Licensing Fate
Licensing: Licensing of Fate Core and Fate Accelerated is now possible with the July 2013 release of our system reference documents (SRDs).
- On September 2013, we made Fate System Toolkit available for licensing.
- On March 2016, we added the Venture City character creation rules and super-power catalog.
- On April 2016, we added Atomic Robo RPG, Sails Full of Stars, Gods & Monsters, Frontier Spirit, Conspiracies, and No-Skill Swashbuckling system reference documents.
- On December 2017, we made a portion of the Fate Adversary Toolkit available for licensing.
- On February 2020, we made the Fate Condensed system reference documents available for license.
Text: Two open licensing schemes are available to you for the above content, and you can choose the one that suits you best. Read more about these choices below. In order to get to the SRDs, you must determine which licensing scheme you want to use, then click the relevant link for that license below.
Logo: We also provide a “Powered By Fate” logo for your use should you wish to brand your product as a Fate game. (The Fate Core and Fate Accelerated logos will remain the property and trademarks of Evil Hat Productions, LLC.) You can find the Powered by Fate logo further down this page.
Font: Finally, we’re providing a Fate Core Glyphs font to use for the Four Actions and easy creation of stress tracks. See below.
Your Licensing Options
The System Reference Documents (SRDs) for all the content listed at the top of this page are available through two licensing schemes.
Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY)
For our second open license option, we will be making use of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license. Use of this license will simply require that you make a clear statement (we’ll give you the text) that your game is based on our material. Unlike some other Creative Commons options, this is not “viral”—you don’t have to make your derived content open at all. We think it’s awesome if you do, though, because a) we did, and b) it means you’re contributing something back to the community that made Fate possible in the first place.
Our advice: This is the easiest option to implement and understand. For each SRD you use, you must include a small attribution bloc on your copyright page. The attribution bloc is given at the top of each SRD, so it’s an easy copy & paste. It lays no claim to your work, and you’re not obligated to make your derived work open as well, it just requires you to give credit as specified.
Open Game License (OGL)
The Open Game License (OGL) is a popular choice that is well-known in gaming circles. This is a good choice if you’re already familiar with its use, or if you’re looking to intermix your content with other OGL licensed content. Prior to Fate Core, the OGL was the only license available for the Fate system, due to the earlier edition’s derivation from the Fudge RPG system. The OGL compels you to keep open what you’ve borrowed, and to make a clear product identity declaration about what you’re not making open by basing your game on OGL content.
Our advice: This licensing option is here mainly for folks who are already familiar with the OGL, and/or are looking to integrate our content together with something also available under the OGL. It’s bulkier and more baroque to use, and for some it’s more difficult to understand.
Powered by Fate
We’re offering two versions of the Powered By Fate logo. Choose the one that best suits the background you’re putting it on. To make legal use of either logo, you must include the following text:
Fate™ is a trademark of Evil Hat Productions, LLC. The Powered by Fate logo is © Evil Hat Productions, LLC and is used with permission.
That’s it!
Download “Powered by Fate” logos in EPS format, one for light backgrounds, one for dark
If you need to make color alterations to one of these logo options to better suit your product, please email Evil Hat for permission (which is usually granted). You may not otherwise alter the logo (change its shape, use only part of it, etc).
Fate Font
You can download the Fate Core Glyphs font here. Fate Core Font.ttf
To make use of it, just give us credit:
The Fate Core font is © Evil Hat Productions, LLC and is used with permission. The Four Actions icons were designed by Jeremy Keller.
This font contains a small number of glyphs, supporting Fudge Dice faces (0, +, -), the Four Actions (A, D, C, O), and some stress track boxes (using the number keys). Enjoy!
114 Responses to “Licensing Fate”
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Thanks Fred,
So just to further clarify. If I make a rpg game based on fate core. In the text of my rpg game, I can include a word for word copy of as many sentences from the SRD as I want with precisely the same phrasing that appears in the text of the SDR? Even if I am including hundreds of the exact same phrases/sentences?
Thanks again for the clarification,
Jeff Slater
That is exactly how the SRD works.
Hello,
If I wanted to make a computer game for commercial distribution that used a modified version of the Fate RPG rules as a foundation for how it determines outcomes, etc… do the print licenses apply or is there a different license I would need?
Thanks
You should be able to use the print license. I’d recommend the CC-BY one. It’s nicely compact and doesn’t introduce confusion around what concepts would and wouldn’t cross-over to the video game context.
For power by Fate can we do power by fate and then put the word accelerated beneath it?
No. Modifications of the Powered by Fate logo are not permitted, and regardless, Fate Accelerated is a Fate Core implementation, so in addition there’s no point to making the distinction.
Fred, if I wanted to do a World of Adventure, would that fall under licensing, or need to be published directly by Evil Hat?
We haven’t trademarked the term.
Any chance we will see the Fate Adversary Toolkit join these other fine works?
The non-Rogues Gallery portion of it will go into open content very soon.
Is there any initiative to translate the srd document into portuguese? I suppose one can’t do anything powered by Fate in portuguese based on the SRD because… well, its another language.
If I interested, how should I proceed?
There are some perplexing assumptions being made in your comment. What specific language can you point at in the licensing options available that produces the perception that the language of application is constrained to English?
If interested: proceed, simply. The license says what you must do.
I’ve started translating Fate accelerated into Esperanto. Does the licencing allow me to publish (most likely only on the web) a translation even if I make no original content of my own? And which type of licensing is most fitting in that vase (I assume OGL)?
Any text in the SRDs is available to be translated, remixed, folded, burnt, mangled, whatever, so long as the terms of the selected license are followed.
You can pick either license as suits your preference. I personally find CC-BY easier to understand.
Hello! Is there problem with font?
Stress track boxes are printing out as a empty boxes. Other symbols are ok.
That font features empty boxes, so that’s working correctly. What’s the different result you’re expecting?
I see quite a number of Fate Core games are completely indie, but you also have a number of Evil Hat World of Fate products.
If I wanted to produce a product through Evil Hat how would I submit that proposal to you?
http://www.evilhat.com/work
So my question is a little odd. I want to create a game based purely on my own ideas and settings. Can I use the dice system in this OGL to figure out combat, actions, etc. without having to use the Fate Setting, or what? I’m new to homebrews and developing gaming systems in general, so I have no idea how this works.
1) Fate has no built-in setting.
2) So long as you’re compliant with the license, you can use anywhere from 0% to 100% of the SRD’s text in your derivation.
Hi,
I want to develop my own professional setting using your rules, and then sell it on DriveThruRPG. Is the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) allows to do this?
Thanks.
That’s a textbook case for using it, yes.
Fred, how can we use or reference the Fate KS commissioned PDFs published in the Downloads section of the Fate Core web site? I specifically want to use the rules in the “Psychic Powers” PDF but can’t see any references on how to use it. Is it covered by the rules above? Do I simply mention and link its existence in my text? Thanks.
Hi Luis. Those are not in open content. Contact the commissioner/author and see what you can arrange.
Is the Horror Toolkit allowed to be used in either license?
There is no current open content from that book.
Theorical Question: I want to create something similar to D20 modern but with FATE mechanics. Can I use some content from the 5E SRD mainly the name of abilities and some of the skills blend it with FATE Core mechanics and brand it as “Powered by FATE”? No cost associated?
P.D. This is a theorical question
I am unfamiliar with the 5E SRD so I can’t answer this. You’re talking about blending two distinct and separate licenses together with each other, and that’s a legal area I don’t have any real experience with. Best to consult an IP lawyer with both licenses in hand.
Hello, i would like to know if i can use this system partially to create a tabletop game, the game itself would be far different from a role playing game. would it be there any type of problem legal or otherwise in this scenario? or just by adding the logo, brand and the text that appears on the post would suffice?
The terms of the license give you the power to create whatever you want, using anywhere from 0% to 100% of the text provided by the license, so long as you adhere to its terms.
Will there be an update to the Fate Core Glyph font to allow the use of numbered stress boxes? I was looking at the Fate Adversary Toolkit and Dresden Files Accelerated, and I really would love to make use of those numbered boxes for additional depth in designing NPCs.
Hello!
I produce Fate Core content as a third party publisher and I wanted to know if the Fate Glyph font is going to be updated to feature the numbered stress boxes that are seen in products like Dresden Files Accelerated or Fate Adversary Toolkit. This would be a super handy feature!
Question just looking for advise. I created a game, and just finished the book with the font, and the powered by fate logos, of which was credited to the creators of course, I am planning to make this content open for no means of profit and promote the setting. However I am not sure which license to use either OGL or Creative Commons. There is some original content in the game such as Magic System is different from the usual fate core system magic in the fate core toolkit. Perhaps you could advise which one would best be appropriate for my game.
This game is going to be 100% open and free to the fate core players and gamers.
Neither license has any bearing on what content you can create. By and large they are solely focused on making sure that a) you can use our text as provided in the SRDs; b) you can’t tell people they don’t get to use our text; c) that’s it.
OGL is more baroque, and mainly provided for people who are already familiar with its use in its 20+ year history. CC-BY is much simpler, and on that basis I’d tend to advise that you use it if you don’t have prior OGL experience.
Both allow you to declare your own content — the stuff that you aren’t re-using from our SRD text, the stuff you made yourself — as product identity. Similarly, you can also make the decision to release your own original content under either or both licenses, as we have — but that is a separate consideration.
Thank you sir…no this setting is strictly 100% free to the players. There is a huge backstory with how it started and why I started writing a book on it. Very limited information was my work, like the setting, and story was mine, magic system I developed was mine but all was developed to incorporate inside fate core itself, so I am not taking credit all the way. Perhaps mostly doing the leg work of setting everything up, and the coming up with a title. I am a big player and game master of FATE Core as that I am always busy and don’t have time to play games. I have hosted over 10 Fate Core Games starting back in 2016-2017 and in the late December of 2017 came up with this game I am inquiring on now. The anniversary of the first session is in a couple of days and is my longest running campaign with both Fate Core, D6, D20, Cortex, genesys and other systems I have played before. Anyways long story short, i have tried running other games to get away from this setting I created but for every player i gained for those other games, i gained two to three times more players for this game I am talking about. We never had a dead session yet. So I was inspired to write the book for not just my players but for others that may enjoy a good game. So far my community is down to 20 but more were involved in the past leaving just over 25 but under 30 in the past year. I am honest person and will definitely give credit to developers. Besides the creator company I am a big fan of, and would do nothing to harm that respect. I have played many games by Evil Hat, and love some of the developers that I have had the pleasure seeing on youtube and possibly I hope someday get to meet in person. Sorry for the long message I do apologize, I just wanted to say thank you for your help and make you aware of everything to see if we are on the same page, I did follow all you attributions to you guys for the font, logos, that were used, and the content that I used on the SRD. I have learned to love this game and have enjoyed seeing one of my creations comes to life more than ever through the fate system. If there is any other advise you think that i should have please let me know as that I am open to advise all the time.
Not at this time.
Hey Fred,
Thanks for this! I love Fate and is by far top of the list on my favorite systems to play. Using these licensing options, I want to create some sourcebooks and modules of a few worlds/ IPs that I own – and I want to take them to Kickstarter. I am a third party publisher and I’m interested in investing in this and helping grow the Fate community further.
1. Is this something that these licenses cover?
2. Is there a way that I could also give a percentage of proceeds, or royalties, or something back to Evil Hat so the community can grow further – to help Evil hat put out more awesome things?
Thanks!
– Sean
1. Yep. That is, in fact, their point.
2. Honestly you shouldn’t, unless you’re looking to license some aspect of our stuff that isn’t made available through the licenses. (Like, you can’t use any of our versions of the Fate logo other than the Powered By Fate logo made available here, etc)
Hey Fred,
Thanks for answering these questions! I will be sure to use the “Powered By Fate” Logo that is made available here when I’m including the above license options for the Fate Core rules in the setting I’m creating.
Thanks again!
– Sean
Will the new Space Toolkit eventually be part of this license?
No plans for that one way or the other.
Do I need special licensing to utilize the dice system?
That’s not a particularly clear/specific question. Do you need special licensing to use Fate Dice in your own games? Nope. Do you need to borrow the text from one of the SRDs in order to describe the “dice system”? Then follow the license terms as described.
Hello, Fred;
I have been flipping through these posts and some of my questions have been partially answered. So that leaves on or two things I am curious about;
1. I am hoping to do a Fate game using my own world and IP, but I’m not entirely sure how to adjust any components of the SRD to match my world. Is there any kind of book or document that Evil Hat has on hand that I can use to figure that out?
2. I’ve heard of— though never used — the OGL before. And I’m even less familiar with Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY. Can I ask why one seems to force a game to be “open” and the other does not?
3. Related to 2, Does CC-BY or OGL allow for a mixing of game system mechanics? As I said, I’m not great shakes with this kind of thing, so I need to know what I can and cannot do with each license type, to see how I would go about constructing my game.
4. Last but not least, if I were to mix part of the Fate game mechanics with my own ideas, which ones are effectively ‘protected’ and which are considered “open”, and how would the licenses affect them?
Thanks in advance for your time and hopefully answers, if you can provide any! 🙂
1. You don’t need to do anything if you’re using CC-BY. The license (which is, like, a short paragraph) lays no claims to what you create, it just establishes the requirements for credit when you use the text of the SRD in your own creation.
If you’re using the OGL, it’s more tricky (the OGL is a whole page of small type text) and I’d steer you away from it because it does lay claim to SOME of your derived text, but you can amend the text at the tail end of it to make clear what parts of your book are retained as closed IP and which parts are open. If you own the 2010 Dresden Files RPG (some volumes now out of print) you can look at the OGL declaration in there for an example of how we made clear we weren’t opening up Jim Butcher’s IP in the process.
2. The OGL came first for us. It is what it is, drafted by WOTC’s lawyers 20ish years ago for making D&D 3e open-ish, but in a way that made it “viral” insofar as derived works had to remain at least partially open too. It became a kind of lingua franca for the industry to make content open, but it is a headache to try to sort out, enough so that if you’re committed to using it I would recommend consulting with a lawyer as your first step. We are ourselves moving away from the OGL but have preserved it as an option for folks who still prefer it, or for those folks who are kitbashing multiple open-under-the-OGL sources together.
Creative Commons has a wide variety of licenses one can use to make content open in various ways. Some of these have that viral characteristic where if you derive something from X, yours too must be available under the same license. That’s not something we wanted as we felt it had a chilling effect on folks using their own IP with the system.
So we chose one of the CC license options that was simplest and which only mandated that credit for the original source be given, leaving the deriver to do whatever they wanted with their own content in terms of rights retention.
3. CC-BY does, OGL does limitedly. As to “limitedly”, see above about the lawyer.
4. If you’re doing CC-BY, 100% of your own ideas are protected. Like I said, CC-BY is both simpler and lays no claims. You can construct a product identity prohibition bloc if you’re using the OGL, but there may be bits having to do with how much of your system design is considered to be a part of the source work where that gets… fuzzy.
Hi, I am starting a podcast where we will discuss rules from different RPG systems, FATE along them. I understood how the licences work for the SRDs, but I am unsure if I could use imagens on FATE books or FATE logos as “photos for press”.
Thanks for your time!
The legal principle of fair use provides broad protections for uses like those you describe.
Hi, Fred!
I’m about to release a zine on Kickstarter that is a system-agnostic setting/campaign.
As part of the stretch goals, I thought it would be nice to add an appendix that converted the campaign to fit the Fate system.
I also wanted to attach a background generator (questionnaire) on the back of the Fate character sheet to make it easy for players to immerse themselves in the world. (as a single pdf deliverable).
Do these two ideas fit under the CC-BY with correct attribution?
Thank you for your time!
You can’t use Evil Hat’s existing laid-out character sheets and branding, as those elements are not in the open content of the SRD you might base your work on.
The appendix should be fine; I’m just not sure I understand enough of your character sheet notion to say more than the above.
Thank you for the response! I’m looking forward to making more supplements for Fate!
No problem on the character sheet – The plan was to put a questionnaire on the back of the Fate character sheet to help with back stories.