Fallout as antigrapple mechanism.

[aardvark]

So, lets assume that i am wizard with 5 conviction and 0 fists. Big Nasty Ape grapple me with 10 block and squeeze. So as my living option i will make an attack spell with 10 power and fire and deliberately fail my Discipline. Then i will route all power in fallout. Do i get one burning ape? Or grapple wins and i still must pass block value?

... it was legit for Harry in Foul Moon. 

[Tsunami]

So, lets assume that i am wizard with 5 conviction and 0 fists. Big Nasty Ape grapple me with 10 block and squeeze. So as my living option i will make an attack spell with 10 power and fire and deliberately fail my Discipline. Then i will route all power in fallout. Do i get one burning ape? Or grapple wins and i still must pass block value?

Nope, you do not get a Burning Ape. a) you would have to surpass the block with your control/targeting roll, not with the power of the spell. b) the results of fallout have to be bad for you, always, no exceptions

... it was legit for Harry in Foul Moon. 

Nope, it was not. Harry cast a spell without speaking and gesturing and all that.
For him that is a hindrance, and he took some backlash to control the spell, not fallout.

[aardvark]

Thank you for assistance.
Bad for wizard. Good for Ape. So we get kinda antideathcurse mechanism instead.

[Tsunami]

Thank you for assistance.
Bad for wizard. Good for Ape.

Glad to help.

So we get kinda antideathcurse mechanism instead.

I don't follow... what do you mean by antideathcurse mechanism ?

[computerking]

Glad to help.
I don't follow... what do you mean by antideathcurse mechanism ?

I think he means that a deathcurse can't be cast if the dying wizard is grappled, which is incorrect.

@aardvark: I believe Deathcurses always succeed, with many successes due to taking all your stress and consequences for successes, so unless you're being grappled by someone with over 20 successes of grappling, the deathcurse should still work perfectly.

[ARedthorn]

I've actually wondered for a while on this point- when it comes to a deathcurse, does the wizard even need to bother with controlling it, or can he blow his entire load of consequences and FP on raw power?

After all, he can just opt to take fallout for a failed control check, and since 1) he's about to be taken out anyway, taking more fallout than he can handle is no big... and 2) since 80 physical stress doesn't kill me any worse than 8 (you don't care either way, being dead and all), you may as well go for broke and forget about it?

Normally, I'd just let death curses fall under 'plot device' and not worry about it.

[Edit]: There does seem to be some established canon on some death curses being more powerful than others, based on the strength of the caster, and how much of a beating he'd taken beforehand... if backlash is unlimited, then there's no reason one deathcurse is any rougher than another, since you can also go for broke over-charging the spell way beyond reason, too.

[Richard_Chilton]

There is also a passage in Your Story about how a trained Warden who is expecting it can shrug off the Death Curse of the Warlock he's killing.

Which makes them powerful, but linked to the dying mage's own power level.

Richard

[ARedthorn]

Hmmm... I'd always just assumed the Warden in question had balls of steel, and was killing the warlock in a circle so only he was the only one at risk.

[Richard_Chilton]

Nope, it's actually covered in the RPG.

Richard

[Sanctaphrax]

Aren't Deathcurses thaumaturgy?

So you can't just call up however much power you want. You're limited by complexity.

Also, Warden executions would probably be backed up by a thaumaturgical block against the magic of the executee.

[Richard_Chilton]

Death Curses are an exception to certain general rules... Given that they have their own specific rules.

Richard