Statting Up Worm Characters

[Magicpockets]

I haven't even started yet. I've heard about Worm after I traveled to China, and am really curious about it.

Any copying would be much appreciated as long as the original Author doesn't mind.

[Stirge]

Slightly off-topic but I used Skilled Projection for a villain in my IRL game recently. It went over fantastically, thanks for converting it over :-).  A lot of these custom powers and character conversions are getting lost in the thread (and it's extra hard to search characters with the spoiler tags). Has anyone considered a google doc or similar to add these all to?

You guys are right about Grant Powers needing more of a limit.  The following version has a limit to the amount of powers you can share, Refresh-wise:

Grant Powers [-2]: Touching a person allows you to grant them some or all of your powers for the scene, worth up to 4 Refresh total.  If they are unwilling, you must succeed a Fists vs. their Athletics to affect them. Only one person can benefit from a particular one of your powers at a time (see below).
    [+2]: Power Genie: Only someone else can benefit from some of your powers, not yourself.  When you select this, you must declare which powers it effects.
    [-1]: Share Powers: An additional person can benefit from the same sharing of power.  This may be taken multiple times, using the progression table*.
    [-1]: Extended Duration: At the cost of a Fate Point, Grant Powers lasts for an entire session.  At anytime you can use an action to ‘rescind’ the powers you’ve granted.
    [-1]: You can grant an additional 2 Refresh worth of powers at a time. This may be taken multiple times.

(*I don't think table quite exists, but it would look like the Time Progression people.  A minute = a person, a couple minutes = 5 people, 15 minutes = 15 people, etc...)

As for the broken combinations of powers, there's many of those already in the DFRPG that is broken (Not the worst offender, but Supernatural Toughness is taken for [-1] too many times by PC's IMO).  I think a healthy character approval process by the GM needs to be observed in every game to prevent abuse.

[Sanctaphrax]

I haven't even started yet. I've heard about Worm after I traveled to China, and am really curious about it.

Any copying would be much appreciated as long as the original Author doesn't mind.

Sent you a PM with Gestation 1.1, the first chapter.

It's not the most practical method, but Wildbow would rather I not put it up publicly.

If you could give me your email address, it would be a whole lot easier for me to send you the story.

Slightly off-topic but I used Skilled Projection for a villain in my IRL game recently. It went over fantastically, thanks for converting it over :-).  A lot of these custom powers and character conversions are getting lost in the thread (and it's extra hard to search characters with the spoiler tags). Has anyone considered a google doc or similar to add these all to?

Glad it worked for you.

We already have a big list with just about every custom Power around, but these aren't on it because it's been a while since the last update. Eventually I'll update the list (and the wiki) to include these (and some other new-ish stuff).

You guys are right about Grant Powers needing more of a limit.  The following version has a limit to the amount of powers you can share, Refresh-wise:

Grant Powers [-2]: Touching a person allows you to grant them some or all of your powers for the scene, worth up to 4 Refresh total.  If they are unwilling, you must succeed a Fists vs. their Athletics to affect them. Only one person can benefit from a particular one of your powers at a time (see below).
    [+2]: Power Genie: Only someone else can benefit from some of your powers, not yourself.  When you select this, you must declare which powers it effects.
    [-1]: Share Powers: An additional person can benefit from the same sharing of power.  This may be taken multiple times, using the progression table*.
    [-1]: Extended Duration: At the cost of a Fate Point, Grant Powers lasts for an entire session.  At anytime you can use an action to ‘rescind’ the powers you’ve granted.
    [-1]: You can grant an additional 2 Refresh worth of powers at a time. This may be taken multiple times.

(*I don't think table quite exists, but it would look like the Time Progression people.  A minute = a person, a couple minutes = 5 people, 15 minutes = 15 people, etc...)

Much better.

I'd be willing to give it a try as-is, though I'd expect some problems to come up. It still looks a bit abusable.

Who spends the Fate Point for Extended Duration?

As for the broken combinations of powers, there's many of those already in the DFRPG that is broken (Not the worst offender, but Supernatural Toughness is taken for [-1] too many times by PC's IMO).  I think a healthy character approval process by the GM needs to be observed in every game to prevent abuse.

DFRPG isn't perfectly balanced but it's better than most of the games I've looked at. No sense in making it worse.

As for Supernatural Toughness, if you use Limitation instead of The Catch you won't have that problem.

[Taran]

Contessa:

What about using zcthu3's  Kerberos Club Skill Power Tiers.

Give her the max dice replacement except she'd get it for any skill she put her mind to.  Kind of like a modular ability restricted to this power with a skill shuffle based on the particular task she's trying to accomplish.

Make it a full round action because she needs time for the precog to kick in for the task - assign the appropriate number of refresh for each skill you need and shuffle the skills so that those are the apex ones. 

Now she's rolling +7 +1df + 3d6  (or whatever he'd suggested the power do).  Her skills would be +9 to +26 for any given skill roll with an average of 17.5

Give her Godlike and she's rolling her skill +4d6.  a minimum of +4 to whatever she's putting her mind towards.

Godlike would be, what? -12 refresh?  she'd need it for a minimum of at least 3 skills: -36.
-2 Modular abilities
-4 full for a full skill shuffle.

total: -42

In one exchange she could have 3 skills at her highest tier attached to this power.

She'd need a limitation since it doesn't work within any power that suppresses precog abilities.

[Sanctaphrax]

Something like that would probably work.

But I'd rather not use Custom Powers if I don't have to. Particularly not probably-broken Custom Powers like those ones.

[Taran]

Heh.  Contessa's broken. That's why I thought of it

[Stirge]

Hey there, I'm starting a Worm/DFRPG game set in St. Louis.  I'm wanting to run a moderate refresh game (10 Refresh/25 Skill Points), with younger characters along the lines of the Undersiders/Brockton Bay Wards at the start of the story.

I wanted to put a post here because y'all would be the most interested.  The thread is awaiting approval (I didn't realize that was a thing here!) but will eventually be found at:
http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,39713.0.html

Until then, if you want to read what I'm planning to help with character ideas:

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Hello! In a few weeks, I plan on running a lower-powered DFRPG game set in the Worm Universe (http://parahumans.wordpress.com/about/).

The characters would be about as powerful as the Undersiders/the Brockton Bay Wards at the start of the story.  I'd like them all to be on the same team from the start of the game  but I'll let the players decide whether they want that group to be Wards, Rogues or Villains and whether they're a longtime member or recent recruit.


The game will be set in St. Louis, Missouri in an Alternate Universe of Worm.

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I'm thinking a universe where Jack was stopped in Brockton Bay and with no Echidna incident.  That is, the Triumverate are still in charge and Cauldron is a secret to most.

Kansas City had been attacked by the Simurgh a month before the game starts and is under Quarantine.  The KC wards (potentially the PC group) have temporarily moved to join the St. Louis ones, which upsets the balance of power between the various groups in StL - which will be the start of the story.


My current plan is for an 10 Refresh/25 Skill Point game with a max skill bonus of +4.  Characters will be ages 15-19 (the main reason for their lower starting Skill Points) and must have one aspect related to their trigger event and another related to their powers.

Think of this pretty loosely, Sanctaphrax's version of Taylor has her high concept as "Insect-Controlling Superhero" and her Trouble Aspect "Issues With Authority" could represent the fallout from her trigger event.

With a moderate refresh game and given the unique type of powers people have, I encourage players to take the Limitation power adjustment (with the goal of creating interesting limitations, and not to powergame):
http://dfrpg-resources.wikispaces.com/Adjustable+Powers

As progression is slow in on a messageboard I also recommend players not spending their whole Refresh from the start but planning how their powers progress.  This can create some exciting scenes where they discover a new use of their power spontaneously.
For instance, someone might start with Aerokinesis (Incite Physical Effect at Range) and when fighting a losing battle vs. group of soldiers, they might purchase the Mass upgrade as they push themselves to their limit.
Right now I'm more interested in character concepts than stats (but if you think of them, feel free to post them as that can inspire others).  Depending on how much response we get from recruitment, I'll pick the best 4-5 concepts from the bunch I feel like I can tell a story with.  Let me know your preference on PRT Wards/Rogues/Villains and we'll go from there!

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"Capes" replaces Lore.  "Tinker" is the same as Ritual/Thaumaturgy except it uses Scholarship & Capes (Lore).

Modular and Variable Powers lists cannot contain more than 1/2 a characters Refresh in powers rounded down (so a [-7] modular abilities and [-6] variable abilities could only grant 5 Refresh worth of powers max).  That said, I also encourage Variable Powers list for characters with more versatile powers.

[narphoenix]

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Although Grue's death is a little sad...

[Sanctaphrax]

Actually, I'm not too happy with this ending. It feels kind of cheap.

[narphoenix]

Actually, I'm not too happy with this ending. It feels kind of cheap.

I disagree. It gives a nice feeling of hope after the crap wildbow put us through. It gives a nice message of "yes, the world may be in the crapper, but that doesn't mean that doesn't mean there isn't good."

Plus Hick called it:

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He pointed out: why would Contessa need two bullets to kill someone?

[Sanctaphrax]

I don't think that message was needed, though. Isn't it obvious that there's good in the world?

PS: I never found the two-bullet thing terribly convincing. It's not like she's got any real reason to conserve ammunition.

[narphoenix]

I don't think that message was needed, though. Isn't it obvious that there's good in the world?

But who deserves a happy ending more than the person who made it possible for /everyone else/?

PS: I never found the two-bullet thing terribly convincing. It's not like she's got any real reason to conserve ammunition.

No. But she has a power that would let her kablam her in one shot. Why waste?

[Sanctaphrax]

I don't much care what she deserved, I just don't think this makes for a good ending. Also I only sort of believe in the concept of deserving.

And Contessa's power doesn't minimize things like bullet expenditure unless she specifically asks it to, as far as I know. If she just asks for a path to killing Taylor, she might be told to use one bullet or two or a thrown rock or any number of other things.

[narphoenix]

Anyway, Sancta? Could you ask wildbow what a power has to be to rate different numbers on the scale in each category? Tattletale seemed to imply there was an objective measure.

[Hick Jr]

I am feeling hella smug because i'm one of the people who

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Correctly guessed that Contessa is the only person who can do brain surgery with bullets.

It wasn't what I was expecting, but I liked it.