Marvel Accelerated: The Fate of Spider-Man

So a while back I backed the Fate Core Kickstarter, in part because of the INSANE amount of stuff you could get for a $10 pledge. I felt so guilty about how much I was getting for $10 that I ordered Fate Core and Fate Accelerated in print.

Now, Fate Core is more up my alley than Fate Accelerated, being the crunchier of the two without going overboard...but the more I look at Fate Accelerated (available in print for $5 or in PDF for whatever you want to pay), the more ideas intrigue me...until I thought about maybe converting my short-lived Marvel SAGA game I ran for my kid into Fate Accelerated.

Why? Fate Accelerated has that breezy, "Saturday Morning Cartoon" feel, so that's a plus. The other thing is that I'd like to run it in Spider-Man's wheelhouse: A Marvel Team-Up style...which Marvel SAGA is kind of a pain in the butt for.

So I decided to play around with the characters that I had used in the two sessions of SAGA I had ran, as well as The Kingpin (just because I felt like it), and I thought I would share those below. I'm still learning Fate (and Fate Accelerated), so even if we DO go this route, I'll probably tinker with stuff some more, as making supers in Fate Accelerated very much seems to be an art and not a science and my design ethos is going to be "capture their essence and their role in the series, not nitpick everything about them"...and I'll probably cherry pick at times, focusing on the parts of the characters I prefer most.

Name: Spider-Man (Peter Parker)

High Concept: Friendly, Neighborhood Spider-Man

Trouble: My Costume Is Alive!

Aspects: Hero or Menace?, Aunt May Worries About Me, With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

Approaches

Careful: +0

Clever: +2

Flashy: +2

Forceful: +1

Quick: +1

Sneaky: +3

Stunts

Spins A Web, Any Size: Because I have webshooters, I get a +2 when I Cleverly create advantages when I can fire webs at an opponent.

Spider-Sense Is Tingling!: Because I have a Spider-Sense, once per session I can choose to go first in a physical conflict.

Stress 3

Consequences

Refresh: 3

Notes: This is a teenage Peter Parker with the symbiote costume, as those who read the actual plays would see. I was going to swap Hero or Menace? and My Costume Is Alive!, but decided the former had more positive uses than the latter, making the latter being his Trouble make more sense. And yes, I know Spider-Man is super strong, but you can always use Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man for the relevant boosts there, as the others tend to fit his "style" more. Per Fate Accelerated rules, he still has another Stunt that can be named before his Refresh is affected.

Name: D-Man

High Concept: Pro Wrestling Superhero

Trouble: My Heart Can’t Take It

Aspects: Soft Spot for the Homeless, Trained By Captain America, Boosted by the Power Broker

Approaches

Careful: +2

Clever: +0

Flashy: +2

Forceful: +3

Quick: +1

Sneaky: +1

Stunts

Tag Team Partner: Because I’m a Tag Team Wrestler, I gain a +2 when I Flashily create advantages or overcome obstacles when I’m working with an ally.

Super Strength: Because I am Super Strong, I gain a +2 when I Forcefully create advantages during a physical conflict.

  

Stress 3

Consequences

Refresh 3

Notes: I love the Marvel Universe. You know why? Because I use guys like D-Man in my games. D-Man's not particularly a tag team wrestler per the standard Marvel Universe stuff, but making him one here gave me a viable stunt for him and fit the theme of the first adventure I ran. Trained by Captain America can be used against him as he's targeted by Cap's more powerful and competent foes, just like Boosted by the Power Broker can come back and haunt him, given how evil Power Broker is. I figure there's no need to get into his drug addict past for a "kid's" game, but the weak heart is fair game.

Name: Ares

High Concept: God of War

Trouble: Can’t Back Down From A Fight

Aspects: Violence Is Its Own Reward, Who Dares Challenge Me?, Smarter Than He Looks

Approaches

Careful: +1

Clever: +2

Flashy: +2

Forceful: +4

Quick: +1

Sneaky: +0

Stunts

Lord of War: Because I am a Master Tactician, I gain a +2 when I Cleverly gain advantages or overcome obstacles in a conflict.

Join My Army: Because I am The God of War, once per session I can use my powers to boost mooks, changing their aspects and increasing their stress boxes.

Stress 3

Consequences

Refresh 3

Notes: Ares was a little tougher. I ditched the starting bonuses and gave him a higher Forceful because he's a God. Join My Army was my first attempt at really playing around with Stunts, and tied into his actions in the SAGA adventure, where he powered up two pro wrestlers to make them powerhouses. I played with the idea of Ares being a bit smarter than he's generally portrayed, being a God of War and all.

Bonesaw McGraw and Crusher Hogan

Magically Empowered Pro Wrestlers, Beholden to Ares

Skilled (+2) at: Grappling, Intimidating

Bad (-2) at: Out thinking opponents, knowing when to quit

Stress: 2

Notes: These were Ares' mook wrestlers (based off of Peter's opponents in his wrestling debuts in comic and film, obviously). As a former pro wrestler, these names almost offend me, but it's a continuity nod.

Slyde

The Teflon Coated Man, One Trick Pony

Skilled (+2) at: Getting Away, Chemistry, Robbing Banks

Bad (-2) at: Fighting

Stress: 1

Notes: I toyed with this one for a bit, but went with statting Slyde up as a mook. Why? Because he's not really a serious villain most of the time, but he's a bit better than your "average" mook because he has three things he's Skilled at and only one thing he's Bad at.

Name: The Kingpin (Wilson Fisk)

High Concept: The Kingpin of Crime

Trouble: My Wife Disapproves of My Position

Aspects: CEO of Fisk Enterprises, Sometimes A Man’s Got To Get His Hands Dirty, Mountain of a Man

Approaches

Careful: +2

Clever: +2

Flashy: +0

Forceful: +3

Quick: +1

Sneaky: +1

Stunts

The Streets Are Mine: Because I rule the streets, once per session I can summon an NPC ally to aid me.

This Isn’t All Fat: Because I am faster than I appear to be, I get a +2 when I Quickly create advantages in a physical conflict.

Stress: 3

Consequences

Refresh: 3

Notes: Kingpin is totally a guy I would only use in a long game and probably not as a one shot villain. I actually wanna give this one some more thought, because I think he needs a stunt or two that would have a larger effect on the game, above and beyond when he's directly involved in the action.

Anyway, that's kinda what I'm tinkering with right now. If it takes off, I'll expand the Marvel Universe dramatically (already mulling Hulk, Wolverine and Captain America...as well as some more obscure characters).

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?