The Black Staff (the Item not the Person)

[zcthu3]

Hi all,

I'm due to restart my Dresden Files game in the next month of so and, due to some weird events that I'm not going to go into, the PCs have travelled back in time to learn from the original Merlin - or maybe  one of them is the original Merlin - they've yet to determine which way I'm going to go...

Anyway, I was thinking about things the other day and it suddenly occurred to me that, being back in time, it is also quite possible that the PCs may be around for the creation of the Black Staff (or maybe they create it - this is just the kind of thing that would occur to my players so I'm trying to be pre-emptive).

Anyway, how do I stat out the Black Staff? Obviously it is an Item of Power and should be tied to an Aspect, but what exactly are its powers? It seems to absorb Law Breaker stunts on behalf of its wielder, but how do I represent this mechanically?

I was thinking it could be modelled by giving the PCs the option of purchasing Law Breaker stunts when breaking the Laws in order to gain the benefits thereof; they would spend the Refresh as normal (but with the discount for Item of Power) but wouldn't suffer the negative side effects (i.e. Forced Aspect Changes, although they would need to have an Aspect tying them to the Staff) but would only be able to access the stunts while wielding the staff.

Thoughts? 

[Belial666]

The Blackstaff [-1]
An unadorned, six-foot staff of some black material with shadowy tentacles occasionally lashing out from the depths of its physical form.
It Is What It Is: a 6-foot staff that is cold to the touch and heavier than usual. Weapon 3 if used as 2-handed weapon by a skilled attacker. Otherwise weapon 2.
Darker Purpose: The Blackstaff has its own purpose. Using it requires a pact with the dark entity that acts through it. The pact can take many forms but is usually limited to employing the staff as a source of power (see below). Nobody is sure what the staff's purpose actually is - though most suspect it is something dark.
One-time Discount: +2 for obvious Item of Power
Unbreakable: The Blackstaff is a major item of power. It can be destroyed only via a major ritual that perverts its purpose.
Stygian Arcana: To those with access to both evocation and either thaumaturgy or another full source of magic, the Blackstaff can act as an additional source of power, providing its own form of Sponsored Magic. In Evocation, it has no element of its own but can only supercharge spells that break the Laws. Since supercharging uses the sponsored magic to fuel the spell and not the wielder's own power, the wielder gets no Lawbreaker. In Thaumaturgy, it can similarly be used to power Lawbreaking rituals. The Blackstaff also gives +1 power and +1 control to Lawbreaking spells and allows Lawbreaking magic at the speed of evocation.
Wizard's Focus: The wielder of the blackstaff can enchant it to serve him as a focus using his own focus slots. If he does so, the Blackstaff gives him an additional +2 focus slots and unlike most foci can hold a total of 8 focus slots (as if originally created by someone with Legendary Lore)



Creating the Blackstaff:
A sufficiently learned spellcaster could craft minor IoPs like Hexenwolf belts. While the Blackstaff is cheaper refresh-wise, it is a major IoP. In order to craft something like that, an artificer would need at least legendary effective Lore. In addition, some permanent source of power must be used; a major ritual transplanting the power of a Leyline into the item or permanently binding a Demon Lord to it is definitely required. Then another major ritual to make the Blackstaff permanently indestructible except against equally big rituals that would pervert its purpose.

[zcthu3]

Nice writeup. I had thought of a Sponsered Magic sort of deal, but I never really got that sort of vibe for the Black Staff.

I always got the impression from Dresden that it is an inherent corruption of what the White Council "stands for". The White Council specifically created a way around the Laws that they are meant to enforce. Making it a deal with a demonic entity seems to... I don't know, cheapen?... the wrongness of what they've done. Making it a sponsored magic seems to take some of the responsibility off the Council because they're borrowing the power, rather then using their own.

Also, -1 for the Black Staff seems incrediably cheap!

Still, food for thought, thanks.

[Belial666]

Considering the comments on it from Blackstaff McCoy, it is almost certain a deal is involved - and it is a really dark one.


As for its cheapness, something does not need to have a high-refresh cost to be effective - or very costly. The Blackstaff's cost and power does not come from refresh but from the wielder having to follow the item's purpose much like a Knight of the Cross has to serve a specific mission regardless of his own desires because he is a bearer of the swords. In addition, the Blackstaff has an extra storypower cost if the wielder uses it as a power source directly, beyond merely supercharding his spells, and thus accruing sponsor debt he then has to pay off with compels.

In the end, while a tremendous bonus under some circumstances, the Blackstaff is only as dangerous as its wielder and has little power to act on its own. Much like a Sword of the Cross at the hands of a great Knight can threaten Nicodemus and slay Greater Dragons while at the hands of an untrained false-believer it is not enough to fight off a crippled man with a lead pipe.

[InFerrumVeritas]

Here's how I would do it:

The Blackstaff [-8]
It Is What It Is: It's a staff.  Weapon 2 (equivalent to baseball bat).
One-Time Discount: +2 (already applied so if the character has another item of power the Refresh cost is -9)
Unbreakable: It can only be destroyed via a major (currently unknown) ritual.  
Eats Black Magic: The Blackstaff absorbs the sins and corruption caused by breaking the Laws of magic.  Casters can break the laws without taking the Lawbreaker stunt or changing their aspects (although their aspects should reflect that they possess the Blackstaff).  
The Price: The Blackstaff is a dangerous tool.  The caster takes double the stress when using it for casting (but the extra stress may be taken as either mental or physical).  Fallout is also doubled.  Finally, consequences taken from this last one step longer than usual (mild last for as long as a moderate consequence, etc).
Lawbreaking Specialization: The wielder gains +3 to both control and power when using the blackstaff for Lawbreaking evocation and +3 control for Lawbreaking thaumaturgy.  This stacks with other specializations and focus items.
Wizard's Focus: The wielder of the blackstaff can enchant it to serve him as a focus using his own focus slots. If he does so, the Blackstaff gives him an additional +2 focus slots and unlike most foci can hold a total of 8 focus slots (as if originally created by someone with Legendary Lore).

Design Notes: I gave it the cost of taking Lawbreaker once for each law (-7) and Refinement once (-1) for the additional item slots.  I realize that it has the bonus of -2 lawbreaker and some aspect changes, but if figure the double mental stress offsets this.  I then gave it additional point cost (-2) for not changing aspects.  This came to a total cost of 10 Refresh.  Finally, I gave the IoP discount (+2).

[MijRai]

Here's how I would do it:

The Blackstaff [-8]
It Is What It Is: It's a staff.  Weapon 2 (equivalent to baseball bat).
One-Time Discount: +2 (already applied so if the character has another item of power the Refresh cost is -9)
Unbreakable: It can only be destroyed via a major (currently unknown) ritual.  
Eats Black Magic: The Blackstaff absorbs the sins and corruption caused by breaking the Laws of magic.  Casters can break the laws without taking the Lawbreaker stunt or changing their aspects (although their aspects should reflect that they possess the Blackstaff).  
The Price: The Blackstaff is a dangerous tool.  The caster takes double the stress when using it for casting (but the extra stress may be taken as either mental or physical).  Fallout is also doubled.  Finally, consequences taken from this last one step longer than usual (mild last for as long as a moderate consequence, etc).
Lawbreaking Specialization: The wielder gains +3 to both control and power when using the blackstaff for Lawbreaking evocation and +3 control for Lawbreaking thaumaturgy.  This stacks with other specializations and focus items.
Wizard's Focus: The wielder of the blackstaff can enchant it to serve him as a focus using his own focus slots. If he does so, the Blackstaff gives him an additional +2 focus slots and unlike most foci can hold a total of 8 focus slots (as if originally created by someone with Legendary Lore).

Design Notes: I gave it the cost of taking Lawbreaker once for each law (-7) and Refinement once (-1) for the additional item slots.  I realize that it has the bonus of -2 lawbreaker and some aspect changes, but if figure the double mental stress offsets this.  I then gave it additional point cost (-2) for not changing aspects.  This came to a total cost of 10 Refresh.  Finally, I gave the IoP discount (+2).
[/quote

I like the extra stress cost. That really makes it click to me.

[sinker]

The Price: The Blackstaff is a dangerous tool.  The caster takes double the stress when using it for casting (but the extra stress may be taken as either mental or physical).  Fallout is also doubled.  Finally, consequences taken from this last one step longer than usual (mild last for as long as a moderate consequence, etc).

I don't really like this, mostly because it has no backing in the fiction. I totally get an attempt to balance the item, however I would think a refresh cost of 7 works just fine without tacking on an odd disadvantage with no real context.

I like Belial's version, but would increase the cost, based simply on what it seems to cost to me. +2 IoP bonus, -2 sponsored magic (with evocation and thaumaturgy refund), -2 for refinements (one for the lawbreaking bonus to control and power, one for the focus item slots). Seems to me that the purpose of the item is already included in the sponsored magic setup.

[Belial666]

Not only the purpose of the item (avoiding lawbreaking) is included in Sponsored Magic but the numerical bonuses are as well; if you look at Kemmlerian Necromancy (which I used for modeling the powers of the staff), it has +1 bonuses AND you can use your necromancy control as your evocation control.


So, the cost is -2 sponsored magic, -1 for the focus bonus, +2 item rebate. The story cost of the pact/purpose and sponsor debt is what really makes the blackstaff costly. This fits the usual mondus operandi of the dark powers who are easy to access to and always willing to help (low refresh cost) but highly corruptive of your free will (compels, debts, pacts) even if you don't get lawbreakers.

[MijRai]

I don't really like this, mostly because it has no backing in the fiction.

Have you read the latest book? In Changes,

(click to show/hide)

when Ebenezar uses the Blackstaff, he gets black veins in his arm that he treats as if they hurt. It sounds like physical stress to me. And, if Harry is right in thinking it has free will, it might take more mental stress to control it as well.

Now, I will say that the increased consequence recovery doesn't have any backing, you are right. But from what we see of the staff, it is quite likely to induce more stress or create more fallout to try and get more death in the world.

[Belial666]

Couldn't that be through sponsor debt in some form?

[Silverblaze]

Couldn't that be through sponsor debt in some form?

I think so. 

I don't believe one line in Changes is enough to warrant the disadvantage in the other write up.  Until we know more, we'll have to assume hte staff is simply overpowered and move on.  Fiction doesn;'t have to be balanced or be backed up by the RPG it preceded.  Statting something overpowered from a novel will result in an overpowered OP.  Fact of life I figure.

[zcthu3]

Thanks all for the ideas. Belial666 can you refresh my memory on what McCoy said about the staff? It's been a while since I read the novels and it might be useful in deciding how I want to do this.

[sinker]

Not only the purpose of the item (avoiding lawbreaking) is included in Sponsored Magic but the numerical bonuses are as well; if you look at Kemmlerian Necromancy (which I used for modeling the powers of the staff), it has +1 bonuses AND you can use your necromancy control as your evocation control.

That might be an attempt to balance what seems to be a very narrow field of specialization when compared to say, summer magic, but at the very least I get what you're saying. Makes sense to me.

Have you read the latest book? In Changes,

(click to show/hide)

when Ebenezar uses the Blackstaff, he gets black veins in his arm that he treats as if they hurt. It sounds like physical stress to me. And, if Harry is right in thinking it has free will, it might take more mental stress to control it as well.

Now, I will say that the increased consequence recovery doesn't have any backing, you are right. But from what we see of the staff, it is quite likely to induce more stress or create more fallout to try and get more death in the world.

And yet he seems no more limited in the number of spells that he is capable of casting than anyone else, which would be the effect of the aforementioned disadvantage. If you want to do something to represent this concept (other than the sponsor debt suggestion, which I like) then I'd go with some sort of additional physical stress or automatic backlash to represent the physical drain it seems to have. Or even better automatically increase the power so that backlash is likely/definite, that has a kinda double-edged sword style that I like.

I will admit though that that particular occurrence isn't something I remembered. Must have glossed over it.

[InFerrumVeritas]

That might be an attempt to balance what seems to be a very narrow field of specialization when compared to say, summer magic, but at the very least I get what you're saying. Makes sense to me.

And yet he seems no more limited in the number of spells that he is capable of casting than anyone else, which would be the effect of the aforementioned disadvantage. If you want to do something to represent this concept (other than the sponsor debt suggestion, which I like) then I'd go with some sort of additional physical stress or automatic backlash to represent the physical drain it seems to have. Or even better automatically increase the power so that backlash is likely/definite, that has a kinda double-edged sword style that I like.

I will admit though that that particular occurrence isn't something I remembered. Must have glossed over it.

It could be that he's an incredibly powerful wizard on the senior council and has some way of casting more spells than a normal wizard could...

[Kommisar]

I don't have the stats I used handy; but I set up the Black Staff as a bound Outsider.  It allows for the holder to avoid Lawbreaker status by the wielder feeding the part of his soul that is tainted by the use of darker magic to the Outsider as payment for the bonuses to the casting.  Essentially, Sponsored Magic with the price/debt being a chunk of your soul.  The black veins, in my version, was a physical manifestation of the payment/feeding after use which is modeled by taking Stress; pick your track.  Even social.  One stress for every spell cast in which the Staff was used at the end of the scene.  For every Stress "fed" to the Staff, you can remove one Lawbreaker level.  This can go right into Consequences; in which case any consequences taken are flavored by the Staff.  Oh, and be careful getting down to an Extreme Consequence or, worse, Taken Out.

It also requires one to have the Aspect "Black Staff" (or some variation) which can be compelled left, right and center to bust out the staff to make the character's life so much easier.  Any Fate points spent to invoke this aspect goes to the Staff.

It also gave some refinement bonuses to casting and all that, of course.  The big thing is that the staff WILL collect payment at the end of the scene in which it is used.  So, using it in a fight can be a real gamble.  Plus, those compels on use are going to come down hard and fast when you are already down and hurting.  The Outsider bound inside the staff wants to consume you; period.