Fate Core vs Storypath Ultra
Compare Fate Core and Storypath Ultra side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Fate Core | Storypath Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Play Style | Narrative, Rules-Light, Collaborative, Cinematic, Improvisation, Theater of the Mind, Low-Prep, Roleplay-Heavy, Drama, Freeform Magic, Open Source, Tag-Based | Toolkit, Modular, Hackable, Cinematic, Heroic, Narrative, Character-Driven, Investigation, Social Intrigue, Skill-Based, Classless, GM-Friendly |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 4 Fudge dice + skill vs. difficulty. Spend/earn Fate points to invoke aspects. | Roll a pool of d10s equal to Skill + Attribute. Each die showing 8+ is a hit; 10s count as two hits. Add Enhancement (bonus hits from gear, abilities, or circumstances). Spend hits to meet the difficulty, buy off Complications (side effects attached to the roll), or purchase Tricks (extra effects like knockdown or critical hits). Failed rolls generate Momentum, a shared pool players spend for bonus hits, to turn failures into successes, or to introduce story facts. |
| Dice | 4dF (Fudge dice) | d10 dice pool |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Community | High | Low |
| License | CC BY 3.0 | Proprietary (third-party license pending) |
| Cost | Free (SRD) | $$ |
| Publisher | Evil Hat Productions | Onyx Path Publishing |
| Year | 2013 | 2026 |
| Best For | Narrative-focused groups who want to tell collaborative stories in any genre with minimal rules. | Groups who want a genre-agnostic d10 dice pool engine with dedicated subsystems for action, investigation, and social intrigue — especially those building their own setting or adapting existing Storypath games. |
| Highlights | Genre-agnostic, encourages narrative play, free rules | Three distinct play modes — action-adventure, investigation, and influence — each with dedicated mechanics. Complications and Tricks give every successful roll narrative texture beyond pass/fail. Momentum turns failed rolls into a shared resource that keeps the story moving. Modular building-block systems (powers, heists, vehicles, crafting, large-scale combat) plug into any game. |
| Considerations | Aspect economy demands constant creative input which can exhaust players, character differentiation can blur with freeform aspects, requires system mastery from the GM to run smoothly | No included setting beyond three short examples — groups must build or adapt their own world. No free quickstart or SRD available. The promised third-party publishing license is not yet live. Multiple interacting subsystems (Enhancement, Advantage, bonds, Complications) take several sessions to internalize. |