Is there a power building mechanic?

[Grandmikus]

I was looking trough the book but I didn't find one only a spell creation system. My players have been bothering me with playing as monsters with telekinetic powers that bend limbs of other people and so far I don't know how to make such powers. Can anyone tell me which part of the book gives hints on how to build your own monster powers or maybe a site that has homebrew such a mechanic?

[MyNinjaH8sU]

If you can give me an example of the effect you want to accomplish, and any mechanical ideas you have for it, I'm sure that would get us well on our way towards figuring out what you need to cost and work from.

[devonapple]

At the very beginning of the Powers section they discuss how to build powers by comparing them to supercharged Stunts. The guidelines may leave something to be desired, but they can be a help, and they helped me balance out the custom power I was developing over on the Custom Power thread..

[sinker]

I was actually going to say you might want to check the custom power thread, you might find what you want already made and vetted. You can also often use the spellcasting system and simply change it thematically so that mechanically it is the same but within your game world it is something completely different. For example your telekinesis could easily be Channeling: Spirit/force.

[Grandmikus]

I was hoping to develop a monster that could use his psychic powers to focus on an area or multiple areas, both small and large like houses, doors, parts of the body then twist and bend them so that it causes a fracture or even tears up the objects in those areas. Im pretty new to the book and don't exactly know how powerful this kind of things should be in dresdenverse, right now Im trying to finish the first novel with as little spoilers as possible from the rpg book. Thanks in advance for your help, there aren't many sites like this where people are so eager to help newcomers.

[devonapple]

Back to MyNinjaH8sU's point, what would the in-game mechanical effect of this power be? It sounds freaky and compelling, but determining the effect will go a long way towards building it.

Is the maneuver placing scene Aspects on those locations? Is this a vector for some sort of Mental attack? Is the monster hoping to destroy the house so that it injures or kills the occupants?

If this is just a creepy damage-dealing effect, look at Breath Weapon: it is a generic ranged damage spell, and a benchmark power that many people use as the basis for other effects. The Custom Power thread has some example add-ons people have used for other powers, such as Long Range [-1], or increasing the number of zones affected. You can re-skin the ability so that the targets save using their Endurance instead of their Athletics.

Incite Emotion is another benchmark power which people use to gauge other powers.

[admiralducksauce]

Seems like you could use Breath Weapon if you wanted an "always there" power, otherwise dealing damage to things great and small should be nicely covered by Evocation or its lesser specialties.

[devonapple]

Thaumaturgy would be another good route: getting a symbolic link to a person or place, and then twisting them from a distance is entertainingly nightmarish.

It sounds like this monster could just have Evocation and Thaumaturgy, and just use it for really creepy purposes. Use Evocation as a maneuver to place Aspects such as Twisted Walls, Buckling Supports, Fractured Arm.

There's a Stunt I helped design (in this thread) called "Brutality" which sounds easily like it would be in this monster's idiom. Simply specify it is for Evocation rather than Fists.

[sinker]

Back to MyNinjaH8sU's point, what would the in-game mechanical effect of this power be? It sounds freaky and compelling, but determining the effect will go a long way towards building it.

Is the maneuver placing scene Aspects on those locations? Is this a vector for some sort of Mental attack? Is the monster hoping to destroy the house so that it injures or kills the occupants?

This is always the most important question to ask in DFRPG. What do you want it to do? Attack? Maneuver? Once you've figured out the mechanics of how it works the rest is just storytelling.

[Nyarlathotep5150]

If you're trying to make a monster with telekinetic powers, you wouldn't really need to make a new power for it, you could just tack the focused practitioner template ontop of it. With Ritual (Kinetomancy) and Channeling (spirit), you basically cover the whole range of telekinesis.