A Ward Question

[UmbraLux]

How would you change it?

It will be fairly expensive in terms of shifts to do everything you're looking for and placing it outside the house is either a liberal interpretation or a house rule depending on who you talk to.    So that will need your group's agreement.

Here's a stab at the rest of it:

• [5] - Duration of a few months
• [8] - basic barrier / suppression rating 8
• [6+] - Bullet trap
  • (4) - Rating 2 armor or rating 4 block - depending on whether you want it to drop once pierced
  • (2 x zones) - how much of the house does it cover?  Most effective use is probably street facing zones.
  • (0+) - 2 per trigger if it's not always on
• [8+] - Man trap
  • (4) - Rating 2 persistent (as armor) or rating 4 block - depending on whether you want it to drop once successfully moved through
  • (2 x zones) - how much of the house does it cover?  I'd recommend placing in choke points - entries, halls, stairs, etc.
  • (2+) - 2 per trigger (I don't see you leaving this on all the time)

That's 27 shifts if the landmines only cover one zone each.  With that many shifts, you're not going to want to recast on a regular basis.  I'd recommend adding a few more to duration - just three more gets you to only renewing once a year. 

[sinker]

It will be fairly expensive in terms of shifts to do everything you're looking for and placing it outside the house is either a liberal interpretation or a house rule depending on who you talk to.    So that will need your group's agreement.

A solution to that problem would be either to extend the ward to the property line (if your group is liberal about the threshold necessary) or fence, or create a second ward that extends to that line and contains the suppression mines (while the primary ward would be more fortified).

[JediDresden]

Thanks for the example, Umbra.

Sinker, I'm not sure how that would look, Could you explain further please?

Here is my second attempt, which I also posted on the other Ward thread I started, it is expensive, and I probably would extend duration to a year because of it.

•   Duration of a few months, 5 shifts
•   Basic barrier / / power 8, 8 shifts
•   Key for safe passage though, 2 shifts
•   Gravity Sink Landmine (Walls of house are protected by Armor:4, bullets and flying object are pulled to the ground before they hit the house), 8 shifts
•   Gravity Cage Landmine (persistent block against movement – Living creatures are pulled to the ground and held by extreme gravity – not crushed just held), 19 shifts consisting of:
•   Block:8 vs. movement, 8 shifts
•   Four zones (Kitchen/Living Area, 2 Bedrooms, Hall/Bath), 8 shifts
•   Persistent, for 3 additional rounds of time, 3 shifts
•   Total of 5+8+2+8+19=42 shifts, at 15 minutes per exchange it will take 10.5 hrs to cast trickling in 1 shift of power per exchange.  If 2 shifts are put in it will take 5.25 hrs.
•   With my character’s Lore of +5 I would need 37 shifts to be made up through declarations Aspects and what not.

[UmbraLux]

Thanks for the example, Umbra.

No problem.

Here is my second attempt, which I also posted on the other Ward thread I started, it is expensive, and I probably would extend duration to a year because of it.

•   Duration of a few months, 5 shifts
•   Basic barrier / / power 8, 8 shifts
•   Key for safe passage though, 2 shifts
•   Gravity Sink Landmine (Walls of house are protected by Armor:4, bullets and flying object are pulled to the ground before they hit the house), 8 shifts
•   Gravity Cage Landmine (persistent block against movement – Living creatures are pulled to the ground and held by extreme gravity – not crushed just held), 19 shifts consisting of:
•   Block:8 vs. movement, 8 shifts
•   Four zones (Kitchen/Living Area, 2 Bedrooms, Hall/Bath), 8 shifts
•   Persistent, for 3 additional rounds of time, 3 shifts
•   Total of 5+8+2+8+19=42 shifts, at 15 minutes per exchange it will take 10.5 hrs to cast trickling in 1 shift of power per exchange.  If 2 shifts are put in it will take 5.25 hrs.
•   With my character’s Lore of +5 I would need 37 shifts to be made up through declarations Aspects and what not.

I suggest a trigger for the movement block unless you want it to affect everyone (maintenance, pet, neighbor, friend, child, and family as well as thief) who might enter uninvited.  Only other comment is key vs trigger...one lets the key holder/user in while the other is passive until triggered.  It's mostly semantics - both are two shifts each - but it's worth being clear if you expect it to be set off. 

[JediDresden]

OK, I was just picturing having and giving a key type item to my friends(aka other PC's) like Harry does for his friends, which brings up a question - does each 'key' cost 2 shifts?  If so that could get expensive quick, so I would probably use a trigger then.

[sinker]

The problem that UmbraLux was bringing up (and that I was addressing with that comment) is that a ward needs a threshold to last more than a short period of time, so if you were planning to extend the ward outside of your home, then you'd need to find another boundary to use. Fences or rivers work (how about a moat? ) as they are both things that we view as separating one thing from the other.

[Todjaeger]

OK, I was just picturing having and giving a key type item to my friends(aka other PC's) like Harry does for his friends, which brings up a question - does each 'key' cost 2 shifts?  If so that could get expensive quick, so I would probably use a trigger then.

The RAW gives an example on YS277 of a simple condition which adds +2 to the Complexity, but would allow someone to pass through a Ward unaffected as long as they are wearing one of five amulets...  That suggests that something like multiple 'keys' could be setup for only +2, instead of +2 per 'key'.  From a storytelling angle, it would make sense that the 5 'keys' would need to be identical.  Something else to consider when creating 'keys' is whether or not the 'key' will work for anyone holding/wearing/whatever it...  If the keys will work for anyone, then I would say multiple ones could be created for only +2 Complexity.  If the keys will only work for specific people, then I would likely require +2 Complexity per person, and then an additional +2 Complexity if those people need to have a specific 'key' with them to enter.

-Cheers

[UmbraLux]

OK, I was just picturing having and giving a key type item to my friends(aka other PC's) like Harry does for his friends, which brings up a question - does each 'key' cost 2 shifts?  If so that could get expensive quick, so I would probably use a trigger then.

Depends.   

The page Todjaeger references states "2 per condition".  So a class of things (all amulets with the rune for 'open' written in my blood on them), a word or gesture anyone could use, and an individual - "Fred" will each cost two shifts.  It's all about choosing your limitations...and you usually get what you pay for. 

[Todjaeger]

As written, it looks like you want a block against damage and a block against movement.  They'll need to be set up as separate landmines even if overlapping.  Regarding landmine zone locations, they need to be inside the ward.  By default that means inside the walls of your house.

It might depend on the nature of the Block.  For example, a wall of Force (Spirit evocation Block) would prevent matter from passing through it, whether that matter was people or bullets, but it wouldn't due much for energy like well, heat.

Incidentally, Harry had as part of his Ward at one point an activated barrier that would prevent things from entering into or out of his Ward, and I believe it actually covered the entire boarding house and once activated had a duration until sunrise.

-Cheers

[sinker]

From a thematic standpoint you're right, but the mechanics are a different story. RAW is clear that the block can effect one action by all targets or all actions by one target. Since this block applies to all targets, it must select a single action to prevent.

[JediDresden]

@Sinker, Well his house is a small beach house type in Hawaii, so a moat might be in order and definitely doable .
@Todjaeger, thanks for the clarification.

[UmbraLux]

@Todjaeger:  Sinker pointed out the mechanical requirements.  I tend to adjust the description to fit rather than the other way around.  Mostly because it's too easy to come up with unbalancing thematic descriptions.  It prevents me from hearing "I create a ward of gravitational energy warping the fabric of space-time itself." and wanting to respond "You disappear in a micro-blackhole which lasts a fraction of a microsecond."     All that said, you do have a point...if your group prefers a thematic model it is a reasonable house rule.

@JediDresden:  One thing worth pointing out on thaumaturgy going over some GM-dependent number of shifts is the Ritual section on YS267.  "Some rituals also require tools and components that are difficult to fashion or acquire..."  I generally want those in order to get to take out level, which I consider to start at 30, and another for each 10 shifts over that.  Mostly because take out level is where I want to start making thaumaturgy rare and difficult.

[JediDresden]

So would it be better to make 2 seperate wards instead of trying to combine them all into one?  It seems like I could get the same basic effect for less overall shifts...well maybe not, but easier chunks for my wizard to do, instead of one mega ward.

[UmbraLux]

So would it be better to make 2 seperate wards instead of trying to combine them all into one?

I don't think you can - not in one house at least.  You can (probably have to) put separate wards on distinct structures but YS277 specifically states your ward "must all be cast as one spell".

[JediDresden]

I was just wondering about overlaying different effects.