FATE Blocks - Necessary?
I’ve been pondering for a while now the necessity of the Block action. In theory, it seems like a great plan…in practice…well, read on, readers!
What Is a Block?
At its heart, a block is nothing more than a proactive defense. Not only are you giving up your action for a better defense, but you have the option of providing a better defense for others, as well.
Are There Other Ways to do a Block?
Yes. Two, really. The first is the defensive action. +2 to all defensive rolls. That’s awesome! It’s even better than a manoeuvre! Mostly. The defensive action gives you a +2 to all defenses, so if you’re rolling more than one defense next round, it makes sense. However, not all games do that.
For example, in Diaspora you roll only once for each “type” of defense. Even if you’re getting shot at by three different bad guys, that’s only one roll, since they’re all athletics rolls. However, in, say, Dresden Files, you’re rolling against each attack, regardless of the skill used.
Second is a manoeuvre. This can take the place of a self-block—like block spells in Dresden—or an ally block. Make your roll, and if you succeed, you/they have an aspect that can be used for their defense roll. If they don’t need to tag the aspect, your block “worked.” If they need to use it, it “breaks” just like before.
I can hear you now, “But what about when I rolled that epic 8-shift block? How do you represent that awesomeness with a manoeuvre?” Easy: spin! Let me explain.
Spin is achieved when you roll really well (3 or more higher than the difficulty), right? Right. So how about we give a bonus for those who get spin? My first thought is give the aspect 2 tags instead of the standard 1. Another possibility is to allow that one tag to be worth +3. However, that might make it too powerful. I don’t know, I’d have to play around with it some.
Why Change Things?
That’s a really good question. I’m not sure why I started thinking about it today, but it brought back some memories of my Dresden Files character. He was a scion of Gaia, and one of his rote spells was a block…and it sucked. Either the 4-shift block was easily blown through by the enemies, or they couldn’t and it was a waste of magic.
If I would have used a 4-shift manoeuvre instead of a block, it would have lasted longer, and been more useful. I mean, my defense skill was at 4, so the block was really just an “oops, I rolled a -2” than a “useful spell.”
Besides, I also think that “Block” as an action isn’t up to par with the rest of the available actions. I mean, one of the things that makes FATE so awesome is aspects! Why reinvent the wheel when what you have already works well?
Closing Remarks
For my Halo Hack, I think that aspects work better than Blocks. It may not be for everyone, but I think it works well for most. I know that I would rather have an aspect to tag to improve my defense rather than a skill-roll-substitute. What do y’all think?
