Practical Application of (a specific) Death Curse

[zerogain]

Here's the situation:

My player, a shapeshifted scion of the Amerind deity Raven, is in mortal combat with an NPC wizard. The wizard is on her last legs, realizes she is going to die (the scion was compelled that she didn't know her own strength, the power is new to her), and she casts her death curse. The wizard peers into the scions eyes, initiates a soulgaze, and then funnels herself through the link in an attempt to stuff her own soul into the scion's body. She doesn't have enough power to fully take out the scion, who can go all the way through with an extreme consequence and survive.

So, how would you model this? Right now I'm leaning toward the extreme consequence being an enforced aspect (in particular the player came up with "One Death Curse and She Thinks She's Tricia Helfer" (No. 6 from BSG if you don't get the reference)) and have the wizard partially inhabiting the scion's body, but I gather from reading other posts here in death curse threads that the wizard could make this a spell instead.

For right now I'm interested in gathering opinion, but if you have a specific numerical "how this crap works" to throw at me, go ahead.

[Quantus]

Sounds like necromancy to me, but that could still be a death curse I suppose.  Can you do a Necromancy (death energy) with a Death Curse (last drops of Life energy)?

Assuming you dont want to go full Voice-in-her-Head Possession and keep the NPC as an active Character that way, The enforced Aspect seems a smooth way to go. 

[Orladdin]

Keep in mind, a death-curse is a human-sacrifice powered spell (+20 auto-controlled spell-power).  If, using this +20 to her normal magic, the NPC wizard is unable to take-out an already wounded enemy, she's doing it wrong.  Her preferred taken-out result?  Sharing a body.

[zerogain]

Keep in mind, a death-curse is a human-sacrifice powered spell (+20 auto-controlled spell-power).  If, using this +20 to her normal magic, the NPC wizard is unable to take-out an already wounded enemy, she's doing it wrong.  Her preferred taken-out result?  Sharing a body.

Alright, as I understand it, you can only use consequences that have yet to be spent to power the spell. The wizard had already taken a few consequences (two Minors were already used), and had her Extreme (, Severe (6), and Moderate (4) to pull from. I calculated a Spell Power of 18, and slammed that 18 onto the player as direct psychic damage.

Having no room to gather power with maneuvers, how else should she have gathered her power?

[Orladdin]

Alright, as I understand it, you can only use consequences that have yet to be spent to power the spell. The wizard had already taken a few consequences (two Minors were already used), and had her Extreme (, Severe (6), and Moderate (4) to pull from. I calculated a Spell Power of 18, and slammed that 18 onto the player as direct psychic damage.

Having no room to gather power with maneuvers, how else should she have gathered her power?

Y'know, you might be right-- I haven't ever used the rules for Death Curses.  I'll review them tonight.  I just assumed it was considered a human-sacrifice spell (with yourself as the sacrifice).

I'll get back to you.

Does anyone else remember?

[Mr. Death]

Alright, as I understand it, you can only use consequences that have yet to be spent to power the spell. The wizard had already taken a few consequences (two Minors were already used), and had her Extreme (, Severe (6), and Moderate (4) to pull from. I calculated a Spell Power of 18, and slammed that 18 onto the player as direct psychic damage.

Having no room to gather power with maneuvers, how else should she have gathered her power?

You can add whatever normal power you could call up as well, up to your Conviction+3, if those stress boxes are still open.

[Becq]

Y'know, you might be right-- I haven't ever used the rules for Death Curses.  I'll review them tonight.  I just assumed it was considered a human-sacrifice spell (with yourself as the sacrifice).

I'll get back to you.

Does anyone else remember?

The sidebar on Death Curses says:

all of the consequences he has can be tagged, and he can inflict more upon himself if he’s got the space, since he’s not going to be around afterward.

Sounds like +20 to me.

[Tedronai]

It's less than +20 if anything larger than a Mild Consequence has already been filled, because you get a tag on those consequences, rather than their full value.

[Mr. Death]

The sidebar on Death Curses says:Sounds like +20 to me.

Key word: Tagged.

A Severe Consequence tagged for +2 is not the same as a Severe Consequence inflicted for +6.

[Becq]

Yup, I was wrong.  So I guess that would actually make the potential range from 8-28 (more if the character had extra consequences).

[zerogain]

I was under the impression that you could only tag an aspect that you had discovered, created, or that an ally who had done so was permitting you to use their tag.

If consequences had been inflicted by enemies, how could my wizardess tag those consequences? What am I missing?

[Tedronai]

The ability to tag all the character's existing consequences is granted by the explicit wording of the Death Curse rules.

[Becq]

A consequence is an aspect on your character sheet that anyone (including the sufferer) can invoke, when appropriate.  It carries a free tag that is controlled by the character that caused it, which is what you're referring to.

Death Curses have a special feature that let grant the player a "bonus" free tag on all consequences (and allow you to mark of any unused consequences and tag them, too).  See the sidebar I quoted above (Death Curses, YS282) for the details.

Actually, though, another way to look at this is that it isn't actually a special free tag, but a combination of several existing features:
1) The consequences are aspects and can be invoked normally (ie, by spending a Fate point)
2) When you are taken out, you you get a Fate point for each consequence taken, as though accepting a compel by those consequences -- which is in effect what you are doing (YS206)
3) A Death Curse is a function of being taken out

So a way of looking at it might be that you are being taken out, so you get Fate points for those consequences, which you then use to invoke the consequence aspects for a bonus for your Death Curse.  All of this occurs in the instant of you being taken out.

[Orladdin]

A consequence is an aspect on your character sheet that anyone (including the sufferer) can invoke, when appropriate.  It carries a free tag that is controlled by the character that caused it, which is what you're referring to.

Death Curses have a special feature that let grant the player a "bonus" free tag on all consequences (and allow you to mark of any unused consequences and tag them, too).  See the sidebar I quoted above (Death Curses, YS282) for the details.

Actually, though, another way to look at this is that it isn't actually a special free tag, but a combination of several existing features:
1) The consequences are aspects and can be invoked normally (ie, by spending a Fate point)
2) When you are taken out, you you get a Fate point for each consequence taken, as though accepting a compel by those consequences -- which is in effect what you are doing (YS206)
3) A Death Curse is a function of being taken out

So a way of looking at it might be that you are being taken out, so you get Fate points for those consequences, which you then use to invoke the consequence aspects for a bonus for your Death Curse.  All of this occurs in the instant of you being taken out.

You mean concession, not take out, right?

[Tedronai]

A Concession is explicitly a special form of being Taken Out.