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| 2-6 | 12+ | 2-8 hr | $35 |
Leap right into the Dresdenverse!
Welcome to Dresden Files Accelerated Edition, a pared-down, pick-up-and-play RPG set in the world of Jim Butcher’s NYT bestselling novel series. Take a jaunt through the Nevernever, stand up to the Black Court, and sit down for a pint at Mac’s. This book contains all you need to make it happen.
In this book, Ivy the Archive will walk you through everything you need to know to get your game running, including:
- An introduction to the major supernatural players in the Dresdenverse and the places you might meet them.
- A new mantle system that speeds up character creation and gets you into the game faster.
- Faction-based campaign creation that creates immediate drama and action for your group.
- Easy-to-learn Fate Accelerated-style gameplay, with a few clever Dresdenverse tweaks.
- A scale system to support interacting with and playing at various power levels.
Dresden Files Accelerated. Fun. Fast. Fuego.
GAME INFORMATION
Number of players: 2-6
Age of players: 12+
Game Length: 2-8 hours
Type of Game: Roleplaying Game
Languages Available: English
Product Code: EHP0032
ISBN: 978-1-61317-133-2
Length: 256 pages
Suggested Retail: $35
Availability: Check here
Game Designers: Leonard Balsera, Clark Valentine, Brian Engard, Pamela Alexander, Priscilla Spencer, and Amanda Valentine.
Release Date: June, 2017
@Frank
Cool. Apply on the link above. Thanks!
Espero que también escojan gente de fuera de EEUU. Fate tiene una gran afición en España.
I hope that you also will be choosing testers among players outside the US. Fate has lots of fans in Spain.
Sean, I gather from your “Cool. Apply on the link above” response that despite the email on August 20th, you’re still taking applications? If so, my group is definitely interested.
@Kevin
Yes, as per the other comments, please apply on the link above where it says “Apply now”. We’re accepting applications between 8/25 and 9/5 so the window is still open. Thanks!
Awesome. Done!
Should there be some sort of autoresponse confirmation that the beta application has been received? That’s typical, but I haven’t seen anything yet.
@Kevin
Just the response at the bottom of the form that indicates it’s been received successfully. We’ll be sending out emails about a week after 9/5 to let folks know if they got in or not.
@Ehedei
Hi. None of our questions are region specific so we wouldn’t know where the applicants live, however, we’re very excited about the idea of DFA being tested all over the world. Thanks!
Yeah I realised that my groups all-male composition might be held against us, so I hoped that the fact that we’re in Sweden might give us a small advantage, but they didn’t ask where we’re based. So fingers crossed, and even if we don’t get selected I’m still thinking of making a Dresden Files similar game located in modern day Stockholm.
Awww I didn’t get in again! 🙁 Congrats to everyone who did, and thanks to Evilhat for the opportunity! 🙂
Sad but true — with 50 slots for 850 applicants, even if everyone’s equally awesome (a possibility), there’s a less than 6% chance of getting in.
I assume the original Dresden File books are still a worthwhile purchase, even if just from a fluff standpoint?
Very much so. Our award-winning game from 2010 continues to sell well, and is getting played all over the world. Nothing’s broken, it still works great.
In one sense, DFAE is more of an alternative for folks who want a lighter weight system that’s potentially friendlier to high variance in power levels, etc. It’s also a chance to revisit some of the game design concepts with an additional 7 years of experience (doubtful it’s seeing release before 2017). 🙂
Thanks, I’ll put it on my shopping list:-)
I know you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, but nice cover!
Any update on the release date?
Hi Ed,
It’s in post beta playtest development now, which should be completed in July. After that we’re on to editing, layout, art direction, art development, proofing, review from Jim, indexing, and printing. We’re still on track for Q3 2017 but won’t know the exact specifics until we get closer.
Frits, you can also check out the Fate Codex’s Dresden-Files-to-Fate-Core conversion guide, if you want to enjoy combining your Dresden Files games with that chewy Fate Core goodness:
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/145833/The-Fate-Codex–Volume-2-Issue-1
All the more reason to grab the DF books!
Is this project dead? I look this website every month for the last three years ago for any update
Hi Sebastian,
Despite the Denarian’s best efforts it is quite alive. We have all our status updates on the Project Status page.
We announced in 2013 that we’d start working on it in 2014. A good RPG from us has a 3 year development to manufacture timeline, start to finish. It’s not 2017 yet.
Hello, nice to read that TDFA is keep going! I wanted to play TDF, but the Skill section is actual a sho stopper for me. All the skills with all the trappings, man, that’s too much information. The skills from Fate Core are much more to my liking, so much easier. But I have Fate Code Volume 2 Issue 1 and it’s good but not really helpful to convert the game. Therefore I have pushed the start date for the campaign on Q3, ’cause I will wait for the Accelerated version of TDF. Will this become a Kickstarter project or will it be produced in any case?
Dresden Files Accelerated will be a physical product, if that’s what you’re asking. 🙂
My question was really if TDF Accelerated will be produced without a KS project – sorry for my wording… 😉
And would it be possible to playtest the rules or is the playtest finished?
Multiple rounds of playtesting concluded some time ago, the text is moving through editing and onward through layout and further production.
So…Will there be a translation into Spanish?
Hi Sebastian, we’ve had many of our products licensed by other companies to translate them, so it is a possibility in the future, but not something we’re planning for at product release.
Plus, any company wishing to do a translation would need to arrange the IP license with Jim Butcher’s agent first and foremost. It’s a significant undertaking.
Would be great to see the accelerated Version in German as well. But hopefully not with the guys that are doing the translation with your story and our world right now. I think that didn’t work out that well.
Ulisses Spiele or something like that would work out better, i think.
I saw it mentioned in a couple different threads on reddit that there might be an early release of the PDF alongside pre-orders in February. Is there any truth to this? Everyone in my gaming group missed the FATE Core kickstarter, and it’s a major bummer to have the DFA content floating out there just beyond reach now!
TLDR: Shut up and take our money! 😉
Our usual method is this:
Once the physical product is in preorder, the PDF is available for download to anyone who preorders said physical product from us. (Currently slated for sometime in February, tho I need to doublecheck with Marketing on the timing of that.)
The just-the-PDF release happens when the physical product ships (which is expected in May/June).
Excellent news, thanks! I’ll definitely be dropping the money on that the moment it’s available.
Hm, sorry, but I will not order the game from your shop, ’cause if I would I have to pay 56 USD postal charges. That ist to much. I think it will be higher than the cost of the product.
Ah, damn! I bought it! And so far it looks great!
I would like to congratulate you for this amazing book. I found the rules for TDF too complicated and therefore I’m glad that the new ruleset is much more streamlined and easier to use.
Pamela Alexander was questionning in the book what the players would like to see in the future to improve the ga,ing experience. I would very like to see a book of Mantles, Stunts, Conditions and Monsters. That would take tbe time pressure of me as a GM to invent such things. The section for monsters was a little bit too short for my taste. In my campaign there will be ghosts and outsiders and there is not one example of it. Perhaps you could makd little PDFs to sell them at a nice price?
One thing I have not found in the book is what stats of The Alpha’s. If you know where it is in the the book let me know.
My group and I are very happy with what was produced. I second Rene’s request: Mantles, Stunts, Conditions, and Monsters. In addition, clarification on Scale as players progress upwards with advancements; right now we are assuming every 2 refresh = 1 upgrade in scale given the bonus gained when you have scale.
Barry, I personally wouldn’t make that assumption at ALL about Scale. In fact, if I were running a campaign I wouldn’t ever permanently bump the characters up in Scale more than once in the entire campaign. Scale has a broad effect, covering all actions and applications of abilities, so it represents something much wider and potent than stunts do — certainly one step of across-the-board scale is worth far more than 2 refresh. (Just going by gut I’d start at, what, ten? More?)
But if you’re planning on running a campaign where folks go from farmboys to demigods in fairly short order, you can always be more liberal with notions of scale. I just wouldn’t want to.
Thanks Fred – I greatly appreciate the perspective! We are looking at a longer term campaign (year or so); we were looking at refresh and how deep you are in with the Dresden Files core rules as a comparison point. What you say makes sense.
And what about a PDF with more Mantles, Stunts, Conditions and Monsters, Fred? That would be a very nice – and in my opinion necessary – addition for DFA.
I’m having some trouble mastering the intricacies of Fate Points and the GM (p. 112), and I was hoping maybe someone could help me with them. Several questions:
1. “She spends fate points from this pool to invoke aspects against the PCs…” but NOT for compels or concessions. Correct? Just want to be sure: The GM only needs to spend FPs out of her pool when invoking player aspects.
1a. If my reading is correct, why are “hostile invokes” included in the list of things that DON’T come out of the GM’s pool? Isn’t the effect the same?
2. “If a scene ends and the GM is *still* owed fate points…” (emphasis mine). This seems to imply a situation in which the GM was owed fate points as a result of an invoke or compel during a scene, but – before the end of the scene – those points have somehow been used up (such that they are not “still” owed). Since FPs from invokes and compels don’t come available until the next scene anyway, I don’t understand how that could happen. Could this just as easily say “Any FPs awarded to the GM during a scene are added to the GM’s FP pool prior to the next scene”? Or am I missing something?
3. Does the GM add in FPs from a prior scene BEFORE or AFTER refresh? (I would think before, just like players at the start of a new session, but I want to be sure).
4. Does the GM start a new session with the base refresh or does she get a higher number of FP if she was above refresh at the end of the last session?
OR…I may just be getting this completely wrong. Any official clarification would be helpful.
Update: I may have answered my own question by cross-referencing this with the FATE CRB.
1. It looks like this I was correct on this (but still not clear about why “hostile invokes” are listed as things that don’t come out of the pool).
2. If DF is supposed to work the same, then the GM always defaults back to the refresh. The “still owed” language is intended to apply to a situation where a compel ended the last scene, so the GM gets an extra fate point going into the next. Maybe there are a few really weird situations where the GM could have more than one FP that she effectively never got to spend (e.g., PC’s invoked multiple aspects in a skill check that killed off a monster and ended a scene).
3. See above – its AFTER refresh in the occasional, but not typical scenario described in the FATE CRB.
4. I would think that if a previous session ended with FP “still” owed, the GM gets the extra FPs, but… (and this isn’t in DFA) everyone always resets to base refresh at the start of a new scenario.
Am I getting closer?
Good questions Matt!
You’re right about #1.
On #1a, hostile invokes, I can see why you’re confused — we probably could have stated that more clearly. A hostile invoke has several PARTS; when one pays to invoke a character’s aspect to their detriment, one does pay a point to do that invoke out of their own pool (whether it’s the GM doing the hostile invoke, or a player doing a hostile invoke), as one does with any invoke. But a hostile invoke also involves the *target* of the hostile invocation receiving a Fate Point payout, similar to how a player receives a Fate Point for accepting a compel; *that* Fate Point comes out of the infinite supply rather than any pool. I think that’s a pretty finely sliced distinction, tho, as one could easily see this as a transfer of the FP that was spent to do the hostile invoke. (I’ll double check with the system team to see if I’m on target here, I think I am, but I didn’t write the text.)
#2, I think that’s addressing an edge case of there being some sort of scene-ending aspect-involving event that would pay out to the GM, only the scene is ended right there so the FPs are still owed. (Consider also the FP payout from conceding a conflict: ends the scene, causes FP to be owed.)
That may sound like not at all different from the way the rest of the game works, but I think you might have something wrong: I don’t think compel FP payouts and other similar payouts are deferred to the end of the *scene*, they’re just deferred until the relevant action is resolved. So, for example, I might do a hostile invoke on one of your aspects in order to hit you with a bigger attack. You’d be owed a FP for that, but you wouldn’t receive it until after the attack is resolved (because you’d otherwise be able to use it to cancel out the boosted attack by using it to boost your defense roll, a zero sum).
(I’m pretty sure I’m right about that, because otherwise it’s nonsensical to say that the GM’s pool within a scene can increase in size by accepting compels, etc. You have to be receiving those FPs in the scene for that pool increase to happen.)
#3 Feels pretty directly answered on page 112 by the phrase “above and beyond her base refresh”.
#4 Depends on how much carry-over you’re doing in general in your game. I usually start new sessions with everyone fully resetting to base refresh, because I hate bookkeeping. 🙂