Homebrew Sponsored Magic Advice (Consorting with Spirits)

[Sanctaphrax]

I would personally give someone like the Merlin a custom Stunt/Power allowing him to do wards without a threshold rather than Superior Warding. (And he could get Evothaum for Wards separately, but I'm not convinced he has that; a defensive line of Wardens could have protected him well enough for him to do a couple of exchanges of thaumaturgy the normal way, IMO.)

So...give him the Power, but with a different name?

And I guess without the option to take debt, but that's pretty trivial.

I dunno, I don't really see why the names matter.

Method 1 [min -2]: Ritual: Animancy (you gain the Ritual power for all thaumaturgy related to spirits where spirits are a class of non-physical Nevernever entity similar to demons or ghosts.) Optionally Refinements in Foci allowing for off-the-cuff spells up to twice your Lore rating. Optionally Evothaum if your GM is a stickler and you want to be able to cast Animancy rituals quickly.

Method 2 [min -3]: Thaumaturgy with a specialization in Animancy. Optionally Refinements for specializations and/or Foci. Specializations may take bonuses above twice Lore but require a more well-rounded character. Optionally Evothaum, as above.

That's just bigger numbers. For people whose specializations give them more interesting advantages, it won't work.

Of course, people with Superior Whatever will also have reasonably large specializations in Whatever.

Method 3 [min -3?]: Ghost Speaker. Spirited Negotiator. This isn't as powerful, overall, as using spells would be but it does not cause the character to take mental stress which is a huge bonus if your character specializes in dealing with spirits. Optionally, many characters built with this will likely have some sort of House Spirit. Optionally, you may take Stunts since Stunts stack with the bonuses provided below. (eg: +2 to Conviction when containing a spirit or ghost. +4 to Rapport when dealing with a specific wind spirit).

So...custom Powers? How's that different from using a Superior Something Power?

As for the Powers themselves...

Spirited Negotiator [-2?]
Musts: You must have Ghost Speaker.
Ghost Sense. You may use Contacts or Lore to find a specific ghost or spirit, or one who meets your needs. This will not FORCE a spirit to come to you, so you may need to go "out and about" (per the Contacts skill). You might try sending another spirit to do this on your behalf, of course, but who knows how that might work out.
Ghostbuster. Once per scene (or 15 minutes, where more appropriate), you may use Lore or Conviction to create a Ward to contain a hostile ghost or spirit. You gain a +2 bonus on this roll if the conflict takes place in a location specifically prepared for containment (such as your laboratory or sanctum).
Abjuration. Once per session (or day, where more appropriate), you may use Lore or Conviction to strengthen the barrier to the Nevernever as an action. If your roll is higher, your result becomes the new barrier rating in this location until sunrise.
Cold Read. Due to your experience dealing with non-corporeal entities from the other side you have become very good at determining what they want. +2 to all social rolls involving spirits or ghosts, as long as you are trying to come to an agreement.

Mostly fine.

But people with ordinary Ghost Speaker can already seek out specific ghosts with Contacts.

Ghostbuster is a bit vague. Not sure exactly how it's meant to work.

I like Abjuration. Don't think it really needs the usage limitation...nobody's gonna break the game by strengthening the border to the Nevernever. Especially not when it's such a small bonus.

Cold Read is the strongest effect here, and I guess it's okay. I'm not a huge fan, mostly because I'm touchy about social Powers. The system and setting alike are light on them, I think it's best to keep things that way.

House Spirit [-1]
Sometimes a spirit will develop an attachment to a particular location; often a house. It is also possible to create this attachment intentionally (through True Magic) although doing so without the spirit's permission will often provide more curse than blessing. Such spirits are attached to the threshold of a location and (in fact) feed off of it.
Musts: You must take an aspect relating to the spirit and its location of residence. You must either be a resident of this location or it must have no residents.
Loyalty. House Spirits first dedication are always to the place they inhabit and the "family" who lives there. The spirit cannot take any hostile action except against invading spirits or overtly hostile forces.
Symbiotic Spirit. A House Spirit feeds on the threshold of a location, however as long as the spirit resides there, the threshold can never fully decay. The threshold is considered to be +1 (min 1).
Spirit Buddy. A typical House Spirit is often little more than a mote of light or gust of wind, serving small tasks around the house; such as lighting candles or sweeping up dust. These effects are little more than scenery pieces. They are also able to go anywhere outside their residence on (though they usually don't have any reason to) but must return by sunrise.
Tied to the Threshold. The House Spirit can also be more firmly tied to the threshold. When taking this power, you may voluntarily reduce the threshold of the residence (min 1) to increase the power of the spirit. Doing this should severely limit the spirit's ability to leave the threshold. How exactly this works is up to you and the GM, though a point of threshold being worth a skill point or two seems reasonable.

A 'default' house spirit has a single mild consequence and 3 skill points which do not need to follow normal spending rules. However, the spirit only has access to the skills it has points in.

I tried to make this also be a reasonable way to stat out Bob, although if we're using these rules Bob's skull is probably an Item of Power who's only effect is to create a very large threshold. I also didn't want to add a whole bunch of twitchy mechanics to a rules-light game for the 'minion' NPC so apologies if it seems a little vague.

Seems weak. Most of the bonuses are basically useless.

Also, you should include the abilities of the minion in the Power itself.

Honestly, a Power like this would probably work better if it was part of a well-developed set of minion rules.

[vultur]

So...give him the Power, but with a different name?

And I guess without the option to take debt, but that's pretty trivial.

I dunno, I don't really see why the names matter.

Well, if I'm reading it correctly, Superior Warding gives three things:
-take sponsor debt
-wards as evothaum
-do wards without a threshold

I was suggesting giving him just the third; as I said, I'm really not convinced the Merlin needs wards-as-evothaum.

EDIT: and in general terms, I think the Self-sponsored "Superior" magics would work better as a stunt for the 'extra benefits', MAYBE the evothaum in the cases the character actually deserves it (which I think is pretty rare... of the examples you give, I'm not convinced any of them have evothaum), and no sponsor debt.

And I just think it's a bit odd to have them in the 'sponsored magic' category. Not a big deal, just feels a bit off to me for some reason.

EDIT x2: incomplete sentence

[umdshaman]

That's just bigger numbers. For people whose specializations give them more interesting advantages, it won't work.

Which is all specialization amounts to in this system.

So...custom Powers? How's that different from using a Superior Something Power?

Because Sponsored Magic is something very specific narratively and comes with a very specific set of effects (on all Sponsored Magic) that I don't think are particularly appropriate to specialization. Better to just create the extra abilities as their own power.

But people with ordinary Ghost Speaker can already seek out specific ghosts with Contacts.

So it does. I was looking at in the PDF and didn't realize the power went onto the next column. It still adds a couple things; use on spirits and Lore substitution.

Ghostbuster is a bit vague. Not sure exactly how it's meant to work.

Needed to mimic the methods of summoning and binding. Basically its just a very short Common Ritual (like making a ring of salt or some such) that creates a Ward to contain spirits and/or ghosts. And a ward is just a magical block, so you can phrase it that way if you want. So, its some parts knowledge and some parts trickery but I figured it could also be a good way to represent some forms of 'religious' magic (hence Conviction).

I like Abjuration. Don't think it really needs the usage limitation...nobody's gonna break the game by strengthening the border to the Nevernever. Especially not when it's such a small bonus.

Well... you might be right, especially if I knock the duration down to 'scene' but the typical barrier strength is Superb which could be improved on pretty well. The real trick to this effect is if you've got something like the Wild Hunt (or even something on a smaller scale) you could probably use it keep the spirits from coming through in the first place.

Cold Read is the strongest effect here, and I guess it's okay. I'm not a huge fan, mostly because I'm touchy about social Powers. The system and setting alike are light on them, I think it's best to keep things that way.

Marked by Power does it for all social rolls (at +1). Figured limiting it by target and condition would make it pretty equal. The power is either 2 or 3 refresh and this one is almost certainly worth 1 on its own.

Seems weak. Most of the bonuses are basically useless.
Also, you should include the abilities of the minion in the Power itself.

Yes, yes they are. It's basically there as a set-piece for the Spirited Negotiator to have a go-between in Place of Power. Someone could basically remove all of the bonuses and make it a [-0], I guess.

And I totally agree that Dresden Files needs comprehensive minion (or companion or whatever) rules for this. But the whole post was like a 5 minute effort. I think Stunts in Spirit of the Century are about 1.5 refresh so maybe borrow those and use the Spirit of the Season updates? *shrug* Either way it wasn't critical to the point.

[Sanctaphrax]

I was suggesting giving him just the third; as I said, I'm really not convinced the Merlin needs wards-as-evothaum.

He doesn't really need wards without thresholds either. He really doesn't need much, since he hasn't done much on-screen. But it's a reasonable extrapolation.

Truth be told he might deserve psychomancy as evocation too. That telepathy thing he did when he fought that mist thing didn't look like evocation to me. Though I admit my memory's faint.

EDIT: and in general terms, I think the Self-sponsored "Superior" magics would work better as a stunt for the 'extra benefits'...

It can't be a Stunt. Stunts modify skills and are generally taken by mortals. That'd be like making the At Range upgrade for Incite Emotion into a Stunt.

Which is all specialization amounts to in this system.

But not in this setting. Or in the games people play. So something more is needed.

Because Sponsored Magic is something very specific narratively and comes with a very specific set of effects (on all Sponsored Magic) that I don't think are particularly appropriate to specialization.

It's not actually very specific narratively. Only half of the canon examples are actually clearly provided by a sponsor. Place Of Power magic comes from a place, Kemmlerian Necromancy never mentions an actual sponsor, and Soulfire is weird.

Besides, Claws doesn't have to be claws. That principle holds for Powers in general.

As for the effects, I'm not sure which one(s) you find inappropriate. They all seem fitting to me.

Needed to mimic the methods of summoning and binding. Basically its just a very short Common Ritual (like making a ring of salt or some such) that creates a Ward to contain spirits and/or ghosts. And a ward is just a magical block, so you can phrase it that way if you want. So, its some parts knowledge and some parts trickery but I figured it could also be a good way to represent some forms of 'religious' magic (hence Conviction).

A ward isn't just a magical block.

Is it supposed to be usable as an action in combat?

How long does it last?

Well... you might be right, especially if I knock the duration down to 'scene' but the typical barrier strength is Superb which could be improved on pretty well.

Not really. Superb skills are rare and the average roll is +0. As for Fate Points, well, you don't need a Power to make things happen by spending FP.

Marked by Power does it for all social rolls (at +1). Figured limiting it by target and condition would make it pretty equal. The power is either 2 or 3 refresh and this one is almost certainly worth 1 on its own.

I'd suggest having it not stack with Marked By Power. Or maybe not with stunts. One or both. Just to keep the numbers under control.

And this definitely isn't a 3 Refresh Power.

[umdshaman]

But not in this setting. Or in the games people play. So something more is needed.
[....]
It's not actually very specific narratively. Only half of the canon examples are actually clearly provided by a sponsor. Place Of Power magic comes from a place, Kemmlerian Necromancy never mentions an actual sponsor, and Soulfire is weird.

Place of Power has a genius loci as the sponsor. My thoughts on Kemmlerian Necromancy are in here, but although the RAW doesn't specify who the sponsor is it is very clear that there must be a sponsor. I also think Soulfire should not have been sponsored magic since it just doesn't fit from what we've seen so far, but its also clear that Soulfire (or God) has an agenda in this context. What the RAW DOES say is that "sponsored magic is the name we're giving to spellcasting that draws on power sources other than the caster himself." There's also "In order to gain the benefits
of sponsored magic, the spell you’re casting must align with the agenda of the sponsor." And finally, "Every type of sponsored magic comes with an agenda of some sort[....] The GM should know what that agenda is whether or not she chooses to share some or all of it with the character in question."

So however you design it "self-sponsored" magic isn't Sponsored Magic, because its not actually sponsored. I've provided several methods for specializing that don't involve "self-sponsored" magic and allowing a player to keep borrow against future Fate Points without some catch is just bad practice.

A ward isn't just a magical block.

"A ward is basically a very potent version of a block using Thaumaturgy instead of Evocation." But no, not just.

Is it supposed to be usable as an action in combat?

Technically, yes.

How long does it last?

Scene, until broken.

Honestly, I knocked it out in a few minutes to show you how one could make a specialization power that fits in with the way other magic specializations are portrayed in the book. And one more tool for the OP to work with if their even still watching the thread.

[Sanctaphrax]

Place of Power has a genius loci as the sponsor. My thoughts on Kemmlerian Necromancy are in here, but although the RAW doesn't specify who the sponsor is it is very clear that there must be a sponsor. I also think Soulfire should not have been sponsored magic since it just doesn't fit from what we've seen so far, but its also clear that Soulfire (or God) has an agenda in this context.

Sometimes the place of power is just a particularly potent ley-line. Says so specifically in the power writeup. There's also a sponsor-less Sponsored Magic in one of the sample adventures from Evil Hat, IIRC.

Anyway, depending on how you count that's either one third or one half of the canon examples which don't fit the model you propose for all Sponsored Magic. That's a lot!

So however you design it "self-sponsored" magic isn't Sponsored Magic, because its not actually sponsored.

It's not Sponsored Magic because it has a separate Power writeup. But it's really similar.

I've provided several methods for specializing that don't involve "self-sponsored" magic and allowing a player to keep borrow against future Fate Points without some catch is just bad practice.

There's a catch. Compels. Same catch all forms of debt have.

And yeah, you've provided other methods. But not a "better" method, one which would make self-sponsored magic unnecessary.

[umdshaman]

Anyway, depending on how you count that's either one third or one half of the canon examples which don't fit the model you propose for all Sponsored Magic

Depending on how I count Place of Power is one or none. I count it as none, because external source with an agenda even if its not sentient (ley lines).

And yeah, you've provided other methods. But not a "better" method, one which would make self-sponsored magic unnecessary.

"Better" is entirely subjective. Frankly, I think I have given examples of methods that are mechanically and fictively superior to "self-sponsored" magic. Meanwhile, you haven't given me any reasons at all why "self-sponsored" magic is necessary at all.

[Sanctaphrax]

Necessary is probably a stronger word than is deserved. The world isn't going to implode without self-sponsored magic.

But in order to model some stuff from the books, and some stuff that people want their PCs to do, we need Powers that directly modify the spellcasting abilities of a specialist. Sponsored Magic provides a good framework for doing that, and packaging the extra benefits alongside evothaum provides some wiggle room balance-wise.

Obviously you could do the same thing with Powers that have different names and the same effects. But changing names isn't meaningful.

Your whole objection seems to be that the word "sponsored" is being used. You haven't actually criticized anything mechanical about the Powers except the fact that they let you take debt, and your criticism of that seems to be based on a misconception.

Seriously, why do you care?

[narphoenix]

@Sancta about Telepathy thing: It doesn't seem like a huge deal. Any wizard in a game of mine would be allowed to do it as a minor effect if the target is in line-of-sight (since it just lets you talk, which is something that isn't a big deal.)

[umdshaman]

Seriously, why do you care?

Because I made a suggestion, which I was pretty clear about, but you keep pushing "self-sponsored" magic and arguing because my suggestion doesn't fit your pet model. And, frankly, because you act like yours is the only opinion that matters. And make no mistake that it is an opinion. Why do you care?

I object to MOST of what Sponsored Magic does as a mechanism for specialization (as I've stated elsewhere but I will summarize one final time and then I am done explaining it).
* Sponsor debt. You disagree with my reasons but I've stated them pretty clearly. Without the outside agenda, this is literally just borrowing against future Fate Points. Sponsor debt has a catch to that borrowing that self-sponsored debt does not.
* Bonuses. There is already a way to bigger numbers. I think creating a class of powers specifically to circumvent the downsides of those methods is a bad idea.
* Evothaum. I'm marginally okay but gets overused and isn't terrifically useful for most things. I think for a lot of Thaumaturgy, this probably isn't even necessary. A 1-power-draw spell with materials at hand could take as little as a minute; which even in combat is not a huge chunk of time (in my opinion).
* Special abilities. And here's where the other big problem comes in. The book seems pretty clear on how extreme specialization should be modeled. You CAN do things like shapeshifting or worldwalking with spells, but if you want to do them with a snap of your finger (and not create a nuclear explosion while you're at it, in the case of shifting) then you take a dedicated power. Superior Pyromancy? Breath Weapon. Superior Worldwalking? Worldwalker. Same basic idea (obviously not comprehensive, as is), but no stress or magic rolls required; which is a huge benefit. And let me just point out if you tried to model shapeshifting with "self-sponsored" magic, you'd just be begging for a world of hurt.
* Cost. A lot of them should really only affect Thaumaturgy or Evocation but because people are modelling them after Sponsored Magic, they make it both and throw in Evothaum just because, ratcheting up the cost. On the reverse side of this, Sponsored Magic can only be used to further the sponsors agenda and the extra benefits only affect the sponsored magic, so adding these features to normal magic should probably cost a pretty hefty chunk more.
* Ambiguity. There's a lot of problems with using a model to represent something very different from what it originally represented but the biggest one here is that some of the way Sponsored Magic works is left ambiguous. When you base an entire model on a particular interpretation or on a 'by the way' and ignore a lot of the very specific 'this is how this works' (assuming its just flavoring, instead), you create a barrel of issues.

[Sanctaphrax]

Why do you care?

I don't, really.

I mean, I care enough to talk about it. But I don't feel strongly. This is just something to talk about while I procrastinate the work I should be doing.

If this is ruining your day, I'm sorry. I definitely don't want to make you unhappy, and I won't be offended if you decide this conversation isn't worth your time.

Sponsor debt has a catch to that borrowing that self-sponsored debt does not.

...

Sponsored Magic can only be used to further the sponsors agenda and the extra benefits only affect the sponsored magic, so adding these features to normal magic should probably cost a pretty hefty chunk more.

Not so. The sponsor's agenda isn't a problem unless Compelled, and Compels aren't bad.

Unless they're debt Compels. But those are equally bad when they're not sponsor-related.

* Bonuses. There is already a way to bigger numbers. I think creating a class of powers specifically to circumvent the downsides of those methods is a bad idea.

I actually agree with you here. I generally prefer to avoid numerical bonuses on Sponsored Magic, since Refinement is usually better for that sort of thing.

* Evothaum. I'm marginally okay but gets overused and isn't terrifically useful for most things. I think for a lot of Thaumaturgy, this probably isn't even necessary. A 1-power-draw spell with materials at hand could take as little as a minute; which even in combat is not a huge chunk of time (in my opinion).

Evothaum is indeed not terribly powerful, but...most fights are over in less than a minute.

* Special abilities. And here's where the other big problem comes in. The book seems pretty clear on how extreme specialization should be modeled. You CAN do things like shapeshifting or worldwalking with spells, but if you want to do them with a snap of your finger (and not create a nuclear explosion while you're at it, in the case of shifting) then you take a dedicated power. Superior Pyromancy? Breath Weapon. Superior Worldwalking? Worldwalker. Same basic idea (obviously not comprehensive, as is), but no stress or magic rolls required; which is a huge benefit. And let me just point out if you tried to model shapeshifting with "self-sponsored" magic, you'd just be begging for a world of hurt.

IIRC we actually did model shapeshifting with self-sponsored magic. Not the fancy True kind, though, just use-Lore-for-disguise stuff.

Anyway, I get what you're saying about taking new Powers to represent specialization. That's what this is. Breath Weapon and Worldwalker are poorly suited for wizards for a variety of reasons, but the basic idea is sound. That's why these Powers exist.

* Ambiguity. There's a lot of problems with using a model to represent something very different from what it originally represented but the biggest one here is that some of the way Sponsored Magic works is left ambiguous. When you base an entire model on a particular interpretation or on a 'by the way' and ignore a lot of the very specific 'this is how this works' (assuming its just flavoring, instead), you create a barrel of issues.

We haven't ignored any of the "this is how it works". I mean, there's a reason Self-Sponsored Magic is its own Power.

The only ambiguity that comes to mind here is the exact nature of evothaum. But that's usually not a problem in play. The Powers work with every interpretation.

@Sancta about Telepathy thing: It doesn't seem like a huge deal. Any wizard in a game of mine would be allowed to do it as a minor effect if the target is in line-of-sight (since it just lets you talk, which is something that isn't a big deal.)

It's mechanically unimpressive, but narratively it's well beyond anything I'd expect a normal Wizard to be able to do. Speech is appallingly complex.

[Taran]

Not so. The sponsor's agenda isn't a problem unless Compelled, and Compels aren't bad.

Unless they're debt Compels. But those are equally bad when they're not sponsor-related.

I have to say that I'm not a big fan of self-sponsored magic either.   When it's your own agenda the compels would seem weak to me. 

It's supposed to be like borrowing the company car.  The company's car, gas and insurance.  But if you're not using it for company business, they can take away the keys.

Self-sponsored is your own car, your own gas and you get drive wherever you like.  I don't know where the debt comes in to play.   It sounds a lot like regular magic to me.

I don't even know how self-sponsored magic came about.  Was it because people thought specialists should be more powerful than Wizards in their field?  And then, because specialists can't actually specialize, people figured they needed their own custom Power?  If so, I still don't understand how debt comes in to play.

Once again, it seems easier to break down evocation into 3 similar elements and let them take specializations and refinements.

That's what this is. Breath Weapon and Worldwalker are poorly suited for wizards for a variety of reasons, but the basic idea is sound. That's why these Powers exist

Breath Weapon seems like a fine power for a wizard, as long as they can use discipline to target.  It's like a rote that never costs stress.

[Haru]

I actually like the self-sponsored system. The trick is to not look at it as a sponsor, but rather as a specialization power using the same mechanics as sponsored magic does. Like taking breath weapon as a wizard usually doesn't mean that you are actually breathing fire (though it probably could), but rather that you are so good at throwing around elemental magic effects, that it doesn't cost you any effort to do so with low powered effects.

Self-sponsor debt would not actually be debt, but most often simply an empty fuel tank. Maybe you can throw more power into some of your spells, since you know them very well, but at the same time, it drains your magic power, that you need a day or two to recharge before you can do anything again. Or it's a case of "if all you have is a hammer", and if you have devoted your life to studying wards, your tactics are going to be defensive, building up thick walls and study your opponent, even if the offensive would be a much better choice. Just as with regular sponsored magic, you need to define those "agendas", and they can be very real and they can be used just the same. It's basically another case of "the more power you've got, the more it drives you", which is well established as being a big part of the Dresdenverse morality.

Of course this is just one way to model specializations. Themed Evocation is another way to go, for example. And one isn't really better than the other, there are characters where one power will fit better and other characters where the other one is the better choice. Or a third where you need a new option altogether.

[vultur]

@Sancta about Telepathy thing: It doesn't seem like a huge deal. Any wizard in a game of mine would be allowed to do it as a minor effect if the target is in line-of-sight (since it just lets you talk, which is something that isn't a big deal.)

Yeah, we've done this in "Defending the Borders" and I think "Semi-Divine Comedy" too.

[Sanctaphrax]

I might allow it too, for such powerful characters. When you've got so much power you have a lot of freedom with special effects. And the Merlin can probably use the same excuse.

But I would find it really unfitting for someone like beginning-of-series Harry. It's like...if you're playing a godling you can say that the sun gets slightly dimmer every time you cast a spell. If you're playing a hedge witch that's probably not kosher.

I don't know where the debt comes in to play.

Compels. Compels are Compels, agenda-related or not.

I don't even know how self-sponsored magic came about.  Was it because people thought specialists should be more powerful than Wizards in their field?  And then, because specialists can't actually specialize, people figured they needed their own custom Power?  If so, I still don't understand how debt comes in to play.

I dont know what the original idea was. You'd have to ask JayTee, I guess.

But the Superior X line comes from me using Self-Sponsored Magic to patch a few minor system issues. Namely...

Ritual + Channelling is kind of a bad deal compared to Sponsored Magic. Focused Practitioners in general are kind of weak compared to Wizards and Emissaries.

The Merlin's big army-stopping ward probably wasn't rules-legal.

Worldwalker is a bad Power for a Wizard to take, but Wizards who walk worlds want something like it.

Once again, it seems easier to break down evocation into 3 similar elements and let them take specializations and refinements.

Also a good approach. At least if your problem is the deficiencies of Channelling.

Breath Weapon seems like a fine power for a wizard, as long as they can use discipline to target.  It's like a rote that never costs stress.

First up, they can't use Discipline.

Second up, optimization 101 tells you not to pay full price for redundant abilities. You'll pretty much always be better off with Refinement, or with something unrelated like Toughness.

Third up, Breath Weapon is just kind of weak in general. Low damage and short range.

So Breath Weapon isn't a great solution. Something similar to it could work though.

I actually like the self-sponsored system. The trick is to not look at it as a sponsor, but rather as a specialization power using the same mechanics as sponsored magic does.

Yep.

Or it's a case of "if all you have is a hammer", and if you have devoted your life to studying wards, your tactics are going to be defensive, building up thick walls and study your opponent, even if the offensive would be a much better choice. Just as with regular sponsored magic, you need to define those "agendas", and they can be very real and they can be used just the same. It's basically another case of "the more power you've got, the more it drives you", which is well established as being a big part of the Dresdenverse morality.

You know, that's a really neat idea.