Fate:Research and Development

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Is the process of research and development integral to your Fate game? Then this might be the subsystem for you. These rules are flexible enough to cover a range of variations, including uncovering scientific principles, restoring wrecked machinery, and performing alchemical studies.

Projects

A project is created like a character, but representing an abstracted problem, such as "Discovering the Location of the Temple" or "Repairing the Mark 2". Projects have at least two aspects, a sticking point (the most difficult part to deal with) and a weak point (a way to make good ground).

Preparing a Grand Feast		Great [+4] Difficulty
There's a lot of work that goes into such a mighty meal.
Progress Track:
Aspects Enormous Quantities Simple Recipes
Requires Fair [+2] Resources

A project's stress track is a progress track, with each successful attempt against the project causing progress. If a skill or approach beats the project's difficulty, progress is made. When a project cannot mark off progress, it is considered complete. Unlike stress, progress is retained from scene to scene.

More difficult projects may fight back when tackled, inflicting stress in return. A mechanical project may cause physical stress from an industrial accident, a research project may cause mental stress due to burnout, but it will be the GM's choice. A project has three approaches called risks, which by default are Confusing, Demanding, and Hazardous. These represent how mentally taxing the project is, how physically draining it is, and how liable it is to cause bodily harm.

Decoding the Enemy Cipher		Good [+3] Difficulty
If we can crack the code they're using, we'll finally be one step ahead of them.
Progress Track:
Aspects A Linguistic Nightmare Familiar Patterns
Confusing	Demanding	Hazardous
Good [+3]	Average [+1]	Poor [-1]
Requires Fair [+2] Resources

Both PCs and NPCs should be able to contribute to a project, allowing such actions as the PCs procuring a supercomputer or a lab team to work on the project while they are off elsewhere. Skills, stunts, and invoked aspects can be used to gain an edge, just like in any other conflict between characters.

Additional mechanics

Fields

To avoid having multiple knowledge skills cluttering up the game's skill list, you can opt to use fields instead. Fields are like approaches that stack on top of the skill rank a character possesses, showing their aptitude at certain areas.

Take any appropriate knowledge skill (such as Lore, Craft, Magic, etc.) in your game and designate around four fields for it. For instance, Magic could have the fields Alchemy, Enchanting, and Summoning. When players take ranks in the skill, they can choose to specialise in a field, giving them a bonus when using the knowledge skill when the field applies. This effectively works the same as a stunt that reads "When you use a skill for a specific purpose, take +2" but without taking up a stunt slot.

Discovery trees