Fate Stunts
Base Skills and Stunts to Choose From
Stunts Overview
Stunts as a whole modify the way you use your skills or interact with the mechanics of the game. They differentiate the niches of styles and ways a character may approach how they use the associated skill. For example, a thief type of character would use the Stealth skill in order to break in to a store and would have a +2 bonus stunt for when those circumstances happen. An assassin type of character would take a stunt that instead allows them to roll Sneak instead of Fight should their target not see them.
Stunt Skeletons
These are baseline frameworks you can utilize to help customize your own stunts to better suit your character.
+2 Circumstance. The easiest frame to work with. You gain a +2 bonus on your skill roll should a specific circumstance occur.
Modify a Rule. The trickiest stunt skeleton, usually a good gauge is to bump up or down what you're modifying by one, whether it be movement, a condition (mild to moderate), stress, etc. Depending on what your stunt does, you will likely need circumstantial context for it.
Skill Swap. Should a specific circumstance occur, you can roll a different skill within reason (Roll Sneak instead of Fight should the target not see you, as an example).
Stunt Options
Designing your own stunts can be difficult, so here are some examples you can work with. The following are the assumed skills for a standard Florenic setting along with stunt examples from the base of Fate Core.
Table of Contents
Athletics
Core Options
Sprinter. You move two zones for free in a conflict without rolling, instead of one, provided there are no situation aspects restricting movement.
Hardcore Parkour. +2 to overcome actions with Athletics if you are in a chase across rooftops or a similarly precarious environment.
Dazing Counter. When you succeed with style on a defend action against an opponent's Fight roll, you automatically counter with some sort of nerve punch or stunning blow. you get to attach the Dazed situation aspect to your opponent with a free invoke, instead of just a boost.
Burglary
Core Options
Always a Way Out. +2 on Burglary rolls made to create an advantage whenever you're trying to escape from a location.
Security Specialist
You don't have to be present to provide active opposition to someone trying to overcome security measures you put in place or worked on. (Normally, a character would roll against a passive opposition for that.)Talk the Talk.
You can use Burglary in place of Contacts whenever you're dealing specifically with other thieves and burglars.Contacts
Core Options
Ear to the Ground. Whenever someone initiates a conflict against you in an area where you’ve built a network of contacts, you use Contacts instead of Notice to determine turn order, because you got tipped off in time.
Rumormonger. +2 to create an advantage when you plant vicious rumors about someone else.
The Weight of Reputation. You can use Contacts instead of Provoke to create advantages based on the fear generated by the sinister reputation you’ve cultivated for yourself and all the shady associates you have. You should have an appropriate aspect to pair with this stunt.
Crafts
Core Options
Always Making Useful Things. You don’t ever have to spend a fate point to declare that you have the proper tools for a particular job using Crafts, even in extreme situations (like being imprisoned and separated from all your stuff). This source of opposition is just off the table.
Better than New. Whenever you succeed with style on an overcome action to repair a piece of machinery, you can immediately give it a new situation aspect (with a free invoke) reflecting the improvements you’ve made, instead of just a boost.
Surgical Strikes. When using Crafts in a conflict involving machinery, you can filter out unwanted targets from whole-zone attacks without having to divide up your shifts (normally, you’d need to divide your roll between your targets).
Deceive
Core Options
Lies upon Lies. +2 to create a Deceive advantage against someone who has believed one of your lies already during this session.
Mind Games. You can use Deceive in place of Provoke to make mental attacks, as long as you can make up a clever lie as part of the attack.
One Person, Many Faces. Whenever you meet someone new, you can spend a fate point to declare that you’ve met that person before, but under a different name and identity. Create a situation aspect to represent your cover story, and you can use Deceive in place of Rapport whenever interacting with that person.
Empathy
Core Options
Lie Whisperer. +2 to all Empathy rolls made to discern or discover lies, whether they’re directed at you or someone else.
Nose for Trouble. You can use Empathy instead of Notice to determine your turn order in a conflict, provided you’ve gotten a chance to observe or speak to those involved for at least a few minutes beforehand during this scene.
Psychologist. Once per session you can reduce someone else’s consequence by one level of severity (severe to moderate, moderate to mild, mild to nothing at all) by succeeding on an Empathy roll with a difficulty of Fair (+2) for a mild consequence, Good (+3) for moderate, or Great (+4) for severe. You need to talk with the person you’re treating for at least half an hour in order for them to receive the benefits of this stunt, and you can’t use it on yourself. (Normally, this roll would only start the recovery process, instead of changing the consequence level.)
Fight
Core Options
Heavy Hitter When you succeed with style on a Fight attack and choose to reduce the result by one to gain a boost, you gain a full situation aspect with a free invocation instead.
Backup Weapon. Whenever someone’s about to hit you with a Disarmed situation aspect or something similar, spend a fate point to declare you have a backup weapon. Instead of a situation aspect, your opponent gets a boost, representing the momentary distraction you suffer having to switch.
Killing Stroke. Once per scene, when you force an opponent to take a consequence, you can spend a fate point to increase the consequence’s severity (so mild becomes moderate, moderate becomes severe). If your opponent was already going to take a severe consequence, he must either take a severe consequence and a second consequence or be taken out.
Investigate
Core Options
Attention to Detail. You can use Investigate instead of Empathy to defend against Deceive attempts. What others discover through gut reactions and intuition, you learn through careful observation of microexpressions.
Eavesdropper. On a successful Investigate roll to create an advantage by eavesdropping on a conversation, you can discover or create one additional aspect (though this doesn’t give you an extra free invocation).
The Power of Deduction. Once per scene you can spend a fate point (and a few minutes of observation) to make a special Investigate roll representing your potent deductive faculties. For each shift you make on this roll you discover or create an aspect, on either the scene or the target of your observations, though you may only invoke one of them for free.
Lore
Core Options
I’ve Read about That. You’ve read hundreds—if not thousands—of books on a wide variety of topics. You can spend a fate point to use Lore in place of any other skill for one roll or exchange, provided you can justify having read about the action you’re attempting.
Shield of Reason. You can use Lore as a defense against Provoke attempts, provided you can justify your ability to overcome your fear through rational thought and reason.
Specialist. Choose a field of specialization, such as herbology, criminology, or zoology. You get a +2 to all Lore rolls relating to that field of specialization.
Notice
Core Options
Danger Sense. You have an almost preternatural capacity for detecting danger. Your Notice skill works unimpeded by conditions like total concealment, darkness, or other sensory impairments in situations where someone or something intends to harm you.
Body Language Reader. You can use Notice in place of Empathy to learn the aspects of a target through observation.
Reactive Shot. You can use Notice instead of Shoot to make quick, reactive shots that don’t involve a lot of aiming. However, because you’re having a knee-jerk reaction, you’re not allowed to concretely identify your target before using this stunt. So, for example, you might be able to shoot at someone you see moving in the bushes with this stunt, but you won’t be able to tell if it’s friend or foe before you pull the trigger. Choose carefully!
Physique
Core Options
Grappler. +2 to Physique rolls made to create advantages on an enemy by wrestling or grappling with them.
Take the Blow. You can use Physique to defend against Fight attacks made with fists or blunt instruments, though you always take 1 shift of stress on a tie.
Tough as Nails Once per session, at the cost of a fate point, you can reduce the severity of a moderate consequence that’s physical in nature to a mild consequence (if your mild consequence slot is free), or erase a mild consequence altogether.
Provoke
Core Options
Armor of Fear. You can use Provoke to defend against Fight attacks, but only until the first time you’re dealt stress in a conflict. You can make your opponents hesitate to attack, but when someone shows them that you’re only human your advantage disappears.
Provoke Violence. When you create an advantage on an opponent using Provoke, you can use your free invocation to become the target of that character’s next relevant action, drawing their attention away from another target.
Okay, Fine! You can use Provoke in place of Empathy to learn a target’s aspects, by bullying them until they reveal one to you. The target defends against this with Will. (If the GM thinks the aspect is particularly vulnerable to your hostile approach, you get a +2 bonus.)
Rapport
Core Options
Best Foot Forward Twice per session, you may upgrade a boost you receive with Rapport into a full situation aspect with a free invocation.
Demagogue. +2 to Rapport when you’re delivering an inspiring speech in front of a crowd. (If there are named NPCs or PCs in the scene, you may target them all simultaneously with one roll rather than dividing up your shifts.)
Popular. If you’re in an area where you’re popular and well-liked, you can use Rapport in place of Contacts. You may be able to establish your popularity by spending a fate point to declare a story detail, or because of prior justification.
Resources
Core Options
Money Talks. You can use Resources instead of Rapport in any situation where ostentatious displays of material wealth might aid your cause.
Savvy Investor. You get an additional free invoke when you create advantages with Resources, provided that they describe a monetary return on an investment you made in a previous session. (In other words, you can’t retroactively declare that you did it, but if it happened in the course of play, you get higher returns.)
Trust Fund Baby. Twice per session, you may take a boost representing a windfall or influx of cash.
Ride
Core Options
Hard to Shake. +2 to Ride whenever you’re pursuing another rider in a chase scene.
Pushing the Limit. You can coax more speed out of your mount than seems possible. Whenever you’re engaged in any contest where speed is the primary factor (such as a chase or race of some kind) and you tie with your Ride roll, it’s considered a success.
Charging Speed! When ramming another person, you ignore two shifts of damage. So if you ram and hit for four shifts, you only take two yourself.
Shoot
Core Options
Called Shot. During a Shoot attack, spend a fate point and declare a specific condition you want to inflict on a target, like Shot in the Hand. If you succeed, you place that as a situation aspect on them in addition to hitting them for stress.
Quick on the Draw. You can use Shoot instead of Notice to determine turn order in any physical conflict where shooting quickly would be useful.
Uncanny Accuracy. Once per conflict, stack an additional free invoke on an advantage you’ve created to represent the time you take to aim or line up a shot (like In My Sights).
Stealth
Core Options
Face in the Crowd. +2 to any Stealth roll to blend into a crowd. What a “crowd” means will depend on the environment—a subway station requires more people to be crowded than a small bar.
Ninja Vanish. Once per scene, you can vanish while in plain sight by spending a fate point, using a smoke pellet or other mysterious technique. This places the Vanished boost on you. While you’re vanished, no one can attack or create an advantage on you until after they’ve succeeded at an overcome roll with Notice to suss out where you went (basically meaning they have to give up an exchange to try). This aspect goes away as soon as you invoke it, or someone makes that overcome roll.
Slippery Target. Provided you’re in darkness or shadow, you can use Stealth to defend against Shoot attacks from enemies that are at least one zone away.
Will
Core Options
Strength From Determination. Use Will instead of Physique on any overcome rolls representing feats of strength.
Hard Boiled. You can choose to ignore a mild or moderate consequence for the duration of the scene. It can’t be compelled against you or invoked by your enemies. At the end of the scene it comes back worse, though; if it was a mild consequence it becomes a moderate consequence, and if it was already moderate, it becomes severe.
Indomitable. +2 to defend against Provoke attacks specifically related to intimidation and fear.
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