Fate Chips

Fate Chips

"Luck Be a Lady—When You've Got Chips to Spend"

In the Weird West, fate is a fickle thing. Sometimes she smiles on the brave and the bold. Sometimes she spits the biggest, nastiest abomination you've ever seen right on your head. But here's the secret most folks don't know: heroes can store up a little bit of that fate and call on it when things get desperate.

That's where Fate Chips come in.

Fate Chips are poker chips that represent your character's ability to push their luck, survive impossible odds, and cheat death itself. They're the difference between a greenhorn who gets gunned down in their first firefight and a legend who walks away from a collapsing mine with nothing but a torn duster and a hell of a story.

Getting Your Chips

At the start of each game session, every player draws 3 random Fate Chips from the Fate Pot. Don't peek—just reach in and grab three. The Marshal also draws 3 chips to use for all the bad guys and NPCs.

Between Sessions: At the end of each game, write down what chips you have on your character sheet. Next session, before anyone draws their 3 new chips, pull your old chips from the Fate Pot. Then everyone draws 3 fresh ones. This means you can accumulate chips over multiple sessions if you don't spend them all.

The Limit: Nobody likes a miser. You can't ever have more than 10 chips total. If you somehow end up with more than 10, you must immediately convert the excess into Bounty Points (see below).

The Four Types of Chips

Not all Fate Chips are created equal. Each color has different powers and different values:

White Chips (Common)

White chips are the most common and the least powerful, but don't underestimate them—even a white chip can turn a miss into a hit at the right moment.

For Trait & Aptitude Rolls: Spend a white chip to roll one extra die of the appropriate type. It's like having an extra point of Aptitude or Trait Level for that roll. You can spend multiple white chips on the same roll, one at a time, until you're satisfied with the result.

Important Restriction: Once you spend a red, blue, or Legend chip on a roll, you can't go back and spend white chips on that same roll. White chips are for fine-tuning before you bring out the big guns.

For Wounds & Wind: Negate 1 wound from any location, or recover 5 Wind.

Bounty Point Value: 1 Bounty Point when cashed in.

Example: You're trying to convince a suspicious sheriff that you're not the outlaw he's looking for. You roll your persuasion and get a mediocre 7. You spend a white chip to roll one more d8, and get a 6—your new total is 13, just enough to get a raise!

Red Chips (Uncommon)

Red chips pack more punch than whites, but they come with a price—the Marshal gets lucky when you do.

For Trait & Aptitude Rolls: Spend a red chip to roll one bonus die and add it to your highest current die. This is similar to rolling an Ace, except your first die doesn't have to be maxed out. Only one red chip can be spent on a single action.

Marshal's Tithe: Whenever you spend a red chip on a Trait or Aptitude roll (not for negating wounds), the Marshal gets to draw a random chip from the Fate Pot for the bad guys. That's the price of pushing your luck too hard.

For Wounds & Wind: Negate 2 wounds from any location, or recover 10 Wind.

Bounty Point Value: 2 Bounty Points when cashed in.

Example: You're shooting at a bandit and roll 3d10 for your shootin': pistol. You get 4, 7, and 8. Not great. You spend a red chip, roll another d10, and get a 9. You add that 9 to your highest current die (the 8) for a final result of 17—more than enough to hit! The Marshal draws a chip from the Fate Pot, but at least you nailed that varmint.

Blue Chips (Rare)

Blue chips are precious. They work just like red chips but without the downside of giving the Marshal a draw. When you absolutely need to succeed and don't want to tempt fate, blue is your friend.

For Trait & Aptitude Rolls: Works exactly like a red chip—roll a bonus die and add it to your highest current die. Only one blue chip can be spent on a single action. Best of all: the Marshal doesn't get a draw.

For Wounds & Wind: Negate 3 wounds from any location, or recover 15 Wind.

Bounty Point Value: 3 Bounty Points when cashed in.

Example: You're trying to defuse a ticking stick of dynamite. Your first roll is a disaster—only a 6. This is life or death, so you spend your precious blue chip. You roll another die, get a 10 (an Ace!), roll again and get a 7. You add that 17 to your original 6 for a whopping 23. The dynamite is defused, you're still breathing, and the Marshal doesn't get a chip. Worth it.

Legend Chips (Legendary)

Legend chips are the rarest and most powerful chips in the game. They're not added to the Fate Pot at the start—they must be earned through exceptional deeds, and they represent the forces of good (yes, they exist!) smiling down on true heroes.

How to Get Legend Chips:

• Defeating major threats and surviving epic adventures (Marshal awards one to the Fate Pot)
• Tale-tellers who successfully reduce a location's Fear Level (awarded directly to that player)
• Drawing one from the Fate Pot when you draw a Red Joker in combat
• The Marshal may award them for truly legendary accomplishments

For Trait & Aptitude Rolls: Can be used exactly like a blue chip (roll bonus die, add to highest, no Marshal draw).

For Wounds & Wind: Negate 5 wounds from any location, or recover all Wind.

Bounty Point Value: 5 Bounty Points when cashed in (though cashing in a Legend chip for points seems wasteful).

The Reroll Power: Here's what makes Legend chips truly special—you can spend a Legend chip to reroll ANY die roll in the game. This includes:

• A Trait or Aptitude check (even if you went bust—start completely fresh)
• A damage roll
• A roll on a random table
• A Reliability check for a mad science gizmo
• Anything involving dice

The Cost: When you use a Legend chip for its reroll power, the chip is gone forever. It doesn't go back in the Fate Pot—it's removed from the game entirely. You're calling in a favor from Fate herself, and she only grants that kind of miracle once.

Example: You're in a duel with a notorious gunslinger. You draw your pistol and fire... and go bust on your shootin' roll. Your gun jams at the worst possible moment. Rather than accept certain death, you spend your Legend chip to reroll the entire action from scratch. This time you roll well, plug the gunslinger, and walk away alive. The Legend chip vanishes forever, but you're still breathing to tell the tale.

How to Spend Fate Chips

You can use Fate Chips in three main ways:

1. Improving Rolls

You can spend chips to add dice to your Trait and Aptitude rolls, including the Strength portion of hand-to-hand damage rolls (a clever loophole, since you normally can't spend Fate Chips on damage rolls). Announce how many chips you're spending and roll the extra dice accordingly.

You can't spend chips on:

• Firearm damage rolls (unless a supernatural power says otherwise)
• Rolls where you went bust (Fate turns her back on failure)
• Rolls that have already been affected by a red, blue, or Legend chip (if you're using a white chip)

2. Negating Wounds & Wind

When your character takes damage, you can immediately spend Fate Chips to negate wounds or recover Wind. This must be done right after wounds are assigned and before any further attacks are made.

Key Rules:

• A single chip can negate wounds from multiple locations. A blue chip could cancel 2 wounds to the arm and 1 wound to the guts, for example.
• You can spend chips to recover Wind at any time—even several rounds after you lost it. Heroes don't stay down for long.
• Wind recovery prevents adverse effects like being knocked out or killed, even if you spend the chip after technically "dying" from Wind loss.

Example: A walkin' dead hits you with its claws and does 18 points of damage. Your Size is 6, so that's 3 wounds to your right arm. You immediately spend a blue chip (negates 3 wounds) and walk away unscathed. Your arm's a bit bruised, but nothing's broken.

3. Cashing In for Bounty Points

At the end of a session (or between sessions), you can convert your Fate Chips into Bounty Points—experience points used to improve your character. Each chip type is worth different amounts:

Once you convert a chip to Bounty Points, those points are yours forever. They can't be taken away and can't be converted back into chips. You use Bounty Points to buy new Aptitudes, raise Traits, gain Edges, and generally make your character more capable.

Trading Chips Between Players

Sometimes a companion needs help and you've got chips to spare. You can give another player Fate Chips, but Fate demands a price for such generosity.

How it works:

1. Announce you're giving another player a chip
2. Pay the Fate Pot an equal value in chips (based on Bounty Point worth)
3. Describe how your character helps their character in the game

Example: Your friend is down to their last chip and about to bleed out. You want to give them a blue chip (worth 3 BP). You must put 3 "points" worth of chips into the Fate Pot—this could be three whites, a red and a white, or another blue. You hand your friend the blue chip and describe how your character tears off part of their shirt to make a tourniquet.

The Roleplaying Requirement: You must justify the chip transfer with something your character actually does in the game—offering encouragement ("Watch out for that zombie!"), providing a tactical advantage, or directly helping them. If your character can't realistically help, the Marshal can deny the transfer.

No Change: If you put in more value than required, tough luck—you don't get "change" from the Fate Pot.

Earning More Fate Chips

Beyond the 3 chips you draw at the start of each session, there are several ways to earn additional Fate Chips during play:

Roleplaying Your Hindrances

The Marshal awards chips when you actively roleplay your character's Hindrances in ways that make life difficult for you:

• White chip: When a Hindrance is inconvenient or amusing
• Red chip: When a Hindrance makes life miserable but isn't life-threatening
• Blue chip: When you play in-character even though it might cost your character their life

Example: Your character has the lyin' eyes Hindrance (people don't believe you even when you're telling the truth). You're trying to warn the sheriff about supernatural danger, but because of your Hindrance, you play it so he thinks you're spinning a tall tale. The Marshal awards you a red chip for making your life harder in a meaningful way.

Accomplishing Goals

The Marshal awards chips for achieving objectives during the adventure:

• White chip: For clever or amusing solutions to problems
• Red chip: For particularly clever plans, important discoveries, or defeating minor opponents
• Blue chip: For defeating major threats or uncovering critical clues
• Legend chip: Awarded to the Fate Pot when the posse completes a major adventure (every 3-4 sessions)

Red Jokers in Combat

When you draw a Red Joker during combat, you immediately get to draw a random chip from the Fate Pot as a bonus. Lady Luck is smiling on you!

Tale-Telling

Characters with the tale-teller ability can earn personal Legend chips (not added to the Fate Pot) by successfully reducing the Fear Level of a location. These special Legend chips belong to that player alone, though they can be traded away if desired.

Important Restrictions

Going Bust: You can't spend white, red, or blue Fate Chips if you go bust on a roll. Fate turns her back on catastrophic failure. (Legend chips can be used to reroll a bust, however.)

Damage Rolls: You normally can't spend Fate Chips on damage rolls. The only exception is the Strength portion of hand-to-hand damage, since that's technically a Trait roll. Firearms damage is final—unless you have a supernatural power that specifically says otherwise.

The Marshal's Chips: The Marshal has their own pool of 3 chips drawn each session, plus any chips gained from players spending red chips or drawing Black Jokers. These chips can be used for any NPCs or bad guys, making even minor threats dangerous if the Marshal has been stockpiling luck.

Using Bounty Points

Between game sessions, you can spend your accumulated Bounty Points to improve your character. Here are the basics:

Timing: You can only make improvements before or after a game session, not during play. You also can't raise any single Trait, Aptitude, or Coordination more than once per session—even if you have the points.

Spend them when you must. Save them when you can. But never forget: a dead hero spends no Bounty Points.