Question/Thought about sponsored magic

[Saedar]

Likewise stolen. My wife will be so excited to torment me with Accords legalese in the game she's planning...

But yes, I can definitely see a Lucifer figure being a signatory. I see him running operations in a very White Court-esque way, but maybe that's just me.

[Lanodantheon]

My advice on this is a White Council "Lemon Test" for characters like this that skate the Laws of Magic/sponsorship thing.
If your proposed character falls under either of these rules then the Laws of Magic apply to that character:

1. Is the magic/power being used Mortal in origin?
Is it his own magic or is it someone else's?
The White Council only has purview over Mortal practioners of magic and the Laws of magic only apply to Mortal practioners because they represesnt acts that corrupt because Magic reflects its owner. If the magic isn't a Mortal's, if it comes from somewhere else, the user is just a channel and it comes from another source.

If it's someone else magic then the character is off the hook.

2. Is the purpose of the character to get around the Laws of Magic for the Player's personal amusement?

Context is everything. The Lawbreaker Stunts in the game and in the setting itself represent corruption. A person who kills mortals with magic is a big deal, so something or someone has to determine its morality for a character.

If the PC is meant to be someone who isn't a Wizard, but still has some things in place to control his/her actions then that can be dealt with. An Emissary of Power has a patron who dictates the limits of what that character can do. With that Patron under GM control then the Laws of Magic needn't be dealt with necessarily because if a PC melts down a bus full of nuns then the PC's patron will have words with that PC or cut him/her off and let the Mortal Authorities deal with him. The Player of that PC probably wants to play that character because he has power but isn't a Wizard so there really isn't a problem.

A problem exists if a Player wants to play a Character not bound by the Laws of Magic so he/she can get away with what is against the rules. If the PC exists solely so the Player can Kill, Enthrall, Raise armies of the Dead, etc then that PC needs the Laws of magic because the Character only exists for the Player to vent and do things that are against the rules.

"I want to kill humans!"
"I want to Rape people's minds!"
"I want to make people my personal puppets!"
"I want to Make the Army of Darkness!"
"I want to turn people into sheep!"
"I want to F@*$ around with Time!"
"I want an Outsider to be my B@($!"


If your player says any of these things with great glee, please consider no allowing their character that lets them do all that and maybe get them psychological help if they are serious.

[Archmage_Cowl]

If your player says any of these things with great glee, please consider no allowing their character that lets them do all that and maybe get them psychological help if they are serious.

But the seriousness is what makes the game interesting. lol 

[Bosh]

In any case I think it'd be a lot more fun to rules lawyer the laws of magic than to break them outright, I'd be fun to have an NPCs thumbing his nose at the Wardens by:

"I didn't kill anybody with magic, I just used my shield to make sure that I was the only one who survived the big mundane bomb blast that took out the building."

"I didn't invade anyone's mind, I just drove them insane by disrupting their whole conception of reality with glamours."

[iago]

Cue the Warden who says, "I didn't pay attention to what he was saying, I just knew he'd killed people and was a sorceror, so I cut off his head!" 

[Ihadris]

I suppose when youve been policing the wizarding community for hundreds of years youve heard it all before! 

[srl51676]

Thank you Fred So many gamers are so predictable. Give them a rule and its "not hmm how do I work within these rules to accomplish my goals" its "hmm how can I have these rules not apply to me" This takes a huge chunk of the challenge out of the game.

[Bosh]

Thank you Fred So many gamers are so predictable. Give them a rule and its "not hmm how do I work within these rules to accomplish my goals" its "hmm how can I have these rules not apply to me" This takes a huge chunk of the challenge out of the game.

Yes but that works very well for NPCs. There's nothing PCs like more than taking down someone who thinks that the rules don't apply to them

[Ihadris]

Yes but that works very well for NPCs. There's nothing PCs like more than taking down someone who thinks that the rules don't apply to them

And then the aftermath with the mortal authorities is always a good giggle. I hear that people tend to remember strangers walking around with blood covered silver swords.

[iago]

And then the aftermath with the mortal authorities is always a good giggle. I hear that people tend to remember strangers walking around with blood covered silver swords.

These would be the same strangers who veilled an entire warehouse to conduct a formal beheading, right?

[Saedar]

Details, Fred. Inconsequential details. 

[mrsleep]

Cue the Warden who says, "I didn't pay attention to what he was saying, I just knew he'd killed people and was a sorceror, so I cut off his head!"  Grin

Even if a characters gets away with skirting or breaking the Laws by being protected under the Accords (basically Diplomatic Immunity) it won't protect them from cowboy justice.

Dark alley + tire-iron = crushed skull.