Author Topic: Ask a simple Question, get a simple Answer!  (Read 58420 times)

Offline Ghostfreak

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 167
    • View Profile
Re: Ask a simple Question, get a simple Answer!
« Reply #105 on: October 16, 2016, 04:56:34 PM »
Sorry for double post. Also how does one get past or across a magical block without relying on magic, if possible.

Offline Sanctaphrax

  • White Council
  • Seriously?
  • ****
  • Posts: 12405
    • View Profile
Re: Ask a simple Question, get a simple Answer!
« Reply #106 on: October 16, 2016, 08:42:06 PM »
Can you make a Black Court PC?

All there powers seem to be in the Rule Book (Living Dead, Spider Walk, Supernatural Sense,Cloak of Shadows, Domination, Feeding Dependency etc.), and there are Red Court Infected and White Court Virgin template, seems the only thing keeping you from making a PC is the technicality that there is no middle-stage that you could call "human" and with Free Will.

The minimum Refresh cost for a BCV is 14, which is too much even for Submerged.

Of course, that shouldn't stop a group from hacking something together if they want to do so.

small question lets say harry mixes soulfire and hellfire in same spell to attack bad guy of the book. what happens they fizzle each other or somehow harry learns how to create universe

for experiment harry has lash(lashciel's shadow ) with him

Entirely up to the GM and group.

Creating universes seems kinda crazy to me, though, so I wouldn't go with that.

How does one get around a white court vampire's incite emotion ability? An how can one protect themselves from such a potent ability?

If they lack the range upgrade, don't let them touch you. Failing that, shore up your mental defenses.

Ultimately, though, the best defense against attacks is to kill the attacker. It's as true for Incite Emotion as it is for a gun.

Sorry for double post. Also how does one get past or across a magical block without relying on magic, if possible.

Bigger numbers. Invoke a bunch of Aspects, use Stunts and Powers to get big numbers on skill rolls, and/or hope for a good roll.

Magical blocks are like other blocks, you overcome them by rolling higher.

Offline Taran

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 9863
    • View Profile
    • Chip
Re: Ask a simple Question, get a simple Answer!
« Reply #107 on: October 17, 2016, 12:42:06 AM »
How does one get around a white court vampire's incite emotion ability? An how can one protect themselves from such a potent ability?

It depends on the vampire how potent it is.  Besides, it's only potent against people with low discipline the same way swords are potent against people with low Athletics.

Magic works very well to block against mental attacks.  A magic item or spirit block would work well.

An item that might be anathema to the vampire (like a wedding ring against a lust vampire) could be used to invoke their High Concept and make them back off or run away.

Yes, killing the vampire works too.

Sorry for double post. Also how does one get past or across a magical block without relying on magic, if possible.

A magical (or any block) must state what it's blocking

If it's blocking attacks, then a high enough attack rating will break the block.  Sprinting or any other action is unhindered by this kind of block.

A block against movement (or a zone border) is countered by trying to sprint through it. A high enough sprint roll bypasses it.  (or if it's a magical wall, something with Wings could just fly over it, obviously)

If a wizard puts up an 8 shift block (against attacks)on themselves and it lasts 2 exchanges, PC 1 can do an athletics Maneuver vs the wizards athletics to "flank" the wizard.  PC 2 can do Fists maneuver against the Wizard's athletics or Might or Fists to "Trip" the Wizard.  PC 3 can attack with his +4 Weapons attack.  If he rolls an average of 4, then tags the 2 aspects, his total roll is an 8, which is enough to beat the block.  He does weapon damage (since his has no extra shifts) and the Wizard's block is taken down.

Really, this is how a party should take down most tough opponents, weather or not they have magical blocks up.

Offline Quantus

  • Special Collections Division
  • Needs A Life
  • ****
  • Posts: 25216
  • He Who Lurks Around
    • View Profile
Re: Ask a simple Question, get a simple Answer!
« Reply #108 on: October 17, 2016, 12:49:40 PM »
The minimum Refresh cost for a BCV is 14, which is too much even for Submerged.

Of course, that shouldn't stop a group from hacking something together if they want to do so.
Now Im curious.  Have you ever put together a PC Blampire?  I could have some fun kicking around stats for a BCV-lite. 
<(o)> <(o)>
        / \
      (o o)
   \==-==/


“We’re all imaginary friends to one another."

"An entire life, an entire personality, can be permanently altered by just one sentence." -An Accidental Villain

Offline Taran

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 9863
    • View Profile
    • Chip
Re: Ask a simple Question, get a simple Answer!
« Reply #109 on: October 17, 2016, 01:09:59 PM »
Now Im curious.  Have you ever put together a PC Blampire?  I could have some fun kicking around stats for a BCV-lite.

I could see some kind of blampire where the transformation was halted or the victim, somehow, survived and kept a semblance of humanity.

That's how I'd spin it.  Then give them some of the powers of a Blampire. 

Offline Quantus

  • Special Collections Division
  • Needs A Life
  • ****
  • Posts: 25216
  • He Who Lurks Around
    • View Profile
Re: Ask a simple Question, get a simple Answer!
« Reply #110 on: October 17, 2016, 01:32:41 PM »
I could see some kind of blampire where the transformation was halted or the victim, somehow, survived and kept a semblance of humanity.

That's how I'd spin it.  Then give them some of the powers of a Blampire.
I was thinking either that direction, as some sort of half-Blamp (maybe go Blade with it and make it a child who's mother was turned), or else maybe a PC with a very limited Sponsor agreement that holds the Blampire at bay and keeps a shred of their Humanity intact.  In the latter case they'd treat the Blampire Powers as something that they can access via Sponsored Magic mechanics, but with the normal range of restrictions and consequences for using them too much. 
<(o)> <(o)>
        / \
      (o o)
   \==-==/


“We’re all imaginary friends to one another."

"An entire life, an entire personality, can be permanently altered by just one sentence." -An Accidental Villain

Offline Ghostfreak

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 167
    • View Profile
Re: Ask a simple Question, get a simple Answer!
« Reply #111 on: October 18, 2016, 03:13:06 AM »
What does might over magic do exactly? I've heard the name of the ability mentioned before but has no idea of what it can do.

Offline Sanctaphrax

  • White Council
  • Seriously?
  • ****
  • Posts: 12405
    • View Profile
Re: Ask a simple Question, get a simple Answer!
« Reply #112 on: October 19, 2016, 07:13:17 AM »
What does might over magic do exactly? I've heard the name of the ability mentioned before but has no idea of what it can do.

It lets you break magical effects physically. Its creator asked that it not be included on the wiki, but you can see it here.

Now Im curious.  Have you ever put together a PC Blampire?  I could have some fun kicking around stats for a BCV-lite.

Nope. Some NPCs, but no PCs.

Offline Quantus

  • Special Collections Division
  • Needs A Life
  • ****
  • Posts: 25216
  • He Who Lurks Around
    • View Profile
Re: Ask a simple Question, get a simple Answer!
« Reply #113 on: October 19, 2016, 12:15:52 PM »
Nope. Some NPCs, but no PCs.
Ill have to wait until I get home (or find my pdf's) but I think I want to start a new thread to chase this idea.   :)
<(o)> <(o)>
        / \
      (o o)
   \==-==/


“We’re all imaginary friends to one another."

"An entire life, an entire personality, can be permanently altered by just one sentence." -An Accidental Villain

Offline Shaft

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 198
    • View Profile
Re: Ask a simple Question, get a simple Answer!
« Reply #114 on: October 23, 2016, 01:17:12 AM »
I have an idea for a character based on Moon Knight who is the champion of Khonshu, an Egyptian moon god.  He would have Inhuman Strength, Speed, Toughness and Recovery as well as Cloak of Shadows, but only at night.  I suspect that assigning these powers under Human Form would be appropriate to get a 1 point Refresh reduction on the abilities, but could/should I also say that the circumstances are "Rare" to reflect the fact that these powers are only available at night (and get a further 1 point Refresh reduction in addition to the one above).

Can I also let the character take the Catch (only at night) on his Toughness/Recovery Powers that can be discovered/deduced with access to rare texts once the sponsor is known for an additional reduction on top of the Human Form bonus?
« Last Edit: October 23, 2016, 01:19:01 AM by Shaft »

Offline Cadd

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 474
    • View Profile
Re: Ask a simple Question, get a simple Answer!
« Reply #115 on: October 23, 2016, 03:20:03 AM »
Should work. In fact, Toughness and Recovery should generally have a Catch attached, though being only periodically availabe can be enough.
I think there are statblocks in OW with both Human Form and The Catch, check the Werewolf section...

The Catch can be valued at the most at +3 (since it's attached to -4 worth of abilities), and can of course be worth less. Just follow the regular guidelines for it.
Side note: Make sure to clear with the GM how you're going to handle Recovery; there's no clear RAW about how it works whem not permanent.

Offline Cadd

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 474
    • View Profile
Re: Ask a simple Question, get a simple Answer!
« Reply #116 on: October 23, 2016, 03:37:49 AM »
Sorry for double post, editing is a pain on my phone.

You may also consider not going with "At Night" for the powers. It can be even more interesting with "When the moon is visible in the sky" - this period is roughly 12h no matter time of year (day/night can vary a lot st higher latitudes) and is sometimes during the day.

There's also the New Moon, when the moon is up, but not really visible...

Offline Nepene

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 143
    • View Profile
Re: Ask a simple Question, get a simple Answer!
« Reply #117 on: October 23, 2016, 02:38:27 PM »
You could make him have a catch of the sun. That would make sense given their nature, and give you a substantial rebate. Or of things like sunstones, or similar artifacts that are related to the sun.

Offline dragoonbuster

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 498
    • View Profile
Re: Ask a simple Question, get a simple Answer!
« Reply #118 on: October 23, 2016, 06:11:58 PM »
Can I also let the character take the Catch (only at night) on his Toughness/Recovery Powers that can be discovered/deduced with access to rare texts once the sponsor is known for an additional reduction on top of the Human Form bonus?

ALL PCs with Recovery or Toughness need to attach a Catch of some kind at my table. You don't "get" to take one, you must take one, because there's a silver bullet for literally everything supernatural in the Dresdenverse, it's just a matter of figuring it out and getting a hold of it.

As far as Human Form and Catch rebates...they're just completely separate things. If both are appropriate, you get both. Human Form is for when you *don't* have some powers 'normally' and *do* get them in some shapeshifted or conditional situation. Whatever your Catch is, the rebate it provides still can't reduce the total costs of Toughness/Recovery below -1, and ALL the powers attached to Human Form must add to overall cost -1. Here are some examples:

Good Example - The overall Toughness/Recovery/Catch cost is -1
-2 Inhuman Recovery
-2 Inhuman Toughness
+3 The Catch: Cold Iron

"Not Allowed" Example - The overall Toughness/Recovery/Catch cost is -0. You're not locked out of using Fire, but you would need modulate the bonus down to +3 to make the math legal again for a total -1 cost.
-2 Inhuman Recovery
-2 Inhuman Toughness
+4 The Catch: Fire

"Not Allowed" Example - This isn't allowed because your overall cost here is -0, so you'd have to modulate the cost down to -1 overall on your sheet or buy more powers to stick under Human Form.
+1 Human Form, covering:
-2 Inhuman Recovery
-2 Inhuman Toughness
+3 The Catch: Cold Iron

"Not Allowed" Example - This isn't allowed because while everything attached to Human Form + HF's rebate is -1, you still haven't properly costed your Toughness/Recovery/Catch suite. You have to modulate that cost to -1, making the overall Human Form and associated powers suite a total -2 cost.
+1 Human Form, covering:
-2 Inhuman Strength
-2 Inhuman Recovery
-2 Inhuman Toughness
+4 The Catch: Fire

Good Example - Overall the Toughness/Recovery/Catch suite costs -1, and adding everything attached to Human Form with HF gives me an overall -2 costs, so that's legal as well.
+1 Human Form, covering:
-2 Inhuman Strength
-2 Inhuman Recovery
-2 Inhuman Toughness
+3 The Catch: Cold Iron
I'm a blacksmith! Here's some of what I do: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SoCalForge

Offline Taran

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 9863
    • View Profile
    • Chip
Re: Ask a simple Question, get a simple Answer!
« Reply #119 on: October 23, 2016, 06:36:57 PM »
ALL PCs with Recovery or Toughness need to attach a Catch of some kind at my table. You don't "get" to take one, you must take one, because there's a silver bullet for literally everything supernatural in the Dresdenverse, it's just a matter of figuring it out and getting a hold of it.

I might say that some catches are so rare that they might as well not have one.  But, in cases like that, they don't get a rebate anyways.

As far as Human Form and Catch rebates...they're just completely separate things. If both are appropriate, you get both. Human Form is for when you *don't* have some powers 'normally' and *do* get them in some shapeshifted or conditional situation. Whatever your Catch is, the rebate it provides still can't reduce the total costs of Toughness/Recovery below -1, and ALL the powers attached to Human Form must add to overall cost -1. Here are some examples:

"Not Allowed" Example - The overall Toughness/Recovery/Catch cost is -0. You're not locked out of using Fire, but you would need modulate the bonus down to +3 to make the math legal again for a total -1 cost.
-2 Inhuman Recovery
-2 Inhuman Toughness
+4 The Catch: Fire

This isn't exactly how I interpret how the rebate works.  It's not that you *can't* have a +4 catch, it's more that the catch can only provide you with a +3 rebate - even if it's valued at +4 -  because you don't have enough refresh spent on toughness/recovery.

So, I'd allow this set-up, but your total powers under the catch would still add up to -1, despite the +4.  If the player upgrades to Supernatural Toughness, the +4 bonus would come into play.

"Not Allowed" Example - This isn't allowed because your overall cost here is -0, so you'd have to modulate the cost down to -1 overall on your sheet or buy more powers to stick under Human Form.
+1 Human Form, covering:
-2 Inhuman Recovery
-2 Inhuman Toughness
+3 The Catch: Cold Iron

Exactly right.

I have an idea for a character based on Moon Knight who is the champion of Khonshu, an Egyptian moon god.  He would have Inhuman Strength, Speed, Toughness and Recovery as well as Cloak of Shadows, but only at night.  I suspect that assigning these powers under Human Form would be appropriate to get a 1 point Refresh reduction on the abilities, but could/should I also say that the circumstances are "Rare" to reflect the fact that these powers are only available at night (and get a further 1 point Refresh reduction in addition to the one above).

Can I also let the character take the Catch (only at night) on his Toughness/Recovery Powers that can be discovered/deduced with access to rare texts once the sponsor is known for an additional reduction on top of the Human Form bonus?

I'd give someone who can only use powers at night, or when the moon is up a +2 ' human form: involuntary change' rebate.

You'd need at least -3 worth of powers there.

If you took toughness/recovery, I could see you having things like 'light' or sunstone as a catch.  Maybe even 'moonstone'.

Khonsu is the god of travel, protection and healing and "light in the Night".  I could see a catch of necromancy and/or entropy being a catch.  Since travel is in his portfolio, perhaps being bound/helpless would be a catch.  So while movement is blocked against him, he loses his toughness.  In fact, his toughness could be skinned that he's so fast, he dodges and is hard to pin with a solid hit.

Time magic might also affect him since he's related to the passage of time.
« Last Edit: October 23, 2016, 06:42:36 PM by Taran »