“Crew, not Passengers”, the core difference between Fate and D&D

I’ve been reflected on the difference between D&D-style RPGs and Fate. It is a question that comes up a lot when talking about Fate. Yesterday the right phrase popped up in a conversation about something else.

“Everyone is Crew, Not Passengers.”

As a player in D&D you are a passenger. You have full control over your PC’s choices. When it comes to the world, you are along for the ride. People discourage meta-gaming. Sure, you make choices at forks in the road, but you aren’t making the road.

As a player in Fate, you are making the road. You use your meta-game knowledge to make the game better. You are creating the world, as well as your character. (Note—D&D players are getting more into building the world and story but the game itself isn’t built to facilitate that.)

This was also posted to Reddit.

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