CLOSED: Reviewing 2017 and looking forward: How did your Fate games go?

Hello Everyone, 2017 is coming to a close. I closed out the 2017 game listing and started the 2018 game listing. Be sure to make future game recruitment announcements there. This year was an interesting Fate experience for me. I ran a number of Fate games and participated as a player in two, one currently ongoing. I also started this community Fate Corps! I ran: High Road to China Fate game for 5 sessions  Blue Rose Solo Fate game for 1 session  Dresden Files Accelerated Hollywoodland for 6 sessions  Learning to Play/GM Fate 1 for 2 sessions  Learning to Play/GM Fate 2 for 2 sessions  I played in: Masters of Umdaar for several sessions  Time Pirates Fate Core game (ongoing) I planned to run but didn’t have time to do so: Fate Star Wars Battle: Seattle  Those planned games will hopefully get done this year plus another Dresden game. Overall, a pretty good and fun Fate year for me. What about you? /Matt

In 2016 I was cursed to join a lot of Fate games on Roll20&nbsp;which fizzled (one planned campaign tanked after one session).&nbsp; But GMs are getting more polished and maybe they&nbsp;are learning to work&nbsp;with Roll20 and Fate better. In 2017 I joined: --One weekly group dedicated to rotating Fate Core settings (still going on) --A group for one-shots (successfully presented 2-3 things but discontinued) --A GM running a zany far-future concept in Fate&nbsp;Accelerated that did go for 4-5 sessions&nbsp;(discontinued) --Another thing for Deep Dark Blue that didn't get off the ground --Your Fate one-off for learners GMing: I did run a few sessions of a collaborative, GM-rotates campaign of Wild Blue (Wild West/superpowers/weird) in the past. But in 2017 I put forward a game of Unwritten: Adventures in the Ages of Myst .&nbsp; The rules work well to present non-violent scenarios&nbsp;like the MYST computer games.&nbsp; I put forward my concept for a one-off game, but it got interrupted halfway when one player's phone ran out of power and that killed their Discord!&nbsp; I made one technical error in the game, will polish it up for another try. <a href="https://app.roll20.net/campaigns/details/2307293/unwritten-myst-rpg-golden-glows" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/campaigns/details/2307293/unwritten-myst-rpg-golden-glows</a> <a href="https://app.roll20.net/campaigns/journal/2307293" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/campaigns/journal/2307293</a> &nbsp; (Journal entries) There's too many settings in Fate Core.&nbsp; The key is to expose precisely what you want to do, and attract only the players who burn with interest and who, of course, can handle the same time-slot as you. Wishlist: I prefer science fiction and would love to join or run Baroque Space Opera (a DUNE-like setting of far-future corruption and intrigue) or Diaspora (TRAVELLER-like SF, running on the old FATE 3rd-ed. rules but may be updated to Fate Core some day soon.&nbsp; You can read a Diaspora System Reference Document for free).&nbsp; I've also got Bulldogs! , which is about, well, the Bulldogs.

I had fun in Rob's Fate Glorantha game earlier in the year, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts in the summer. I'm hoping to find some more Fate games in 2018. Maybe even during the Xmas break.&nbsp; &nbsp; Pierre, I'd be up for Fate sf if you can put something together at a time that works for me.&nbsp; Matt, high road to China is still on my Netflix DVD queue from when you were recruiting for that.&nbsp;

Al B.&nbsp; &nbsp;I have no official game announcement yet!&nbsp; You may want to get placed on the&nbsp;Player and GM Listing by Time Zone so people have an idea what your evening and weekend times are.

AI B, I am *so* jealous you got to be in a FATE Glorantha game. Let's hope there are more in 2018! (This comes as I am preparing to run HeroQuest Glorantha at a local con and am starting to think that HeroQuest is pretty complicated for a "light" game.)

Yeah! I can scarcely make any sense of HQ! Pierre, I may do that at some point but my availability is so variable/hit or miss it presents a challenge.

I mainly did a game in the summer, which was pretty much daily and had around 55 Sessions, for many players where there could be different player parties playing within the world each different day. Will most likely do something similar this year as well, slightly more organised though. Then I also did 2 random one-shots.&nbsp; A game in an alternate World War 1 Europe where the world got infested with zombies (still going though in a slow rate- 5 sessions so far) And another game within a Mysterious Haunted Mansion (3 Sessions so far and keeps going)

I started up the Exploring FATE Worlds community and ran 5 or 6 two-shots. I was really proud of how the community turned out, with people supporting each other, helping each other learn the system and people having fun in general. I was super flattered when other people started to step up and run their own FATE games, especially with people helping me have a chance to play instead of GM for once :3 I was sad when I had to put the community on hold for the rest of the year because I'd just started university. I hope to kick-start the community again next year. I ran Gods & Monsters , Blood on the Trail , The Secrets of Cats , The Infinity Fleet (a homebrew setting), Morts and Psychedemia . I got to play in Masters of Umdaar , Venture City and Gods & Monsters . I also ran a mini-game of Save Game for a friend, taught said friend how to run FATE Core and played in two IRL FATE games - an Avatar the Legend of Aang/Korra FAE/Core game and an on going FATE Core Space-Western game. Basically this was the year I discovered FATE and I've loved it ever since I came across it. It's been an incredible experience learning the game and I'm so grateful to everyone who joined me on this journey.

I joined 2 campaigns, but so far have only played in 1 session of each. One hasn't had a session since, the other I missed the last session because my hard drive decided to explode keeping me off my PC until I got it replaced. I'm a bit worried about the first one fizzling out. I'm hoping to play more in 2018 so I can figure out more how Roll20 works. I'm planning to start GMing once I get a better hold on the program.

I ran a Supernatural Academy, YA novel style, game for 3 or 4 sessions, it was very well received but I lost a lot of players due to American-European time differences so we just let it close. I ran Star Wars in FAE for a oneshot and it was very well received, might do a full campaign of it next year just because I can't get into the FFG Star Wars.

I just got into Fate this year, and I'm very excited about the system. I was one of MattBx8's "students" in his first (?) "Learning to Play/GM Fate" game. I then used what I learned to introduce my IRL group to Fate by running them through Secrets of Cats and a holiday-themed mod of The Ellis Affair. For the coming year I am hoping to continue running Fate games for my group, starting with trying our hands at a a collaboratively-built campaign setting. I am also really hoping to play in a few one- or two-shots here on Roll20. If you get your Exploring Fate Worlds thing going again, Jaye, you can count me in. I think it's a great idea. Happy New Year, everyone.

So played that lasted 4 sessions and that was over the course 7 weeks. And its dead. Honestly this sucks.

Don't be discouraged, Daniel.&nbsp; Often games will fizzle.&nbsp; It's sometimes beyond the control of people who get busy. If a GM organizes, they can scrape spare time together to do great things.&nbsp; The trouble is that, in an RPG group, every player has to do the same. If a GM works out a good setting and adventures, even with the loosest notes, if they describe the game clearly when they offer it, and then firmly schedule it in a timeslot (no excuses, no coming in late or leaving early), they can launch successfully.&nbsp; And please, everyone, get your microphone set-up working right. Plus, in Roll20, the GM needs to do a little work to keep it visually fun.&nbsp; A few Handouts for important rules, pictures, and soundtracks like in the Jukebox or <a href="http://tabletopaudio.com" rel="nofollow">http://tabletopaudio.com</a> , can make all the difference.&nbsp; A loose map doesn't have to be with a grid, but it does need to be divided into Zones (big Zones for wide-open accessible places, narrow Zones for cluttered areas or difficult terrain).&nbsp; Show clearly where the characters are at, get the characters mixed up in the story and involved with each other, make them important and critical, and the players come back for more.

Daniel J. said: So played that lasted 4 sessions and that was over the course 7 weeks. And its dead. Honestly this sucks. Hello Daniel, I hear you. I ran a six session Firefly game (using Firefly RPG by Margaret Weis Productions, yes, I play other games besides Fate) and had 100% player turnover. None of the original players completed all six sessions! And most only stayed in the game for 2-3 sessions. My experience with Roll20 player churn was part of the reason I only committed to running Firefly for six sessions.&nbsp;Roll20 can be hard on players and GMs. One Roll20 GM privately told me that their game didn’t even get past the first “session zero” character creation. I expect they’re not the first with that experience. Couple that with many more players than GMs on Roll20 and time conflicts (and even “flaking”) due increasingly limited time for entertainment, and you have our current situation. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn’t. At the very least, keep trying. Or learn to GM, Roll20 always need more GMs. I, myself, plan on continuing my six-session mini-campaigns, as that’s been working for the most part. /Matt

Alot of the games i played died out in a few games, but there has been others that have ran the full game. It just depends on the players and who's dming, i&nbsp; but I've had fun no matter what happened.

Alas, for me the year has been FATEless. I can't really complain too loudly about it, though, as it has largely been a thing of my own making. I really don't want to run, though I could. I don't really want to play a one (or two) shot game, but I also had a lot of challenges in maintaining a regular schedule for any long term commitment. So I watch enviously from afar. This year, however, that may change. I'm looking at more free time in the afternoons, with fewer commitments, so perhaps . . .just perhaps, I might be able to get in some games this year.

Had an interesting game tonight , introduced 2 players to fate using the demolished ones scenario which I adapted slightly , especially as they had never heard of fate before hand