The holidays are all about giving, right? So today we are giving you some more sample stunts for 3 unique campaign settings. Previously, we had gone over how to make stunts. This time all the stunts are part of the same stunt tree, meaning they require base stunts before you can take them.

Hopefully this will inspire you to come up with your own stunt trees, or maybe fill in some blanks in ours.

Men or Mice Stunts

In the mood for something child-like and adorable? There are some very fun games out already about playing mice, bunnies, or rats that dress and act like people. It can be a lot of fun to play animals that act a bit like human, especially when they are cute!

Seamstress – You may use Crafts to make clothing and practical items that are generally ‘worn’ by a fellow animal. This includes cloaks, packs, armor, blankets, camouflage, parachutes, and other such things. It is always assumed that you have the tools necessary to work your craft, unless a negative aspect states otherwise.

The Emperor’s Threads – (requires Seamstress) You have one of the spools of thread blessed by the Harmony Spirits. Anything you make using this thread appears invisible to beings that are incredibly silly, such as humans. Such creatures only see an ordinary animal and not the red fancy cloak or pack they wear.

Needle Rapier – (requires Seamstress) You can use your large needles to fight, giving you a +1 on Fight Attack actions. If you spend a fate point on a Seamstress aspect, you can boost your Attack and Defense actions by +3 instead of the normal +2.

Thread Slinger – (requires Seamstress) You may use your thread as a rope to carry up to three animals your size at a time for swinging or climbing. Everyone else using your thread gets a +1 bonus to their Athletics checks, whereas you get a full +2.

Noble Graces Stunts

Wanting some intrigue? Social combat is usually a rare part of a larger campaign, where one player is designated as the person that handles that sort of thing. In a political samurai campaign, for example, social confrontation can be as deadly and as interesting as dungeon delving.

Clan Courtesan – Your actions in court affect your clan in a very direct way. You may choose to allow an attacking character from another clan to inflict a mild consequence on your clan in order to reduce their attack by 4 stress.

Match Maker – (requires Clan Courtesan) You have been given authority to arrange marriages between members of your clan and, with proper permission, members of other clans. When including this option in your negotiation, all of your social Rapport checks gain +1.

Timing Is Everything – (requires Clan Courtesan) When you have taken stress from a social attack, you may immediately invoke an aspect to reveal a secret or offer a subtle insult as an immediate free Attack action. The target cannot defend against this action unless they invoke one of your aspects to do so.

This Is My Throne – (requires Clan Courtesan) While in court, you may use Contacts to increase the number of free invokes on any advantage you have on the scene, as you normally would with another skill using a Create an Advantage action.

Hyrule Triforce Stunts

More in the mood for a classic? Here’s a stunt tree from a Legend of Zelda game to make a fan fate feel more like the Ocarina of Time that some of us grew up on. You could probably adjust for any sort of bard character you wish to play.

Ocarina of Time – You can use your Provoke skill to play an inspiring tune as a Create an Advantage option that creates one Theme Song boost for every other player character that can hear your song rather than a normal advantage.

Song of Storms – (requires Ocarina of Time) As an action you may summon a storm, appropriate to the weather of the current location. This storm is an aspect with a number of free invokes equal to your Will skill for each side in the conflict.

Saria’s Song – (requires Ocarina of Time) You may communicate with the spirit of the person whom this song is named for no matter where you are. Note that this is just an open line of communication, so social checks may still be needed to get something from them.

Nocturne of Shadow – (requires Ocarina of Time) As an action, you may create a separate Nocturene boost on anyone you wish that can hear your song and is not in direct light. So long as this boost is on a character, they receive +3 to all Stealth rolls. Any light that shines on a target deals them 3 irreducible points of mental damage and destroys the boost.

Closing Thoughts

Stunt trees can allow for a lot of interesting combinations. In that last tree, for example, someone with the Ocarina of Time could call up a snow storm and then help the party retreat. Or with a Sun Song stunt, they may want to cloak their opponents in shadows and then call up some light.

Alternatively the Seamstress tree is all about doing everything with the flavor of the Seamstress class, including fighting with needles, swinging on thread ropes, or sewing up a camouflage blanket to hide from snakes and owls. A Stitch of Travel stunt may also allow that Seamstress to make gliders or even flying carpets.

The middle tree is more about expanding what you can do with a few skills to make an aspect of the game more complicated. Most games that are all about social combat really up the number of skills you can use, but with Fate stunts you can just boost specific types of actions with those skills to generate different approaches. Mechanically an insult and challenge may look the same, but they roleplay very differently.

Hopefully this has given you some insights into stunt trees. To make things even more complicated and elaborate, feel free to experiment with multiple branches within your tree. A fighter stunt tree could have its own base stunts and then a Dark Knight or Paladin stunt that branches further into its own set.

Let us know if you have any thoughts or questions!