Custom Powers Master List (Work In Progress)

[Tedronai]

I'm not sure what you mean by that.  It was not my understanding that the previous wording of the benefit provided any expansion of available effects.

[Mr. Death]

I don't remember that scene...but I suppose that any writeup of Rune Magic ought to make it possible.

Okay, I just reread the scene, and it seems that I just plain remembered it wrong. What confused me was Gard pulled out the rune of Routine while she was asking Dresden if he knew illusion magic. But the next scene has Dresden doing his own thaumaturgic ritual to create the image of them as Malks then has Gard snapping the rune to activate it independently of Harry's spell.

So, uh, that said, I withdraw my objection to removing the Evothaum function, since it seems it was a product of my bad memory.

[Sanctaphrax]

@Tedronai: It sort of did, I think. But that's a moot point now, because:

@Mr. Death: Alright then, let's pitch it.

But the power is looking a bit lacking now...what should we put in to replace it? Some kind of Evocation?

[Silverblaze]

Maybe it adds some additional enchanted item slots only to be used for runes (potions).

Currently like Sanctphrax says, it isn't worth -4 refresh.

[Mr. Death]

I don't think it should have a straight evocation component, since the whole thing with runes is they have to be inscribed and made beforehand. There really isn't any freehand casting involved from what we've seen in the books. Some kind of specialization bonus or extra slots to put the runes in, like Silverblaze suggested, are all I can really think of to give the power more kick.

[Sanctaphrax]

I was thinking that maybe we could do something like what we did with Super-Science! Evocations only with foci.

On second thought, though, I'm not sure if it's appropriate for Valkyries to fight with magical blasts. So how about a free language, +1 to certain Lore rolls, and 5 focus slots? Would that make Rune Magic worth 4 refresh?

I think that having all Rune Magic users speak a special language called Runespeak or whatever would be kinda cool.

A Lore bonus seems like a good "when in doubt" kind of thing to give Sponsored Magic. Not sure what rolls to apply to though.

And an extra focus slot is just a random extra.

If those ideas don't work for you, we could go with some kind of Toughness reduction thing.

[Mr. Death]

Those sound fine to me. I'd argue for the Lore bonus going to complexity of the runes, personally. The Runespeak makes sense--when Gard uses the runes in Heorot, Harry describes them as being scripted in a way he's unfamiliar with (after noting he's specifically familiar with Norse runes), and Gard murmurs something in a language he doesn't understand (or he just doesn't catch it, hard to say).

I agree that the Valkyries shouldn't be using magic blasts like that (outside of using a preprepared rune, anyway). Unless there's some Valkyries who were spellslingers before they were recruited, but that's got more to do with my personal pet theory on how they come into being, which is neither here nor there.

[Tedronai]

Still looking a little weak, to me, but that'd be easier to evaluate with a full write-up.

[Silverblaze]

Runes shouldn't really be a seperate spoken language but a written one.  Yeah you could vocalize what the runes said, but the norse runes for destruction or justice are still called those words in the language of the one speaking them.

Example: Rune of Nuking Small Kittens: would still be called the Rune of Nuking Small Kittens in any language. It would/should however have a seperate corresponding rune/s.

I'm in favor of the following boost to Rune Magic.  If we have decided that it has no evocation it should not get focus item slots for evocation (as a power) it should get the standard two for being thaumaturgy.  At which point we need to decide how many extra sounds both fair and if not quite fair then useful.

I'd be in favor of four bonus.  Six total, since for rune magic to work well one would have to be able to carry at least a few runes at a time.  Runes traditionally are carried in bags of far more than two or three. The appropriate number is of course far too high, but it could be reached with refinement (if it were allowed for sponsored magic).  I suppose one benefit of Rune Magic could be :

-1 Refinement (only for enchanted item [Rune]) slots.

[Sanctaphrax]

I think that 6 focus slots is too much. That's what I'd get for taking Ritual (Crafting) and two Refinements. Honestly I think that we might be pushing it with 5, but if Tedronai thinks it sounds weak then that alleviates my worries a bit.

Let me make an attempt at a final version:

RUNE MAGIC [-4]
Description: A long time ago, Odin stabbed himself with a spear and hanged himself from The World Tree as a sacrifice to himself. By doing so, he acquired the power of Rune Magic. Now Odin gives some of that runic power to his Valkyries, making them able to serve him better.
Sponsor: Rune Magic comes from Odin, greatest of the Aesir and master of runes.
Agenda: The agenda of Odin is not entirely clear, but it definitely includes making preparations for Ragnarok. Users of Rune Magic might be called upon to find new Einherjar for Odin's armies or to gather weapons for the final battle.
Evocation: Rune Magic does not provide any form of Evocation.
Thaumaturgy: Rune Magic rituals are mainly useful for divination, warding, and crafting. Some other effects might also be possible, but no Rune Magic effect may extend beyond the immediate proximity of the runes used to cast it.
Evothaum: Rune Magic does not grant the ability to use Thaumaturgy with the speed and methods of Evocation.
Extra Benefits: A user of Rune Magic may create special Rune Items. Creating a Rune Item requires a ritual much like an ordinary thaumaturgical ritual, except that the caster spends an Enchanted Item slot for each exchange he spends casting the spell. If the ritual succeeds, the resulting Rune Item functions identically to a single-use potion containing the ritual's effect. In addition, Rune Magic users get a free specialization in Rune Magic complexity and gain the ability to read and write the secret language of runes. Finally, Rune Magic provides five focus slots instead of the regular four.
Note: The cost of Rune Magic is not reduced if the character taking it has Evocation.

Is that satisfactory?

[Mr. Death]

Yeah, that looks good. Given that the power is going to get pretty much all of its unique utility via the enchanted item slots, I don't see any problem with boosting how many you get, so that you can get more out of it. Honestly, I'd rather have the 6 focus slots, but I can live with 5.

[Sanctaphrax]

If Rune Magic gave you 6 slots, then why would anyone ever take Ritual (Crafting)?

[Mr. Death]

Not wanting to play a Norse psychopomp? It's like Billy and Harry's discussion on the Warden Sword--it's powerful, but it comes with responsibilities.

[Sanctaphrax]

Not wanting to play a Norse psychopomp?

That is an awful reason. And not an ordinarily awful reason, a profoundly awful reason.

You should not let a specific character concept make a character more powerful. Because then you are mechanically punishing anyone who does not pick a certain character concept. This is very very very very bad.

Suppose I want to make a Crafter. If I don't pick Rune Magic, then I'm making my character weaker. This might be unfun for me, depending on my personality. So maybe I'll want to be a Valkyrie, even if a Valkyrie doesn't make sense in the campaign. Which puts everyone in a crappy situation.

I'm sure you've heard nightmare stories of powergamers who create incoherent concepts in order to justify their builds. Those nightmare stories are the fault of people who say things like the thing that you just said.

PS: Crafting is possibly the most powerful thing in the game. Making something stronger is not sensible.

[Mr. Death]

There is a specific character concept that is more powerful than a lot of others: Wizards. If all anyone cared about was power, then everyone would play Wizards with maxed out magical stats. Some people do base their character decisions on the theme and character concept rather than cramming in all the bonuses they can get away with, after all.

And aren't sponsored magics supposed to have benefits over the standard powers? That's the whole appeal of making a deal with the devil for Hellfire, after all, it gives you more power at less cost than taking Evocation and Thaumaturgy, with the caveat that there's an agenda and debt that come with it. Sure, taking Rune Magic makes you better than a normal ritual crafter with two Refinements. But that ritual crafter doesn't have Odin looking over her shoulder, giving her inconvenient orders and potentially taking away that power if she steps too far out of line.

And I don't see how what I said enables "incoherent concepts," since I meant it the opposite way: The character concept should define the powers, not the other way around. A player shouldn't cherry pick powers and then cram in the concepts to justify it, and a GM ought to step in and say something if he sees that sort of thing happening.

That said, I just noticed the Rune Magic write-up doesn't mention the standard Sponsorship benefits, or is that just not mentioned because, well, it's standard?

And anyway, like I said, while I'd prefer 6, I can live with 5, so if it's that big a deal, go ahead and write it up that way.