Statting Up Worm Characters

[Sanctaphrax]

Yeah, that'd be pretty pricey. Off-hand I'm thinking 3 or 4 Refresh. Should probably err on the side of too expensive, since it raises the ceiling on how powerful a wizard can be.

Could maybe go with a scaling cost, though. Could go with 3 shifts of power become free for each Refresh, up to a maximum of Conviction + bonuses. Because unlimited Evocation is only really impressive if you're actually good at Evocation.

...I didn't object to Alexandria on moral grounds. I objected to her on she's a bitch grounds. Difference.

What?

[narphoenix]

Yeah, that'd be pretty pricey. Off-hand I'm thinking 3 or 4 Refresh. Should probably err on the side of too expensive, since it raises the ceiling on how powerful a wizard can be.

Could maybe go with a scaling cost, though. Could go with 3 shifts of power become free for each Refresh, up to a maximum of Conviction + bonuses. Because unlimited Evocation is only really impressive if you're actually good at Evocation.

I think I prefer the 3 or 4 refresh interpretation.

What?

Bonesaw is perfectly affable. Granted, she causes second trigger events casually, but she's polite about it.

Alexandria is just a bitch. Pure and simple. She's not very nice at all. And though you could claim redemption if she was a good guy, she isn't that either. Therefore, Riley>Costa-Brown.

EDIT: Also, you should Bitch a stunt that lets her use Survival for knowledge about Dogs. She deserves it.

[Sanctaphrax]

You should be able to do that without a stunt. It's the animal handling skill, after all, practical knowledge is a part of that.

Though I suppose academic stuff like scientific names and genetic make-up might be beyond Survival, I don't see Rachel knowing that stuff very well.

And I've gotta be honest, this Alexandria thing you have doesn't make much sense to me.

Is it just that she's less polite than Bonesaw? Because that seems really petty.

[narphoenix]

You should be able to do that without a stunt. It's the animal handling skill, after all, practical knowledge is a part of that.

Though I suppose academic stuff like scientific names and genetic make-up might be beyond Survival, I don't see Rachel knowing that stuff very well.

But she knows things about dog diseases, shots, etc to the point where it's...notable.

And I've gotta be honest, this Alexandria thing you have doesn't make much sense to me.

Is it just that she's less polite than Bonesaw? Because that seems really petty.

Partially. It also, I think, has to do with their evil:awesome ratio.

Alexandria is an unfeeling bitch. She never repents and is focused on image more than doing good. That's the evil. The awesome doesn't outweigh this because while her powers are useful, they're also booooooooring. The most interesting power she has is her Thinker one, and even that's kinda dull. Not only that, but to compound the sin, she doesn't even use it imaginatively.

Bonesaw actually Heel Face Turns. Even when she was in the S9, she was more amoral and FOR SCIENCE than being a bitch for the sake of being a bitch, like Alexandria was.  Was she more than a little crazy? Oh absolutely. But she did it with style. Therefore, her evil:awesome ratio was lower, therefore making Bonesaw better than Alexandria.

[Sanctaphrax]

I don't think you can be good at taking care of animals if you don't know about their medical vulnerabilities.

I could talk more about Alexandria but honestly I don't think it matters that much.

Here's Contessa. Yeah, I know, this is coming a bit out of nowhere. Whatever, it was a whim.

(click to show/hide)

Contessa (Deep One)

High Concept: Co-Founder Of Cauldron
Trouble Aspect: Stuck On The Path To Victory
Other Aspects: Slayer Of Eden, Not Fortuna Anymore, Lost Respect For Herself, The Doctor's Assistant, Seemingly Unflappable
Skills:
Epic: Conviction, Scholarship
Fantastic: Fists, Athletics
Superb: Lore, Discipline
Great: Alertness, Rapport
Good: Presence, Endurance, Deceit
Fair: Survival, Stealth, Empathy, Intimidation
Average: Burglary, Driving, Investigation, Performance
Stunts:
Perfect Execution (Conviction): +2 to Conviction when using it to replace another skill with Guide My Hand.
The Exact Right Words (Conviction): Inflict +2 stress when using Guide My Hand to make social attacks.
Impossible To Hit (Athletics): +2 to Athletics dodge attempts when using a Path To Victory to win a fight.
Whatever Comes To Hand (Fists): Spend a fate point to use any weapon with Fists for a scene.
Powers:
Guide My Hand [-1]
The Path To Victory [-2] (Basically Righteousness, but replace Desperate Hour with speaking all languages)
Inexplicable Knowledge [-1]
Total Refresh Cost:
-8
Refresh Total:
30

That first stunt is pretty unfair in this context, I have to say. It would probably be balanced on a character with a normal amount of Fate Points, but here...

[narphoenix]

That's one way of just handing Contessa the fight. XP

I'm impressed. I had thought she was unstattable.

[PirateJack]

Heh, good write up, though as any GM knows: if you stat it, it can be beaten, so maybe not appropriate for Contessa.

[Sanctaphrax]

Contessa can be beaten. We've seen it happen.

[PirateJack]

I don't think we have, actually. The only time I can recall her not getting her preferred result is against Mantellum, who she(mechanically) conceded to. The way you've statted her would give her superhuman abilities even when her power is nullified, which doesn't make sense.

[Sanctaphrax]

Well, it wasn't necessarily a concession. But that's certainly a valid way to read it.

And even if it wasn't a concession, it was certainly a defeat. She got beaten.

Plus she can't take out Scion or the Endbringers. (I'd mostly let her use her normal stats against them, incidentally. Even if she can't use her power against them directly she can set goals like hitting the space that Leviathan's head happens to be in. If you don't like that interpretation, you may want to add a Limitation to Contessa's Powers.)

And since she didn't drag Siberian back to Cauldron, it can be inferred that she wasn't able to. She had every reason to do so, if she was capable.

The way you've statted her would give her superhuman abilities even when her power is nullified, which doesn't make sense.

Um, no?

A power like Mantellum's should affect her skills as well as her Powers. Unfortunately that'd be a bugger to stat up, but that's normal, since Worm isn't a DFRPG game.

[narphoenix]

Does anyone else find it funny that Contessa out Jack Slashes Jack Slash?

[Sanctaphrax]

What do you mean by that?

[PirateJack]

Well, it wasn't necessarily a concession. But that's certainly a valid way to read it.

And even if it wasn't a concession, it was certainly a defeat. She got beaten.

She ran away from the fight, conceding it because she couldn't fight against Mantellum and win.

Plus she can't take out Scion or the Endbringers. (I'd mostly let her use her normal stats against them, incidentally. Even if she can't use her power against them directly she can set goals like hitting the space that Leviathan's head happens to be in. If you don't like that interpretation, you may want to add a Limitation to Contessa's Powers.)

I don't think Limitation would cover it, since this is essentially an offensive blocking action by another character.

And since she didn't drag Siberian back to Cauldron, it can be inferred that she wasn't able to. She had every reason to do so, if she was capable.

Given that she was basically the one running the show, since Cauldron was following her plan, I think I'd read that as her allowing Manton to escape rather than her being unable to subdue/kill him. After all, her power isn't something as concrete as projections; it's an I Win button that applies to all but a few beings in the multiverse.

Um, no?

A power like Mantellum's should affect her skills as well as her Powers. Unfortunately that'd be a bugger to stat up, but that's normal, since Worm isn't a DFRPG game.

Fantastic Fists/Athletics is Usain Bolt/Muhammed Ali level of skill, which isn't how Contessa wins. The one occasion we see her go up against someone she can't use her power against, she runs. That says to me that when she's bereft of her power she's just as human as the rest of us. Going further than that, Epic Conviction and Scholarship should really only apply when she has her power.

Personally, I'd just have her power give a static bonus instead of putting her base stats so high (+2 to mental skills, +2 to social, +1 to physical. If I was going to stat her, that is). It's powerful, yes, but Contessa's power is so OP she could kill the single most dangerous cape in the multiverse without there being any threat to her.

[narphoenix]

What do you mean by that?

With the whole "I have powers but still can throw around muchos Fate Points" thing.

[Taran]

I finally caught up.  I don't remember jack and contessa going toe to toe.