FATE 3.0-style declarations for OVA
Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:27 pm
Hi, I recently picked up OVA on a whim at a local game store (Imperial Outpost Games, to be exact), and I have been greatly impressed: it looks clean and neat and simple. So, of course, I immediately felt a need to make it more complex. 
Well, not exactly, but when I read the part in the OVA rules about Drama dice, they reminded me of the fate points in Spirit of the Century (a pulp game based on the FATE 3.0 engine from Evil Hat Productions), as well as Conviction points from True20 from Green Ronin Productions. Anyway, one of the more interesting uses of fate points is declarations, where a player can declare an element of the current scene by using a fate point. I've adapted the language from the SotC Wiki:
Well, not exactly, but when I read the part in the OVA rules about Drama dice, they reminded me of the fate points in Spirit of the Century (a pulp game based on the FATE 3.0 engine from Evil Hat Productions), as well as Conviction points from True20 from Green Ronin Productions. Anyway, one of the more interesting uses of fate points is declarations, where a player can declare an element of the current scene by using a fate point. I've adapted the language from the SotC Wiki:I don't know how often it would actually be used, but the idea seemed kind of cool to me, and in keeping with OVA's flavor.Make a Declaration
You may simply offer a drama die and declare something. If the GM accepts it, it will be true. This gives the player the ability to do small things in a story that would usually be something only the GM could do.
Usually, these things can’t be used to drastically change the plot or win a scene. Declaring “Doctor Herborn drops dead of a heart attack” is not only likely to be rejected by the GM, it wouldn’t even be that much fun to begin with. What this can be very useful for is convenient coincidences. Does your character need a lighter (but doesn’t smoke)? Spend a drama die and you’ve got one! Is there an interesting scene happening over there that your character might miss? Spend a drama die to declare you arrive at a dramatically appropriate moment!
Your GM has veto power over this use, but it has one dirty little secret. If you use it to do something to make the game cooler for everyone, the GM will usually grant far more leeway than she will for something boring or, worse, selfish.
As a general rule, you’ll get a lot more leniency from the GM if you make a declaration that is in keeping with one or more of your character’s attributes. For example, the GM will usually balk at letting a character spend a drama die to have a weapon after he’s been searched. However, if you can point to your Human Arsenal attribute, or describe how your Beauty +3 attribute kept the guard’s attention on inappropriate areas, the GM is likely to give you more leeway.
If the GM thinks the declaration is really cool (on the order of “why didn’t I think of that first”), then the cost of a drama die may be waived.