Uncompelled

Tips & Tricks

So I’m running two concurrent Dresden Files RPG campaigns and am planning on running a FATE Core superhero campaign in the future. One of the basic mechanics of these games is the “compel”. This is where the game master can make take one of the player character’s Aspects and make their life a bit more complicated, rewarding the player with a Fate Point for their trouble. It’s the “supply-side” of the Fate Point economy that drives the game.

And I can’t seem to get the hang of it.

Is it that the Aspects my players have chosen for their characters are difficult to compel? Is it a mental block on my part? I don’t know. All I know is that I’m inadvertently stingy with the Fate Points and that’s not good. It upsets the balance of the game and makes things unnecessarily hard for the players.

How about any of you FATE Core or DFRPG players out there? Have you had trouble with compels? Any tips you can send my way?