Help with a couple of character aspects?

[Igtenio]

I'm kinda surprised there isn't a single topic on aspect help...anywho...

I have a character I'm having issues making aspects for. I know the basic gist of what I'm wanting, but condensing it into a single, decent phrase just isn't happening.

He's a former apprentice to a dark wizard trying to stay on the straight and narrow, despite a history of bloodshed. He's only had one encounter with the White Council, which ended with him escaping them without having killed any of them(And giving him the aspect "Striving for Redemption"). His trouble aspect is unabashedly stolen from Dresden, with The Temptation of Power. His other aspects are The Ivy Ring(Representing his unknown past, as a tattoo around one of his fingers), The Sound of Pulling Heaven Down(A phrase from his former master), and "Nice Trick, Now Let Me Try"(Showing his tendency to copy spells he sees cast).

The ones I'm having issue with are his High Concept, and the last aspect.

The High Concept started as "Recovering Killer Sorcerer", but that doesn't sound quite right. I changed it to Recovering Sorcerer, but still, eh. Also, it makes it sound like he's recovering from being a sorcerer, then a sorcerer who's recovering from something. Mystical Ex-Soldier has a certain ring to it, being as he was supposedly being trained for some great war he never got the details of, but that sounds more like a guy who's left the army and has some magic to him. Maybe "Stained Sorcerer"?

The second concept hasn't even gotten a maybe-name from me yet. The last concept is meant to show that he doesn't think he's worth saving; that he really is nothing more then some murdering monster that should be put down. It's an aspect meant to be compelled when he's given a step towards salvation and making up for his past crimes, and invoked when he stops playing with kid gloves and goes for blood.

Any ideas?

[devonapple]

I think "Reformed" may be the word you are looking for?

[arete]

For your high concept I like the idea of "Former student of _____ the dark wizard"  Make a deal with your GM so you can change it later to whatever applies once your character has moved on a little.  Another thing you can do is put "Reformed sorc" as your high concept and use "former student of ____ the dark wizard" as your final aspect to get what you want.  Though I love a good reference aspect, and would recommend "Peace is a lie" for the last slot.

[sinker]

For the last one you could always try to come up with some of the things he has done. It might help you think something up. Maybe he's "The Beast of... Somewhere or another" or he's "Killed many in his years."

[devonapple]

Mystical Ex-Soldier has a certain ring to it, being as he was supposedly being trained for some great war he never got the details of, but that sounds more like a guy who's left the army and has some magic to him. Maybe "Stained Sorcerer"?

Masterless Warlock
Warlock Without a War
Ronin Sorcerer

Some other thoughts:
Grasping Redemption One Bloody Handful at a Time (too much?)
Everyone Carries Around His Own Monsters (Richard Pryor)
I Understand Monsters (Anthony Hopkins)
Monster Reaching for the Light

[devonapple]

And to bring in some Nietzche: Staring into the Abyss

And "Pulp Fiction": Trying Real Hard to Be the Shepherd

[Lanodantheon]

So your character's aspects are:

HC
T: The Temptation of Power

Striving for Redemption
The Ivy Ring
The Sound of Pulling Heaven Down
"Nice Trick, Now Let Me Try"


For HC I personally like the suggestion of Ronin Sorcerer myself.

Or if you are so inclined, I Used to be a Warlock maybe....



I actually think you don't need a darker 7th Aspect.

You could actually change Striving for Redemption to Redemption is a Difficult Road... or something like that.

I think IMHO what you need is a Slice-of-life Aspect or Modernity Aspect as I call it. Something that speaks to how your character interacts with the Modern World. Right now, he exists in a vacuum of just Magic, but TDF is Urban Fantasy.

An Example is Perpetually Broke. How does he react to Modernity? Does he have normal problems? Does he pay his rent on time?

Something to think about.

[cgodfrey7]

Possible aspect that may describe his struggle to believe in himself: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Modification of Striving for Redemption could be
The Road To Redemption Is Paved With Good Intentions

[Amseriah]

Wow...I really like arete's idea of using the line "peace is a lie" from the Sith code, as the last aspect. 

[arete]

Ty