Focused Practitioner.Defending against a spell.

[noom777]

Good evening!
I am a new GM at the DFRPG and I have a question about a player who wants to create a focused parctitioner character.
My question is:is it possible when you create the focused practitioner at the Up to your Waist power level with 7 refresh to buy channeling(one of the musts) and thaumaturgy to start with or a practitioner doesn't have access to thaumaturgy and evocation till he grows up by exercising?
Also,if for example a player uses a fireball spell to attack a monster, what skilla the monster will roll for defence?
Thank you very much for your support!

[citadel97501]

Happy to help.  Well lets start by organizing your questions a bit so their easier to answer. 

Question 1
Can you make a character that improves Channeling, to Evocation; or Ritual to Thaumaturgy. 

Answer 1
Yes although not mentioned in the books, this is usually how you would define someone who is nearly done with their apprenticeship.  I believe this may be in Molly Carpenter's side bar in the Our Story book. 

Question 2
Which defense do you use versus spells. 

Answer 2
Whichever seems the most logical for the spell, dodging a fireball is probably Athletics, however you can get any number of odd spell effects such as requiring Endurance to be the defense against a sleep spell, or Might to resist against a spell to make someone so heavy their bones shatter. 

This is one of those great things about Evocation. 

[Watson]

Hello and welcome to the DF forum!

Accordign to the rules, a Focused Practitioner is not allowed to take Thaumaturgy (or more specifically, the template "Focused Practitioner" is not allowed to do so). But what is allowed and not allowed at your table is up to you - I as a GM would allow it.

The default defence skill for most physical attacks (including Evocation) is Athletics.

[Richard_Chilton]

It depends on how seriously you take the Template system.  In the Rules as Written (usually called RAW on this board) and in the setting as written, most focused practitioners don't go beyond their starting plateau.  There's even a scene in Dead Beat where Harry is listing off a bunch of the regulars at Mac's and he includes a bunch old men who were okay with spells but would never hit White Council level because they lacked the inborn talent to get their magic to that level.

So using the RAW and setting, a Focused Practitioner's magical advancement is limited.  But if you want to use the template as a starting point and say "because we're starting at this level and you can't start as a wizard I'll let you expand your powers later" then that's fine.  It works to the spirit of the rules, just not the letter.

As for defending, it depends on what they're defending against.  Is there really much of a difference between defending from a bullet and defending from a blast of fire? No, so the defense for both is the same.  You might want to look through the spells in the book - most of them have a "defended against by" bit in their write up and that should give you an idea of what skill to use when spells are being tossed around.

Richard

[noom777]

Thank you very much all of you!!!

[citadel97501]

I would also point out that the book Ghost Story, specifically shows that Harry Dresden had been underestimating a certain Focused Practitioner quite a bit. 

[Tedronai]

Further, given that that particular Focused Practitioner has featured prominently in Dresden's analysis of the capabilities of such individuals, that the novels are based off of Dresden's observations, that the RPG is based off of the novels not including the events of Ghost Story, nor of the reassessments that Harry was forced to undertake as a result, it is safe to assume that the RPG restrictions on focused practitioners might be an inaccurate portrayal of their hypothetical capabilities within the canon setting.

[UmbraLux]

My question is:is it possible when you create the focused practitioner at the Up to your Waist power level with 7 refresh to buy channeling(one of the musts) and thaumaturgy to start with or a practitioner doesn't have access to thaumaturgy and evocation till he grows up by exercising?

Templates are starting points to assist character creation.  They are not limits on character growth or advancement.  (D&D style classes don't exist in DFRPG.)  In other words, yes it is possible to buy powers not on your starting template's list.

Also,if for example a player uses a fireball spell to attack a monster, what skilla the monster will roll for defence?

In general, you roll the skill which fits the situation.  For most ranged attacks it's going to be Athletics to dodge.  However, if a character is hiding and an attacker is throwing out random area attacks, you might well choose to use Stealth as the defense.  Just one possibility of many...

[Katarn]

If you're trying to strictly follow Dresden's progressing narration, then I see one of two routes:

The Apprentice.  You're learning your first element (ie Harry learning Fire from Justin), and you have Channeling.  As he gets older, he learns more elements (upgrade to Evocation).  Storywise, this makes a lot of sense w/ game progression.

Set in My Ways.  If you're playing an older character, it's a reasonable assumption that they are "set" in their ways, and cannot learn more diverse magic (like trying to learn an additional language when you're older is harder).  THIS IS COMPLETELY GM/PLAYER's DISCRETION.

Basically, look at how far the game is going to progress, and in what direction, and if the player may want to diversify, and decide if "Set in My Ways" fits your campaign.  If it doesn't, drop it.  Your Game, Your Rules.


(as for the defense, basically what others have said- Atheletics to dodge, endurance to brush off the hit, counterspell if applicable)

[Richard_Chilton]

Templates are starting points to assist character creation.  They are not limits on character growth or advancement.

Are you sure about that? Maybe I've missed something in the rules (it's been a while since I carefully went over the creation rules) but Templates are Templates.  That said, as long as the table agrees to stretch things then what's the harm?

Richard

[UmbraLux]

Are you sure about that? Maybe I've missed something in the rules (it's been a while since I carefully went over the creation rules) but Templates are Templates. 

Yep, don't think templates are even mentioned in the character advancement section.  Yet it does mention the potential of completely rewriting characters, including high concepts.

[zenten]

In my game there was a PC that started out as a focused practitioner.  She later upgraded to sorcerer, and now is a wizard (although according to the White Council she hasn't finished her apprentaceship yet).

[sinker]

At the very least there are cannon examples of people breaking away from their template. As of the most recent books Billy no longer fits the Were-form template.

[citadel97501]

At the very least there are cannon examples of people breaking away from their template. As of the most recent books Billy no longer fits the Were-form template.

When the hell did that happen?  Give me a page or chapter, I may need to re-read Ghost Story?

[Katarn]

When the hell did that happen?  Give me a page or chapter, I may need to re-read Ghost Story?

"Aftermath" Side Jobs.  He has an ability that isn't in the original template- I wouldn't call it a total deviation from the Werewolf, merely a new trick.