There are a couple of major versions of Fudge RPG out there and a few minor versions.
Fate 2nd Edition
The Fate 2.0 PDF is available from Fate RPG Download.
Fate 3rd Edition
An official Fate 3.0 hasn’t been released as a separate document yet. However the emerging mechanics do appear in several published supplements. All these versions of Fate 3.0 use slightly different mechanisms. Luckily Evil Hat have put together a comparison of different versions of Fate. You’ll see that some of the variants are quite different. Also have a look at what Fate 3.0 core means to see what the authors think are the essential parts of version 3.0.
Personally I think Free Fate is a good option if you’re not drawn to one of the published settings. It covers the core, seems faithful to the spirit of the rules, and it is, well, free.
The following table lists the main versions of Fate 3.0.
| Supplement | Description | Get it from | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Awesome Adventures | According to the author “Awesome Adventures is basically Spirit of the Century Lite” | Not sure | Commercial |
| Diaspora | Complete hard science fiction RPG | DriveThruRPG: Diaspora | Commercial |
| Dresden Files RPG | Complete Urban Fantasy RPG set in the world of the Dresden Files, a series of novels written by Jim Butcher. | DriveThruRPG: Dresden Files | Commercial |
| Free Fate | A clean, small variant of the Fate 5.0 rules without a specific setting. | Yahoo Group: Fate RPG look in Files | Free |
| Legends of Anglerre | Complete high fantasy RPG by the Starblazer guys. | DriveThruRPG: Legends of Anglerre | Commercial |
| Spirit of the Century | The by-line is “Pulp pick up Rolepaying game”. Says it all. | Fate RPG: Download has SRD as HTML or PDF | SRD is Free |
| Starblazer Adventures | Complete RPG set in the “rock-and-roll space opera” worlds of the Starblazer comic. | DriveThruRPG: Starblazer | Commercial |
| Strands of Fate | A variant of the Fate 3.0 rules without a specific setting. Seems to vary quite a lot from the others | DriveThruRPG: Strands of Fate | Commercial |
Comparison of Fate 2.0 and 3.0
| Area | Fate 2.0 | Fate 3.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Aspects | Use aspects by checking them. Can gain multiple ranks in them. Only characters have aspects. | Invoke aspects with fate points. Cannot gain levels in aspects but can get related aspects. Characters, places and even scenes can have aspects. |
| Extras /Stunts |
Has “Extras”. These are passive abilities / resources / items purchased with skill. | Has “Stunts”. These are passive abilities to modify skills. They are gained in a similar way to skills. |
| Actions | Static / Dynamic, Tests / Challenges, Combat is a Dynamic Challenge | Simple Actions / Contests / Conflicts, Stress, Combat is a Conflict |
| Wounds | Clipped gives -1 on the next turn. Hurt gives -1 for the scene. | Enemy inflict “Stress”. Take too much Stress and you’re either Taken Out or you’ve taken a Consequence. Consequences are temporary aspects that can be used against you. Alternatively the opponent can do a Manoeuvre to slap an Aspect on you. |
| Ladder | Mediocre = -1; Average = 0 |
Mediocre = 0; Average = +1 |
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