House Rules and Habits- Complications and Fate Points

Victoriana’s baroque and elegant rules fit the Victorian age, but certain jumbles of rules need simplification. Some mechanics have too many exceptions and specifics, while others seem completely contradictory. I think one of the worst snarls of rules in the book is Fate Points. There are too many clauses and seemingly unnecessary sidebars for something so small in the game.
I propose the following simplification:

Player Characters start each session with 3 Fate Points which may be spent before rolling dice to add one automatic success per fate point to the result of the roll. These successes can still be negated by success on black dice. Up to three fate points may be spent this way on a single roll. Fate Points can be spent on skill, attribute, or damage rolls.

Players earn more Fate Points from their Complications. A Complication earns it’s player a Fate Point the first time it is invoked by the Gamemaster each session. A player may earn one Fate Point for each of their Complications in this way. Gamemasters may also reward a player with Fate Points for good role-play, furthering the story, helping others play etc. as they see fit. Fate points do not carry over into the following sessions. At the start of each session, a PC’s Fate Points refresh back to three.

This simplified version of the rules works well in my games. No Script Dice or the other applications of Fate Points. I’ve added nothing new here. I’m only streamlining, but I’m not done meddling yet. I also have a simplified system for Complications. A Victoriana character has enough going on without every Complication having its own mechanics.  Instead of remembering all those specific rules for each Complication, there are two effects in the game for a Complication’s baleful handicap.

A Complication can be woven narratively into the adventure as an obstacle or to pull the PC into a certain direction. If a high class PC’s meddling parents demand they host a banquet for a visiting bigwig, rescuing a famous chef from mummies becomes a much more desirable adventure. Or a PC with the “Wanted Criminal” complication will have obvious problems sneaking past the constables into the crime scene.

In both scenarios, the player gets to act out their character’s flaws and dreads and the Gamemaster get’s easy player buy-in for the next step in the story. It’s good for everybody.

The other use is a simple and quick penalty. Gamemasters (and players with Gamemaster approval) can invoke a complication to give a PC 3 black dice (or six if the circumstances are particularly dire) to any relevant rolls until the circumstance is resolved. If a PC with a “Bad Temper” Complication is already angry when they try a Hide and Sneak test, the Gamemaster could invoke the complication for a 3 black dice penalty. This represents them spitefully muttering to themselves or being incautious in their rage.

Making a complication more like an NPC Trait frees the Gamemaster to use complications in adventure creation or on the fly at the table, and let’s players come up with Complications that fit their character. Slimming down these two mechanics gives the rest of the game room to breathe and help the session flow.