Fate of Napoleon

Campaign Overview

The untold occult and supernatural sphere of the secret war against Napoleon, from the Directory to Waterloo.

Characters

Player	Character	Phys Stress	Mental Stress	FP	Consequences	High Concept	Trouble
Tobias	M. Louis-Alexandre de Launay, Viscomte d’Antraigues	OOO	OOOOOO	3/3	OO-OOOO-OOOOOO	Philosophe	Freethinker & Atheist
Soph	Julia Maria Assumpta Salerna, Contessa di Volcanello	OOO	OOOO	3/3	OO-OOOO-OOOOOO	Nefarious aristocratic plotter and saloniere	Island occupied by Murat

Helpful Resources

• Fate Condensed rules

Magic

The five schools of magic are: Alchemy, Astrology, Sorcery, Theurgy, and Witchcraft. All essentially channel and direct the same magical forces through different means. Alchemy combines substances to release their magical potency. Astrology directs the powers of the stars and planets. Sorcery directs the power of human (and sometimes angelic or demonic) will. Theurgy employs divine miracles. Witchcraft channels the powers of the earth.

Powering Magic

Magic is powered by the Lore skill, and in many cases, consists of straight Lore-based attacks against physical or mental Stress - mediated according to the particular school. The caster rolls their Attack roll based on their Lore skill level plus any modifiers, and the target rolls their Defend roll - if any. (GM decides what skill is appropriate for Defend rolls, if any - default is Physique for physical Stress, and Will for mental Stress.) Ingenious magicians may be able to devise a spell form that gets around a particular defence.

For spell-casting where there is no specific target or harm intended, the action is an Overcome against a Difficulty set by the GM. Create Advantage can be used to boost chances of success. The GM will also balance the Difficulty against the power of the intended effect - greater power means greater Difficulty.

A caster can choose to pull their punch, and use less than their full rating of Lore, if they want to exert a more controllable, less destablizing, volume of magic. This should make the subsequent roll to resist mental Stress easier.

The detail comes in the different schools of magic which govern the description and nature of the magic.

Unfortunately, using magic isn't a free ride. Many types of magic induce mental Stress - or worse.

Magical Stress

For many types of magic, when the caster casts the spell, they have to roll their Will against the final amount of Lore in the spell - including any Lore from third parties or external sources, but excluding any Advantages and other non-Lore bonuses. If their Will roll falls below the amount of Lore, they take the difference as mental Stress. If they use up their mental Stress and start to take Consequences, they will suffer Consequences related to the type of magic they used.

If they are Taken Out by the mental Stress of using the magic, they have to rewrite one aspect to reflect this - with the Trouble aspect and the High Concept the second last and last to be rewritten. Each aspect has been corrupted or distorted in some obvious and disabling or repellent way. Once all five aspects have been rewritten, the character ceases to be playable.

Alchemy

Alchemy works with the natural properties of the four classical elements and four humours. An alchemist prepares their spells in advance through alchemical combination. This means they do not have to take mental Stress tests when casting spells (though they do when preparing them). However, they have to already have prepared the spell - as a potion, philtre, powder, etc. - ahead of time and be carrying it in order to use it. Each preparation can be used once only, although alchemists can of course brew more than one dose of the same preparation, given enough time.

An Alchemist can only put as much Lore into a preparation as they have - unless they find some other magical way to augment it. Each point of Lore takes one week of preparation. Each preparation is governed by one element and/or one humour, and its effects have to be commensurate with these.

Element	Humour	Nature	Temperament
Earth	Black bile	Cold, dry	Melancholic: analytical, sensitive, reserved, anxious
Air	Blood	Hot, wet	Sanguine: energetic, optimistic, impulsive
Water	Phlegm	Cold, wet	Phlegmatic: steady, patient, flexible, indecisive
Fire	Yellow bile	Hot, dry	Choleric: goal-oriented, decisive, ambitious, overconfident

Astrology

Astrology directs the forces of the planets and the constellations. In classical astrology, there are six planets, plus the sun:

☉ The Sun – determines the basic personality, the star sign of the person.

☽ The Moon – covers moods, emotions, and feelings.

☿ Mercury – rules over communication, wit, and intellect

♀︎ Venus – governs fertility, beauty, romance, passion

♂︎ Mars – influences strength, aggression, war, sports

♃ Jupiter – presides over good luck, growth, wisdom

♄ Saturn – causes misfortune, evil, bad luck

There are also 12 signs of the Zodiac, with the 12 Houses that the sun may occupy at any time.

Aries - Brave, adventurous, passionate, energetic, impatient, headstrong and naïve.

Taurus - Dependable, down to earth, great physical lovers, persistent, strong, stubborn, hard to convince, unimaginative.

Gemini - Charming, witty, mercurial, versatile, clever, two faced, unreliable and unable to commit.

Cancer - Intuitive, dreamers and visionaries, very imaginative, persuasive, empathic, moody, manipulative and insecure.

Leo - Proud, boastful, egotistical, leader, cheerful, generous, warm-hearted, courageous and stubborn.

Virgo - Intellectual, analytical, dependable, perfectionist, neat and tidy, obsessive, careful, cautious, hardworking and shy.

Libra - Just, fair-minded, peaceful, diplomatic, cooperative, gentle, avoids confrontation, self-pitying and holds grudges.

Scorpio - Resourceful, independent, secretive, loyal, psychic, passionate, lustful, violent, vengeful and perverted.

Sagittarius - A free spirit, idealistic, funny, and likeable, generous, often forgets a promise, tactless, impatient and easily annoyed by waffle.

Capricorn - Optimistic, responsible, self-disciplined, organised, family orientated, judgmental, critical, and a condescending know it all.

Aquarius - Eccentric, individualist, humanitarian, idealistic, calm, forward thinking, quiet, aloof, fights for a cause, rebellious and disobedient.

Pisces - Compassionate, mystic, musical, wise, artistic, romantic, impractical, daydreamers, overly trusting, prone to anxiety.

When an astrologer casts a spell, they roll 1d6 to see which planet is dominant, and 1d12 to see which star sign is involved. The effect of the spell has to be interpreted (described) in these terms. Usually the planet is the major influence, with the star sign a minor influence.

Sorcery

A sorcerer manipulates the elements, humours, temperaments and planets through direct force of will. They learn their magic through spells and incantations. Each spell evokes one of those basic characteristics of the universe.

A sorcerer can have ready at any one time a number of spells equal to their Lore - unless they carry them in other forms, such as amulets or scrolls. Each spell must be defined in advance according to one element, humour, temperament or planet. They can cast each spell as many times as they want - until they replace it with another spell.

A sorcerer can prepare another spell (to replace one of their current ones) if they have it with them in a grimoire or scroll, or can otherwise learn and prepare it somewhere or somehow. Each new spell requires one round per point of Lore to understand and prepare before it can be cast.

A sorcerer cannot cast a spell greater than their own Lore, unless they somehow acquire the extra Lore (sometimes through sacrifice...) They still have to roll their Will against the full Lore strength of the final spell, although they may find magical ways of mitigating this effect too.

Theurgy

A theurgist invokes the power of divinity to perform miraculous effects. This is done by invoking particular patron saints or angels in order to achieve specific miracles. The exact saints or angels, and their various areas of patronage, are legion, but here and here and here are a few possibilities.

A theurgist can have patron saints or angels equal to their number of Lore points. Each one must be chosen in advance. The power of the invocation for each can equal up to the theurgist's total number of Lore points. The theurgist must make the usual Will roll after the miraculous intervention.

A theurgist may be able to access more than their usual number of saints by carrying medals or other blessed objects from particular saints. They may also be able to augment Lore in invocations by praying at particularly holy spots, or other means.

(Of course, no one wants to talk about the demonologists, who access the power of demons by similar means - but usually at a far greater cost.)

Witchcraft

Witches gain magic by dealing with powerful spirits. Sometimes those spirits are nature or ancestral spirits. Sometimes they're fairies or other supernatural creatures. Sometimes, unfortunately, they're demons - or at least, called such by the ecclesiastical authorities.

A witch binds themself to one particular spirit, with a power equal to their Lore. (A witch who grows more powerful will trade up.) That spirit has powers and provides spells in accord with its nature. The witch will be able to use these within the limits of their patron.

Witches also tend to have familiars. These are lesser spirits that often possess animals to be with the witch. They can provide extra spells and powers, as charms and other instruments provide these for other types of magic user.

Weapons and Armour

Unlike other varieties of Fate, this version gives weapons and armour a more active role in the mechanics. All weapons and armour are divided into three classes - 1, 2, 3 - based on how much physical Stress they deal out - or absorb - when a target suffers an Attack. This is in addition to the +/- from the character's own skill roll.

Weapon classes

Weapons are divided into the following broad classes:

• Light weapons (+1): Dagger, shortsword, cosh, brass knuckles, self bow, pistol, etc.

• Medium weapons (+2): Sword, mace, axe, longbow, crossbow, musket, rifle, etc.

• Heavy weapon (+3): Greatsword, maul, halberd, lance, pike, quarterstaff, arbalest, swivel gun, etc.

Weapon class and turn order

Weapon classes affect Fate Condensed's voluntary turn order in the following way - except in cases of surprise, where the ambusher always gets first shot/blow:

• Ranged weapons (and applicable magic spells) always go first.

• On first round, weapons go in order of their class: 3, 2, 1. This is to reflect the reach of heavier weapons and pole arms.

• On subsequent rounds, the order is: 2, 3, 1. This is to reflect how cumbersome heavy weapons are to wield at close quarters.

• Within each class, combatants Attack in order of their Athletics. Ties mean simultaneous Attacks.

Ranged weapons

Ranged weapons have their own rules, aside from just going first in turn order.

Thrown weapons - axes, knives, spears, rocks, etc. - use Athletics. Other ranged weapons use Shoot.

Ranged weapons can reach a number of Zones equal to their range. So, thrown weapons or pistols can reach one Zone outside their own, carbines can reach 2 Zones, muskets can reach 3 Zones, etc.

Reload times

Thrown weapons and strung bows require one turn to prepare a fresh shot before shooting at the start of the next exchange. For pistols and muskets, this becomes 4 turns. For rifles, it becomes 5 turns. For the Girardoni air rifle, whose air reservoir needed hand pumping for recharging, it becomes 10 turns.

Ranged weapon types

Weapon	Class	Damage	Range	Reload	Shots	Cost	Examples
Pocket pistol	Light	1	0	4	1	£2	None
Pistol	Light	1	1	4	1	£1	French .69 pistol
Carbine	Medium	2	2	4	1	£2 15s	Musketoon, Brown Bess cavalry carbine
Blunderbuss	Medium	3*	1	4	1	£1	Mail coach blunderbuss
Musket	Medium	2	3	4	1	£3 15s	Brown Bess, .69 Charleville musket
Rifle	Medium	2	4	5	1	£10	Baker Rifle
Air rifle	Medium	2	3	10	20	£30	Girardoni air rifle

• Blunderbusses and similar grapeshot types can hit two adjacent targets for the same damage with the same shot.