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Leonard Balsera: Fate (2013, Evil Hat Productions) 4 stars

"Fate Core is the latest evolution of the Fate roleplaying game system from Evil Hat …

Review of 'Fate' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Great presentation and update of the core Fate rules. The authors have obviously applied the many lessons learned from previous iterations of the system found in Spirit of the Century and the Dresden Files RPG.

The layout of the book is excellent with concepts filling a page or two. It uses a textbook-like format with page references to important concepts mentioned in the text found in the margins. I really like this format and haven't seen it used much in other RPGs outside of the work of Monte Cook.

The writing comes across as a bit dry at times, but this is hard to avoid given that the rules are a generic system stripped of setting and background.

I think my favorite part of the book is the chapter on the "long game" that concerns building and running a campaign using the Fate rules. I've always seen Fate as being excellent for one shots but weak for campaigns, and the ideas in this chapter actually make me want to try running a campaign using the rules.

Overall, this book solidifies Fate as my go-to recommendation for anyone looking for a generic system to adapt to a particular setting.