Well, this is annoying. Not the game - that I kinda like - but I started reading it the other day and then went to find the printed sheet today and realized it wasn't on the list, presumably because I did a character for the base game in the Before Times and, while I put a dot on the book I never updated the list or my spreadsheet.
Yes, I take all this chargen stuff seriously. What else I'm gonna do? Learn to paint?
The Game: Part-Time Gods of Fate
The Publisher: Looks like a joint venture between Third Eye Games and Encoded Designs
Degree of Familiarity: Some, see below
Books Required: Part-Time Gods of Fate and Fate Core
I ran a one-shot of Part-Time Gods back in 2013 when I wrote a review of it, and I'll say now what I said then: It's a cool premise, it's got an interesting and compelling setting, and it feels a lot like a World of Darkness game with a slightly lessened emphasis on horror. The Theologies are the splats, the special ideologies of the modern gods, and I personally think that if I were going to run this game I would either excise them altogether or use them as a more localized representation of groups of gods, rather than having PCs join them.
How likely is it I'd run this? I dunno, it's not unlikely. I've always liked the premise of modern gods, even before American Gods came out (and I'm sure that saying that I liked that novel is going to be proof of something now, even though it wasn't last year, but that's how these things go), and I really like the notion of an RPG that lets the PCs be the "god of whatever." It's never been done quite the way I want it, I don't think. Actually I think Gods of the Fall comes the closest, but that's not a modern fantasy setting.
Anyway, long story short, while I doubt I'd run this game exactly as written, I like the core premise and I think Fate is a good expression of the idea. So let's make a god.
I don't actually have an idea for what kind of god I want to make, and the thing I like least about this game is the Theologies, so I think I'm going to randomly pick a Theology and then go from there. My character for the original game was the God of Coffee and he was Phoenix Society, so I'll remove that one from the running. Actually I think I'll remove Puck-Eaters from the running, too, because I don't want to be a fucking cannibal, so that leaves six, which conveniently is how many sides this here die has! A roll of 5 gives me...Order of Meskhenet! Oh, nifty, I was actually reading them with some interest yesterday.
Bearing that in mind, we jump right into Aspects, so no more fuckin' around, I need a concept. I've been watching The Fall of the House of Usher lately, too, and while that family is a bit more toxic than what's described for the Order, I like the notion of a sect of the order built around the God of [Something] and who's going to be the next to inherit it. Ooh, how about this - my character was technically in line to inherit, but no one really expected him to do it. His uncle, the patriarch of the Rizetti family, liked him, but "like" doesn't translate to "would give the mantle of a god." But then my character (let's call him Canio Rizetti) was over at Carmine Rizetti's (the patriarch's) house playing their weekly game of chess, and Carmine keeled over dead from a stroke, and Canio wound up with the Dominion.
Well, that's cool, but it doesn't give me my human aspect, so let's dig into that a little. What did Canio do besides play chess with Uncle Carmine every week? I picture him as being pretty young, maybe 22. I don't want him to be idle rich, I'm not making Prospero Usher here. Let's say that he's just graduated from college, but I don't want him to be in business or engineering or anything like that because ew. Let's say he studied English, just because it's something I can play and because it's a nicely generic degree for someone to get. And hell, given that his family are the inheritors of a divine spark, maybe it's not looked down on as much as it would be in a more money-centric clan. We'll call the human Aspect Youngest Scion of the Rizetti Dynasty, because I think that's probably the more important thing about his human life.
Next up is Divine Aspect, which means I need to figure out what he's the god of. Given his Theology, I kind of a want a very broad, basic, elemental Dominion, something that's been passed on for generations. I feel like there's some menace to how I've pictured the Rizettis so far; I'm thinking The Hunt or something night be interesting. But what if we subvert that expectation a little? What if Carmine Rizetti was the God of Dawn? I kinda like the idea that Canio, the youngest scion of the family, is a kind of new beginning that no one asked for or expected. So sure, he's The God of Dawn.
Theology Aspect specifies his Theology, which we know is the Order of Meskhenet, but we need a little more detail in there. "Accidental?" Doesn't quite hit the note I want, it's not that he was an accident, he was technically always in the running for the mantle of God of Dawn, it's just that no one thought he'd get it. Let's phrase that as Dark Horse Order of Meskhenet.
And then I have two Aspects centered around Bonds, which is probably one more than I need. I actually get three because, as an Order of Meskhenet, I get a Mentor that represents my connection to the family. So actually, let's do that one first. Giorgio was Carmine's executive assistant and, if we're honest, fixer, but he was also a surrogate parent to all of the Rizetti kids. Now that Canio is the God of Dawn, Giorgio is his assistant, at least for the moment (Giorgio is not a young man). But Giorgio Always Believed In Me.
I need some family drama, though, too, so let's say Canio's big sister Alba really wanted this. She thinks of herself as The Rightful Goddess of Dawn. And, finally, let's say that Canio has a Bond to the family home, with the Aspect It's Too Big For Me.
Skills and Manifestations! Well, Skills are easy enough, it's the usual ladder from Core, though there are a few Skills that are a little different. Let's start at the top, what is Canio really good at? Oh, well, let's just lean into the rich stuff and take Resources, how about. Going along with that, I'll put my Goods in Contacts and Rapport. I'll put Knowledge, Deceive, and Provoke at Fair (look, he has a degree in English, but it was never really his passion), and I'll put Will, Physique, Empathy, and Athletics at Average.
And now, Manifestations! These are like Skills, but magical. I get a Good, Fair, and Average, and unlike Skills, I can't use these at all unless I have a positive rating. Also, I need a specialization in each one, which is basically just an effect that I'm especially good at (and get a bonus to use). It's a good idea, because these powers are so darned freeform so it helps you to think about how using the manifestations usually looks.
Which means I should do that for Canio, which, in turn,means I need to think about what "dawn" means in the context of his godhood. I like the idea of dawn being a shift in circumstances for the better, or reprieve coming after adversity. So I think I'll put my highest Manifestation in Beckon, and have the Specialization be "summon help in a dire circumstance."
I like Journey, too, which enables teleportation and other movement kinds of things. How about if my specialization is "providing a last-minute escape?"
And then finally, let's take Ruin and invert this idea, and say the specialization is "prevent a second wind". So like the van full of reinforcement goons drives off a cliff (or just gets a flat or something).
I get a "human stunt," which I think just means it's...a stunt. I kinda want something to represent the family's reputation, maybe? I think I'll say that I'm Still a Rizetti: +2 to Attack with Provoke if the target has heard about the family.
And then I get 5 Refresh, but I have to spend one of them on Divine extras - in my case, worshipers, a relic, or a new Dominion. Well, I know I don't want another Dominion, so maybe a relic? Eh, relics are expensive and I don't have a good idea for one. How about a point into worshipers? Let's say there's a group of family retainers called the Clean-Up Crew, that comes in to put things back together after Divine shenanigans. I'll just put the one point into them; there were more, but since Carmine hadn't really done much shenanigans lately, the worshipers kind of dwindled.
That leaves me with 4 Refresh. Is there an Entitlement I want? Entitlements are basically Divine stunts...actually, I've got an idea. I want Canio's entrance into a scene to be a moment of hope for his allies, like a "oh, what a relief, he's here" sort of thing. I think the best way to represent that is for him entering a scene in progress to be accompanied by a scene Aspect with a free invoke, representing how his appearance changes the dynamic of the scene. That seems like a passive Entitlement, so that should just cost 1 Refresh.
That takes me down to 3 Refresh, and I don't have anything else I particularly want, so I think that'll about do it! Like I said, Canio is 22, of obviously Italian-American extraction, thin, brown eyes, black hair, prominent Roman nose, stylish but understated sense of fashion. He wears a gold ring with a rising sun insignia, gifted to him by Carmine, obviously.
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