So how do you handle Fate Points? Somehow, Fate Points refreshing every game session doesn't feel proper if it means they are refreshed in the midst of an adventure. The clever devils that are my PCs remarked that if you have a fate point left when the session is almost over, you should use it to heal yourself. Come next session, everyone is full and fine again, which is not okay IMHO if you have any sort of cliffhanger ending.

What do you think?

The Laughing God said:

Personally, I only allow the healing use of Fate Points in the midst of (or shortly after) combat - the wounds they suffer turn out to be not quite so serious, perhaps - or when the character is actually recieving medical treatment.

Then again, my players tend not to have fate points left at the end of the session...

I only let my players to get a new one when they have completed a "goal" not if time is running out.

I just assume that any fate points spent after I call for the end of the session do not come back at the start of the next one unless they have a chance to rest up. Anything spent prior to me calling the evening's end come back just fine. This only applies to mid-fight cliffhangers.

Plus, why the need to place further limits on FPs? They are purely a game mechanic giving the player some control over his character's fate. Wounds healed with them don't miraculously stitch together. The PC just has the chance to persevere despite great pain and he'll make a solid recovery once everything is over, provided he doesn't suffer more pain than his fortune can handle. When a PC rerolls, he may believe the hand of the emperor guides his shot but in reality it's just an abstract game mechanic that gives the player some control over things. Nothing wrong with that.

Just like EXP I see FPs as an abstract non-setting specific rule and reward. The PC doesn't have an EXP total on his dataslate telling him how much he's improved. Why should FPs be any less abstract?

I am always surprised at how people seem to having trouble with fate points. As the GM you can adjust the difficulty of a mission on th fly if the players are having it to easy or to hard a time of it.

One of three things seem to be happening.

First they are not being challenged enough, increase dificulty (start very small and work up till desired level)

Second they are finding the adventures very challenging and feel that saving those FP for healing will offer greater benefit than other uses. In this case increase the importance of other skill roles (offer greater rewards for success in them) so the players see another way to success and survival. Example: Make it clear they may be able to talk their way past the gang members instead of having to fight them.

Third they are being very stingy with them (understandable if they only have 1 or 2) and saving them to rescue them from death. In this case I do not see a problem as they only have few to use anyway and a few extra wounds at the start of the next session can easily be dealt with by the first method I mentioned.

Honestly you can always expect the characters to have at least 1 left near the end of the gaming session unless they have really been pushed to the edge. Getting the PCs to spend that last FP is very hard to do as they understandably want to keep it around to save their life. The way I usually look at it is breaks in gaming sessions come at a point where there is a lull in the action. The characters have a chance to regain their breath, and screw up there determination for the fight to come.

N0-1_H3r3 said:

You let your players heal with their fate points? *blinks* I only let them to re-rolls, but, then again, maybe I'm just mean.

Milova said:

By the default RAW you can:

*Reroll one failed test. The results of the reroll are final.

*Recover 1d5 wounds.

*Recover from stun.

*Treat initiative as if they rolled a 10.

*Add an extra success level to any test.

If you missed that tidbit in the core rules you're not mean just mistaken. If you purposefully removed those FP uses then yes, you are in fact a big meanie.

I have to say, I agree with Milova. I only let my players use FP to re-roll failed tests... Maybe they really need that called shot to the demon's head? Who knows. Anyways, the group I play with would rather re-roll a dodge test, than take damage and possibly heal some of it. Even when I am not the GM, this is the rule we seem to stick with. Quite honestly, if your PC's are abusing left-over FP's at the end of a session, I would say, sorry you may not heal, this session is over. If you wish you could spend a FP at the beginning of our next session, you are more than welcome.

Basically, what I am saying, and I feel everyone else has hinted at is...You run your sessions, not your PC's. Yes, you need to have fun as well as them, and you shouldn't always say "no" to them bending rules for their benefit, there are times you say no. Next thing you know, they will argue with you about what gear they can get or carry.

Another way to hand it, is the good old fashioned, sure you can heal.... Beginning of next session, Everyone who abused a FP last session, roll an extremely hard -30 Dodge test. Oh, you failed? Well you just got hit by "blankity blank", take 1d5 damage. Eventually, they will learn.

NsaneDragn said:

A personal rule of mine is that I don't teach the players lessons. Sure I might happen to teach the characters lessons within the scope of our game but the players themselves are there to have fun, not to be educated.

After thinking about this some more I've come to the conclusion that FPs are something that should be completely controlled by the players. As long as it's in the scope of the rules as written I don't care what they do with them. I've got bigger better things to worry about than a measly 1d5 wounds. Plus I really like the rare occasion where I end a session on a nasty cliffhanger and as the daemonhost breaks it's bonds, the player tightens his grip on his bolt pistol, hefts his chainsword, takes a deep breath (gaining back 1d5 wounds) and preps himself for next week's dramatic battle. I guarantee he's going to need all he can get.

In my book if any of the following occur I'm doing something wrong:

* More than one FP remains on any one character at the session's end.

* Character's have more than 3 or 4 total FPs.

* Players actually think that padding their Wounds come session's end will make things any easier.

Mark it Zero: Nah you need to let them have the illusion that their fate is in their hands. They have to believe that all tthe little schemes and actions they take will have an effect or it will not longer be fun for them.

Of course I play a more freeform game and tend to allow deviations from the script, and make alot up as I go.

Mark it Zero:

While I do agree with what you have said here, sometimes PC's like to exploit certain things in a game. Now, FP's are not one such thing I tend to see an issue with, but there are defnately some times where you have to educate a player on not using such exploits. For example, I played a guardsman in a friends campaign not to long ago. We ALWAYS had extra ammo being thrown at us and me having 4-7 charge packs was a bit absurd for my Lasgun. One thing we could NOT get was grenades, because our GM hated us just throwing a grenade to pretty much wipe out half of what he had planned for us. So, uing my demolition skill, I would rig a charge pack, throw it at the NPC's feet, and shoot it. We treated this like a grenade assuming I could pass the tests for all of these things I was attempting. Pretty soon, our DM stopped loading us up with ammo, and I learned to actually hold onto 60 shots, rather then just throw them away for a small amount of damage to a larger area.

I'm not quite sure what the OPs describing. Is he allowing his players to recover all damage to their PCs between sessions by spending a Fate Point? Because that's certainly not RAW. If, on the other hand, you take a minute or two to spend FPs at the end of a session to recover injury at D5 points per FP then that seems fair enough - they've preserved their FPs and the session's obviously not been too challenging up to this point (or they wouldn't have any left to spend!). Good for them. Let Fate smile upon them!

I'm going to be introducing Fate to my players at the next session (didn't want them getting carried away in the first session) and I suspect they'll spend them quickly.

R.

I can't really see how any of the FP uses can be exploited. They're a limited resource that quickly dries up unless you have been going overboard giving out FPs as a reward. I'm not constantly out to kill my party but when a pivotal battle ensues (one with an FP is a possible reward for success) the gloves come off and I'm out for blood by the gallons. Hell if everyone has FPs to burn, there's no reason not to unleash hell and let the God Emperor sort 'em out.

I've awarded a new FP only twice since the game came out and none of my players have ever surpassed 4 FPs total. Only one character every hit 4 and took that as a reason to be a bit more daring, at least until he nearly had his head bitten off.

Turn their "exploitation" into desperation. Make them sweat every FP expenditure. No need for out of game lessons to players. A sound thrashing in game will beat any cleverness out of them.

As my point of view, my players are exerienced in Warhammer system. So they do not like using their FP during our sessions.

It help me to see if my adventure is chalenging at the end of the session. I always have one that do not remember existence of FP but other one usually use up to their last to reroll their failed skills.

So for me refreshing FP at each session is not an issue. I have reward them only one time with FP as they start to have escape death to much time. I would prefer to give equipment than FP as it can be provided by their inquisitor.