My family’s getting caught up on Avatar: Legend of Korra, which has unsurprisingly led to my daughter broaching the possibility of a Fate “Avatar” game.
Normally, I don’t do these sorts of conversions, but…
Anyway, here’s some random stuff I’ve come up with so far.
I’m seeing, ultimately, a mix of basic FAE stunts and the Assets from Ryan Dank’s Jadepunk, but for right now I’m just focusing on basic stunts, and (of course) figuring out bending in a way that doesn’t break everything when someone who isn’t a bender comes along.
So:
- Benders need a Bending aspect. Doesn’t matter which one, really, though High Concept would be the obvious one, and Trouble aspects would be… very fun.
- I’m a strong proponent of ‘always on’ Aspects, in terms of narration and whatnot, so…
- In other words, you don’t need Stunts to bend, you just need them to reflect the stuff you’re notably good at or where you break the rules a bit.
What’s a basic Bender look like, then?
For that, I worked out ‘default training’ for your typical benders in the four disciplines, based on the martial arts styles that the elements are each based on. It worked out like this:
- Earth Benders are initially trained to favor Careful attacks (listen, then act) and Forceful defense.
- Water Benders are initially trained to favor Sneaky attacks and Careful defense.
- Air Benders favor Clever attacks and Quick defense.
- Fire Benders favor Flashy attacks and defend with… well, more Flashy attacks. It’s not a very defensive style.
Once that was sort of mapped out, I started coming up with… I guess “the first Stunts a bender-in-training would learn.” So:
Earth
- Because I was trained to Listen, then Act, when I Carefully Attack during a Duel or Fight, any aspect that I created or discovered via Create Advantage can be tagged for +3, rather than +2.
- Because I am trained in traditional Earth Bending, I get a +2 to Forcefully Defend vs. Flashy, Careful, or Forceful attacks.
Water
- Because Water is a Subtle Style, I get a +2 when I Sneakily Create Advantage with my bending, during a Duel or Fight.
- Because I am trained in traditional Water Bending, I get a +2 to Carefully Defend vs. Careful, Sneaky, or Clever attacks.
Air
- Because Air Means Freedom, I get a +2 when I Cleverly Overcome obstacles with my bending.
- Because I am trained in traditional Air Bending, I get a +2 to Quickly Defend vs. Flashy, Quick, or Clever attacks.
Fire
- Because Fire is the Art of Power, I do +2 Harm when I successfully use my Bending to Flashily attack.
- Because Fire is Hard to Control, I get a +2 to Flashily Overcome obstacles or aspects created by other benders.
The idea here is that a trained-but-not-yet-masterful bender is predictable – which can’t be said for either the completely untrained or the real masters.
What that means is, with a bit of study and knowledge, a skilled combatant (even or especially a non-bender) can find the holes in a typical bender’s style and take them to pieces (Ty Lee in A:TLA, or The Lieutenant in the first season of Legend of Korra). It also means that more advanced benders (thinking of Toph and Iroh as prime examples, but there are many others) are much more dangerous, because their personal styles have expanded past traditional bounds. (More stunts that essentially plug their defensive holes and give them bonuses to different kinds of actions.)
That’s the basics. That’s about where I’d start.
Beyond this, I’d probably start getting into Jadepunk-style Assets for animal companions (naturally), as well as weird stuff like Ty Lee’s nerve strikes (which basically bypass Stress and go straight to Consequences).
