Avatar: The Last Airbender

A Guide For FATE Core

Introduction
Avatar: The Last Airbender is a pretty easy fit for Fate Core. It requires some minimal hacking to
fit the chassis onto the source material. As a pulpy series with loosely defined rules with a focus
on interpersonal relationships and stylish action, most of the changes are minor mechanical
moves: a few extras and swap over to approaches.
Summary of Changes
-Adding in Bending Extras
-Slight alteration to the Skill System
-Stunt for Chi Blocking
Bending
Bending will be handled as Extras.
The main four styles Airbending, Earthbending, Firebending, Waterbending are handled as
Skills and cost refresh. This is done as a balancing mechanic: those with Bending powers are
much stronger than their non-bending counterparts.
The Bending Skills are:
Skill Overcome Create An Attack Defend Refresh
Advantage Cost
Airbending X X X X 1
Earthbending X X X X 1
Firebending X X X X 1
Waterbending X X X X 1
Restriction: Only one Bending Extra/Skill per character

Substyles
Subbending styles like metalbending, sandbending, soundbending, lightning bending, etc. are
handled with stunts. The stunts following the following format:
Because I am an [X-]bender who has trained in [subbending style], I can manipulate
[material] with the [main bending style] skill.
For example,
Because I am an Earthbender who has trained in Metalbending, I can manipulate Metal
with the Earthbending skill.
Subbending styles can be handled with stunts for two reasons: you already paid the refresh cost
to get into the main style and they are just a special trick of the main style.
Exceptions
Three subbending styles do not follow the above format: Flying with Airbending, Energybending
and Bloodbending. The former is due to its unique nature, the later due to its power.
For Flying, use this format:
Enter The Void: Because I have [aspect in the vein of letting go of attachment],
I can fly without any tools with the Airbending skill.
As for Bloodbending and Energybending, that is different. Bloodbending is handled as additional
skills:
Skill Overcome Create An Attack Defend Refresh
Advantage Cost
Bloodbending X X X X 1

In addition, Energybending is handled as the following stunt (cost: 1 Refresh):

Bending The Energy Within: Because I can bend energy, once per session, when I
inflict a severe consequence on an opponent, I may spend a Fate point and permanently
remove someones bending skill(s), allowing them to replace them with any other skill. I
may also allow someone who previously lost their bending skill to replace one of their
skills with a bending skill.
The Avatar
The Avatar is handled differently. First off, who gets to be the Avatar?
There is a lot of protagonist power inherent in being the Avatar. Everyone will love or hate you
based on it, its important in the setting and can open doors, and the spirit world will open its eyes
and ears to you. In other words, a lot of spotlight.
As such, there are two ways to assign this and keep everyone happy.
The first way is to just have everyone agree on who gets to be it and have the player, the GM,
and other players make sure the spotlight doesnt shine on the avatar disproportionately.
The second way is for the group to make the avatars character sheet while everyone makes their
own. Rotating from session to session, each player (including the GM) gets control of the
character. When they are not in control of the avatar, they control their own character.
This system does a good job of allowing for the spotlight to be shared with no one feeling
underserved. Everyone gets to experience life as the avatar and, when the GM is in control, the
party even gets to work without them.
When a player is playing the avatar, their own character is either not there or just not getting
involved. Basically, the GM doesnt control them, but they also dont factor in: best way to avoid
complaints the GM is playing their own character wrong. Think of it like those episodes where
one of the main cast either just wasnt there, was only featured for a minute here or there, or was
conveniently put in a position where they had no effect on the story.
Not an issue with the Avatar as it isnt anyones personal character and the GM doesnt play the
Avatar when they have the character. Spotlight is always on the GM, anyway. They dont need
the avatar. The GM getting the character is more so that everyone can play their own character at
once in a session. When the GM has the avatar, they dont factor into the story, even if they are
there. Theyre either locked in their own little world, off doing different things, or taken out.
Of course, you can always just not have the Avatar in the game.
Extra Benefit Aspect Cost Stunt Cost Refresh Limit
Cost
Avatar Access to High Concept 1 2 Only one
Airbending, aspect must per game
Eartbending, reference
Firebending, status as the
Waterbending Avatar
skills; Avatar
Spirit stunt*

*Avatar Spirit: Because you hold the spirit of the avatar, once per session, you may
spend a fate point to invoke the avatar spirit. Until the end of the scene, you automatically
succeed at any overcome action a normal bender can accomplish and can attempt epic
levels of bending, like making islands fly, volcanos erupt, or other such godly feats.
Skill Changes
Most of the skills are the same as standard Fate Core. However, to aid in the mechanical
disparity between bending skills and the normal combat skills, Fight and Shoot have been
consolidated into a singular skill: Combat. This combined skill works as the two separate skills:
it has all four actions associated with it, but it can only be used to defend against close-range
attacks; ranged attacks require athletics to defend.
Chi Blocking
Chi Blocking is a common feat and is handled with a relatively standard stunt:
Chi Block: Gain a +2 bonus to Combat when you attempt to create a Blocked Chi
advantage on someone.
As For Everything Else
Everything else is handled as normal in Fate Core. No more special exceptions need to be made.