example of buffs and potions from your games.

[arete]

After my resent thread on buffing via summer magic I was hoping people could help me by posting buffs they have used/seen in play. My players want more examples. I am preping other things for my game tomorrow and could use the help.

[Kommisar]

The players of my game are just now getting their heads wrapped around this sort of stuff; so not a lot of examples yet.  But, two I can think of are rotes two of the wizards have.  One is an air evocation rote as a maneuver that gives her the aspect "Unexpectedly Quick" for either 2 or 3 exchanges.  The other is an earth rote that gives him the aspect "Strong as a Bear" for 3 exchanges.

[arete]

What I would like is the crunch part of those buffs.  Like the number of shifts used to create the spell.

[Drachasor]

What I would like is the crunch part of those buffs.  Like the number of shifts used to create the spell.

3 Shifts to place an aspect that lasts one exchange.  1 shift more for each exchange it lasts.  My interpretation is that you can also spend 1 extra shift per time the aspect may be tagged for free during this period.

I was thinking of having my Son of Thor character (who uses magic unlike good ol' dad), to have a Lightning Form spell (at first from a magic item, since I can only afford Thaumaturgy to start with).  It would place the "Lightning Form" aspect on him, which means he's faster and has electrical aspects (good and bad there).  Could potentially be used to dodge, hit, give people a jolt of static electricity when shaking hands, and other things.  He is starting with Lore 5, so I have two ways to work it.  First is letting it last for 2 extra exchanges (3 to initiate, 2 for extra duration), or it lasts 1 extra exchange and has 1 extra free tag (3 to initiate, 1 for duration, 1 for the extra tag).

[devonapple]

You may find some good buffs here at this thread:
http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,22421.0.html

[arete]

I read though there before creating this thread, but thanks a ton for responding.


One thing I am going to end up answering is how can a buff/pot effect say melee as a skill.  Say with lore 4 and a fate point can I create a pot that gives +4 melee for 2 exchanges or is it only aspects.

[devonapple]

I read though there before creating this thread, but thanks a ton for responding.


One thing I am going to end up answering is how can a buff/pot effect say melee as a skill.  Say with lore 4 and a fate point can I create a pot that gives +4 melee for 2 exchanges or is it only aspects.

Spells can only replace Skill rolls, not add to them.
Spells can create Maneuvers to place Aspects which can be tagged for +2 to add to a Skill roll.
Spells can theoretically create multiple Maneuvers to place multiple Aspects, each of which can be tagged for +2 to add to one or more Skill rolls.

If you want multiple free +2 bonuses, you'll want 4 shifts each (for a Sticky Aspect that can be used once any time that Scene) or 3 shifts if you will free-tag that Aspect the next exchange before it expires.

[bitterpill]

All of the examples were more specific than just a plus 4 to a skill, the awarness potion gave a plus +6 to alertness but only versus fae glamors with a lore of Fantastic, You could probably get a plus 4 to melle defense or melle attack but not both or only get a bonus against a specific enemy.

[BumblingBear]

3 Shifts to place an aspect that lasts one exchange.  1 shift more for each exchange it lasts.  My interpretation is that you can also spend 1 extra shift per time the aspect may be tagged for free during this period.

I was thinking of having my Son of Thor character (who uses magic unlike good ol' dad), to have a Lightning Form spell (at first from a magic item, since I can only afford Thaumaturgy to start with).  It would place the "Lightning Form" aspect on him, which means he's faster and has electrical aspects (good and bad there).  Could potentially be used to dodge, hit, give people a jolt of static electricity when shaking hands, and other things.  He is starting with Lore 5, so I have two ways to work it.  First is letting it last for 2 extra exchanges (3 to initiate, 2 for extra duration), or it lasts 1 extra exchange and has 1 extra free tag (3 to initiate, 1 for duration, 1 for the extra tag).

Are you saying that your interpretation is to do a maneuver that places an aspect for 3 shifts, then add 2 shifts for each added duration and free tag?

So... a 5 shift maneuver would give you 2 free tags for 2 rounds?

[devonapple]

3 Shifts to place an aspect that lasts one exchange.  1 shift more for each exchange it lasts.  My interpretation is that you can also spend 1 extra shift per time the aspect may be tagged for free during this period.

You can't spend 1 extra shift per time the aspect may be tagged for free. Each time you want a freely-taggable Aspect, it is a separate Maneuver.

You can  make it a Sticky Aspect for +1 shift, but after that first tag, it costs a Fate Point per tag.

You can also extend the duration an Aspect will "stick" to a target, but it is till only tagged once for free.

So, let's say you tagged someone with the Aspect "Marked by my Tracking Spell" - you would have to spend 3 shifts for the Aspect, 1 shift for Sticky, then +x shifts to extend the duration past One Scene. And even then, you would only get that free +2 tag once - but you could tag it once again for a Fate Point.

[sinker]

All of the examples were more specific than just a plus 4 to a skill, the awarness potion gave a plus +6 to alertness but only versus fae glamors with a lore of Fantastic, You could probably get a plus 4 to melle defense or melle attack but not both or only get a bonus against a specific enemy.

That's one of those weird examples where there are no rules for that. The potion says it's "a thaumaturgical effect granting +6 to alertness rolls" however there is no thaumaturgy that can handle this kind of effect. YS 262 says:

Thaumaturgy can:
ŠŠ Solve improbable or impossible problems
ŠŠ Create lasting changes in people and
things
ŠŠ Provide inaccessible knowledge
ŠŠ Allow interaction with the supernatural
ŠŠ Shape magical energies into physical
forms

Solving problems is usually completing a simple action by replacing a skill roll. Creating changes is transformative (I.E. a conflict to take the other out) or through maneuvers. Providing knowledge is an assessment. Interaction with the supernatural is usually handled with summoning and binding. And finally shaping energies into physical forms is evocation on a larger and longer lasting scale.

[Drachasor]

Are you saying that your interpretation is to do a maneuver that places an aspect for 3 shifts, then add 2 shifts for each added duration and free tag?

So... a 5 shift maneuver would give you 2 free tags for 2 rounds?

I just reread the rules and I had misunderstood stickiness as granting extra tags for each shift, which it doesn't do.  So...oops.

So the only real thing you can do with Buffs from evocations or potions, is replacing a skill use with the effect OR granting aspects to yourself.  Each aspect costs 3 + Exchange Duration in complexity.  So with 6 Lore you could get two aspects you can tag for free and last 1 exchange or one aspect you can tag once for free and lasts 4 exchanges -- it's a bit unclear how to regard duration in a potion actually, as you could have it produce an effect that lasts a long time via thaumaturgy one would think, I was using the evocation rules.  Seems like with items you can do better than that, so you can go with Thaumaturgy rules.

Hmm, it is actually unclear how this exactly works with Thaumaturgy.  A navel-gazing maneuver is unresisted.  Theoretically you could place a ton of "Deep Concentration" aspects on yourself with a potion (at least 1 per complexity) that can each be tagged once.  The thaumaturgy section explicitly says you can put the same or similar aspects on a target and each can be tagged 1 for free -- it even suggests doing so.  Thaumaturgy doesn't going over this sort of thing at all and the initial implications are that it offers something ridiculously OP.  I'd suggest a navelgazing thaumaturgy maneuver needs 3 shifts (like an evocation) and lasts for the scene, until canceled our by another manuever, or until used.  An additional shift can make it sticky (requiring a fate point to use after it is tagged and remaining for the whole scene).  That, I think, prevents it from being horribly broken for items and potions.

I think the thaumaturgy section is what got things confused in my mind.

I think a Complexity 6 item or potion that gives you an aspect you can tag twice in a scene (technically it gives you the aspect twice) and then goes away feels right.  I'm not 100% sure how balanced it is, but in normal games I don't think it is significantly unbalanced.

[arete]

True seeing ointment ys304 says: a tham effect granting +6 to alterness rolls to seerough faerie glamours,veils, and other illusions.

I assume given how it worked in the fiction an the raw that this pot adds to your skill not substituting in for it

[Drachasor]

True seeing ointment ys304 says: a tham effect granting +6 to alterness rolls to seerough faerie glamours,veils, and other illusions.

I assume given how it worked in the fiction an the raw that this pot adds to your skill not substituting in for it

I read that as meaning you treat your Alterness as a 6 (hence a +6 on your roll).  Still messed up given how it applies to multiple rolls....thaumaturgy doesn't seem to normally allow that, unless you read the part of simple actions as letting you make that roll repeatedly for the same purpose for the duration.

[sinker]

Yeah, the True seeing ointment is also a 6 complexity potion so the example gives you a +6 to alertness checks for only six shifts (although I could see adding shifts because it's limited to only fey glamors). But like I said it's one of those weird examples of rules that aren't there. You can't make that potion by RAW. I wounder if it was left from a previous revision.

Without that example I would probably handle that effect as a creatively applied block (like one of the variations of the hyperawareness example), however that would replace the skill roll, not add to it.