Actions

Actionicon_overcome.png Overcome
"Overcome" actions are the miscellaneous endeavors you apply a skill to, like getting past an obstacle or attempting to gather information. If you're not attacking, defending, or trying to create an aspect, you're most likely performing an Overcome action--though only ones with chances of failure and interesting results if you succeed or fail are going to require a skill check.

Depending on the situation, the opposition to your Overcome checks could be either passive (i.e. a difficulty arbitrarily assigned by the GM) or active (another character, or an inanimate object that functions like a character, is rolling against you and adding an appropriate skill or bonuses to their check value).

Actionicon_advantage.png Create an Advantage
Creating an Advantage is all about using your skills to exploit the conditions around you to your benefit. You do this by either creating new Aspects, or by exploiting Aspects that are already present--you can say which one you're doing when you make your Create Advantage check.

Creating an Advantage can represent an incredibly wide range of actions. You might be lighting a pile of dirty rags on fire to set the Aspect ON FIRE on the scene, or performing a feint on an opponent to create an OFF BALANCE aspect on that opponent, or even using knowledge-related skills to figure out an opponent's SECRET WEAKNESS or to represent a BRILLIANT SCHEME to catch them off guard.

When creating an advantage by adding a new aspect, you must designate whether you are placing the aspect on a character or on the environment, or whatever target you may be placing it on. If the target is a character (or an inanimate object that's treated like a character), that character gets to make a Defend action against your attempt. Otherwise the GMs will arbitrarily assign passive opposition based on how difficult what you're attempting is.

Note: Creating an Advantage makes something true about the environment or about the person it's placed on. Whether or not a Fate Point is being used to invoke that aspect, it's still true. Because of this, sometimes an Aspect might include passive opposition to certain actions, or even inflict damage on those who blunder into it, even without spending a fate point, but that's up to a GM's discretion. Examples would be something like setting a RAGING FIRE that could create passive opposition to attempts to run into the zone it's in and also automatically damage anyone who starts their turn in that zone.

Actionicon_attack.png Attack
Attacks are when you are attempting to use your skill to harm someone or something, generally with the ultimate goal of having them "taken out" of the scene--which could mean being killed, being knocked unconscious, being shamed or scared into running away, rendered impotent with rage, or any number of other things that all boil down to "they can no longer manipulate this scene."

Attacks don't have to be physical in nature--you can make attacks using skills like Trolling to inflict psychological harm, for example, and many stunts or extras might give you extra options, like a "Sneak Attack" stunt that lets you roll Stealth in place of Strife. Generally speaking, Attacks will be actively opposed by who or what you're attacking. Some especially unimpressive NPCs might only offer passive resistance to your attacks, and maybe some inanimate objects.

Even if opposition is passive, all opposition counts as a Defense action--an Attack is always met by a Defense if it's opposed.

Actionicon_defend.png Defend
Defend checks are used to prevent others from doing things--mostly either creating an advantage on you or attacking you. This isn't always about avoiding physical damage, it can be any sort of attempt to prevent someone from succeeding at a skill check when you are in a position to do so, such as casting counterspells against magic, or trying to prevent someone from moving past you.

Defense rolls are made as a reaction, so opposition is almost always active. The only time it wouldn't be is if an NPC was the sort of minion that just has fixed attack power, or maybe an inanimate but dangerous part of the environment that does fixed attack rolls.

Keep in mind that the outcomes of Attacks and Defenses aren't cumulative--Tying a Defense and Tying an Attack only grant one boost, not one for the tied attack and one for the tied defense. They're just listed twice for completeness' sake.