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[Quantus]

Well, taking the books as the example, Susan and the Fellowship people seemed able to "walk it off" to some extent through focus and mental discipline, though they had those magic tattoos (does your RCI have those?). 

Conceptually I could get behind the idea that the RCI can fuel their supernatural powers by feeding off their own human side (in more or less the way a starving human's body will start feeding off it's own muscle tissue), then have to sit out a few scenes to recover from what would more or less be acute blood loss.  I also dont know what the official ruling on WCV and animal blood feeding would be, though I'd personally lean toward saying that it would work but be far less potent that Human blood, in the same way animal zombies are less potent than Humans.  I dont know of anything to say blood-bank blood wouldnt work unless you think RCV would have some kind of allergic reaction to the anti-coagulants they mix it with (which could be an interesting idea to play with if you expect heavy RCV involvement). 

[SerGalahad]

Thanks Quantus! I was thinking along the same lines as what you had suggested; to me it did seem that Susan and others could take some time to bring their vampire side back under control and that was how I was going to run it as the GM. But I did a re-read of the rules and just wanted to see how other's had interpreted it. And yes, the player who'll be the RCI will have the Tattoos of St. Giles.

[Shaft]

My quick question:

In the novels, Harry is able to fend off vampires using his faith in magic to hold them at bay.  Is he using something like the Conviction-based "Blessed Words "Stunt (that allows him to swap Conviction for Fists or Athletics) to defend against the attack, or is he actually performing a block with Evocation (and taking a point of mental stress as he does so)?

[Amelia Crane]

I'd say he's establishing an aspect of his faith in magic and compelling the high-concept of the vampires to keep them at bay.

[Taran]

My quick question:

In the novels, Harry is able to fend off vampires using his faith in magic to hold them at bay.  Is he using something like the Conviction-based "Blessed Words "Stunt (that allows him to swap Conviction for Fists or Athletics) to defend against the attack, or is he actually performing a block with Evocation (and taking a point of mental stress as he does so)?

Yeah, I agree with Amelia.

He's either spending a FP to compel the Vampire's High Concept or he's Invoking "My Mother's Silver Pentacle"  or he's doing a conviction maneuver and invoking it for effect.  Or whatever combination of the three.

In any case, it's not a stunt or power.  It's simply an aspect being invoked for effect.

[Ghostfreak]

How powerful is Thamaturgy exactly and do I need to be a full wizard to do it or no?

[blackstaff67]

You can make the argument that Thaumaturgy is single biggest thing going for wizards, given that you can grab the reins to the universe and yell giddy-up, making it respond to your will.  Put bluntly, you can make it do anything you want, given enough time and resources.  Bind a Garou, drop a satellite, open a path to the Nevernever, etc.

[Ghostfreak]

The laws of magic only applies to those who only use magic correct?

[blackstaff67]

The laws of magic only applies to those who only use magic correct?

I'm going to need some clarification, please.  I will say that they apply to those ostensibly mortal/free-willed characters (IOW, PCs for the most part).  For more info, either wait for Tara/Haru/Sancataphrax to chime in or go to the sticky law threads.

[Ghostfreak]

Awesome.

[Taran]

I don't pretend to know the nuances of the Laws of magic.  Usually it's whoever cast the spell.

Also, maybe just a typo blackstaff, but it's Taran, not Tara...

[blackstaff67]

I don't pretend to know the nuances of the Laws of magic.  Usually it's whoever cast the spell.

Also, maybe just a typo blackstaff, but it's Taran, not Tara...

Oh my word, you are correct.  My apologies.

[Sanctaphrax]

How powerful is Thamaturgy exactly and do I need to be a full wizard to do it or no?

As powerful as the GM lets it be, and no. You just need the Thaumaturgy power.

The laws of magic only applies to those who only use magic correct?

Generally, yes. Laws one through six can only be broken by casting spells. And they don't apply to demons, or faeries, or other such things. Some would even say that they only apply to people with non-Sponsored magic.

The one possible exception is the Seventh Law. As Your Story says on page 244, "the Seventh Law is the only one on the books that isn't conditioned upon casting a spell".

You shouldn't make non-spellcasters take the Lawbreaker power, but I think it's reasonable to inflict some corrupting effects, like Aspect changes, on non-casters who reach Outside.

For more info, either wait for Tara/Haru/Sancataphrax to chime in or go to the sticky law threads.

This might sound weird, but please don't defer to me.

Forum communities are cliquey by nature and it's common for them to devolve into informal hierarchies. Which isn't healthy. I've seen posters become genuinely worse people because online social status went to their heads.

[Haru]

The laws of magic only applies to those who only use magic correct?

That's going to depend on you and your group and how you want to interpret the laws.

To me, there's 2 sides to the laws.

1) The Wardens. If they suspect you broke a law, they will act. It doesn't matter much if you DID break the law, if they suspect you did, you are in trouble. You can probably get away if you can prove innocence or some technicality, but first they will hunt you down.

2) The mental impact. Even if the Wardens don't know what you did or you are out of their jurisdiction (by using sponsored magic, for example), using magic in a certain way will probably have an impact on you, no matter where it comes from. You are wielding the power, you choose what the power is supposed to do, you deem right what the power does, twisting the power this way changes you.
There are ways around it, as well. Your sponsor could insulate you from the effect, for example, but that will come back to bite you in another way for sure.

When you do a spell that can break the law, either or both of those could apply. A Warden might want to talk to you for a spell that didn't affect you mentally, or a spell might affect you that doesn't even make it on the Warden's radar. Or both.

When it comes to using it in play, the important part is always: choose what you think will be fun. Just because someone broke the law doesn't necessarily mean they need to take the lawbreaker stunt, for example. There are other ways to deal with this, especially since the Lawbreaker can often mean the NPCness of a player character.

[Ghostfreak]

How is sponsored magic out of their jurisdiction?