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PbP - FATE Core system - SANCTUM: of Virtue and Vice

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    PbP - FATE Core system - SANCTUM: of Virtue and Vice

    Front Page.pngWelcome to SANCTUM: of Virtue and Vice, a world of immense beauty permanently scarred by humanity's fall from Virtue into Vice. An exciting and vibrant world where the physical landscape—a mix of vibrant purples, blues, and golds—is a living mystery where nature itself has twisted to reflect the internal moral corruption of its people.

    Diverse and Consequential Environments:
    From a brutal, perpetual winter to a stagnant eternal autumn, every environment is a subtle testament to the specific spiritual wrongs and unaddressed sins of the nations residing there.

    Simmering Global War:
    Nations are engaged in conflict, a struggle of swords and magic that reflects humanity's perpetual moral battle between what is easy (Vice) and what is right (Virtue).

    A Race Against Time:
    The world's foundations, the Mana Stones, are cracking under the weight of this moral failing. Players must seek out ancient Virtues to redeem the world and decide whether its peoples will find salvation or be utterly consumed by the consequences they have sown. But be warned, this collapse is not a passive failing for evil authorities seek to empower themselves through the active promotion of Vice.
    FATE Core is a highly engaging system that focuses on narrative storytelling over heavy mechanics. This system is intended for a proactive, engaged, dynamic and imaginative player. Passive voice characters and players who prefer a more structured setting with strong mechanical limits may find this system difficult.

    While I may be the Storyteller, you as the Player have a great deal of agency within the FATE system to collaboratively tell the story through the use of your FATE points! Does your Swordsman have a connection with the Blacksmith in town? Pay 1 Fate point and BAM, Blacksmith AND connection, just tell me how! Did you name your Mage with a cumbersomely long name to make my regret letting you play? BAM! Now every Mage in Altena has a cumbersomely long name that gets longer the higher their rank is! Going to meet the Grand Master of Fire? Get ready to remember a 25 word name and use it correctly, every time! Want your Archer to have something more exotic than a Falcon such as a Phoenix? Give up one of your free ASPECTS and dedicate it to your Phoenix, BAM! You have a Phoenix! You lucky Player you, but now I get to tag your Phoenix Aspect in ways you might not be prepared for! A Phoenix in the frozen kingdom of Altena!? Oh no! Your Fire Elemental Aligned bird isn't looking so great in a frozen Water Elemental Aligned landscape, accept a FATE point and your "Loyal Bird of Fire" is now a "Freezing Bird of Smolder", better get that Phoenix some proper care! Even simple decisions such as "I am a Swordsman of Valsena and this is my father's sword!" Oh? I love it! Add that as an aspect to your character, "Keeper of the Family Sword" and as a Storyteller I have to say that's a brilliant addition, would be a shame if something happened to that nice sword you have! Oh gee, that last wave nearly capsized the ship, too bad your sword wasn't stowed properly and now it's skittering across the deck right for the railing and the ocean below, have a FATE Point!

    FATE Points are the literal currency of narrative collaboration. You primarily earn them as rewards for accepting complications, called "compels." Once you have them, you can spend these points strategically to gain a flat +2 bonus on a skill roll when you invoke an appropriate Aspect, or to activate certain Stunts and tag Aspects for narrative effect, or even to add a significant detail to a Scene (like that connection to the Blacksmith!). In FATE, to succeed spectacularly, you first have to embrace interesting failures!
    To be considered for play please submit a brief paragraph describing your character using one of the Class/Kingdom combinations provided in the attached Player's Manual. Post Rate is expected to be not less than twice weekly. Accepted submissions will receive a Direct Message and will be invited to the Session Zero planning area for character finalization and basic setting and lore briefing.

    When submitting your paragraph include your High Concept (a phrase that sums up who your character is and where they fit in the world; this must include your chosen Class and the Virtue of your home Kingdom) and your Trouble Aspect (which should reflect the Vice of your respective class/kingdom EXCEPT for the Priests). The Priest of Light struggles with the Severity of the Creator (preferring mercy, redemption and healing) while the Priest of Dark struggles with the Goodness of the Creator (preferring justice, discipline and boundaries).

    Character Limitations:
    • All characters are Human except for the Beastman
    • Beastmen are always Male. Only the males have the werewolf form. Their race was nearly wiped out by humans during the Great Mana Wars nearly a thousand years ago. While most are xenophobic some are cautiously optimistic about human interactions. You are from Minton, a small trade village on the western shore of Ferolia's Moonlit Wood, so named for its perpetual moonlight. Minton is a 'free city' and is home to cautiously optimistic Beastmen.
    • Archers are always Female. Only the females are allowed to serve as diplomats, envoys, scouts and spies. Laurent has a very small population and therefore a very limited army. This existential need means stringent social expectations and enforced civic duties prevent males from taking up adventuring roles outside the kingdom's protective borders.
    • Swordsmen are ALMOST always Male. If you can wow me with a reason why a swordsman of Valsena, a kingdom of chivalry and medieval theme, would be female then go for it! However, expect that aspect to be tagged (compelled) often.
    • Only 1 character Class will be accepted at a time. There will not be an adventuring party consisting of multiple versions of the same Class/Kingdom.
    • Priests are not evil or neutral. They are morally good. The Priest of Light focuses on themes of mercy, redemption and healing (struggling with justice, just retribution and consequences) while the Priest of Dark focuses on themes of justice, just retribution and consequences (struggling with mercy, redemption and healing).

    Resources:
    Sanctum - Player.pdf - Your introduction to the world of Sanctum as well as Class sheets and descriptions.
    FATE Core SRD - Check out the official SRD a comprehensive overview of the FATE Core mechanics!
    Attached Files
    Last edited by Doc-Holiday; 12-16-2025, 06:57 PM.

    #2
    Doc, just don't want to make any assumptions. Are we making that first character submission paragraph here or did you want it sent to you via DM?

    Comment


      #3
      Here please.

      I should have made that clarification. Thank you for asking!

      Comment


        #4
        No worries. Now that the major holiday is past, I’ll dust off my Fate book and my memory of character creation.

        Comment


          #5
          Name: Kaelor, called Half-Tamed

          High Concept: Beastman of Ferolia Seeking Luna's Mercy
          Trouble Aspect: The Wrath Is Always Closer Than It Looks

          Character Paragraph:
          Born beneath the eternal moon of Ferolia, Kaelor Half-Tamed is a Beastman who remembers what his people were meant to be. Created as instruments of merciful justice, the Beastmen instead surrendered to Wrath, becoming feared monsters rather than guardians. Kaelor carries that curse within him, the pull of violence never far from the surface, yet he resists it through conscious restraint and painful self-control. To humans he is a danger barely leashed. To his own kind, a reminder of a path many have abandoned. Each choice Kaelor makes is a test of whether Luna's mercy can still guide Ferolia's children, or whether Wrath will claim him as it has so many others.

          Comment


            #6
            Excellent character Drew!
            I'm looking forward to seeing how Kaelor progresses.

            Also that picture looks astonishingly familiar...
            Last edited by Doc-Holiday; 01-11-2026, 09:21 PM.

            Comment


              #7
              I'm relieved. That's my first character for a game that isn't 5e, so I was hoping I did it right.

              I gave the sample image to an AI image generator and basically said "they look like this, so gimme one in that style." It spit out a guy who looks like he should be on the cover of a romance novel, but I said, "Good enough."

              Comment


                #8
                FATE is a lot easier than it seems at first. It's not well presented, but it is well designed.
                As for the picture, I wondered if you'd done that considering the outfit is the same and I've never gotten identical outcomes... as for romance novel cover... now I can't unsee that. Thanks! >_<

                Comment


                  #9
                  Willing to learn if you allow a newbie to the fate.

                  Name : Vaelis Crowmask.
                  High Consept : A Thousand Faces, None of Them Mine
                  Trouble aspect : *My Worth Is Measured in Other People’s Faces
                  *He believe his value comes from the lives, status, and confidence of the people he impersonate, and without a borrowed face he feel lesser, exposed, and incomplete.
                  The Envy is baked in as he measures himself against others, he does not simply disguise himself to deceive. He envies the authority, respect, and protection Navarre grants to certain lives, and his disguises are attempts to claim those privileges for himself.

                  Vaelis was raised in the city’s underbelly, the child of a confidence artist who taught him early that identity is currency. When his mentor was executed after a failed con, Vaelis learned his greatest lesson: never be the same person twice.
                  He disappeared for years, resurfacing as dozens of people—merchants, scribes, courtiers, even a minor priest. Each life taught him new skills. Eventually, rumors spread of a figure who could walk into any place, wearing the right smile, and leave with secrets, gold, or both.
                  The name Vaelis Crowmask is one he uses only when he wants to be remembered.


                  Vaelis.PNG
                  Last edited by Bravve; 01-26-2026, 10:12 AM.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Sorry, I've been waiting a bit to see what character others decided to pursue. I don't like to duplicate "classes" or roles if I can avoid it.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Which Class/Kingdom are you pursuing Bravve?
                      And newbies are always welcome! Got to start somewhere, right?

                      Please make sure to state your Class/Kingdom in your bio somewhere.

                      Available Class/Kingdom options are found in the Player Manual attached to the first post along with a little class/kingdom history to help you fit your character in.

                      Mage of Altena
                      Archer of Laurent
                      Swordsman of Valsena
                      Priest of Light of Holy City Wendel
                      Priest of Dark of Holy City Wendel
                      Thief of Navarre
                      Beastman of Ferolia


                      Drew: Kaelor, Beastman of Ferolia
                      Bravve: Vaelis, Thief of Navarre
                      Jflo2415: ???, ??? of ???
                      Last edited by Doc-Holiday; 01-12-2026, 11:19 PM.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Oh sorry, thief/Sultanate of Navarre

                        Comment


                        • Doc-Holiday
                          Doc-Holiday commented
                          Editing a comment
                          I thought that might have been the case!
                          Please help me understand how your Trouble Aspect reflects your nations Vice of Envy.
                          Last edited by Doc-Holiday; 01-12-2026, 11:20 PM.

                        #13
                        The masks are born from envy. He don’t just imitate people, he borrows what the world values in them. Their authority. Their respect. Their safety. Every disguise is a silent confession that, he want what they have, because his own identity feels lacking.
                        The bounty on his head is the final expression of that envy. Powerful people resent that he can become them without paying the price they did. They envy his freedom, just as he envy their legitimacy. That mutual envy turns into fear, then into gold offered for his death.

                        Comment


                          #14
                          Thank you for clarifying.
                          Your Trouble Aspect is actually two aspects.

                          I'd like you to refine your Trouble Aspect down to a single complicating truth about your character that carries that hint of Envy which corrupts the Navarre people.
                          You have a -lot- of promise in this character!

                          Examples:
                          I Deserve Your Life More Than You
                          Your Life is Wasted on You
                          Drawn to Lives I'll Never Own
                          The Grass is Always Greener in Someone Else's Skin
                          My Only Worth is a Life That Isn't Mine
                          A Face Built of Others' Success

                          The wanted aspect can be one of your character aspects which can be changed as the game moves along and your status is altered. By moving the Wanted aspect to the character aspects we can focus on Vaelis's personal troubles while tagging the bounty and possible bounty hunters as their own separate story beat.

                          I'm looking forward to what you come up with!

                          Last edited by Doc-Holiday; 01-13-2026, 04:49 PM.

                          Comment


                            #15
                            Then I will take this if thats ok.
                            *My Worth Is Measured in Other People’s Faces*
                            He believe his value comes from the lives, status, and confidence of the people he impersonate, and without a borrowed face he feel lesser, exposed, and incomplete.
                            The Envy is baked in as he measures himself against others, he does not simply disguise himself to deceive. He envies the authority, respect, and protection Navarre grants to certain lives, and his disguises are attempts to claim those privileges for himself.

                            Comment

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