I prefer that kind of system because I like my fights to have a definite impact. As it is if you've got 2/3 fate points spare you can invalidate pretty much any decent attack or all but guarantee yourself a oneshot on a bad guy after knowing how close you were to killing him in the first place. I love the consequence system as it is, but I do dislike how easy it is to go from almost got him! to I'll just drop a fate point and finish this guy off.

1.  What you describe works pretty well to invalidate attacks, but only takes out the other guy if he's a mook.  Spending fate to inflict a mild consequence instead of stress isn't usually that effective a use of an action+fate point, unless the invoke on that consequence tips things better than making use of other aspects on the scene.   PC-level opposition is INCREDIBLY tough, if they use all of their consequences, you need an outcome in the mid-20s to take them out, and if they have fate points, that goes higher.

2.  Therefore if you're spending fate points that way, it must be more important than it seems.  In my relatively limited play with fate, I've seen it done to avoid high-stress attacks (yes, that's how Murphy can survive fights with things that can throw cars, it isn't just Fists) sure, but it's more commonly used to make sure some kind of aspect lands on the scene so an action isn't wasted.  Only if taking out a mook is unusually important is a fate point going to be used for that purpose and in that case...do you really want a character with the competence levels of most Fate characters screwing up something like silencing the lookout WITHOUT an aspect-based compel involved?

In a simulationist game, of course.  That "d20" or percentile die looms large compared to your skills at most levels of competence so the chance of failure is always something you build into a plan.  In a story game, rolling poorly means burning a resource to get the desired outcome, or you attempt it deliberately finding it more entertaining to have the guard shout an alarm, and you get a fate point for whatever aspect (either on yourself or on the scene) explains how your uber-mercenary-dude failed at so elementary a task.

I do have to say that I think the Fate systems have some issues at pickup-games for convention-type settings, with pregens.

I was pretty turned off by a game I played where I ended up with a character mostly because the others at the table had stronger preferences, I couldn't get the aspects to do anything interesting (because they weren't mine, I didn't know how they should be invoked or compelled, and ran myself out of fate points quickly on not especially interesting invocations, while getting none back) and you know...a character whose main skills are social and piloting is going to have a problem in a scenario where there's pretty much nobody to talk to and everything after the first scene goes underground.

It was a fairly perfect storm of problems, and it didn't help that it was a late game session where the table was fairly cranky.   We took a break, I thought about things decided "screw it" and started just poking at the scenery to get something going.  It started working to get me more engaged, and then some stuff happened where my "fear of flying" consequence taken in the first scene could be turned around, and a critical point I found a way to use my high concept in a pretty cool way.   But....

Could have been completely miserable, instead of "kinda salvaged near the end" and mostly because I've been there, done that and decided I was part of the problem and shaped myself up halfway through the game.

When I ran a game, my players also struggled to use their aspects (and I'd not yet gotten better about putting good scene elements visible) as well, largely because *I* knew how to use them but *THEY* did not, and the aspects they were free to create were...I guess the word is shallow.  They didn't have time to really pick something that was "Fuego" in the DFRPG terms.

I've not had this problem at all in my new game I'm running on these boards.  I can leisurely look over character sheets to find the story behind each aspect, plus often hints about how the player expects compels and invocations to work, my NPCs have found both compels and invocations for their aspects naturally in play, etc.

Without the strong aspects, FAE and Fate Core just don't have a lot of crunch to them.  The skill+stunt system is a framework around which you use aspects, plus something to fall back on when conserving fate points or trying to build a stack of them.   DFRPG's a bit better in that respect, you can do quite a lot with supernatural powers and skills even if you never touch a fate point or a maneuver for advantage/declaration/etc, but without the compels and invocations, it's just another middle-of-the-road typical gaming engine - AND the abstractions get in the way of the crunch of what you can do without the aspect economy. 

This is why I'm sold on the "build the campaign and characters together" idea with Fate...doing it in a hurry or with a character handed to you that you don't understand....just doesn't work well.  It all goes two-dimensional and bland, at least for me, and while granted a small sample size, with others I've seen trying to play it in a con setting.  (FAE isn't really any better, if anything aspects are even more important there.  The primary benefit of FAE in a time-restricted setting is it takes less time to get used to the rest of the character, so you have more time to think about aspects)

Simulationist games also have a resource level.  It's fairly strong in d20 systems with magic, or in D&D4 with its limited-uses-per-xxx stuff.  Even an extremely "build-point" oriented game like Hero system has endurance, stun, body to provide a battery for the other powers and to determine when "taken out" is.  It's just that the resources are usually trumped by build+action economy.  (Most of the complaints about overpowered spellcasters in high level 3.x D&D is tied to the fact that their resources tend to trump dice, muck with action economy and render much of the build economy useless.  OTOH, people not especially good at the "build" game consider this a feature - a 12th level cleric is of some value even if the player makes bad choices at each level-up)

I'm trying to simulate an especially strong form of object reading.

First of all, skill selection simulates somebody who just touches an object and is pretty good with it.

I'm imagining somebody who has skills prioritized in anything to do with physical objects (eg, driving, shooting, weapons, burglary, craft, etc) which drop somewhat as relevance drops (eg, scholarship and lore both work with objects sometimes, but it isn't the main focus).  He might also have decent athletics and might, because things like free weights or treadmills or uneven b ars work especially well for him, so exercise is easy and fun.

All of that's fine, as far as it goes.  But I'd like to have him also be able to focus on a particular object, and be better at it.  I'm not a huge fan of stunts inside Modular Shapeshift, but I was thinking of a power along those lines....so say maybe 3 refresh and it gives you the equivalent of the "Pilot" stunt for driving wherever applicable, or a +1 to attack if the thing is a weapon.  Rarely it might give +2 stress damage instead.  For example, if he spends an exchange attuning to:

A car:  Drive stunt -  knows how to drive ground vehicles, +1 to drive any car, +2 to drive this car  (substitute tractor-trailer or motercycle or fighter plane or submarine etc)

A gun: knows how to use guns, +1 to attack with this gun  (or crossbow or artillery or whatever)
A bullet:  That bullet does +2 stress if it hits
A magazine or clip:  Rapid reload with that magazine/clip

A Hand-Saw:  Craft skill includes carpentry training. +1 to use any saw, +2 to use this saw.
A golf club:  Knows how to play golf.  +1 to whatever skill driving with that type of club is, +2 to use that club
I think clothing might work for certain intended purposes, eg a sexy outfit might give Sex Appeal, Jungle Camos might help with Stealth, etc. 
a computer:  could be scholarship or burglary (in the latter case, the computer is helpfully giving you the password to the screen saver, or the hard drive encrypt or anything local.  Can't help with either skill for anything on a remote computer, such as guessing an Amazon Prime password, unless it's something like a password cached locally or accessing the cookies or some such)
an english-<language> dictionary:  might give you crude access to another language, but your grammar would suck.
Surgeon's tools - done slowly and one-tool-at-a-time with one exchange between tools you might be able to simulate what a doctor does, assuming the tools present are appropriate for the injury treated.  Lab work is similar for scholarship, or demolitions for Craft.  You don't get any bonuses here, you just get to attempt the task at all.


In all cases the idea is attuning to the object gives you some degree of understanding of the general class, makes you better at anything similar to the object and especially good with the object itself, with one exchange needed to attune to a new object.  This expertise remains even if the original object is taken away or, say, you get out of that particular car or outfit, it is just at the reduced level.    (I'd likely want some aspect to simulate that you are mentally more in tune with the object's purpose as well, because it would be funny...gun would want to shoot things, cars want to drive, sports cars want to speed, etc)

anyway, does the modular shapeshift/3 refresh sound about right for this?  It's giving pretty broad access to +1 and +2s, but you can only get one thing at a time, need the base skill decent to begin with and need the prop.

By "exist in only one form" I mean "Character has endurance 5 only in one form, and thus a consequence that only exists when he is in that form".

Not "cut paw vs cut hand".

It is a weird mechanical quirk that is hard to justify in character.  Therefore choosing consequences that only make sense if you have shapeshifted into a 5 endurance being is helpful to suspension of disbelief for those situations.

Eh, Harry is both White Council and Winter Court.

He could easily be tapped as an emissary of both to a given situation.  He might even be expected to keep his goals of his two hats separate.  "As a White Council Wizard, the argument is THUS, but as the Winter Knight, I have to argue in favor of THEOTHER.   Decide for yourself which Power you wish to offend and I'll pass witness back."

Sure, but you'd want a second aspect involved in most cases (high concept for one, and trouble for another would be funny.  You could maybe word the aspects so which is the trouble varies....)

One thing I like about most FATE-versions are that the characters already have a connection to each other, but that also makes it difficult to introduce new characters.

/Ulfgeir

Huh.  I find this the opposite.   The new character has 5-7 aspects per existing PC to try to tie into, plus whatever aspects any NPCs especially close to the PCs might have.    Just to pick on Harry's world for a minute, lets say somebody wants to join in about the 5th book.

You've got Michael Carpenter (Harry's had two of their kids and the wife introduced as characters, one a PC-level one)

Through Michael you've got the Catholic Church (Nickleheads, Knights of the Cross, Fordhill...any new person of faith could join here)

You've got Murphy - anyone supernatural associated with the CPD might join SI and get involved that way (this is how Butters got into the game, Murphy introduced him)

You've got the Alphas or their teacher (another wild critter might get sent to Chicago to learn of human ways, as the teacher did, maybe rooming with the Alphas for basic orientation, this could have been the way a Forest Person Scion PC might have ended up in Chicago perhaps, before Harry started the Bigfoot side jobs)

You've got Susan - which brings in other Red Court infected as she's got reasons to stay away, but maybe someone else wants to help Harry or get favors from him, or a new mortal reporter (like the one at Splattercon!!!)

You've got Marcone - so any kind of supernatural criminal or security expert might join the campaign from that end

You've got Thomas  - somebody white court connected to keep an eye on him

etc etc.  And we haven't even gotten to Harry's aspects - a Fey from Winter Court to badger him about joining Mab, a Pixie PC from the Za Lord's Guard, that little girl he rescued in the first adventure, grown up and starting to come into magic or with an item of power that the Ring of Love turned into, a new Warden to keep an eye on him after Morgan's prejudice became known to Anastasia, etc)

You only need one aspect-based hook, really.  It's actually easier than joining a super-hero team or D&D adventurers.  "We need a new wizard.  The new PC wizard wanders by. You look trustworthy, want to join us?"    (One thing I like about Pathfinder Society adventures is every PC is a member, and it gives them a reason to work together, even if they don't get along or have anything else in common.  Aspects often work the same way)

The redirect or riposte stunt let you do the trick with only one avoided attack, and it uses your next exchange.  The power should be built along those lines.

I actually think that this should just be something you can do...Fate Core has a "Defend with Style" which puts a fragile aspect on an enemy or possibly the scene if you beat their attack by a lot.  That lets you do things like deflect an incoming bullet into a spotlight, or have somebody overbalance after missing you, etc.  The Dresden books have a number of examples of Harry using his shield spell to deflect attacks in useful ways, and some of his enemies manage the same.  We know Harry doesn't have an Riposte type stunt, although I guess with magic you might generate shifts with drawn power to combine a block with a maneuver if the GM is ok with it. (eg, draw 8 shifts for a level 4 block and level 4 maneuver, the maneuver can only be used if someone attacks your block, to simulate Harry angling his shield so a charging enemy goes flying into the air after bouncing off)  Might do a "zonewide" block and maneuver to handle multiple attacks until the block is knocked down..12 shifts of power for the same effect)