Star Frontiers To FATE Core

Conversion Document
v. 3.1
 Starting New Characters
 
As per Fate Core, every character starts out with: 
1. High Concept. 
2. Trouble Concept 
3. The standard 3 Aspects 
4. An ADDITIONAL aspect that all character have but some races will use this the slot 
for a Racial Aspect. 
5. The standard Skills Pyramid. 
  
For non­human races here how to handle their abilities. 
1. If that ability be covered by simply through purchasing a normal skill, go that route. 
With the original rules often the racial ability occurred so seldom that if a player didn't 
want to "pay: for that option there is no place in forcing it upon that player. For example, 
the Dralasites can detect lie 5% of the time...if that is important to player simply just 
purchase a Detect Lie stunt that bumps up rapport. 

2. Ignore a given ability if it doesn't do anything significant in game terms. Yes, the 
Vrusks are ambidextrous and have swivel shoulders but that doesn't really matter for 
Fate mechanics. If you want to emphasize how that makes you better a XYZ...then 
simply buy a stunt. 

3. Humans are going to be the baseline as far as abilities in this game. If the racial 
ability doesn't actually provide a noticeable advantage to that race over humans AND if 
it is possible that a GM could invoked/compelled that "ability" against that character, 
then simply make it a racial aspect and use it in the additional aspect slot. For 
example...low light vision. Those characters with it can see better at night but are 
blinded by bright light. For modern and sci­fi games, such characters can wear goggles 
to mitigate the problem of seeing in bright daylight. Since I don't see how this is much 
different than a human player wearing night­vision goggles, I think it fits as an additional 
aspect. There are plenty of situations that a GM can invoke or compel against that PC. 

4. For those that add a significant improvement we will go with the "use a stunt slot and 
buy a skill"....as with flying. 

 
 RACES
Dralesites ​
­ Give the character the ELASTIC racial advantage. 

  Optional ­ DETECT LIE ­ use LIE WHISPERER stunt on page 113 of Fate Core 

  

Vrusk ­​
 Give the character the LARGE AND 8 LEGGED racial advantage. 

  Optional ­ COMPREHENSION ­ As per EBB AND FLOW stunt in Legends of 
Anglerre p. 86. "read as a free action, looking for surface moods and other social cues, 
on one target of your choice. You may then act on your turn as usual." 

  

Yazarians ​
­ Give the character the SENSITIVE EYES racial advantage. 

  Optional ­ BERSERK ­ player take a stunt that allows them to place a BERSERK 
aspect on their character. They get one free invoke and afterwards that aspect is 
available for invokes and compels. 

  Options ­ GLIDING ­ player takes a stunt that allows them to safely glide to the 
ground. If players wants to have a more controlled glide then take a GLIDE skill and use 
the number of shifts to indicate how many zones the character can move. [Personally, I 
don't care for the idea of gliding monkeys.] 
 Skill List
Here is the given basic skill list. I took all those listed in Star Frontiers, combined them with what was in FATE Core
and then sprinkled in some from Diaspora and Bulldogs!. The second column is where to find the skill. Most of the
skills, even though I got the names from Diaspora, fit within listings within FATE Core. I think there is a fine line
between Burglary and Security Systems, and they may, indeed, be the same thing.
Skill FATE Core

Athletics Athletics

Notice Notice

Security Systems Burglary

Contacts Contacts

Computer Systems Craft

Deceit Deceit

Demolitions Craft

Drive Vehicles Drive

Empathy Empathy

Intimidation Intimidation

Investigation Investigation

Lore Lore

Medical [Bulldogs!]

Pilot Aircraft Drive

Pilot Spacecraft Drive

Drive Vehicles Drive

Physique Physique

Scientist Lore

Rapport Rapport

Resources Resources

Engineering Craft
Ship Gunnery Shooting

Vehicle Gunnery Shooting

Gun Shooting

Martial Arts Fighting

Stealth Stealth

Survival Lore

Will Will

Languages Diaspora
 Converting NPCs

For Stat conversion of STR/STA or DEX/RS it is best to do an average. For the others, pick whatever seems
appropriate. Lore could be any sort of engineering/computer/knowledge/etc skill from the skill list.

SF Stat Fate Skill Stat Range Effect

0-24 Negative Aspect

Strength Physique
25-44 +0

Stamina Physique 45-54 +1

55-64 +2
Dexterity Athletics
65-74 +3

Reaction Speed Athletics

75-84 +4

85-99 +5
Intelligence Lore

100-109 +6
Logic Investigation/Notice

Personality Rapport/Deceit/Empathy

Leadership Will/Intimidation
For the skills just sideways convert keeping the same level as they closely correspond to FATE

Star Frontiers Star Frontiers Fate Conversions

Military Skills

Beam Weapons Firearms

Gyrojet Weapons Firearms

Melee Weapons Melee Weapons

Projectile Weapons Firearms

Thrown Weapons Thrown Weapons

Demolitions Demolitions*

Martial Arts Martial Arts

Biosocial Skills

Medical Medical

Environmental Survival/Tracking/Stealth

Psychosocial Empathy/Rapport

Technological Skills

Technician Mechanics*/ Security Systems*

Robotics Engineer

Computers Computer Systems*

 Weapons
Weapons Damage Range Notes

Beam Weapons

Electrostunner 2 0.5 Non-Lethal

Laser Pistol 2 2

Laser Rifle 2 4 Long Range

Sonic Disruptor -

Sonic Stunner 2 1 Non-Lethal

Sonic Devastator -

Heavy Laser 2 5 Scale

Projectile Weapons

Automatic Pistol 1 2 Autofire

Automatic Rifle 1 3 Autofire, Long Range

Needler Pistol 1 1 Needler

Needler Rifle 2 2 Needler

Machine Gun 1 4 Scale

Recoilless Rifle 1 5 Scale

Gyrojet Weapons

Gyrojet Pistol 1 2

Gyrojet Rifle 2 3 Long Range

Grenade Rifle As per gernade 2

Grenade Mortar As per gernade 5

Rocket Launcher 2 5 Scale

Grenades

Non-Lethal, Aspect: "Sleep

Doze Grenade 2 1 Gas Cloud"

Frag. Grenade 4 1

Incendiary Grenade 4 1 Scene Aspect: "On Fire"

Scene Aspect:"Poison Gas

Poison Grenade 4 1 Cloud"

Scene Aspect: "Obscuring Gas

Smoke Grenade - 1 Cloud"

Great (+4) to overcome,

Tangler Grenade - 1 Aspect: "Entangled"

Archaic Weapons

Axe 1 0.5

Bow 1 2

Knife 1 0.5

Musket 1 1

Spear 1 1

Melee Weapons

Brass Knuckles 1 1

Electric Sword 2 2

Nightstick 1 1

Polearm 2 2

Shock Gloves 1 1

Sonic Knife 2 2

Sonic Sword 3 3

Stunstick 2 2 Non-Lethal

Sword 2 2
 Vibroknife 1 1

Notes:

Non-Lethal -​
Consequences need to take into account that physical damage is not being done.

Long Range -​
You can use your weapons skill, vs Mediocre to gain a Free Aspect:"Using Scope" to gain +1 to range.

Scale:​
This are set at one level higher than the character in scale. When shooting at individuals they are +4 damage
but characters get +4 to their Defensive rolls. [Need to adjust Machine Gun}

Charges (assumed) ​- Every gun and powered melee weapon uses charges of some sort, be it
bullets/gernades/rockets/SEUs and thus can be given the Aspect:"Out of Ammo"

Needler - ​
These guns shoot in two modes: Normal and Sleep. In both cases the weapon damage must EXCEED the
armor value or no damage occurs. Thus a needler pistol will never affect a person wearing even the lowest grade of
armor.

+ Normal - Stress is figured normally

+ Sleep -

(Option #1) The character makes a Physique Overcome obstacle roll FAIR (+2) and takes and shifts against
the MENTAL STRESS track. Character also takes the Aspect: "Drugged".

(Option #2) The Stress if is figured out normally, but if it creates a consequence then it is written up with
being "Non-Lethal". Character is tagged with the Aspect:"Drugged"

(Option #3) The Stress if is figured out normally, but is figured against the MENTAL STESS TRACK. Character is
tagged with the Aspect:"Drugged"

Conversion Notes:

Damage:​The number of D10's rolled for Star Frontier damage and divided by two rounding up. For Laser Pistol/Rifle I
assumed a constant 4d10 setting.

For large damage weapons I just eyeballed it and consider using the SCALE rules found in FATE Core.

Range:​ the longest distance and divided by 100 meters, rounding up. For those that came out below .5, those need to
be in reasonably close proximity..not edge to edge on map. Perhaps opportunity for using Aspects.

I compared the results to Diaspora and Bulldogs! and made adjustments to my logic accordingly.
 Defenses
Option 1
The way Star Frontiers handles defenses is a bit different . The Inertia Skeinsuits transfer half the damage to the
players and take half the damage itself until it reaches a threshold and then it is destroyed.

The Albedo Suit is ablative, in that it takes ALL the damage and then is destroyed.

The Inertia Screen works like the skeinsuit in that it takes on only 1/2 the damage. The rest of the screens remove all
damage, but sometimes at a energy cost per hit.

It may make sense for certain types of fails (like by -3) to automatically indicates a loss of a shield.

I tried to maintain the "feel" of SF at this point but it may not make sense for your game

Armor Shift Boxes Notes

Aspects :"Looks like Normal

Clothes", "Destroyed", Half
damage (rounded up) goes to suit,
Civilian Skeinsuit 3 the other half to the Player

Military Skeinsuit 3 Aspect:"Destroyed"

Aspect:"Destroyed", All damage

goes to suit, player can choose to
Albedo Suit 3 take damage instead.

Power Screens

Aspect:"Out of Charges", "Blocks

Albedo Lasers"

Aspect:"Out of Charges", "Blocks

Gauss Guassian"

Aspect:"Out of Charges", "Blocks

Inertia 1/2 Inertia Damage"

Aspect:"Out of Charges", "Blocks

Sonic Sonics"

Option 2
There are no shift boxes. Armor only protects versus Inertia and screens only protect versus all other energy except
Inertia. Shield lose charges over time AND with every hit. It may make sense for certain types of fails (like by -3) to
automatically indicates a loss of a shield.

Armor Armor Notes

Aspects :"Looks like Normal

Civilian Skeinsuit 1 Clothes"

Police/Military Skeinsuit 2

Armored Skeinsuit 3 Aspect:"Bulky"

Power Screens

Civilian 2 Aspect:"Out of Charges"

Military 3 Aspect:"Out of Charges"

Option 3. The armor protects against both physical and energy attacks. For military armor perhaps add some aspects
with maybe a free invoke: “extra bullet proof” or “extra laser proof” etc.