Using tokens to clarify the Fate point economy

I have been tinkering with a rules summary sheet for the Fate tabletop roleplaying game for a long time. A sharp-eyed forum commentator caught my earlier version describing the award of Fate points a little misleadingly, which made something belatedly fall into a place in my understanding of the Fate point economy.

I now want to try a different practice for tracking Fate points at the table, using three different counters. I like those little colorful glass “gaming stone” beads.

The system

• At the start of each scene —
  1. Give the GM 1 white bead per player
  2. Convert black & red beads into white beads
  3. Give everyone 1 red bead (including the GM)
• White beads denote Fate points one can use. (Players start a scenario with their characters’ Refresh, or the Fate points they carry over from the previous scenario, whichever is greater.)
• Black beads denote Fate points which one cannot spend this scene. When the GM (or a character’s own player) invokes an aspect against a character, the player gets a black bead from the Infinite Bank. When a player spends a Fate point to invoke an aspect against another character, they pay a white bead which converts into a black bead for the target; both players and the GM may receive black beads this way.
• Red beads denote potential Fate points. Every time a character takes a condition from an attack, they get a red bead from the Infinite Bank. If a character leaves the scene by conceding a conflict, they get to keep their red beads; if they leave the scene another way, they lose them. If all GM characters concede, the GM keeps their red beads; if not, the GM loses them.

Why

First, this clarifies the scene-to-scene award of Fate points. Players can see what they have to work with next scene and get immediate feedback when that changes, without confusing what players can spend during the current scene or requiring a retrospective between scenes to get players’ Fate point tallies right.

Second, and more importantly, I hope that it will change the psychology of ending scenes and conceding conflicts:

• It implies that conceding a conflict is the normal way to end a scene. Red beads inspire loss aversion; if one ends the scene another way, it feels like sacrificing Fate points which one already has waiting. This supports the defeat-defeat-comeback pattern of fiction which Fate tries to emulate.
• Black & red beads piling up tempts players to get on to the next scene to cash them in, nudging play toward a faster pace.
• Players hesitate to add conditions until they run out of stress boxes. This makes a bit more visible how taking a mild condition from an attack can pay off with a Fate point while only requires a pretty easy skill check to clear … which comes with fun Team Bonding roleplay.