Temporary magical weapons: What's the best way?

[CMEast]

I've created a character with the high concept 'Wizard-Blooded Martial Artist' who, as a focussed practitioner, has unlocked spirit magic through his martial arts training (think 'Chi/Qi'). I imagined him using his spirit powers to increase his prowess in combat, recreating classic martial art moments like breaking cement blocks with his bare hands, incredible feats of dexterity and speed etc.

This question would also be applicable for anyone that wants to use their magic to generally improve their fist, weapon or gun skills. Does your wizard create claws of flame? Does his sword drip with frost magic? Can he use air magic to speed his arrows or earth magic to magnetise his opponents so that bullets aim with deadly accuracy?

I've thought about a few possible ways to make it work, but none of them are ideal.

1. Treat every fist attack as a separate evocation. This works well because you can decide how much power you'll use for each attack round, but a) you suffer mental stress every time you punch/stab/whatever which doesn't match my intent and b) where does the roll for fists come in?

2. Evoke a spell with duration to give a +something  weapon bonus to damage. Most of the power goes in to duration, not awful as these aren't supposed to be awesome attacks that knock opponents out in one blow, just enhanced versions of normal attacks. However the need to top the spell up mid-combat again doesn't match my image of the ability.

3. Treat it as a 'navel-gazing' manoeuvre that again gives a +something to your weapon. This fits really well apart from the fact that it'll cost fate points after the first use.

4. Take it as a stunt/supernatural feat ala 'Claws'. Ok, so that's an easy way to get the desired effect, but then it costs extra refresh when it should really be something that can be replicated by a wizard.

So let me know if you can think of a better way to create this idea in the DFRPG, or tell me if I'm missing something. I'm not looking for it to be over-powered, just practical.

[troubles third son]

You could always do Spirit Maneuvers to place aspects on you that you'd de a free invoke on, such as "Claws of flame", if you had an awe-full lot of mojo you would get to double stacking aspects like "Frost glazed Hand" and "Spirit chanrged Arm"  etc.  Also using ritual effects to change yourself adding claws or other supernatural creature features including strength, speed, etc. are in the rules. 

[GoldenH]

5) Treat it as a potion. There is already precedence for this in the 'hanky of light' effect. You can make it look however you want, any single-use enchanted item is fine from magic bullets to iron knuckles to laser flashbulbs.

[JustinS]

1,3,4 all work.
For 1, you can take a stunt that lets you use fists instead of discipline for evocation:attacks.

If you use the enchanted item way, you can also just use fists as your targeting skill.

[Deadmanwalking]

What they said, 1, 3, or 4. Or possibly all of the above in varying degrees, though 3 is not very mechanically effective.

[Wordmaker]

For general wizardry I like 1 or 3, or GoldenH's suggestion for a one-shot backup effect. I'd only be inclined to allow 4 in the case of sponsored magic or something similar.

[CMEast]

Well all four of the ideas I mentioned above 'work' in that they fit the rules of the game, but none of them really capture the intent of the spell and it's this intent that I'm really looking to recreate. In the same way, GoldenH's suggestion to treat it as a potion fits the rules, but I'm looking to create a repeatable, low power effect that doesn't use fate points, take up enchanted item slots, spend refresh, or inflict mental stress with each use. If you're looking for an equivalent then think cantrips and orisons from D&D.

Now we already have them for non-combat effects, on page 259 it mentions that light spells and the like just work without being rolled. However generally these are purely utility spells that don't really influence any conflicts. As this does influence combat, there needs to be a rule that governs damage dealt, duration etc.

This isn't useful for most full wizards, what wizard will bother to coat his hands in flame, when he can throw a fireball just as easily and deal far more damage? For focused practitioners however, it might be the only combat trick they have. Here's another idea I've thought of, it may require balancing though.

6) A manoeuvre ritual is cast creating a temporary aspect on the caster only, costing one point of mental stress permanently while it's running and dismissible at any time as a free action. It ends at sunrise and sunset unless a fate point is spent (or perhaps another point of mental stress?). The temporary aspect it creates can be tagged a certain number of times per day equal to conviction, with any further invocations costing a fate point as usual. The aspect can be compelled by opponents and gm's as usual. The effect the aspect creates works like any other aspect, a declaration or +2 on a roll (so for the effect I'm creating this would be the equivalent of a +2 weapon) at the GM's discretion. I'm tempted to say it could be limited to lore, but I think that could be easily abused.

Example 1. A pyromancer ritual to create a 'fiery fists' aspect. He can use this aspect in combat for a +2 weapon bonus on fist attacks, he could use it to burn specific objects as a declaration, he could use it to intimidate people in social situations. It could also be compelled against him during stressful moments (burning or melting objects like phones, vital documents etc)

Example 2. A biomancer ritual to create a 'strong muscles' aspect. This aspect could be used to give up to a +2 weapon bonus on attacks, on athletic checks, on diving for cover etc. It could be compelled against him (doesn't know his own strength, muscle damage etc).

Example 3. A psychomancer/empath ritual to create a 'sensitive to emotion' aspect. This could be tagged to give +2 in social situations, make declarations about an NPC's mood, +2 for sensing lies or even ambushes in the right situation. Plus it could be compelled by a GM to cause psychic shock, to weaken them against WCV attacks etc.

Issues.
Open to abuse, though all aspect use is at a GM's discretion and most rules can be abused.
Further balancing required? How long is the ritual? (My gut says 40 - lore x5 minutes. Complicated?) Should it be 2 mental stress? Or a minor mental consequence like 'split concentration'?

Well thanks for your replies so far, let me know what you think. I can't help but feel it bridges a gap left in the rules.

[GoldenH]

I definitely wouldn't allow such a thing. Either cast a spell to make a attack, do a maneuver during combat, or pony up some of your Refresh. Spellcasting is uber enough without letting people use it all day.

If you absolutely have to have a magical weapon, try a thaumaturgy spell, check out the section in the book on conjuring weapons.

[Wordmaker]

Based on my understanding of how magic works in the Dresdenverse, it'd be a pretty foolish thing to try and cover your hands in flame, regardless of your ability, because the fire still obeys the laws of physics, so it would burn your hands and clothing.

Spellcasting is supposed to be draining, especially for evocation, so really, an enchanted item, maneuver or potion slot are the most appropriate options.

[CMEast]

Letting someone throw fireballs all day for free would be broken. Normal attack spells can deal a huge amount of damage with lots of flexibility. Getting the use of an aspect for free a couple of times a day (varying between 1 and 5) that can be compelled against you, is reliant on gm cooperation and costs you a permanent point of stress while it is active is a totally different matter.

Conjuring isn't at all suitable for any of the examples I've used, it doesn't match the intent at all. In fact, it's so impractical that on page 275 it actually advises you not to bother. It's not hard to imagine a wizard casting a spell on himself to prepare him for the rest of the day, it's not hard to imagine a pyromancer that isn't advanced enough to create flame thrower effects but can still make flames dance on his fingers.

I posted on my idea on the forum to get criticism and if the effect is genuinely overpowered, if I've missed some crucial rules, then fine. 'Spellcasting is uber enough without letting people use it all day' isn't constructive criticism, it's a strawman. Thanks for taking a read GoldenH, but please focus on what the intent of the spell actually is.

Incidently, it could easily be ruled that you could only have one temporary aspect created in this way at once, or that each additional aspect over the first doubles the previous cost in stress. Also, this would be a useful way for an all thaumaturgy/ritual mage to have some relevance in combat without being over powered, bear in mind this is still only a +2 bonus at most.

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Thanks for the reply Wordmaker. Perhaps my 'hands of flame' example isn't the ideal one, though it's arguable that a wizard could protect himself from flames with a spell and that could certainly be worked in to a ritual. If you prefer however, imagine 'fists of force' or 'fingers of frost' or some other alliterative example.

You're right that spellcasting is supposed to be draining and I'm trying to keep that in mind as I come up with ways to recreate this effect. These are 'mundane' effects or as the books term it, 'pre-school' magic, but used for effect. There's no doubt that in my pyromancer example, punching an npc with a +2 bonus won't come anywhere near to the damage that a properly aimed fireball would. However, not all wizards are created equal, especially at the lower refresh levels, and I find it hard to believe that each 'punch' would use up an enchanted item slot, a potion slot or whatever. It just really doesn't fit the idea of the spell and from what I can see, in DFRPG the intent is everything.

I'm not saying my idea is the answer, but I am saying that currently nothing else in the rules fits properly either.

[Wordmaker]

One thing that came up on a thread dealing with how to represent Harry having his shield up even before a fight stars was a suggestion from Fred to allow an actual conflict to be a seperate scene to the moments just before it. That might work.

If you rule something like that, then you can have a flaming sword working continually, and because the next fight will be a different scene, your stress track would be cleared.

[CMEast]

Well that would work certainly, my only worry is that... well as you said, it really should be stressful and I'm trying to model this without giving away spells stress free.

Having said that, I have come up with another way which might work and is less of a drastic addition that idea 6...

7) Most of these ideas have been related to the high-concept ala wizard-blooded martial artist or trainee pyromancer. Why not have the spell cast allow you a number of free tags to your high concept aspect that allow you that +2 bonus but, as before, only in the right situation as approved by the gm. This saves adding an extra aspect, in fact if you combine it with your idea then...

Oh I don't know, I've thought about it too much I think that activating a flaming sword should cost you something, rather than having it in the scene for free, but I also don't think it should cost you stress every time you use it as that just doesn't make sense. Certainly your idea would work though, it's easier than adding a whole new way of working a ritual AND it solves other issues like the shield you mention.

ps. A flaming sword does make more sense than 'hands on fire' and it's also very thematic. The old fiery sword/whip is a classic staple in fantasy.

[Wordmaker]

Hmm, adding extra tags is a fairly hefty rules change.

I suppose it all depends on what a given group finds easier; recording extra tags, or recording extra Aspects.

Though if this is going to be something a character might want to do often, like being a standard combat option for them,it might be better to just go the Item of Power route.

Or just ask your GM if your character can have a flaming sword that acts like a normal sword for damage except it can't cut anything non-flammable and serves as any fire-related Catch?

[CMEast]

Well the character that made me think along these lines is a 'wizard-blooded martial artist'. He uses his fists only, no weapons, but he can channel his 'chi' (spirit) to deal more damage to opponents, think shaolin monk/tai chi master. The key thing is that he could potentially be a powerful wizard but he hasn't been trained or exposed to the supernatural at all. However his dedication to the martial arts has allowed him to unlock some of his potential and so while others find the idea of chi a useful metaphor for training, for him it's a fact of life. Of course this means he can't cast normal spells at all, not until the character has learnt what he is and got some training, but in the meantime he's a kick-ass fighter with some biomancy ability (minor reiki healing, feats of strength, dexterity and toughness etc).

Unfortunately with the current rules he'll be able to throw a couple of punches only before being massively stressed. His fists don't fit in enchanted item slots and they aren't items of power, but if they were it'd make his refresh jump up and completely change the character concept.

Nevermind, he'll just fight normally, with the odd rare punch treated like a spirit evocation doing far more damage than it should.

[GoldenH]

If you really don't want him casting spells, why give him spellcasting at all? Werewolves are technically focused practitioners too, but they don't get evocation or thaumaturgy.

Just grab claws, yeah.