DFRPG for The Old Kingdom?

[Abhoth]

Anyone here familiar with the trilogy by Garth Nix called The Old Kingdom or The Abhorsen series? I really enjoyed those novels and was thinking of using the fate system ala DFRPG to create a campgain for my players.


I am just starting out and wanted to know if anyone else had already done this or if anyone had any suggestions. Thanks !

Cheers

[Sanctaphrax]

I've read the books (ages ago), but I've never tried to use DFRPG for the characters in them.

What sort of stuff do you envision your players doing in an Old Kingdom game?

My first thought is that many of the physical powers in DFRPG might not be appropriate for the Old Kingdom. I don't remember many super-powered slugging matches in those books.

[Abhoth]

I've read the books (ages ago), but I've never tried to use DFRPG for the characters in them.

What sort of stuff do you envision your players doing in an Old Kingdom game?

My first thought is that many of the physical powers in DFRPG might not be appropriate for the Old Kingdom. I don't remember many super-powered slugging matches in those books.

Well mainly the physical powers would be reserved for the powerful Free Magic Elementals and the Dead (lesser, medium and Greater). Many of those things displayed Toughness and Recovery, Speed and Strength. However mainly my players would want to be Charter Mages/Free Magic independent sorcerers thinking they can use Free Magic for good and Necromancers come wannabe Abhorsens. So essentially I am looking at the way I could do magic.

Charter Magic: Seems to be split into a few different areas:

Standard Charter Magic (Controlling the elements, making charter sendings, shape shifting things like that)

Wall Magic (a specialization of Charter Magic) allowing much greater enchantment and item creation.

The Gift of Sight: The Clayr's ability to see the future (a ritual or psyhic ability? it differently is of the Charter)

Then you have Free Magic:

Standard Free Magic: The provence of actual Destruciton (only free magic can directly annihliate something, you can destroy something with charter via fire but not "utterly destroy" like you can with Free Magic), summoning and binding, amongst other things.

Necromancy or Bell Magic: Bell Magic and Necromacner are essentially joined at the Hip but bell magic can be used on things other than the dead. Essentially Bell Magic/Necromancy is how one controls the dead but the bell magic can also be used to influence the charter/humans and free magic creature.

I am unsure how to approach this directly so far. I am still thing of the best way to go, ie wether to have Free Magic, Necromancy (Bell Magic) and Charter Magic be free seperate themes of magic (Like evocation or specific element evocation or ritual magic) and than have the other flavours like Wall makers be specializations within that area of magic.

[Haru]

I don't know the Old Kingdom, but if it is as far away from DFRPG as Sanctaphrax says, looking towards Fate Core might be a way to go for you. It's the latest version of the Fate System, and it starts out more generic for you to work with. DFRPG is already heavily tweaked to fit the Dresden Files.

[Sanctaphrax]

I'd like to say something useful, but I don't remember much...

I do remember each bell had a specific effect. I wrote them up as Exalted artifacts last year, so they're reasonably fresh in my mind.

Maybe make each bell its own -1 Power, and give people discounts for buying a bunch of them? Or maybe just write them up as a single -3 or -4 Power with 7 trappings. Are there any necromancers who can use some bells but not all of them?

PS: Fate Core might be better suited to the Old Kingdom, but I generally prefer DFRPG and I know it better. So my posts will generally be DFRPG-centric.

[Abhoth]

Ok so this is what I come up with so far:

Charter Magic: Two areas: Evocation (+3), Thaumaturgy (for Wall Magic) (+3) are for a "master charter mage" like one of royal blood. Most other charter mages would have a specific Ritual (for wards etc) or a chanelling (for healing, Fire, etc). Specializaitons/refinements would be bonus's to healing, a specific element of the charter, Thaumaturgy in general things like that.

The Claryr site is a Psychic ability not Spell casting.

Free Magic: Again two areas for master free mages: Evocation (+3), Thaumaturgy (Summon and binding Free Magic Elementals). But Free Magic would also be more generally seen as specific channellings or rituals. Refinements would be specific parts of Free Magic like summoning, Destruction, Mind Control. Things like that.

Bell Magic (Or Necromancy): I thought long and hard about this and decided that given the feel of hte novels and the idea that the bells while not exactly sentient do make the user do things they do not want to if the bells are not used properly, I have decided to make Bell Magic like a Sponsered Magic (It gives a +1 Evocation/+1 Complexity for Thaumuatury for effects/trappings specifically related to the effects of the Bells (I can post what the Bells cover if anyone wants). Also like you can use certain skills to boost other skills, Bell Magic can be used to "seal" or "enhance" both Free or Charter Magic in the same way. Bell Magic is also the way you Bind, Banish or summon the Dead (a combination of Evocation and Thaumuaturgy and like say Kimmerlian Necromancy Bell Magic allows you to do some Thamuaturgic rituals as fast as evocation as long as it is stricly along the trappings of the Bell or Neromantic). The cost is +2 if you already are a Charter Mage or Free Mage or more if you do not have those as per the normal rules for sponsored magic.

Bell Magic would also be specific for either Charter Magic (A combination of the Free Magic of Bells and Charter to contain them) or 100% Free Magic! Bells while "sponsored magic" are also a physically enchanted Item as well.

I am still working on things like the Dead (Metamorphic horror's that can eat life itself and grow powerfull, eventually becoming greater dead), Shadow Hands ( A more powerful version of the dead that have many abilities but do not need a corpse to be in Life, can instantly suck the life out of some one killing instantly and Free Magic Elementals (which have a unlimited array of things but are strongly able to shift their shape).

[Abhoth]

I don't know the Old Kingdom, but if it is as far away from DFRPG as Sanctaphrax says, looking towards Fate Core might be a way to go for you. It's the latest version of the Fate System, and it starts out more generic for you to work with. DFRPG is already heavily tweaked to fit the Dresden Files.

I do have the Fate Core and a copy of the PDF's of the Fate Core tool kit / expansions however DFRPG has already done part of the work for magic and that one seems easier to start with. However I am still in the process of looking at all this.