Author Topic: Jack Skellington in the DresdenVerse  (Read 3165 times)

Offline Shaft

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Jack Skellington in the DresdenVerse
« on: October 22, 2015, 01:59:18 PM »
Jack Skellington is the protagonist of the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas. He is the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town and lives in a fantasy world based solely on the Halloween holiday.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Skellington

Any thoughts on how he might appear in the DresdenVerse?  I'm thinking that Halloween town would be his Demesne in the NeverNever.

Offline Taran

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Re: Jack Skellington in the DresdenVerse
« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2015, 02:29:25 PM »
He would probably be one of the few fae who are most powerful on Halloween.  As opposed to being vulnerable

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Jack Skellington in the DresdenVerse
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2015, 06:11:46 PM »
I'm thinking a solid Presence and Performance would be appropriate. He's the beloved leader of his people and quite a good singer IIRC.

As for Powers...maybe Incite Fear, Emotional Vampire, and some level of Toughness are appropriate.

Offline Shaft

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Re: Jack Skellington in the DresdenVerse
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2015, 06:33:26 PM »
He would probably be one of the few fae who are most powerful on Halloween.  As opposed to being vulnerable

I don't think he'd be a Fae.  He strikes me as some kind of powerful Undead creature (albeit a somewhat benevolent one).

Offline Shaft

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Re: Jack Skellington in the DresdenVerse
« Reply #4 on: October 22, 2015, 06:34:42 PM »
I'm thinking a solid Presence and Performance would be appropriate. He's the beloved leader of his people and quite a good singer IIRC.

As for Powers...maybe Incite Fear, Emotional Vampire, and some level of Toughness are appropriate.

Perhaps I'll request one of your infamous builds on your "Request a Character" thread.

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Jack Skellington in the DresdenVerse
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2015, 04:29:00 AM »
Feel free, but be ready to wait. I expect it'll be a while before I get back to that thread.

Offline AgentSchneider

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Re: Jack Skellington in the DresdenVerse
« Reply #6 on: October 23, 2015, 05:30:03 PM »
Do you want his write-up to just reflect if he was statted out in the DFRPG system, or do you want some suggestions about where he and Halloween Town might fit into the Dresdenverse?

I kind of agree with Sanctaphrax about him being a Fae because it seems more in line with the idea of the NeverNever (in the movie he finds the grove of trees with doors to other holiday worlds - maybe a place like that really exists in the NeverNever and that's how he found them) and a denizen's Demense where he is only able to leak into the mortal realm easily on Halloween.

If you wanted to take it from a non-Fae angle maybe you could make him an old-timey god who took on the role of Jack Skellington as the holiday became less about its Christian roots and became a holiday of ghosts and scares and candy. Or like
(click to show/hide)
maybe Jack takes on different roles throughout the year vis a vis Day of the Dead: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

For actual stats like Sanctaphrax said high Presence and Performance really seem to make sense maybe in conjunction with high Intimidation and Stealth to represent his scare capabilities. Incite Fear and Emotional Vampire seem to make sense, maybe add in some level of Speed, Cloak of Shadows, and/or Supernatural Sense (Fear).

Offline Shaft

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Re: Jack Skellington in the DresdenVerse
« Reply #7 on: October 23, 2015, 08:11:27 PM »
Do you want his write-up to just reflect if he was statted out in the DFRPG system, or do you want some suggestions about where he and Halloween Town might fit into the Dresdenverse?

Can I say both?  :D  I'm thinking a grittier, less musical take on JAck and his realm (though the idea of Jack having an aspect that reflects his passion for singing is very cool)

If you wanted to take it from a non-Fae angle maybe you could make him an old-timey god who took on the role of Jack Skellington as the holiday became less about its Christian roots and became a holiday of ghosts and scares and candy. Or like
(click to show/hide)
maybe Jack takes on different roles throughout the year vis a vis Day of the Dead: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

This is more along the lines of what I was looking for.  I'm thinking that he should be slightly less powerful, but close to
(click to show/hide)
.

For actual stats like Sanctaphrax said high Presence and Performance really seem to make sense maybe in conjunction with high Intimidation and Stealth to represent his scare capabilities. Incite Fear and Emotional Vampire seem to make sense, maybe add in some level of Speed, Cloak of Shadows, and/or Supernatural Sense (Fear).

I don't know if he is an emotional vampire, although it make sense that Oogie Boogie would have that power.  Jack isn't actually evil despite his scary nature, though he certainly has a dark side. 

Offline AgentSchneider

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Re: Jack Skellington in the DresdenVerse
« Reply #8 on: October 26, 2015, 04:04:40 PM »
So I did a tentative write-up for Jack with abilities and Aspects. I probably statted him out too low if he's supposed to be closer to God-level but I feel like this pretty accurately reflects his overall skill set.

Quote
High Concept
Pumpkin King of Halloween Town
Trouble
This Halloween Must Be Better Than the Last!
Other Aspects
It’s My Job (But I’m Not Mean)
The Erlking Leads the OTHER Halloween Tradition
What’s This? What’s This? (Representing his knowledge [or lack of knowledge] of the NeverNever and his penchant for breaking into song)
 “You Know I Was Santa Once”
You Don’t Want to Know What I’m Fully Capable Of (reflecting his dark nature)

Skills:
+6   Intimidation
+5   Athletics Stealth
+4   Alertness Performance Presence
+3   Discipline Fists Lore
+2   Burglary Conviction Might Rapport
+1   Craftsmanship Endurance Investigation Survival

Stunts/Powers:
Spider Walk (-1)
Supernatural Sense (Detect What Will Scare Somebody) (-1)
   Master of the Scare (-1): Roll Lore + 2 when making assessments or declarations to know what someone or something will be scared of/by
Inhuman Strength (-2)
Supernatural Speed (-4)
Inhuman Toughness (-2)
Supernatural Recovery (-4)

   The Catch (+0) is any act fueled by Pure Courage (this is a very tentative Catch)
Demesne (-1) [Halloween Town]
Cloak of Shadows (-1)
Incite Effect [Fear] (-1)
   Incite At Range (-1)
   Incite Lasting Effect (-1)
   Incite Potent Effect (-1)

Modified Glamours (-2):  May use Discipline or Intimidation to create Aspects related to scaring somebody (these may also be used to alter Jack’s physical appearance)
Were You Scared? (-1): Gain a +2 to the Playing to an Audience trapping of the Performance skill when trying to be intimidating or scary

Total Refresh:
-24

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Jack Skellington in the DresdenVerse
« Reply #9 on: October 26, 2015, 08:02:24 PM »
Looks pretty solid to me. I'm no expert on the character, though, so I couldn't tell you if you've missed something.