The Kerberos Club (FATE Edition) Is Here!

The Kerberos Club (FATE Edition) was adapted by Mike Olson, a FATE designer who has left his mark on Legends of Anglerre, the Legends of Anglerre Companion, and the Starblazer Adventures Players Guide. He’s been running the Spirit of the Blank website since 2008 and it has become a major online resource for the FATE system.

The Kerberos Club provided some unusual design challenges as a FATE game because it’s an overtly superpowered setting. And it’s not just the sorts of powers that mad scientists, wizards and the Fair Folk sport in many FATE games, but the potentially world-shaking powers of superheroes and supervillains. At the same time, the setting is built to allow for low-key play that doesn’t touch those power levels if the players don’t want it to.

So Mike built a new set of skill rules for The Kerberos Club to allow gamers to add incredible superpowers to their characters. He decided early on to enhance and expand the skills system rather than using a variation on the stunts and powers that appear in many FATE games. I’ll let Mike expand on that in a separate post later, but the upshot is that the the same game mechanic applies to both “mundane” actions and superhuman abilities. Either way, you apply a skill — but some skills pack a lot more power than others.

In addition, Mike created a system for building custom skills, whether it’s a mundane skill tailored to your character or a superpowered skill with astonishing effects. A collection of “common skills” work exactly the same as in most FATE games, but complete rules allow you to build new and amazing ones from scratch to suit the unique talents of Kerberans.

Of course aspects play a central role in The Kerberos Club (FATE Edition), and every character has a collection of aspects based on archetype (what sort of superhuman you are), social class, convictions (the core beliefs that drive Kerberans and their rivals), complications from superhuman powers, and the personal quirks and proclivities of each individual.

Skills and aspects work together in The Kerberos Club (FATE Edition) to drive a unique game of superpowered action. Game play emerges directly from the conflicts and motivations of the player characters, and at the same time it draws deeply on the setting, a Victorian London beset by “Strange” powers and adventures.

ABOUT THE KERBEROS CLUB

The Kerberos Club, by Benjamin Baugh (multiple Ennie Award nominee for Monsters and Other Childish Things), first appeared as a setting book for Arc Dream Publishing’s Wild Talents superhero roleplaying game. It earned raves from critics and gamers and was nominated for an Ennie Award for Best Setting of 2008.

In 2010 we published a version for Savage Worlds and the Savage Worlds Super Powers Companion, bringing Dave Blewer of Triple Ace Games aboard to convert the characters and setting elements. An adaptation for the Hero System is in the works now.

The Kerberos Club (FATE Edition) is Arc Dream Publishing’s first FATE game and we put a lot of work into it. We hope you like it.