Warding questions and Character Concept (tweak suggestions welcome)

[spacetonium]

Hey all!

My friends and I are getting in to the DFRPG and we're starting a new game soon. We're all veteran roleplayers, but we're all also new to the FATE system and aren't totally locked down on fairly sizable parts of the the DFRPG specifically.
The questions I have are:

Can you permanently ward a place/area that is not your own? It doesn't seem to happen often in the books IIRC. Gamewise is it still just a matter of complexity?
Are the temporary circles used by characters (mostly Harry) in the books just on the fly wards?
And what would a ward "passkey" be in game terms? (I'm specifically thinking of the amulet that Harry gave to Murphy so that she could safely bypass his wards) Are these focus items? Enchanted Items? neither?

The reason I'm asking all these ward questions is that I'm considering playing a focused practitioner that provides magical security for members of the magic community. He'd mainly work with those who don't have the juice or knowhow to make the wards themselves. The game takes place in a city (Louisville, KY) that was magically dead for at least a century, and then suddenly "awoke" ten years previous to the game. As such, the magical community is growing, the nevernever is growing richer in the area, and things are starting to go bump in the night. My Character is a former high tech sec consultant - he basically did the same thing he does now, only for the mundanes, and he lost his ability to reliably work with electronics when his power surfaced.  He's now trying to rebuild his business using his abilities instead of tech. He also doesn't shy away from the shadier potential employees he might have.

The stats I've cooked up are:

power level: Up to your waist
name: Martin Bishop
High Concept: Freelance Magical Security Consultant
Trouble: Finding a balance between magic and mundane. (not sure on this. I feel it may be a bit weak.)
B ground: Reach Beyond what you know.
R conflict: Hold on to what you have, you may lose it.
1st adv: Protect those who need it, and protect those who can afford it.
Guest Star: Watch your back. Shoot straight. Conserve ammo. And never, ever, cut a deal with a dragon. (stolen from shadowrun! )
GS Redux: You mean you wish to surrender to me? Very well, I accept.

Stunts & Powers: -2 channeling (kinetomancy), -2 ritual (warding), -0 Wizard's Constitution, -1 refinement (2 item slots), -1 armed arts (baton/knife)
Total refresh adj: -6, adjusted refresh: 1
Skills: GOOD- Lore, discipline, guns, conviction. FAIR-fists, endurance, athletics, scholarship. AVERAGE-investigation, resources, contacts, alertness, craftsmanship.

items:
focus item: Shield "wristwatch" +1 defensive power.
focus item: engraved steel baton +1 offensive power. (i may switch this to be a more thaumaturgy oriented item)
enchanted item (4 E.I. slots): Armored 3 piece business suit. +4 Armor, 5 uses.
he also carries with him a snubnosed .357 magnum in a shoulder holster (I may have him use a pair of these) and a small tactical knife.

looking at his stats, i can see that he could definitely be more specialized. While his being sort of a generalist may get him out of more scrapes, it does keep me from making him super great at warding. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 Comments, flames, and blames welcome. Thanks in advance.

[Todjaeger]

Can you permanently ward a place/area that is not your own? It doesn't seem to happen often in the books IIRC. Gamewise is it still just a matter of complexity?
Are the temporary circles used by characters (mostly Harry) in the books just on the fly wards?
And what would a ward "passkey" be in game terms? (I'm specifically thinking of the amulet that Harry gave to Murphy so that she could safely bypass his wards) Are these focus items? Enchanted Items? neither?

I will need to double check to rules for some of the specific details.  I'll be doing that shortly and will then potentially have a longer response.

For the first question, specifically about Wards, I will need to double check to ensure my details are accurate.  However, based off the novels, people/beings can Ward locations other than their 'home'.  In Death Masks, I believe Ms. Gard Warded Marcone's place.  In Proven guilty, an angel Warded a panic room, and Harry had constructed a sort-of Ward in a storage unit.  This seems to suggest that a Ward can be cast upon areas other than an individual's home.  What you might be confusing is the nature and function of a Ward vs. a Threshold/the Homestead laws.

A Ward is a complex web of magic that is 'hung' off a structure, usually for defensive purposes.  The idea being that any energy (magical, kinetic, etc) directed against or into the structure, and thus through the Ward, gets re-directed or reflected back upon the source of the energy, with the same amount of energy as that expended against the Ward.  Or at least, until the maximum strength of the Ward is reached.

A Threshold is a metaphysical barrier which is a function of the 'homestead laws' which exists in some homes and churches/holy ground.  Unless or until a person/being is invited inside, any power they attempt to direct into the home, or bring with them if they were to enter without an invitation, gets automatically blocked.  A particularly strong threshold, the kind which might be found in an old home which has been in the same family for generations and/or belongs to a particularly devout family, could leave a practioner completely powerless if they entered without an invitation.  By the same token, a brand new home, a home which sees a large number of transients, or had a number of negative events (rituals, murders, etc) might have a very weak or non-existent Threshold.

Now for the second question.  No, a Circle is just that, a Circle, not a Ward.  A Circle is something which anyone, even mundane/Pure Mortal people can create.  All it takes is something to 'draw' the circle with, like salt, a drop of blood, and an act of will.  In game terms, a Circle most closely resembles a Threshold in terms of effect or operation, in that it either blocks or contains metaphysical power.  Depending on what it is being used for, either keeping something in, or things out, would determine what or how the Circle can be overcome.  Something worth noting though, is that while the Circle is very easy for a mortal to create, it is just as easy for a mortal (the same or a different one) to destroy, by breaching the circle with a physical item, like a thrown peeble, etc as it again requires an act of will.

For the last question, regarding 'passkeys' to bypass a Ward created by someone else, there is no mention of them that I can recall in the rules.  The way I would treat such items, is that they are neither Focus or Enchanted items, at least not in the sense of those which require item slots.  From a 'usage' standpoint, they are sort of both Focus and Enchanted items, but created/attuned solely to interact with a single specific Ward, and I would require that the specific item(s) being made into 'passkeys' be chosen when the Warding ritual is being cast/performed.  I would also require that any specific conditions for the 'passkeys' be chosen & specified at this time.  In effect, the 'passkeys' are a part of the Warding ritual.  It would be up to the GM to decide what sort of impact having something like 'passkeys' would have on the ritual, but I would consider it reasonable to perhaps bump up the complexity of the ritual a little bit if a number of 'passkeys' were created. Especially if the 'passkeys' had special usage requirements, like "Only usable by Murphy," or "usable by anyone during a full moon/lunar eclipse/whatever..."

Again, I will double check some of the specific rules for Thaumaturgy and Warding, but I think I covered the basics.

[luminos]

I have the answer to the question about passkeys.  Check out page 277 of YS.  Basically, a passkey is a condition placed on the ward (which increases the complexity required to do the ward by 2) that says anybody with such and such items can get past the ward.

[spacetonium]

Thanks luminos!

Now for the second question.  No, a Circle is just that, a Circle, not a Ward.  A Circle is something which anyone, even mundane/Pure Mortal people can create.  All it takes is something to 'draw' the circle with, like salt, a drop of blood, and an act of will.  In game terms, a Circle most closely resembles a Threshold in terms of effect or operation, in that it either blocks or contains metaphysical power.  Depending on what it is being used for, either keeping something in, or things out, would determine what or how the Circle can be overcome.  Something worth noting though, is that while the Circle is very easy for a mortal to create, it is just as easy for a mortal (the same or a different one) to destroy, by breaching the circle with a physical item, like a thrown peeble, etc as it again requires an act of will.

Do you know where in the rules circles are covered? I couldn't find them in the mostly great index, and haven't seen them elsewhere. 

[Todjaeger]

Thanks luminos!

Do you know where in the rules circles are covered? I couldn't find them in the mostly great index, and haven't seen them elsewhere. 

Circles are specifically mentioned in OW29, but end up pointing back to YS276, which is the page with Wards... 

Checking YS230, where there is discussion on Thresholds, Bob mentions in the Sidebar that magic circles could be considered threshold.  In short, it seems like there isn't a specific/firm set of rules regarding Circles.  With that in mind, I would go off what has been mentioned about them in novels (Dead Beat specifically) where a Circle stops magic energy, in much the same way that a large amount of running water grounds out magic.

[crusher_bob]

Here's the results of my text search about wards, and some thinking about what they can do.

Contains minor spoilers for several books.