Appendix: Quick Reference

Fate's Edge Player's Guide — Appendix

Player Tools and Quick Reference

This appendix provides lightweight, table-friendly tools for tracking character progress, campaign state, and moment-to-moment rules. Print, photocopy, or copy to index cards for use at the table.

Physical Tracker Recommendations

Many groups find that physical, tactile trackers speed up play and reduce mental load. Consider:

• Poker chips or glass beads for Boons and Story Beats (SB). Keep a small bowl of chips in the center of the table — spend and earn visibly.
• Dry-erase boards or laminated sheets for timers (4/6/8 segment circles). Use a wet-erase marker; draw a new timer each scene.
• Index cards (3×5) for Assets and Followers. Write the Asset's name, free use, and surge on one side; flip when used.
• Colored paperclips or binder clips on character sheets for Fatigue and Harm tracks. Slide the clip up or down — no erasing.
• Printed “timer wheels” (a circle divided into 4/6/8 wedges) placed inside a page protector. Mark wedges with a dry-erase marker, erase with tissue.
• D10 dice to track temporary modifiers (Position, Effect, or Momentum). Place the die next to the relevant tracker and tick up or down.

Resolution Index Card

Fatigue and Harm Tracker

SB and Momentum Tracking

Talent Progression

Character Goals Card

Physical tip: Print this card on cardstock, fold in half, and stand it in front of you as a reminder.

Faction Attitude Card

Player Orientation Card (Quick Principles)

Class / Archetype Resource Quick Reference

How to Engage with the GM (Player Prompts)

• Ask: “What do I need to roll?” — get the DV and Position.
• Propose: “Can I spend SB to achieve X?” — negotiate narrative pushes.
• Declare: “Here's my intent and method.” — always state what you want to happen.
• Offer: “I'll take a complication if Y happens.” — invite Devil's Bargains.
• Clarify: “What's at risk if I fail?” — know the stakes before rolling.

Downtime Project Tracker

Physical tip: Use a 6-segment whiteboard timer. Each downtime, erase one segment and roll for progress.

What Consequence Do You Accept? (Menu for GM)

When a player fails or partially succeeds, the GM may offer a choice from this list (or invent a custom one):

• Harm (level 1 or 2)
• Fatigue (1 or 2)
• Lost Advantage (Position worsens, a timer advances)
• Time Delays (a timer ticks, a deadline tightens)
• Exposure / Heat (attention from enemies, bounty)
• Resource Depletion (supply timer tick, gear compromised)
• Relationship Strain (a bond or faction attitude worsens)

Ways to Shine in Fate's Edge

• Tie actions to your drives and backstory — invoke your Background Boon.
• Offer complications and accept them — earn Boons.
• Spend SB to escalate or transform the scene — make failure memorable.
• Use your class resource early and often — don't hoard.
• Connect scenes to campaign themes — name the faction or place.
• Make other characters look cool — assist, set up, pass the spotlight.

Blank Player Index Cards (for quick notes)

Final Reminder

Your character sheet is not your character. It is a tool to help you express who they have been, who they are becoming, and how their choices change the world.

Use these tools to make that expression vivid, consequential, and memorable.

Magic Systems Reference

Magic in Fate's Edge is plural. Different traditions channel power through different metaphysical structures, but all obey the same truth:

Power has a cost, and magic shapes the one who wields it.

This appendix provides quick-reference tools for players using magic-affiliated systems, talismans, rites, and occult practices.

Core Magical Principles

Universal Casting Reference

Magic Tradition Quick Reference

Mutual Rules of Magical Cost

No magic is free.

Cross-System Synergies

All magic systems can blend. A Runekeeper may emulate a Cleric or Druid; an Invoker may operate as a Paladin or Prophet; a Sorcerer may look like a Witch, Elementalist, or Psion.

When combining systems:

1. Choose your primary expression (belief, intellect, instinct, ritual).
2. Describe spells through that lens.
3. Let costs reflect your system.
4. Track consequences separately — mixing systems increases risk.

GM Reminders for Magic

• Magic creates story — reward its use with consequences and momentum.
• Players should narrate method, not just effect.
• Big moments should change scenes, not just numbers.
• Magic should tempt the caster — echo their drives and flaws.

Player Reminders for Magic

• Lean into cost — magic feels significant when it hurts.
• Make magic personal — describe what it looks and feels like.
• Tie powers to identity, belief, trauma, duty, or legacy.
• Let magic change your character over time.

Pre-made Spells with TAGS and DV Math

The following examples illustrate how TAGS, DV scaling, and spell intent interact within the casting system. Use them as inspiration or as templates for your own spells.

How to Read a Spell Entry

Each entry includes:

• Name and Tradition (optional).
• TAGS — the components that define the effect.
• Effect — plain-language outcome.
• DV — base calculation (1 + number of TAGS; dangerous tags add +2).
• Notes — typical range, duration, or special considerations.

Tier I: Minor Utility (DV 2–3)

Tier II: Combat Utility (DV 3–4)

Tier III: Area Control (DV 4–5)

Tier IV: Battlefield Shaping (DV 5)

Tier V: Domain-Level Effects (DV 5)

Signature / Personal Spells (Custom)

Backlash and Push Guidelines

Backlash Examples by Tier

• Tier I–II: Minor fatigue, brief elemental effect (smoke, chill, static).
• Tier III–IV: Harm 1, temporary Condition, environmental hazard.
• Tier V: Harm 2, major Condition, significant environmental change.

Push Options (Accelerate or Amplify)

• +1 Effect: Increase radius, duration, or potency one step.
• +1 die: Improve casting roll (cost: +1 Fatigue).
• Instant: Resolve immediately (cost: +1 Harm).
• Sustain: Maintain effect with concentration (+1 Fatigue/round).

This framework provides concrete spell examples and demonstrates how TAGS, DV scaling, and ambition interact within the magic system.

Free Casting (TAGS System)

Some casters shape raw forces through shared arcane grammar known as TAGS. Construct a spell at the table using a short phrase of TAGS.

Spell Structure

Intent + Target + Tags = effect. Example: “I unleash Burning • Area • Force against the marauders.”

Base Difficulty Value (DV)

DV = 1 + number of TAGS

Dangerous TAGS (Teleportation, Transformation, Domination) add +2 DV instead of +1.

Casting Roll

Roll Wits + Arcana (or similar). Success = spell works. Failure or any 1 = Backlash.

Backlash for Free Casters

Choose one:

• Harm 2 (Arcane)
• +2 Fatigue
• Corruption +1
• Catastrophic side effect (GM describes)

If the spell includes a “Dangerous” TAG, Backlash triggers on mixed results as well.

TAG Library (Abridged)

Example Spells by DV

• Light [Illuminate] — DV 2 (1 tag)
• Message on Wind [Whisper] — DV 2
• Shield of Air [Ward] [Defend] — DV 3
• Flame Cloak [Burning] [Area] — DV 3
• Wall of Stone [Barrier] [Fortify] — DV 3 (two tags), or DV 4 if the GM rules combat blocking as dangerous
• Teleport [Leap] [Veil] — [Leap] alone is already a dangerous tag (+2), so total DV 3 rather than the naive 1 + 2 + 1 = 4