Powers

Powers

Overview

This section details the special powers available to characters which allow them to uniquely manipulate their game environment outside of the scope of the basic rolling mechanics. The powers break down into Will, Fate, and Story powers. Generally Powers can be used at any time as long as the player is willing to spend the requisite points to activate. That said each individual power must be purchased with Story Points so not all characters have access to all powers.

Note: Only one active Power can affect any given test (an active Power is one which has an activation cost whether it be Fate, Will, or Story points). The same Power can be used multiple times on the same test (if applicable), but they cannot be mixed and matched.

Power Tiers

The powers are broken out into 4 tiers. Tier 0 is available to all characters at character creation, however deeper tiers of each type of power require the expenditure of Power points (earned by acquiring 10 story points). Additional a character cannot unlock the 2nd Tier of a tree without first unlocking the 1st Tier of at least one other tree. Similarly a character cannot unlock the 3rd (final) Tier of a tree without first unlocking the 2nd tier of at least one other tree. Additional requirements for each individual Power tree may apply.

Will

Will represents how hardened a character is, how much effort they can direct towards a goal or objective before they break. All characters in Fatewalker possess Will and use it routinely. To "spend" a point of Will a player puts a '/' in an available box of will (this is called spending a point of will). Additional powers in the will tree allow a character to fill in their boxes with Fatigue (use a 'X') and Exhaustion (use a '*'). Regardless if a character is ever required to spend will by some external factor when they have no more to spend they begin to take Wounds instead (bypassing Temporary Wounds).

Recovering Will

The primary way to recover Will is through rest or meditation as follows.

• A full night's rest will recover 2 points of Will
• A half night's rest will recover 1 point of Will
• Good conditions (comfortable bed, warmth, quiet) adds +1.
• Bad conditions (naked ground, cold or wet, noisy) subtracts -1.
• 2 recovered Will converts a 'X' (Fatigue) into a '/' (Will).
• 2 recovered Will converts a '*' (Exhaustion) into a 'X' (Fatigue).
• Regardless of conditions, Will cannot be recovered on the same night when a "Heal Wounds" roll is made

Basic Will Expenditures

A point of Will is expended during the following mundane tasks.

• Initiating Combat
• Traveling all day
• Force Marching (in addition to the 1 for traveling)
• Sprinting (1 point for every 30 ticks of sprinting ... which usually will cover an individual sprint scene)
• Distance running
• Invoking a skill as a supporting roll (support skill must be a leaf).
• Staying up all night costs 2 will (in lieu of potentially recovering any)

Will Abilities

This chart outlines all Will Abilities. All characters start with the Basic abilities, however everything else must be purchased with SP.

Ability	Level	Effect
Tough	Tier 0	The character can spend a point of Will to ignore a point of damage.
Driven	Tier 0	The character can spend a point of will to add 2 dice to any roll. This ability must be used before dice are rolled.
Unbreakable	Tier 0	The character can now use Fatigue if they are out of Will. Fatigue recovers slower than normal Will (see above), but otherwise functions identically to spending Will.
Willed Ahead (Tough II)	Tier 1	A point of Will can be spent to add four dice to any "Heal Wounds" roll.
Hardened (Driven II)	Tier 1	It no longer costs Will to enter combat, sprint, or force march.
Iron Will (Unbreakable II)	Tier 1	Add 6 Power Points to the character's Will track.
Ain't Got Time To Bleed (Tough III)	Tier 2	A point of Will can be spent to delay the onset of Bleeding Out when Mortally wounded by 120 ticks (1 minute).
Unshakeable (Driven III)	Tier 2	Ignore a point of environmental/situational penalties on all non combat rolls.
Tireless (Unbreakable III)	Tier 2	Recover an additional point of Will per day. Staying up all night only costs 1 Will.
Painless (Tough IV)	Tier 3	Suffer 2 less wound penalties (essentially subtract 2 from all of the columns). A point of Will can be spent to ignore all wound penalties for a single action
Refuse to Lose (Driven IV)	Tier 3	Spend a free point of Will every scene.
Unstoppable (Unbreakable IV)	Tier 3	The character can now convert Fatigue into Exhaustion. Exhaustion recovers slower than normal Will (see above), but otherwise functions identically to spending Will.

Fate

Fate represents how much control the character possesses over the will of the universe. Similar to Will, Players spend points of Fate to either mitigate unfortunate circumstances or to activate powerful abilities. Everyone has access to a universal set of Powers as well as a Theme-specific set of powers. Just like Will, Fate has a secondary state called Apathy which takes over when Fate points run out. Running completely out of Fate and then filling all available Fate boxes with Apathy ('X's) is extremely dangerous as the character has essentially lost touch with their personal reality. This puts them in a state called Ennui, a listless and utterly disengaged state where the character will find it hard to engage in anything at all. Entering Ennui costs the character a permanent point of Fate. Additionally they effectively operate as though they had a -4 wound (stacks with real wound penalties). This penalty cannot be mitigated by any means whatsoever besides completely removing all Apathy.

Recovering Fate

Fate is a meta-concept and as such is not directly tied to character action. The following situations allow a character to recover Fate. Unlike Fatigue, Apathy is slightly easier to get rid of (Two points of recovered Fate will remove a point of Apathy).

• One point of Fate is recovered each session.
• One point of Fate is recovered when a player successfully completes an Immediate goal.
• All Fate is recovered whenever a player completes a Personal Objective or a Story is completed.

Universal Fate Powers

Power	Level	Effect
Intrepid	Tier 0	The character can spend a point of fate to reroll any roll. The new roll replaces the previous roll, even if worse.
Faterunner	Tier 0	The character can now convert Fate into Apathy. Apathy must be first converted into Fate to be recovered (1 fate point will do this), but otherwise functions identically to spending Fate.
Intrepid II	Tier 1	A point of Fate can be spent to force an opponent to reroll a single roll made against you.
Faterunner II	Tier 1	Whenever you earn a Story Point spot award, you can instead recover three points of Fate.
Intrepid III	Tier 2	A point of Fate can be spent to reroll a single roll. Keep whichever roll you prefer.
Faterunner III	Tier 2	Recover an additional Fate per session.
Intrepid IV	Tier 3	A point of Fate can be spent to reroll all failures on a single roll.
Faterunner IV	Tier 3	All hostile actions taken against you suffer a -1 penalty.

Adventurer Fate Powers

These fate powers are available to characters following the Adventurer Theme.

Power	Level	Effect
Intrepid	Basic	The adventurer is completely immune to the effects of fear and intimidation (but not suggestion/mind control). They still feel and are aware of these emotions, but they are not negatively affected by them. Additionally the Adventurer naturally recovers one point of Fatigue per night of sleep.
Fool’s Luck	Advanced	Whenever the Adventurer spends Fate to Re-roll (through either version of Better Luck Next Time), they add 2 dice to the second roll.
Destiny’s Chosen	Master	The adventurer’s luck knows no limits. They must be in desperate need for *something*, whether it is water or a sword or a bottle of Tequila. They name what they want, spend a point of fate and roll their Fate against a TN set by the GM based on how audacious the request is. If they score 2 successes the Adventurer has some hint of where it is. If they score 4 successes they will know where it is and be able to find it within twenty seconds. If they score 6 successes they either have it on their person or find it lying on the ground unnoticed.
FateRunner	Final	The adventurer gets back three points of Fate per day of rest.

Destroyer Fate Powers

These fate powers are available to characters following the Destroyer Theme.

Power	Level	Effect
Berserker	Tier 0	Whenever the Destroyer takes a point of damage (Normal Wound), their next offensive action taken within 20 ticks is at a +3 bonus. Any defensive actions taken before then are at a -3 penalty.
Rage	Tier 1	The Destroyer gains a point of Fate whenever they destroy something of significance to them.
Wrath	Tier 2	When taking an action in pursuit of the object of their malcontent, the Destroyer can spend a point of Fate to make a separate roll, in addition to their normal action roll. The roll is Fate(3). If half (round up) of the dice come up successes the character can refund the point of Fate. Each success is added to the first roll as a success. The Destroyer suffers 2-Successes damage.
Fate's End	Final	The character must spend Fate equal to their Fate Rating (incurring Apathy as necessary) and choose a target that must be Destroyed. Every time they roll an attack against that target they roll their Fate as well against a TN of 7. Each success adds to their attack’s successes. Each failure does a point of damage to themselves. The power does not recede until one of them dies or is incapacitated or otherwise removed from combat.

Judicar Fate Powers

These fate powers are available to characters following the Judicar Theme.

Power	Level	Effect
Honor	Tier 0	The Judicar can spend a point of Fate to roll Fate(4) whenever in the presence of an adversary (they must know this person to be an enemy/foe). 2 successes will reveal their immediate intent towards the Judicar. 3 successes will reveal their immediate intent towards the Judicar’s Party. 4 successes will reveal their long term intent. 5 successes+ will begin revealing secrets.
Truth	Tier 1	The Judicar is a champion of truth. By spending a point of Fate they can compel anyone to produce the truth. The Judicar must roll Fate(4), contested against Will(2). The Judicar must net 2 successes for the effect to work completely. If the Judicar fails to gain any net successes but otherwise scored at least 2 successes on their individual roll they still can detect what statements are true and what ones are false. Regardless of the net outcome of the roll the subject is completely unaware of this effect unless they themselves scored 2 successes on their Will roll. The roll can only be made for a single subject declared before the roll.
Justice	Tier 2	At the beginning of any combat with a known dishonorable foe, the Judicar can spend 2 points of Fate. Until that combat is over or the enemy defeated they can spend Will as Fate and vice versa whenever making rolls against this enemy.
Balance	Tier 3	By spending a point of Fate the Judicar condemns his chosen enemy to his own fate. Whenever he takes damage, his chosen enemy suffers the exact same amount of damage (even if the damage is delivered via a third party). The chosen enemy cannot be an honest or honorable one and this effect lasts for a scene.

Maker Fate Powers

These fate powers are available to characters following the Maker Theme.

Power	Level	Effect
Insight	Tier 0	The Maker knows more than they can usually remember. By spending a point of Fate on any secondary skill roll the Architect can add their Fate rating to the roll. The player can also spend a point of fate and simply ask the GM for direction. This is resolved through a pure Fate roll (TN: 3). If the Maker scores 2 or more successes the GM is compelled to offer helpful advice (4+ should give clear, effective direction). The GM is of course always able to decline the ability and refund the Fate but that's boring.	Hyperfocus	Tier 1	The Maker can spend Fate to add directly to their attributes at a rate of 1 fate per 2 points of attribute. This bonus cannot be used on combat but otherwise lasts for an entire scene or until the character is either seriously interrupted or takes any damage.
Discipline	Tier 2	The maker recovers Apathy just like Fate (that is, 1 point of fate erases a point of apathy completely). The maker can also invoke branches as support skills.
Predestined	Tier 3	The Maker spends a point of Fate before making any roll and specifies a number of successes for the roll, up to a maximum of half their Fate rating. If they roll less than that value on the roll, double their successes. If they roll exactly the number specified. If they roll more than the number reduce their successes to the value specified and they gain back the point of Fate.

Master Fate Powers

These fate powers are available to characters following the Master Theme.

Power	Level	Effect
Conceit	Tier 0	The Master learns from every mistake. Whenever they fail a skill roll of any kind (1 or fewer successes) with at least 6 dice (after bonuses/penalties), they gain learning points for that skill equal to margin of failure.
Expertise	Tier 1	Every time the Master gains a full point of Focus, Awareness, or Prowess they roll their Fate (TN 2), and add successes as character points to the new attribute (cannot yield more than half of the new cost, anything in excess simply restores Fate)
Mastery	Tier 2	The Master does not tolerate failure. Before making any roll they can spend a point of Fate to add one to their effective skill (or TN) up to maximum of 7.
Perfection	Tier 3	The Master picks a Skill tree root, then adds a 3rd full skill dot to the root (does not count for CP purposes if the Master doesn't already have both dots completely filled). This will allow the Master to potentially roll against TN 8.

Protector Fate Powers

These fate powers are available to characters following the Protector Theme.

Power	Level	Effect
Righteous Shield	Tier 0	The Protector wields their purity of spirit to arrest any transgression. The character can spend a point of Fate to add their Fate rating to any defensive action they or one of their allies takes.
Boon	Advanced	By spending a point of Fate the Protector can have every member of their party (except themselves) add two dice to the next action they each take. This action has to be done within 40 ticks and must be in the interests of the Protector who used this power (they have final authority over whether to grant the dice or not but if they opt our the bonus is lost).
Righteous Strike	Master	This power can only be used against an adversary the Protector believes has overstepped the boundaries of natural law, it is a strike that conjures the will of the universe to set the world right. For every point of Fate spent the protector can have the single strike take on one of the following effects (each can be chosen only once, therefore the Protector can spend up to 3 points on this attack): Attack cannot miss (add 2 successes to the attack), Attack cannot be defended (reduce defense roll successes to 0), Attack does +6 damage.
Divine Intervention	Final	The protector’s will is supreme. By spending two Fate and two Willpower the Protector can SYSA a companion under their protection.