Pool Fight! Aspects in Play
Last Sunday, I ran one of the best combats in FATE that I have ever been a part of! It was awesome! There were declarations, manoeuvres, magic, and an honest to God Dynasty-esque pool fight!
The Set-Up
Ok, here’s the set-up: The PCs were helping out a scared kid that got in over his head “playing” with vampires. You know the type, “Vampires are awesome, misunderstood people who are going to help us live forever!” Yeah, well this kid found out what vampires are really like, and bolted. So the vamp sent his goons to get the kid back. “Join or die” mentality.
The PCs were trying to calm the kid down and get him out of town. Unfortunately, the vamp’s goons showed up, first.
The Players
There are three PCs:
- Bud, the soulfire-wielding monk(that’s pronounced Boo’d)
- Johnathan Sparks, the man jacked into everything with a microchip
- Viktor, knight of the Spring Court
And there were 3 NPC goons, all red-court infected, pretty much straight from Our World.
The Scene
The PCs were in Johnathan’s apartment on the 3rd floor. Being the spark of information (his high concept), he was working on getting the kid a new identity to escape the crazyness of Austin. There was a knock on the door, and one of the goons told them, in no certain terms, that they were there for the kid. It was all “Hand him over and no one gets hurt,” kind of deal.
Needless to say, they were not going to acquiesce to his request. So he busted down the door. Johnathan has supernatural speed, so was able to act first and grab the kid, locking him in the master bedroom.
The Zones
There were 9 zones to start. The hallway outside the apartment, which led to the foyer. The foyer led to both the kitchen and the TV room. The TV room and foyer led to the back hallway, which connected to the spare bedroom, master bedroom, and the bathroom. The TV room also opened up to the balcony.
First Exchange
Bud answered the door, and was the first to engage the goons. Viktor was in the TV room, and two more goons jumped through the glass door to the balcony and surrounded him. There was some trash talk exchanged, and the fight was on!
The first goon started with an attack against Bud, trying to get the first punch in. Thankfully, Bud is an accomplished martial artist, and was able to deftly avoid the hammer of blows. Viktor got to go next, and his player surprised the heck out of me: he handed me a Fate point and said, “the pool is right outside the balcony.”
He than proceeded to grapple one of the goons. Johnathan decided to calm down the kid as his action. Bud, being the pacifist he is, self-compelled his trouble to try to talk the goons down, to no avail.
Second Exchange
For his first action, Bud pummeled the goon that broke down the door with his staff, scoring a direct hit! In retaliation, the goon tried and failed to land a haymaker. The goon that was grappled failed to break it (which is saying something, since Viktor was rolling at a +1 for inhuman strength only)! The last goon tried to crack Viktor over the head, trying and failing to help his friend.
Viktor, with his victim still grappled, jumped over the railing, splashing into the pool below, using his opponent to break his fall! With all the commotion going on outside, Johnathan again decided to stay with the kid.
Third Exchange
The grappled goon headbutts Viktor, breaking the grapple with a manoeuvre (giving Victor the dazed aspect). While up top, Bud, not liking being ganged up on, unleashes his soulfire, causing some major damage (minor and moderate consequence). One goon made a flanking manoeuvre against Bud, letting his friend tag it to land a blow! The one who took the consequences used his supplemental action to heal the minor, using his inhuman recovery.
Meanwhile, Johnathan decided to use his technopathy and turn on and off all the electronics in the house, causing the unharmed goon to become jumpy.
Fourth Exchange
Bud unleashes a less-powerful spell, but strong enough to down the goon. The jumpy one tried to trip Bud, but being jumpy he was unsuccessful (tag for a +2 defense). Johnathan emerges from the bedroom, and unleashes his lightning bolt of lolz (breath weapon). Singing the remaining goon.
Down in the pool, the one goon climbs out of the pool, and kicks Viktor, causing some stress. Viktor, in response, tries to get out of the pool, but with a tag of dazed, he can’t make it out of the pool (I described it as the goon stepping on Viktor’s hands as he tries to pull himself out of the water).
Fifth Exchange
Viktor, seeing that he can’t get out of the pool, pulls the goon back in, giving him the aspect not again! While up top, both Johnathan and Bud deal with the third goon. The wet one, not happy with being in the pool again, dunks Viktor under the water, giving him the aspect short of breath.
Sixth Exchange
From here, it’s all down hill for the last goon! He tried to drown Viktor, tagging short of breath, but Viktor was too good to let him do it! Bud, not one to let his friend duke it out in the water, jumps down to assist Viktor. Needless to say, that was the end of that.
Aftermath
I was extremely happy with how this combat turned out! First, Viktor’s player made a declaration. Then, they all made manoeuvres to spice things up! To boot, they described how and what they were doing! I totally had a nergasm!
It was the best RP’d combat I’ve ever had the pleasure of running. Heck, the best RP’d combat I’ve ever been in!
I just had to brag, I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog…oh yeah, that’d be me anyway!
