The flagship game book for FATE 3.0 by Evil Hat Games, Spirit of the Century is 420 pages of the action, adventure, and damn-the-details Science that we associate with early 20th century pulp writing. Clearly not an endeavor that takes itself too seriously, the authors mold the inherent flexibility of the FATE rule system to suit the over-the-top attitude of the genre.
The character generation system encourages players to treat their creations like the heroes from the works of Edgar Ruce Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, and the like. Player characters are assumed to be exceptional, but benefit through the FATE rules by having some exploitable aspects that make the GM’s life easier.
The particulars of the rules set aside the tedious record-keeping that bogs down so many RPGs, with broadly-applicable aspects and skill, built-in mechanisms to allow players to introduce convenient circumstances into the adventure though declarations of facts, and a system of character stunts that allow several of the rules to be bent in specific ways. This is where the underlying FATE system really shines: by focusing the amorphous multi-purpose FATE system into a single genre of death-defying bravado, two-fisted action and mad science, you can hang a very flexible game around a strong skeleton.
The overall result is a game that lets the players run just about exactly the kind of character they want to (within the broad confines of the genre) without having to worry about sacrificing effectiveness in play. Want to play the hard-boiled detective with enemies around every corner and his revolver always at hand? Go for it. Want to play the ham-fisted strongman with a sheltered back-country upbringing? Not a problem. Want to play a mad scientist with a spectacular laboratory crammed with fantastic devices? Totally do-able. A shell-shocked hobo haunted by his experiences in the trenches of the Great War? Sure thing. Once the characters have been created, the rules then allow these character to excel at what they’re good at, allowing all manner of opportunity to seize the reins and drive the story forward. This is the closest thing to a true collaborative storytelling game that I’ve seen yet that I feel can actually work.
In addition to a newfound urge to run a Spirit of the Century game as-written, this book has given me a great many ideas regarding the specifics of converting my favorite campaign setting away from the d20 rule set, which I think I could use an extended break from. We’ll see.