Jake has an issue, and maybe...A solution?

I was going to work on my game design today, and I will continue to do so as the days go by. However this game is kicking my ass. It is all the things I love about Mage: The Ascension, however the things I love about that game are the hardest things to do well in a game. I do think that Fate Core can do the job. The problem comes in with the idea of permanence. Fate is a powerful engine, in this case that strength is its weakness as well.

The power of Fate Core is the creation of advantages. The ability to create aspects, or to add free uses to existing aspects, is an amazing creative tool. In play this leads to a feeling of impermanence to everything. On the one hand I think that this feeling is awesome. It really fits into the impermanent nature of reality in Magi. On the other, it does suck when you spend a long time building something, and then it falls apart.

The real issue I am having is not related directly to Fate Core, and that is Styles of magic. How do you use the magic? What does magic MEAN to your character? How does the world react to your style? These are big issues, and they are only lightly tied to the mechanics right now. It seems that the more I link the style to the mechanics, the more complicated and unwieldy the game gets.

In light of these issues I have decided to work on another, easier, project so that I will have something to fall back on when I am having difficulty with Magi. So without any further ado, I present project number three:

http://georgespigot.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/buck-rogers-011.jpg

I have loved this show since I was a child. Well, to be fair, I loved half of this show since I was a child. The first season is fantastic, the second is...ok. I have always wanted a decent conversion of Buck Rogers, and I guess now I will have to make one. This will go along a simlar path to my other conversion, FATErnia.

I will be taking concepts from the show, as well as from the original books and comics, and adding my own twist to them. I will probably also add in some Flash Gordan too, as I love all of Buster Crabbe's work.


I will start with the major troubles of the world. Firstly, there are the Draconians. Ruled by the the Emporer Han the merciless, they have the largest fleet in the galaxy and there sphere of influence is dwarfs even the Earth's. The Draconians would have conquered Earth and her allies long ago if it were not for Earths superior technology, thanks to the leadership of the Robot Council.

Aspect: Looming War With Draconians

Now the secondary threat that I see is that Earth has a weak control over her systems. They are often self ruled. All the robot Council cares for is that Taxes and supply quotas are met, and no complaints are made. There is a lotof talk at the higher levels of Human rights, and the Rule of Law. but on the outskirts of human control, these are just words.

Aspect: Rules mean little on the Rim

There will be more threats and such as I move along through. Hopefully tomorrow I will have more Magi work done. If I don't you will see character creation for Buck Rogers, as well as a location.