I’ve posted this before, elsewhere, but it may still help. The example beliefs are generic, though.
Don’t disregard the important mechanical role beliefs play in the system. They are more than just an indication of who the characters are and what they think is important. They are the primary avenue for players getting Artha, and the clearest way for players to let the GM know what they want to do and the situations they want to be in.
In my experience, the game works well when players explicitly link broader beliefs to actions reflecting their goals for the session ( I will… , I need to… , I must…, etc). I encourage mine to consider two-part beliefs that express both.
For example, these could be the beliefs of a well meaning town guard:
- Something unnatural is corrupting the Trollkin near Erdvale; I need to explore the caves there to find out what is happening (a situation belief).
- My half-troll friend Orsoot is innocent, but a lynch mob wants to string him up; I will protect him (a party member belief).
- Without the rule of law, society crumbles and innocents are hurt; I must uphold the law, no matter the personal cost (a broader philosophical belief, but one which still provides the GM with options).
At least one of these goals can probably be accomplished within a session, providing the player with persona. The player might work toward others and earn fate points. And if the only way to pursue the first two beliefs involves breaking the law, the player can role play the inner turmoil, earning more Artha again.
I just made these beliefs up, but it’s not hard to think of ways a GM could challenge them:
- the lynch mob is very motivated and difficult to reason with (the church was burnt down, or the crime resulted in a villager’s death).
- Orsoot is innocent, but the PC’s superior (the guard captain) committed the crime and is happy to see the troll take the fall
- Orsoot is technically guilty, but was under the sway of the power in the caves
- there is no ‘power in the caves’. Orsoot made it all up because he did something stupid and now he has blood on his hands…
Etc, etc, etc.
I recommend that you ask your players to come up with ‘action components’ to their beliefs you can engage with straight away (i.e., this session). They can then update this aspect of their beliefs until they resolve or change the underlying belief.