Author Topic: Multiple catches  (Read 5719 times)

Offline Drachasor

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Re: Multiple catches
« Reply #15 on: July 07, 2010, 02:15:21 AM »
If for some reason I need to fight some random, weird monster, I'm going for a metal weapon. It's not because I know faeries are burned by it. It's because all of the things I'd use as a weapon are made of iron.

And if I did happen to think that the thing looked vaguely like a faerie, I'd be sure to use something iron just in case. I've read a lot of stories about faeries. The moment I see what I'd describe as a monster, I'm going to grab for any logical thing to slow it down enough to get away. To me, basically every monster that isn't specifically something else looks like a faerie.

As a kind of corollary to this, so many weapons are already MADE out of iron that it is an awesomely crappy catch.  If you have a sword, axe, or pretty much any other melee weapon, then it satisfies the catch.  It's probably worth spending a little extra money to always use steel-jacketted rounds if you deal with the supernatural much.

Frankly, it seems crazy that Dresden doesn't go around at least with a knife or something in case fae show up -- in fact, Dresden hasn't bothered to get good at earth magic either, so he's unusually bad at handling fae (kind of odd given what his life is like).

Offline crusher_bob

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Re: Multiple catches
« Reply #16 on: July 07, 2010, 02:36:18 AM »
You expect a knife to help against something that is supernaturally strong and fast and has been kicking ass with a sword since before you were born?  ???

For Dresden, any iron using alternatives to magically setting things on fire are probably not going to work as well. 

Offline Drachasor

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Re: Multiple catches
« Reply #17 on: July 07, 2010, 02:46:46 AM »
You expect a knife to help against something that is supernaturally strong and fast and has been kicking ass with a sword since before you were born?  ???

For Dresden, any iron using alternatives to magically setting things on fire are probably not going to work as well. 

Magnetism + knives/nails = dead fey.
And let's be honest, Dresden barely survives a lot of scrapes because some fey gets right on him and he can't get them off and has nothing handy to hurt them with.  I'm not saying the knife would be the first line of offense, but it would help in a pinch (and iron with more magic helps even more).

Offline CableRouter

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Re: Multiple catches
« Reply #18 on: July 07, 2010, 07:08:36 AM »
Magnetism + knives/nails = dead fey.
And let's be honest, Dresden barely survives a lot of scrapes because some fey gets right on him and he can't get them off and has nothing handy to hurt them with.  I'm not saying the knife would be the first line of offense, but it would help in a pinch (and iron with more magic helps even more).

You should have seen the look on my GMs face when I dropped a couple of loads of Size F birdshot (.22 caliber shot) into an Ogre at point blank range in a session last weekend.

GM: "No big deal, he just shrugs it off and keeps coming."
Me: "Guess both you and the Ogre haven't been keeping up with the times.  Modern birdshot isn't lead any more, it's steel."
GM: "Ouch."

Offline Drachasor

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Re: Multiple catches
« Reply #19 on: July 07, 2010, 01:02:39 PM »
You should have seen the look on my GMs face when I dropped a couple of loads of Size F birdshot (.22 caliber shot) into an Ogre at point blank range in a session last weekend.

GM: "No big deal, he just shrugs it off and keeps coming."
Me: "Guess both you and the Ogre haven't been keeping up with the times.  Modern birdshot isn't lead any more, it's steel."
GM: "Ouch."

Hah.  Just makes me think some catches should have an availability of "everyone and their mom has it" (+3).

Edit:  Seriously, you'd be hard pressed in the modern world to be anywhere populated and not be within 50 feet of something made out of iron (usually a lot closer than that).  And it is the principle item melee weapons are made out of.  I mean, something like (non-inherited) silver is easy to get, but it isn't nearly that easy.
« Last Edit: July 07, 2010, 07:15:41 PM by Drachasor »

Offline Rel Fexive

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Re: Multiple catches
« Reply #20 on: July 07, 2010, 06:07:45 PM »
Steel works against faeries, however.
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Offline Diskhotep

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Re: Multiple catches
« Reply #21 on: July 07, 2010, 07:39:16 PM »
I think people greatly overestimate how widely known the faerie vulnerability to cold iron is these days. Sure, as gamers and mythology fans we all know these things. It can be assumed that the average practitioner in the Dresdenverse knows this or can find out with relative ease. But the typical "man on the street"? I doubt it.

If you were to go up to a random person in an office building, or on the subway, and ask them, "How do you kill a vampire?", after deciding whether you are crazy enough to warrant running or calling for help they would probably answer "a stake through the heart", or something similar. This information is common knowledge, thanks to the efforts of the White Council, Bram Stoker, and decades of vampire-related films and books. But where is this foundation of knowledge about the faerie folk?

I'd be willing to wager the same person would think of Tinkerbell when asked about faeries, and has no idea of the effects of cold iron on one. There just isn't the popular culture around the true nature of Faerie, much less how to injure or kill one. Maybe they were required to read "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" in a college literature course or something, but unless they majored in it I doubt they even remember the poem. It's just not part of our mundane world any more.

It wouldn't surprise me if Disney and similar companies weren't influenced by the Courts in order to disseminate false information, in a reversal of the Black Court Plan. Think of all the classic fairy tales that have been modified over the years to be made more tame and palatable to children. Does anyone these days remember that Cinderella's sisters had their eyes pecked out by birds after cutting off bits of their feet to make the slipper fit? Or that there was a version of Sleeping Beauty where it was not true love's kiss that awakened her, but the birth of her child (think about the implications of that for a moment, and see if you find the Prince so charming now)? While the White Council is working to combat this with the efforts of Sondheim and Bill Willingham, I'd be willing to wager the average person knows almost nothing of true faeries, let alone what to do and not do if they encounter one.

Finally, remember that the realm of Faerie is just one of many locations in the Nevernever. Just because it is likely that the monster rampaging in your general direction is vulnerable to cold iron does not guarantee it. All the more reason to do the research and confirm what you are dealing with before charging into the fray.

Offline Nomad

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Re: Multiple catches
« Reply #22 on: July 07, 2010, 09:04:20 PM »
But on the other hand, what is the first thing you have ready in case of a serious fight? For me it is probably my keyring and there is cold iron for you. For an average thug it will either be a baseball or a knife/switchblade (Does aliminium count as cold iron btw?).
Hell if you got one of the cheap ass Chinese SKM rifles, all you have is steel jacketed crap ammo that comes with it (something like 20 bucks for 300 non-reloadable rounds). Modern Birdshot/Buckshot are also steel btw :D

Even if you don't know it, there is a big chance you will have the right tool.
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Offline TheMouse

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Re: Multiple catches
« Reply #23 on: July 07, 2010, 09:21:03 PM »
I think people greatly overestimate how widely known the faerie vulnerability to cold iron is these days. Sure, as gamers and mythology fans we all know these things. It can be assumed that the average practitioner in the Dresdenverse knows this or can find out with relative ease. But the typical "man on the street"? I doubt it.

Even if your average person doesn't know about faeries and iron -- and I'm betting that a fair number actually would -- there are lots of stories in many formats that feature it. There are probably more than a hundred books on the shelves of any major book store that feature faeries being weak against iron.

It isn't as commonly known as werewolves and silver, but it's not exactly obscure either.

Offline CableRouter

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Re: Multiple catches
« Reply #24 on: July 07, 2010, 09:58:11 PM »
. Modern Birdshot/Buckshot are also steel btw :D
Birdshot, yes, buckshot, no; it's due to a concern about bottom feeding waterfowl ingesting the shot in wetlands.  The largest birdshot, made larger than any lead birdshot was in the past, to give the pellets more range due to the lower density of steel; is just under #4 buckshot in size but at typical close quarters ranges, that would inflict serious damage on just about anything.  Not too many critters can shrug off 20+ simultaneous .22 caliber pistol hits and having steel rounds available is just a bonus in a world populated by fae critters and on the chance that the cops do get involved, you don't have to worry about explaining why you're using hollow slugs filled with some goo you cooked up in your kitchen to "kill monsters".   ;D

Offline Kordeth

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Re: Multiple catches
« Reply #25 on: July 08, 2010, 07:57:26 PM »
(Does aliminium count as cold iron btw?).

No. Aluminum is a completely different element.

Offline ryanroyce

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Re: Multiple catches
« Reply #26 on: July 10, 2010, 02:47:01 AM »
I also think that cold iron should be a +4 Catch, due to the widespread default use of iron/steel in most weapons and it being almost common knowledge.  Sure, a mortal in China or Egypt wouldn't necessarily know about the fae and iron, but many folks in the West and almost everyone in Great Britain would know this.  More to the point, it can be considered common knowledge for any player character, regardless of cultural origin.

Furthermore, learning more about fairy weaknesses is just a Google search or two away, not hidden in some dusty occult bookstore somewhere.

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Offline luminos

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Re: Multiple catches
« Reply #27 on: July 10, 2010, 02:53:31 AM »
For cold iron, the research is more about, is this thing considered a fairy or not.  I mean, centaurs and trolls and all kinds of weird stuff certainly aren't part of fairy lore, so you wouldn't always expect them to have fairy catches.  For things like pixies and such, cold iron is probably worth +4.
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