Sponsored Magic Confusion

[Richard_Chilton]

Here's my idea on Soulfire compels.

Note: This post really spoils the short story the Warrior:

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You're on a case.  It's a serious one - people you love like family are at risk (again!) because of you.  A guy you love like a brother, someone sent you pictures of his kids (kids that you've watched grow up).  The meaning is clear.  You have to drop everything and help....

But you've got those compels.  Thrice you are compelled.  Each time you make a positive impact on someone's life, which is nice but it doesn't help you with your friend's problem, does it? You don't even know why you're doing it until you have a little talk with someone who points out what you've done.

And that's the best example of soulfire compels we have.  Subtle, indirect actions that make a huge difference in people's lives and half the time you don't know how big of a difference you're making.

Richard

[BumblingBear]

Here's my idea on Soulfire compels.

Note: This post really spoils the short story the Warrior:

(click to show/hide)

You're on a case.  It's a serious one - people you love like family are at risk (again!) because of you.  A guy you love like a brother, someone sent you pictures of his kids (kids that you've watched grow up).  The meaning is clear.  You have to drop everything and help....

But you've got those compels.  Thrice you are compelled.  Each time you make a positive impact on someone's life, which is nice but it doesn't help you with your friend's problem, does it? You don't even know why you're doing it until you have a little talk with someone who points out what you've done.

a huge difference in people's lives and half the time you don't know how big of a difference you're making.

Richard

I really like that idea.  It would be hard for a GM to come up with and then incorporate but I believe you are right.

The same may be true in the other direction for hellfire.

I am going to be playing an agent of Pele, Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes.  She is also a goddess of violence and has a bitter rivalry with her sister, a goddess of the ocean.  I was thinking it could be in line with my sponsor to be compelled use fists instead of words or menace to keep a guy from disrespecting a woman, or to burn seawater for the hell of it.

For a really, really big compel... like if my character racks up a whole bunch of debt, I think it would be appropriate for Pele herself to visit the character and tell him to go investigate an agent of her rival... preferably with violence.

In a way, this would be a neat plot trend - that Pele could save up the "fate points"/sponsor points in order to throw around some big mojo.

This would also be awesome from a RP standpoint because if my character keeps racking up debt and nothing happens, he could start seriously wondering about and stressing over what is going to happen.

[Drachasor]

Regarding Soulfire:

Easier would be compels to assist and help others or to NOT do something just for yourself.  Planned on doing some magic to make your life a bit easier?  Sorry, your conscience is really pushing you to go out and do something for other people instead.  Thought you might spend an evening with your girlfriend?  Unfortunately your friend is going through a divorce and you couldn't bear the guilt of not spending the evening handholding (it's been rough!).

Pretty easy to make good compels there.  Heck, you can even get good compels just for adding to your workload (if we use Dresden as an example, then a compel to take a case he doesn't feel he easily has time for).

[Richard_Chilton]

I really like that idea.  It would be hard for a GM to come up with and then incorporate but I believe you are right.

I don't think it would be that hard - because odds are good the PC will never know the good he's done.  Look at other Dresden stories and you can where he's done something that impacted on others and probably never noticed.

The PC spends a scene (or part of a scene) helping someone.  He doesn't need to know the long term impact, but he got that kitty out a tree (getting his hand scratched in the process) or helped that guy change a tire or otherwise did something helpful.

Pele - that's a bit harder.  She's got an agenda that goes beyond the "Be good / be bad" ones of Soulfire/Hellfire.  Maybe the PC does some minor action, just part of a bigger scene, and later finds out that he helped someone pollute the ocean

Right before Christmas I came up with two versions of a "envoy of Santa Claus", one of which had sponsored magic.  That one feared that if his debt ever got too high that he would get turned into a Krampus like creature.  As his debt mounted he could be compelled to reward the nice and punish the naughty, often with negative social ramifications, so he worked hard at not letting his debt get out of control.

Sponsored magic can be fun, but the GM and player (and most of the rest of the group) have to be on the same page for everything to work.

Richard

[BumblingBear]

Pele - that's a bit harder.  She's got an agenda that goes beyond the "Be good / be bad" ones of Soulfire/Hellfire.  Maybe the PC does some minor action, just part of a bigger scene, and later finds out that he helped someone pollute the ocean



Richard

Luckily, my character is an x military, alpha male, warrior type.  In fact, his raze everything to the ground mentality is what got him noticed by Pele in the first place.

Considering she is a really chaotic, violent, yet strangely benevolent goddess, I don't think my character would be too at odds with her agenda... and that helps things.

I was going to talk to my GM about it this weekend, but I was thinking a great Pele compel after my character gets a bit more powerful would be to go after

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Fomor like in "Aftermath"

  since they are

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aquatic in nature and apparently oceanic in nature

.

I think being compelled to go on dangerous crusades like this would be awesome for the story, not the least of which because my character is one of the only real hard hitters in the (rather large) group we started with, so there's a really good possibility it may cause group conflict or force my character to go on hunter-killer missions by himself.