Our group is considering to forbid the use of Fate Token while rolling on the Reaper.
Officially you can use fate, but it seem a cheap way to avoid death
What you think?

We have already established a number changes to Fate use, collectively called the "True Fate" system in our group. You may only use a Fate to alter your own rolls and not rolls that determine the decisions and actions of personae or forces in the game. (Yes, no more Fate use for the Enchantress or Mystic, etc.) We consider that the player trying to use its Fate to alter the fate of others in the land... and Fate doesn't work that way. Hence, no Fate use on the Reaper... though we don't play with that expansion at present.

For activities, you may use Fate for your own rolls in Battle, Psychic Combat, Armour, Spells that you cast (yes, randomize is rolled by the caster, not the target), movement, dealing with hazards (Forest, etc), and so on. There are other items for the True Fate approach as well.

i like this true fate idea, makes more sense, and makes fate less game altering.

In addtion, we have some options for how it is used on certain rolls. Instead of a blind "do-over," which doens't actually alter any probabilities in your favor, we use the same principle of an extra die rolled BUT chosen before you roll. In other words, you face something your worried about, chose to apply a Fate before any dice are touched (by you or an opposing player or Enemy or other force in the game that rolls against you), and you get to roll one extra die and toss out the one your don't want/need. Hence somewhat like a few characters who roll and extra die in Battle then chose the best one.

When a character is already allowed to do this, they can roll yet another die as well for spending a Fate point. It is a very simple and clean approach that actually does put Fate into the hand of the player for an effective and strategic choice when something critical must be accomplished. In a like fashion, it can be applied to Movement, Armour, some Spells, etc.

We have also toyed with a die "push" use of Fate, where any one die rolled can be "pushed" one point higher or lower for 1 Fate point. It's bit more powerful than the basic True Fate approach in some ways. We have also tried playing both options, with the limitatnion that only 1 Fate point can be applied in through a True Fate or Fate Push for any one activity or Turn.

JCHendee said:

Yes, Crow, that's the way it should have been in Talisman. As it stands, Fate doesn't really do anything by probability calculations. It doesn't speed up the game and it doesn't really give adventurers an edge or any new control over its... Fate. I won't go through the calculations, but the only way the probabilities are altered by a Fate point is if it is applied beforehand, not after.