Thaumaturgy and Supernatural Powers

[Brackenfur]

Hello! I remember reading somewhere on the boards about how you could use thaumaturgy to apply supernatural powers to a character for a temporary time. However, I'm having trouble finding it again. Was I crazy or just bad at using the search feature? Also is this mentioned in the text at all or just clever ideas cobbled together on the boards?

Thanks!

[Imp]

thread linkage

Using magic to increase abilities

[Brackenfur]

Thank you but, is there a way to use it for supernatural powers not skills. Particularly if a wizard wanted to change her shape or fly both of these abilities are modeled really well with Supernatural Powers. Is there a way to temporarily gain this power through thaumaturgy?

[Richard_Chilton]

It can't really give you the power, but it can mimic it.  For example, you can cast a spell that transforms you but you can't grant yourself shapeshifting.  You still lack the power of Shapeshifting but you've reached the same (or mostly the same) result - you've just used a different road to get there.

Sometimes characters do things that are very hard to map to magic - for example Gatekeeper's mastery of opening portals to the Nevernever.  The best way to represent something like that is to buy the power and explain that you're doing it through magic.

Richard

[Brackenfur]

I agree. The character only wants to do it for a limited time though and doesn't want to be able to shapeshift so thoroughly. If it isn't represented in the text would it make sense to have her total a number of shifts equal to the powers cost? Or some variable of (2 x refresh cost, 3x, etc.)? 

[Richard_Chilton]

To shapeshift you have to transform yourself, which means totally taking yourself out.  I think the book gives an example of that taking 23 shifts.

Which means you'll need a ceremony to do the rite and it will take a long time.

Richard

[Brackenfur]

But when the book is using that example it references the law that it's breaking (second?). IIRC. So I inferred that the example was for a permanent transformation. What if I want a limited duration, down to a scene tops. Could I decrease the shift count by moving down the time ladder?

[sinker]

I would think that you could decrease the shift count simply by choosing to transform yourself. You don't have to take any consequences to be taken out and for that matter if you had to take the consequences to transform you'd be in a pretty sorry state afterwards. Why not simply cast a spell with enough shifts to deal more stress than you have, then choose not to take consequences. You are "taken out" and only for four or five shifts instead of twenty.

[mostlyawake]

By the rules, you also have to pay fate points equal to the refresh cost each time you cast it. 

[Brackenfur]

I'm not sure, under that logic couldn't she just concede to her self in the first place and not take stress or consequences? Where do the Fate Points come into the casting, that sounds kind of familiar?

[sinker]

I'd say the stress is necessary, since without it there would be little or no shifts necessary for the casting, and besides that conceding to yourself seems a little like cheating.

[Brackenfur]

Yeah that does make sense, and I definitely like it more. So she would need to deal enough physical stress to take her self out, then pay the refresh of the powers shes wanting, then pay the refresh value of them in fate points?

[devonapple]

Here's another thread on a similar discussion:
Trying to see in the dark

[Brackenfur]

Thanks guys! I think I have a decent handle on what to do. The links helped too.