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Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game $11.99
Average Rating:4.6 / 5
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Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game
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Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Wearing the Cape Productions
by Andrew S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/20/2020 01:54:28

This book is not a good rules set to build your own superhero world for using the FATE system. That is what I was hoping for when I bought it and it was a bit of a disappointment on that front. The rules are pretty heavily interconnected with the setting. That means if you are in fact looking for a rules set to play in the Wearing the Cape universe this book is wonderful. I loved the art throughout the book, quite well done.

The rules are a bit convoluted for a FATE game and there are some power balance issues surrounding power classifications, for example Atlas types don’t cost any more than Ajax types and are just better, but that seems to be baked into the setting, so I can’t really fault it there, I just wish there were some other balancing method that gave someone with a more limiting concept something back. I can’t help noticing that everytime I encountered the Atlas type rules they were just better than the other types (physique adding to both attack and armor unlike the projection type rules), so it seems like it was written around the main character of the book series.

So if you are looking to play a game set in this universe this book will definitely get you there, if not I’d advise steering clear.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
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Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Wearing the Cape Productions
by Anthony M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/29/2019 20:24:33

I’ve finished a first pass through both of Wearing the Cape, the Roleplaying Game and Barlow’s Guide & The B-Files and I believe I’ve finally found my Fate Superhero RPG.

I’m an old Champions player. It was my first RPG. I loved how I could make any character come to life in Champs. I still gravitate toward systems that support that level of player creativity. I’ve dabbled with Icons and Venture City, but both games were missing that range of expression.

Venture City is really good for experienced Fate players to dive right into the attached street-to-corporate superheroes setting, Superpunk. Powers are built on a Extra template. And characters are limited to two powers each. Which I found a little confusing until I realized that the player defines the powers. So Captain America has the powers Super Soldier and Adamantium Shield rather than, Super Fighting, Super Athletics, Super Strategy, etc. Just like Wearing the Cape, the power level can be scaled up by increasing the PC’s number of starting stunts. But I find that two power limit kind hangs over the creation process. And it lacks implicate support for flexible power pools, like magic or hypertech.

Icons is a proto-Fate game, written before Fate Core was published. So the dice, rules, and nomenclature are a little different. What Fate Core calls Stress, Icons calls Stamina. And the game uses d6’s instead of Fate Dice. Icons is a simple game and it’s really easy to make NPCs on the fly. You can also add limits to powers like in Champions. You can do that in Wearing the Cape, and indeed in any stunt in a Fate Core game, but the the point cost of limits in Icons are straight forward and don’t require bargaining with the GM. Icons has the Bronze Age of comics feel whereas Wearing the Cape feels contemporary, both in the way powers are built, but in the setting material. Icons is built around a random character generation system (which I really don’t care for) and the points based version feels like an afterthought.

In the setting material, all supers, called Breakthoughs, have a common origin. Since the divergence event (a worldwide blackout called…The Event) some people in dangerous situations have a ‘breakthough’ and manifest superpowers. Besides breakouts, you can play a robot from the future, or a hyper-intelligent, vampire dog from a parallel universe, no problem. The setting material is very broad and accommodates a wide range of character origins. But it’s missing the legacy of a Golden Age. You can set a ‘Golden Age’ in a parallel universe. But in the core setting, the Event happened in recent history.

Character creation in Wearing the Cape includes power templates called Types which cover the major archetypes of super heroes. Wanna be a Hulk? Ajax Type. Wanna be a Superman? Atlas-Type. Etc. I like how there’s a Paragon-Type for your Batman or Mr Terrific, and a Verne-Type for your Iron Man or Lex Luthor, so there’s less debate on who is a proper superhero. You don’t have to stick to these Types, you can create your own Type from whole cloth, ignore the Types altogether, or mix and match Yypes. The Metamorph Type in particular crosses over with the other Types quite well.

The magic/super science/Stunt pools provisions are great for flexible Dr Strange/Warlock types. And probably faster in play than Champions’ Power Pools.

The rules build on Fate Core, but only a little. Skills have been split into Attributes, Skills, and Resources (Reputation, Wealth, Contacts). High attributes grant bonuses to skills when appropriate, so a high strength grants a weapon rating to the Fight skill and an Armor Rating for defense. With characters with a high upper ceiling for their capabilities it makes sense. Other new rules include; if a PC makes a roll with no ‘+’s they get a Fate Point. And if a role fails by -3 or more that’s an Epic Fail and creates a Collateral Damage Aspect. There might be other divergences from baseline Fate Core, I’ve only read through the book once.

Barlow’s Guide & The B-Files is the big book of NPCs. It has a few more Types, and a lot more of the setting, and a very satisfying number of Breakouts. You can see the influences, but very few of these characters feel like direct analogs of properties published elsewhere. Compared to other NPC books for supers games this book is light on the villains. Probably because they’re pulled from the source material, Marion G. Harmon’s Wearing the Cape novels. There’s also few straight forward bad guys in contemporary fiction, and more every-villain-believes-they’re-a-hero types. Many of the NPCs are private contractors using their powers to do a job. It makes the supers feel like the live in their world instead of on top of it, a feeling often lacking in the comics.

Need More NPCs?As a Fate Core game, Wearing the Cape allows the GM to bring in a wider rage of NPCs from other setting books without complication. So throw Harry Dresden at your player’s super hero team, why not?

Even if you don’t use the setting, the expanded Extra rules for creating power types should be enough to get your Fate Core Super Hero game going. And the art is fantastic.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Wearing the Cape Productions
by Brendan C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/04/2017 04:49:37

A fantastic book series and a great supers setting for tabletop play! The RPG really utilizes the FATE setting to the fullest, and the forthcoming Barlow's Guide has a ton more NPCs and worldbuilding background.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Wearing the Cape Productions
by Michael H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/27/2017 14:43:55

I've played numerous instances of Fate campaigns, coming across some interesting Fate Worlds. My group was becoming powerful enough that a Supers campaign just made sense. I saw this a few months ago, noted the price and thought it would come down like so many other books on DTRPG. And since I've bought it, it may very well still come down.

But I'm very glad I purchased this book.

It's written by writer/publishing team. It's a pleasant read on every conceivable level. It also adds some mechanics - such as breaking down skills into characteristics, skills, and resources - which refines Fate Core characters beautifully in a way that doesn't change what Fate characters are and how the game plays. The writing style actually smooths out some mechanics.

It's a game written by a professional writer the way a gamer that loves both writing and games would write it. I'd write a game module this way if I had the writing skill; I certainly love Fate this much.

Without becoming too fan-ish: thank you. I'll be checking out the books from which the game springs as well.

Kudos and well done.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Wearing the Cape Productions
by Christian F. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/07/2017 10:47:07

I haven't played FATE before, but after a couple videos I think it is pretty easy. When I had trouble downloading the game, the creator responded quickly to get me my copy I kickstarted. He always responded quickly and checked in until I was satisfied. 10/10



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Wearing the Cape Productions
by David A. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/05/2017 15:14:02

The best Super hero skin for FATE. I highly recommend reading the books then having your session 0 with the players. The ideas will pour out of you. Great product.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Wearing the Cape Productions
by Chase W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/30/2017 18:58:00

A great game based on a great book series. The system is built on narrative rather than hard rules so that might turn some players away it can also draw others in. My suggestion for players is that they have their characters in mind before they even touch the rules in character creation. It can take a little bit to wrap your head around the rules because they are so free form but once you start having an idea of what is supposed to be done then it doesn't take much to understand the rest. Overall it is a great game.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Wearing the Cape Productions
by Rich P. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/22/2017 15:00:54

First of all, the art in this game is GORGEOUS. I know that's not the most important thing but it really draws you into a superhero world.

I love that this RPG has the backing of a true setting based on the author's actual novels. It's easy to read and laid out really well. I like how you can just have this pdf and not need to refer to anything else, the rules are flexible and this is really the best Fate Supers game released up to this day.

I look foward to see the other books that will be coming out for this RPG. Nice job!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Wearing the Cape Productions
by David Y. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/22/2017 13:31:24

Fun, Fast and Flexible. Yup, this is a Fate book about superheroes, but the nice thing is the world is grounded semi-realistically, in that heroes (capes) are realistic in a way of "How would you expect superheroes to act in the real world". Some see their breakthroughs as a way to get ill-gotten games, some think that they are the next step in humanity, and some just want to help others. If you're expecting Batman v Superman levels of carnage, well.. you may want to look at something else, as the world discourages collateral damage when taking on the bad guy (rules 1 and 2: Get civilians out of the way, and take the fight somewhere where people and property aren't as risky).

What I like is that it can be very tactical. Every type of hero has a niche, and the flexibility allows some to take on the bad guys, where others provide assistance, or prevent innocents from being harmed. It's kinda funny that I'm talking about realism in a world that has someone who believes that she is Ozma (from the Wizard of Oz), and thus has the powers from the Oz series). But it makes it work. It's pretty nice and a kick to read.

So if you like superheroes? Buy this Book. If you like FATE? Buy this book. If you like the wearing the cape book series and want to support the author? Buy this book.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Wearing the Cape Productions
by Norman T. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/20/2017 20:39:29

A world with lots of great stories and great system for story-driven games.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Wearing the Cape Productions
by Jesse R. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/20/2017 19:12:54

I think its one of the better superhero adaptations of FATE. It is focused on the official Wearing the Cape post-event world of the wearing the cape novels, but the author deliberately obscures details so even a GM wanting to fully novel-canon compliant world still has room to customize for his own game. Being canon-compliant is of course optional, but the system is optimized for the post-event world. But a FATE veteran who gets a grasp on making new power classes (WtC RPG add-on - make the high concept into a loose-detail character class) could get this to be as flexible as Mutants and Masterminds, but without its character-creation phase crunch (M&M does well in keeping actual gameplay low in crunch, except for invention. FATE & crunch are mortal enemies).



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Wearing the Cape Productions
by Jeremiah E. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/20/2017 17:10:57

I am a fan of the WTC novels, and being a new comer to the FATE system, this book is very thorough game book. The book not only covers the FATE system but goes in depth on Mr. Harmon's world.

His chapters about creating superhero teams was especially helpful with my game group and out inability to grasp the concept of Aspects can/will be applied to everything.

I recomend this game for any FATE fans and especially for any fans of Capes.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Wearing the Cape Productions
by A customer [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/20/2017 16:18:52

This is an RPG based on the novel and stories in the Wearing the Cape series using the FATE Core game mechanics.

What is great is that the author of those books, Marion G. Harmon, is the one behind it. It shows in that the background information, the little snippets, all match the stories and setting perfectly. And, it does not leave things out, referring to a specific novel or story, but instead includes everything.

Which is great if you have never read any of the novels and you just want an awesome superhero RPG game.

The art, layout, and writing are top notch that I have seen so far.

I have only one complaint (not enough to knock a star off, you will notice) is that some blocks of text are the width of the page, which for me is hard to read.

The PDF is linked and so far is easy to get around. Disclosure: I got this book (PDF) by backing the Kickstarter.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Wearing the Cape Productions
by Lawrence N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/20/2017 15:45:09

EXcellent game system. A great choice for this game-world. Good books give a lots of background and plot-hooks.

Five stars!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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