Ideas building an emisarry of Nyarlathotep

[Ghostfreak]

Looking for the advice on how to go about building an emisarry of power whose sponser is the crawling chaos himself and is a huge fan of captain america. So much so that his item of power is a black and white version of cap's shield. 16 refresh and 40 skill points. Please give your experienced thoughts and opinions as I don't wish to build unoptimally; wasting refresh on powers and stunts not needed. My original build was a balance of the physical building blocks and shield stunts to do the captain america thing. The young man is in junior school looking to get a track/sports scholarship for college and by 45 to 48 refresh, we should be all in high school.

[Quantus]

Hmmm, Based on this: "Nyarlathotep delights in cruelty, is deceptive and manipulative, and even cultivates followers and uses propaganda to achieve his goals."  I think you are looking for, well...This:

(click to show/hide)

Going Full-Hydra in JrHigh you could have him be a Budding Psychopath who uses manipulation and emotional control to build a cadre of followers, take down enemies (rival bullies, the rich kid who has something he wants, etc), subvert authority, etc.

[Ghostfreak]

Hmmm. I am listening. The refresh to build said character is 16, skill points is 40.

[Quantus]

Hmmm. I am listening. The refresh to build said character is 16, skill points is 40.

Admittedly I not the best for actual mechanical design (let alone balance), that was just my first thought based on your description and a wiki search for "Nyarlathotep" (who I admittedly thought was an obscure Egyptian deity or something, rather than Lovecraftian). 


But spitballing Id consider some wampire style emotional pushing, either some sort of Inspire Loyalty but Id lean toward something more along the lines of Stoke Suspicion, to be paired with enough social graces to manipulate their darker suspicions and fears for your own ends. 

The real issue to consider is that JrHydra would be a much more social-focused build, so you will have to decide how much to invest in that vs the Capt. America side that would need to be more physically focused.  Deciding how much to commit to the social side will be the big limiter on both. 

[Ghostfreak]

Hmmm; you bring up a very valid point.

[Sanctaphrax]

Looking for the advice on how to go about building an emisarry of power whose sponser is the crawling chaos himself and is a huge fan of captain america. So much so that his item of power is a black and white version of cap's shield. 16 refresh and 40 skill points. Please give your experienced thoughts and opinions as I don't wish to build unoptimally; wasting refresh on powers and stunts not needed. My original build was a balance of the physical building blocks and shield stunts to do the captain america thing.

Physical building blocks and stunts are appropriate for someone trying to be Captain America. My understanding of Nyarlathotep (which mostly comes from this blog post) is that the Outsider would much prefer you focus on social skills, mental powers, and maybe Thaumaturgy, so there's potential for sponsor-emissary tension there. On top of the obvious moral conflict, of course.

As for optimisation, here's what I have to say on the subject.

The young man is in junior school looking to get a track/sports scholarship for college and by 45 to 48 refresh, we should be all in high school.

45 to 48 refresh in high school?

That might be overdoing it. Even at the starting Refresh of this game, you're ungodly powerful. An army unto yourself. At 45 Refresh you're several steps above the Senior Council.

[g33k]

  Looking for the advice on how to go about building an emisarry of power whose sponser is the crawling chaos himself and is a huge fan of captain america. So much so that his item of power is a black and white version of cap's shield. 16 refresh and 40 skill points. Please give your experienced thoughts and opinions as I don't wish to build unoptimally; wasting refresh on powers and stunts not needed. My original build was a balance of the physical building blocks and shield stunts to do the captain america thing. The young man is in junior school looking to get a track/sports scholarship for college and by 45 to 48 refresh, we should be all in high school.

I am wanting a bit more context...  Are you looking to run a CoC game or other Mythos-centered game using the DFRPG ruleset?  Or are you looking to import the Big N (and maybe a very few other Mythos beasties) into the Dresdenverse?  A full-on mashup, Dresden Meets Cthulhu?  ("I'd go insane for you, Nana Hotep -- honestly, I would! -- but then I might not feed my cat in a timely way, and he'd come kill us both!")   Some other ModernUrbanFantasy with Mythos elements?   Or ... ?

As Sancta says, Nyarlathotep is clearly an "Outsider" in the context of the Dresdenverse; an Emissary of an Outsider has a great big fat target on them, with several of the major powers (White Council, WinterFae, Venatori/Archive) likely having a "kill on sight" policy.  But it could be entirely viable if the setting is tweaked a bit (or a lot), or is entirely different...

[Ghostfreak]

You bring up a valid point that being his emissary would paint a target on the individual, but what could you do to a being who is able to freely walk among the populous? Especially one whose power is not tied to anything. I asked mostly out of curiosity and how would other gm's rule it or how would they handle the idea? Especially considering in paranet papers it says that if you do a wikipedia search on any god; then 10 out of 10 they exist in the dresdenverse. In some shape, form or another. Your ideas are warranted and appreciated all the same as I was under the impression that the white council cannot really get between the affairs of a mortal and his patron/sponsor. Especially if the mortal in question doesn't even know who the guy even is due to his crafty and mysterious nature. Something to think and ponder on.

[Sanctaphrax]

You bring up a valid point that being his emissary would paint a target on the individual, but what could you do to a being who is able to freely walk among the populous?

Well, you could kill them.

Of course, in a high-powered game like this one, the White Council hunting for your head is a good plot generator. Make it an Aspect, get FP when Wardens try to find/kill your character.

If you'd rather not have the hassle, you can just say that nobody knows your guy is an Emissary. Or that if they do know, they think he's an Emissary of something else. If you plan for your own character to be ignorant of his patron's identity, this option seems like the natural way to go.

[Quantus]

Well, you could kill them.

Of course, in a high-powered game like this one, the White Council hunting for your head is a good plot generator. Make it an Aspect, get FP when Wardens try to find/kill your character.

If you'd rather not have the hassle, you can just say that nobody knows your guy is an Emissary. Or that if they do know, they think he's an Emissary of something else. If you plan for your own character to be ignorant of his patron's identity, this option seems like the natural way to go.

Out of curiosity, how would would you think the Outsider-y-ness of the power get played in terms of Lawbreaker (is that even a thing in DFA?)

[g33k]

You bring up a valid point that being his emissary would paint a target on the individual, but what could you do to a being who is able to freely walk among the populous? Especially one whose power is not tied to anything. I asked mostly out of curiosity and how would other gm's rule it or how would they handle the idea? Especially considering in paranet papers it says that if you do a wikipedia search on any god; then 10 out of 10 they exist in the dresdenverse. In some shape, form or another. Your ideas are warranted and appreciated all the same as I was under the impression that the white council cannot really get between the affairs of a mortal and his patron/sponsor. Especially if the mortal in question doesn't even know who the guy even is due to his crafty and mysterious nature. Something to think and ponder on. 

I think that secrecy is the way to go, here... canonically in the Dresden'verse, sometimes NOBODY knows that there's an Outsider influencing somebody.  So, most of the Dresdenverse will only recognize "Emissary of... um... something big and scary and really obscure, probably from the far reaches of the Nevernever."

But Outsiders aren't ordinary "patrons" they are walking declarations of war; living, breathing death-penalties (insofar as Outsiders are "alive" or "breathe" -- but likely their Emissaries do).  The White Council will not "respect" anything about that, except by respecting the danger enough not to engage until they can bring maximum overkill to the table.

Even moreso with the Winterfae.  Winterfae are in a state of perpetual no-holds-barred war against Outsiders; if they think a mortal is an Emissary of one, they will do whatever they deem necessary to destroy said mortal.

So ignorance and secrecy -- nobody KNOWS whose Emissary they really are (maybe not even them).  Maybe have some prior attack on them (based on someone thinking/saying they WERE outsider-linked) was put down in a manner characteristic of some ancient non-Outsider pantheon, so now the claim of "Outsider! Kill! Kill!" has been "debunked."  This nicely sidesteps much of the problem.
 

[Sanctaphrax]

Out of curiosity, how would would you think the Outsider-y-ness of the power get played in terms of Lawbreaker (is that even a thing in DFA?)

Being an Outsider-Emissary certainly breaks the Laws. But I don't think there's any sense in making a non-spellcaster take the Power. Aspect Compels are a better way to handle that sort of thing.

If I understand correctly, the Laws in DFA aren't mechanically enforced the way they are in DFRPG. But of course Lawbreakers still exist.