Fate Core vs Microscope
Compare Fate Core and Microscope side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Fate Core | Microscope | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Tags | Narrative, Fiction-First, Character-Driven, Collaborative, Tag-Based, Toolkit, Worldbuilding, Rules-Light, Social Combat, Strong GM Support | Narrative, Worldbuilding, GM-Less, Rules-Light, One-Shot Friendly, Fiction-First, Collaborative |
| Core Mechanic | Roll four Fate dice and add a skill rating to compare with the opposition. Spend Fate points to invoke a relevant aspect for +2 or a reroll. Accept an aspect-based complication to gain a Fate point. | No dice, no GM. Players take turns adding Periods (eras), Events, and Scenes to a shared timeline. A rotating Lens player picks a thematic Focus each round. A Palette of Yes/No elements sets boundaries. Scenes are role-played to answer a specific question about the history. Play jumps freely across time. |
| Dice | 4dF | Diceless |
| Complexity | Low | Very Low |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Low |
| License | CC BY 3.0 (SRD) | Proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | Free | $ |
| Publisher | Evil Hat Productions | Lame Mage Productions |
| Year | 2013 | 2011 |
| Languages | English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian | English |
| Best For | Groups who want to build their own setting and follow capable heroes through personal complications and dramatic conflicts. | Groups who want to collaboratively create vast histories spanning centuries or millennia: perfect for worldbuilding sessions, one-shots, or as a campaign-creation tool for other RPGs. |
| Highlights | Compels turn character weaknesses into story complications that earn Fate points. Creating advantages gives allies free aspect invocations to combine for decisive actions. Conceding a conflict preserves some control over defeat and earns Fate points for later scenes. | Flexible across any setting and genre, zero prep required, no GM needed, useful as a worldbuilding tool for other campaigns, simple rules anyone can learn in minutes, generates unexpected creative results |
| Considerations | Aspect use depends on agreement about which fictional details apply. Full character and setting creation can take an entire session. Magic and other extras require group decisions about permissions and costs. | Can produce incoherent timelines without group alignment, one player can dominate if others are less assertive, no mechanism to resolve creative disagreements, sessions can stall without a facilitator |