With the rules for Fiasco Classic and the playset from the previous post, you have everything you need to playa fiasco in the city of Lud.
But this wouldn’t be RPG Tweaks without some tweaks.
From Fiasco Classic to A Fucking Fiasco
Fiasco is already a simple, elegant game that’s very newbie-friendly. But there are things about the game that can be challenging if you’re not used to them. Maybe improv isn’t your strong suit. Maybe you haven’t seen many Coen Brothers movies. Maybe you’d rather roll some dice to see how badly your character messes up. Maybe you want Relationships, Needs, Objects, and Locations to have some mechanical oomph. If so, this post is for you.
For this Tweak, I’m taking a page out of an RPG called, “You Have One Ability… The Ability To Fuck This Up!”* to give Fiasco a little bit more crunch.
* Yeah, you have to pay for it, but it’s only two bucks, and the money’s going directly to the creator, not some big corporation. Aside from that, the rules are so simple and portable that you can use them as a mechanical skeleton for other games.
What? Did you read that right? More crunch? On this blog? Have I lost my mind?
Not fully. Not yet.
Honestly, I don’t hate crunch. If I did, I’d go freeform and call it a day. I’m just more invested in character, setting, and story. So, I enjoy mechanics that enhance those things. Most of the time, this means fewer fiddly bits. But sometimes this means adding a few things to strengthen the foundation.
Which brings us here.
The Basics
For this tweak, you’ll still need the Fiasco Classic rulebook and two different colors (or sizes!) of six-sided dice. But instead of making them black and white, let’s call them something a little more evocative. How about: Luck dice (formerly white dice) and Fucked dice (formerly black dice).
The structure of A Fucking Fiasco remains the same. You still have the Setup, Act One, the Tilt, Act Two, and the Aftermath. You still choose if you want to establish or resolve a scene. Your character still gets two scenes in each act.
What changes is how you use the dice.
Fucking Things Up
Once you’re done with the setup, get a bunch of Luck dice and Fucked dice and put them in a pool. You need at least two Luck dice and two Fucked dice per player. If you’re using the optional tweak below, you want at least three Luck dice and three Fucked dice per player.
Next, roll two dice from the pool then add them together. This becomes the Fuck This Up value for the first scene.
When it’s your turn to establish or resolve a scene, you play to find out one thing and one thing only: Do you fuck this up?
The player who resolves the scene takes a Luck die and a Fucked die from the pool, rolls them, then adds them together.
- Did they roll at or under the Fuck This Up value for the scene? Congratulations—your character Lucked Out. The player resolving the scene describes how your character manages not to fuck up this time.
- Did they roll over the Fuck This Up value for the scene? Uh oh—your character Fucked Up. The player resolving the scene describes how your character fucks up in this scene.
- Regardless of the outcome, the result of the roll becomes the new Fuck This Up value for the next scene.
If you want to make it more streamlined, you can make this the Fuck This Up value for the entire Act. If the result is higher than ten or less than four, reroll to get something closer to the middle.
My Character Lucked Out… Now What
Good for you! You get the Fucked die and put the Luck die back in the pool.
My Character Fucked Up… Now What?
Better luck next time! You get the Luck die and put the Fucked die back in the pool.
Fucking Double and Double Fucked
Did the player resolving the scene roll a double like two 3’s or two 6’s? That means your character either gets a Fucking Double or Double Fucked.
- If your character Lucked Out, they got a Fucking Double and the player resolving the scene describes how fortune smiled on your character and let them actually get something right!
- If your character Fucked up, they’re Double Fucked, and the player resolving the scene describes how fate conspires to make your character really screw the pooch.
(Optional) What About This Stuff On The Cards?
Let’s say that one of the playset Categories—a Relationship, Need, Object, Location, or one of the Tilt Elements—plays a big role in your character’s scene. What then?
When that happens, the player establishing the scene describes how this Category gives your character a leg up or creates more problems.
- If this Category helps your character out, the player resolving the scene gets a bonus Luck die.
- If this Category makes your character’s life worse, the player resolving the scene gets a bonus Fucked die.
- When it’s time to roll, roll all three dice together. Use the lower of the two Luck dice if the Category helps your character. Use the higher of the Fucked dice if the Category hinders your character.
Example
Pete is the player resolving a scene for Dan’s character, John. Since Dan established the scene, he decides that he wants John’s Object: drawing of a circle (“you know: for kids”) to inspire a big city fat cat to invest in John’s crazy idea. That helps John out, so when it’s time to roll to resolve the scene, Pete rolls two Luck dice and a Fucked die. He rolls a 2 and a 5 for the Luck dice and a 6 for the Fucked die. He uses the 2 from the Luck dice and the 6 from the Fucked die, for a total of 8. The Fuck This Up value for the scene is 9, so John Lucked Out. Pete puts a Luck die back into the pool and hands Dan the remaining Luck and Fucked dice.
Another Example
Robin is the player resolving the scene for her character, Nancy. Since the other players established the scene, they decide that they want Nancy’s Need: To Get Into…that sweet Uptown life to have her old working-class friends from Downtown call her out as a sellout and a phony. That complicates things for Nancy, so when it’s time to roll to resolve the scene, Robin rolls a Luck die and two Fucked dice. She rolls a 6 for the Luck die and a 2 and a 5 for the Fucked dice. She uses the 5 from the Fucked dice, for a total of 11. The Fuck This Up value for the scene is 8, so Robin Fucked Up. Robin puts a Fucked die back into the pool and keeps the remaining Luck and Fucked dice.
The Tilt
Unlike Fiasco Classic, everyone participates in the Tilt. At the end of Act One, do some dice math as normal.
The general order of picking Tilt Categories and Elements is: highest Fucked to lowest Fucked to lowest Luck to highest Luck.
- The first player goes over the general Categories for the Tilt and chooses one that looks interesting or rolls a die to determine which Category comes into play.
- The second player goes over the Elements of that Category and chooses one that looks interesting or rolls a die to determine which Element will play a part later on.
- The third player goes over the general Categories for the Tilt and chooses another one that looks interesting or rolls a die to determine which one comes into play.
- If there’s a fourth player, that player goes over the Elements of the second Category and chooses one that looks interesting or rolls a die to determine which ones comes into play.
- If there’s a fifth player, that lucky bastard doesn’t get to pick or roll anything.
Once two Tilt Elements are chosen, take a break and get ready for Act Two.
Act Two
Act Two goes just like the “Fucking Things Up” section above, but this time the Tilt is in play too.
The Aftermath
This works like Fiasco Classic.
RPG Tweaks 