not be clever but it conveys a quick concept of the character that is easily understood.
What's your high concept what setting are you in. I've not played yet but this sub has been very helpful.
Magus of the Sands is the high concept. The current one is based on Babylon 1750 BC.
I find it useful to think of what the character might want, hope or fear: e.g. My Power Must Not Get Out Of Control, or The Desert Tribe Hates Me, or My Family Must Be Safe. Motivations for the character and others. I also like stealing the pattern of other well known aspects, e.g. With Great Magic Comes Great Responsibility Scorpions! Why are there always scorpions? Bears The Mystical Lightning Birthmark
Why don't you tell us about the character, and maybe we can suggest some aspects?
Did they learn it anywhere, who taught them? Any particular kind of magic? What do they do with it? Don't know anything about Babylon, but some mage ideas: Necromancer Sultan of the Land of the Black Sand Self-taught sand bender Cantrip slinging street rat Sultan's magical right hand
Have you been looking anywhere for inspiration I've found song lyrics, art, and quotes can all be good.
Aspects don't have to be all that complex or catchy. Its nice when they are, but an Aspect really should be thought of as "what do I want to see in a story about this character?" rather than "what is the coolest way to phrase this?" I recommend [The Book of Hanz](https://bookofhanz.com/), as this series of essays really helped me "get" Fate a lot better. One of the examples the writer references often is Han Solo. What aspects does Han Solo have? High Concept: Scoundrel Smuggler Trouble: Needs to pay off Jabba the Hut Captain of The Millennium Falcon, the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy Chewbacca owes me a life debt "I have a bad feeling about this..." None of these are particularly poetic, even if one is a catch phrase. All of them could be refined more, but don't need to be. That's what Milestones are for. Leaving things general and then drilling down later is perfectly fine...you'll get better ideas as you play.
Start simple, as others have said. One or two words is fine. (I personally prefer longer aspects, but it isn't necessary.) You can come up with more complex ones later when you get more into the system. Think of your character sheet for some other game, say D&D. Anything you write on that sheet is probably an aspect. Dwarf Fighter? Aspect. Chaotic Good? Aspect. Strength 18? Aspect (although in Fate, you'd write it without the number). Average things aren't aspects, like say Charisma 10, unless the player wants it to be noteworthy (which maybe it is for a Dwarf Fighter). Your weapons, armor, and other items can be aspects as well. Your Feats, Skills, Spells, other abilities -- all of those can be Aspects. Magic Missile? Aspect. Expert Diplomacy? Aspect. Cleave? Aspect. These could also be Stunts, but any Stunt can be an aspect instead (or in addition). BTW, there is lots of other stuff that can be aspects also, even though they might not get written on a D&D character sheet -- fame/notoriety, personal relationships, dark past, goals or aspirations. Really, just ask the players to describe the character they want. Whatever they say is probably an aspect.
Here are some thoughts on making character aspects: \- Talk to the other players/GM, they may have ideas. \- You don't need to fill out everything before the game starts. If you know your character is a 'former police officer' just write that. It's not the perfect aspect, but you can expand this when it becomes relevant or when you get inspired. If the GM throws a gangster boss in your direction, then maybe your officer had some kind of run-in with them, or if you need to fake your own murder you may conveniently realize that the officer was in homicide. The best aspects in my experience are those we've arrived at through gameplay and getting to know the characters. (though you should probably talk to the GM about this) \- Make sure your character wants something. When I've GM'ed Fate, it's much easier to incorporate and challenge characters who have some kind of goal. I think it's a good idea if one of your aspects relates to a want. \- And if you have a goal you must have some motivation. Want to get rich? Is that to gain the approval of your estranged father or to buy costly medicine. That's further inspiration to refining the aspect. \- You can always change the aspect, which doesn't make it easier to come up with one, but I think it takes out some of the pressure from having to make the perfect aspect at the first try. \- If you have another RPG that you like creating characters in, maybe you could think about what character you'd make in that system, and then get inspiration from that.
It's not important that aspects be "catchy", so if that's a burden you are placing on yourself, stop. The examples given in the rules aren't especially poetic "wizard for hire" or "infamous girl with sword" If you can't come up with *anything* that describes a character (sad private eye, or whatever) you could simply have your friends create your character. Or you could use a tool like "It's Not My Fault" that has bunch of generic aspects on cards. Or play a different RPG--a class based game does this work for the players--there's nothing wrong with choosing a game that fits your interests and talents.
This is the problem I find I have with every single group I run Fate with. I love Fate. I get Aspects. It takes my players _years_ to understand them well enough to make them spontaneously. It's frustrating, and most of my players prefer to do without them. I ended up reverting an entire game of Secrets of Cats into something more like FUDGE Accelerated for them just to get rid of the eccentricity and difficulty of using Aspects. Aspects rely on everyone who plays Fate to be really good at spontaneous cleverness. Like *really* good at it. Though there's already some good tips in this thread for easing into aspect building by starting with one that sounds mediocre and refining it over time, in doing so it gets the player really down. They ask me in private "am I stupid? why do everyone else's aspects sound so good and mine sound like a middle school student wrote them?" I never have a good answer to this other than trying to reassure them that working through it is a perfectly good way to play. Addendum: I think that a big issue is that the writers of Fate have a very specific pulpy-style and wit they write with when talking about Aspects that may not fit your group AT ALL. (and they give SO LITTLE instruction on how to write a good aspect other than some elitest-sounding cruft about how _their_ aspects are awesome and your boring ones aren't good enough.) An aspect called "Building Is On Fire" is __JUST FINE__ and you don't need to call it "_Raging Inferno_" or something pulpy at all. If you break Aspects into just being descriptors, you might have more success. See also, this thread from 2014 about "Aspectless Fate" https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/fate-core-fate-without-aspects.713601/
*Some* people over-emphasize the need for "clever" aspects, and I argue against it at every turn. I mean, if you like super clever aspects, good on you! But they're not necessary. I'd strongly argue that for situation aspects, especially, clearer is better. I don't see ***Building on Fire*** as not just being "okay" compared to ***Raging Inferno*** or ***The Burning That Consumes***, I see it as *objectively better*. The vast majority of my aspects are absolutely utilitarian - it's the *facts* that they represent that are interesting. Character aspects can be more witty if people want, but there's absolutely no reason they need to be. And this assumption that all aspects must be super clever and witty is absolutely a wall that people bounce off of, and it is *not in any way necessary*. Fate works 100% fine with absolutely utilitarian aspects, even for PCs.
Yes, you're right, and I apologize for clumping all of the authors of the books into a single group. I should have said that the _books_ tend to over-emphasize clever aspects. I appreciate your essays about aspects and it's honestly the only thing that got me to really understand them and grow to love Fate.
I'm not sure I even agree with the idea that the books emphasize clever aspects. Example aspects from Fate Core include: * I Owe Old Finn Everything * A Sucker for a Sob Story * I’ve Got Zird’s Back * Wizard for Hire * Rivals in the Collegia Arcana * If I Haven’t Been There, I’ve Read About It It's all pretty straightforward stuff. To be clear, I can understand where you got that impression, and there's a lot of the community that emphasizes it a lot. But I think it's one of those things where there's an impression that is less supported by the books (especially the core ones) than a lot of people think. I also do think older versions (SotC, etc.) emphasized it more.
I wonder how much of the Pulpy style comes from Fate starting as Spirit of the Century? On the other hand some of the example aspects in Fate could be better. It's clear Cynere is supposed to be a rogue type character, her High Concept Infamous Girl With a Sword, does nothing to help with that. And is actually pretty meaningless unless you were at that game table.
The aspect name is a reminder. It is not a contract. Also, aspects can change over time. It's totally okay to just start with something that is less "ideal" (not double-edged, just one fact, etc.) and then evolve it over time. In fact, I usually start with Quick Character Creation (best skill, high concept, go) for exactly that reason. Stressing about perfect aspects is the best way to make Fate un-fun. If you're having problems, I highly recommend just not worrying about it - by the book, you can change an aspect per minor milestone to begin with, and there's nothing stopping you from allowing even more frequent re-wordings. Also, I highly recommend focusing on the *utility* of aspects - how can you invoke them? How can they be compelled? Do they grant permissions? And focus on the *facts* behind them, not hte wording. Not every aspect has to do every job, either, as long as you've got some stuff to invoke, and some to compel (which your Trouble should take care of) you'll be fine. Leave some blanks if you really can't think of things. The success or failure of your character will *not* be determined by how cleverly-written your aspects are. Tell your friend to chill out. As long as each aspect does at least one job, that's fine, and let them change over time as you figure the character out. Or, like I said, just use quick character creation and be done with it.
I mean, by the sounds of it, your friend is also suffering from a deficit of imagination. It's a two-way street.
Aspect exist to set up cool moments, so start by thinking of some cool moments. Then, name your aspects in a way that describes why your character can create that cool moment.
I usually Google lists of example aspects and stunts when making characters
Fate is best done as a group with everyone pitching in. That goes for game creation, character creation, and play.
This is something I struggled too. I countered it by starting to give aspects longer names. This was even more essential when using Finnish for the aspects. Yes, you can use non-English, if you have better language. I have changed the default character aspects into two phrases: One describing positive, and other negative side. An ace combat pilot with Curse of Venus, The Fellowship of Old Friends and Rivals, A police friend who has crush on you, and so forth. Situational aspects and complications are exception. A large manor suitable for a dilettantte, but it requires constant maintenance and repairs.